The Madinan Period, Part 2: The Masjid, the Brotherhood and the Covenant
Section 13 of 23 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Madinan Period
Establishing Brotherhood
The first project the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) undertook in Madīnah was the masjid. What were the other three? The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) embarked on four projects as soon as he came into Madīnah: the first was Masjid al-Nabawī; the second was the establishing of brotherhood between the Muhājirūn and the Anṣār; the third was the covenant that would govern the relationships between the different communities in Madīnah — the Arabs and the Jews — and the foreign relations with the people of Quraysh; and number four, the establishment of the Muslim army. These are the four projects the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) embarked on when he immigrated to Madīnah. The masjid has already been discussed; now to the second. Brotherhood is very important in Islam.
وَٱعْتَصِمُوا۟ بِحَبْلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا۟ ۚ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَآءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِۦٓ إِخْوَٰنًا وَكُنتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِّنَ ٱلنَّارِ فَأَنقَذَكُم مِّنْهَا ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
“Hold fast, all of you, to the cord of Allah, and be not divided. Remember the blessing of Allah upon you: When you were enemies to each other, and He brought your hearts together, so that, you became brothers through His blessing. You were at the brink of a pit of Fire, then He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His signs clear to you, so that you may take the right path.” (3:103)
Allah, the Almighty, also says:
وَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِهِمْ ۚ لَوْ أَنفَقْتَ مَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مَّآ أَلَّفْتَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَلَّفَ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
“and united their hearts. Had you spent all that is on earth, you could not have united their hearts. But Allah did unite their hearts. Surely, He is All-Mighty, All-Wise.” (8:63)
Remember the favour of Allah upon you when you were enemies, and He brought your hearts together, and you became by His favour brothers — you were on the edge of a pit of the fire, and He saved you from it; thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided. And brought together their hearts: if one had spent all that is in the earth, one could not have brought their hearts together, but Allah brought them together — indeed, He is exalted in might and wise. Allah (swt) is telling the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that it is Allah who brought the hearts of the Muslims together — if one spent all the money in the world, one could not have done so. One cannot buy off the hearts of men. This was a favour from Allah (swt), that He brought the Muhājirūn and the Anṣār together and made brothers of them.
وَٱلَّذِينَ تَبَوَّءُو ٱلدَّارَ وَٱلْإِيمَـٰنَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَا يَجِدُونَ فِى صُدُورِهِمْ حَاجَةً مِّمَّآ أُوتُوا۟ وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ ۚ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ
“And (fai’ is also) for those who established themselves in the homeland (of Madīnah) and in faith before the former ones (arrived in Madīnah), who have love for those who emigrated to them, and do not feel in their hearts any ambition for what is given to the former ones (from fai’), and give preference (to them) over themselves, even though they are in poverty. -And those who are saved from the greed of their hearts are the successful.-” (59:9)
This is the first quality of the Anṣār: they settled in the home, Madīnah. Their second quality: they love those who emigrated to them, and so they do not feel that these guests are a burden on them — they love the Muhājirūn. The third quality: they find no want in their breasts for what the Muhājirūn were given. The fourth quality: they give the Muhājirūn preference over themselves — the Anṣār would give the Muhājirūn preference over themselves, even though they were in privation. Whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul, it is those who will be successful; Allah (swt) has protected the Anṣār from stinginess in their souls.
These ayāt speak of brotherhood in general, but there is a specific brotherhood in view here: the brotherhood between the Muhājirūn and the Anṣār. According to al-Suhaylī, some say this pact of brotherhood started five months after the Hijrah, some say nine months after the Hijrah, and some say it was established as soon as Masjid al-Nabawī was built — that is, immediately upon settling in Madīnah. What this brotherhood entailed was that they were brothers just as if they were blood brothers, meaning that even in inheritance, the rules of inheritance applied to them just as if they were blood brothers.