Page 107 - The Vision of Islam

The Vision of Isla m

The same reason lay behind the expedition under Usama,
undertaken soon after the death of the Prophet. Except for the
tribes of Madinah the whole of Arabia had risen in revolt when
the Prophet died. Suddenly the Muslims found themselves at odds
with all their Arab countrymen. It appeared expedient at the time
to preserve all strength in Madinah, in order to counter the enemy
within. But rather than do this, Abu Bakr acted on a decision
taken by the Prophet. A force of 700 men was sent to the Roman
front under Usama. Abu Hurayra explains the impact that this
expedition had on the rebellious Arab tribes:
“When Usama’s force passed those tribes who were on the
verge of apostasy, they would exclaim: ‘If the Muslims did not have
great reserves of strength, they would never have dispatched a
force like this. Let us leave them to fight against the Romans.’ The
Muslims fought against the Romans and defeated them, returning
safely after doing battle with them. Seeing this, those who had
been thinking of apostasy became firm in Islam.” (Al-Bidayah wan-
Nihayah, Vol. VI, p. 305)
When the Prophet reached Madinah there were, besides a
small minority of idolaters, two main communities living there—
the Jews and the Muslims. These two communities were split up
into several small groups. Neither was able to present a united
front. People were just waiting for someone who would organize
and unite them. When the Prophet realized that this was what
people wanted, he issued a decree in which Jews and Muslims
were recognized as communities in their own right. “The Jews
are a community along with the Muslims... They shall have their
religion and the Muslims theirs.” No encroachment was made on
the customary rights and responsibilities of either Jews or Muslims,
and acceptable concessions were made to the sentiments of both
communities. A clause was added, however, which read as follows:
“Whenever there is a disagreement about something, the
matter should be referred to God Almighty and to Muhammad.”
(Tahzeeb Seerat ibn Hisham, p. 129)
This decree amounted to a political initiative which, in the most
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