At the House of ʿAlī

And then Abū Sufyān went to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib told him: wayḥaka yā Abā Sufyān, wa-llāhi la-qad ʿazama Rasūlu Allāhi ʿalā amrin mā nastaṭīʿu an nukallimahu fīh — woe to you, Abū Sufyān; by Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has made his decision to do something, and we cannot talk to him about it. In other words, when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) decides on a particular matter, we cannot go to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and ask him to change his mind; it is over with. Shūrā is before the decision is made; after the decision is made, it is done. Fa-idhā ʿazamta fa-tawakkal ʿalā Allāh — when you have decided, then put your trust in Allah (3:159), and go ahead.

Abū Sufyān visited ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib in his house, and this was before the hijab, so Fāṭimah was there, and she was playing with her son al-Ḥasan; al-Ḥasan was a child at that time, and she was playing with him. When Abū Sufyān had spoken to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib had told him that it was done — look at what Abū Sufyān did. He spoke to Fāṭimah and said: yā binta Muḥammad, hal laki an taʾmurī bunayyaki hādhā fa-yujīra bayna al-nās, fa-yakūna sayyida al-ʿArabi ilā ākhir al-dahr — O daughter of Muḥammad, will you tell this little son of yours to give protection between the people, and that will make him the leader of the Arabs until the end of time? Abū Sufyān was asking Fāṭimah to have this child, al-Ḥasan, who was playing, give protection. She said: wa-llāhi mā balagha bunayya dhālika an yujīra bayna al-nās, wa mā yujīru aḥadun ʿalā Rasūli Allāh — by Allah, my son is too young to do that; and she told him: nobody can give protection in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). If the Messenger of Allah decides to fight, we cannot give protection contrary to his decision.

Abū Sufyān was in a state of desperation; one can see it from his actions. Abū Sufyān was a wise, strong leader, but now he was acting in a confused way. For Abū Sufyān to make such a foolish request shows the state of despair that Abū Sufyān and the people of Quraysh had reached. He said: yā Abā al-Ḥasan, innī arā al-umūra qad ishtaddat ʿalayya fa-nṣaḥnī — O Abū al-Ḥasan, I see that things are becoming tough; things are becoming tight; give me your advice. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib did not have anything to advise him, but he told him: wa-llāhi mā aʿlamu shayʾan yughnī ʿanka, wa lākinnaka sayyidu banī Kinānah, fa-qum fa-ajir bayna al-nās, thumma ilḥaq bi-arḍik — by Allah, I know of nothing that would do you any good; but you are the leader of the children of Kinānah, so go to the masjid and give protection among the people, and then go back to your land.

What did Abū Sufyān respond? He said: a-wa-tarā dhālika mughniyan ʿannī shayʾā? — and do you think that would do me any good? ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib told him: no, by Allah, I do not think that would do you any good; wa lākin lā ajidu laka ghayra dhālik — but I find nothing else to tell you. As if ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib were telling him: I have no advice to give you, and this advice I have given you would not really do you any good. He was trying to get rid of him. Abū Sufyān, even though ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) had told him that this advice would do him no good, still followed ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib's advice: he went to the masjid, and he stood there and said: innī qad ajartu bayna al-nās — I have given protection among the people.

Now, a little background on this issue of ijārah, offering protection. In the time of the Jāhiliyyah, men who were leaders among their people would give their word in front of the people and say: I protect so-and-so. Because of the honour of this person, and because of his position, and because of his strength or the strength of his tribe, the people would accept that protection and would not go against it; they would honour his word. So Abū Sufyān went to the masjid and did that in the masjid of Madīnah, al-Masjid al-Nabawī. But who is Abū Sufyān in Madīnah? Who cares about Abū Sufyān? Yes, Abū Sufyān was the leader of Kinānah, but that did not mean anything in Madīnah. In Madīnah the leader is Muḥammad (peace be upon him); Abū Sufyān did not carry any weight. So people were just passing by, ignoring Abū Sufyān completely.