The Four Foundations of the Islamic State

A second comment on this document: it was establishing the authority of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), who had just walked in as a guest. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came into Madīnah, invited there, but the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was there to be followed. Allah (swt) says that any messenger sent is sent to be obeyed and followed. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was to be followed by the people, and he was establishing his authority by the will of Allah (swt) through various means — one of them was this covenant. The four projects the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) started with in Madīnah were: number one, the masjid — that was number one, the first thing the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did when he went into Madīnah was build the masjid. Number two, establishing the brotherhood between the Muhājirūn and the Anṣār. Number three, this covenant. Number four, the establishment of the Muslim army. All four of these were consolidating the foundations of this newly formed Islamic state, and were consolidating the authority of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the one sent by Allah (swt) to bring the people out of darkness into light.

The document says: any matter in which there is disagreement must be referred to Allah, Almighty and Glorious is He, and to Muḥammad (peace be upon him). The only name mentioned in this document of an individual is that of Muḥammad (peace be upon him). Any matter of dispute that occurs between the Jews and the Arabs, or the Arabs among themselves, and any matter of dispute that occurs between a citizen of Madīnah and an outsider — all of these matters needed to be referred to Allah and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). This is establishing the rule of Allah in Madīnah: the governance of the Book of Allah and the sunnah of Muḥammad (peace be upon him), and this was agreed upon by everyone in Madīnah, the Muslims and the non-Muslims, Arabs or Jews alike.