The Pledge of the Women and the Sending of Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr

They came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and gave him a pledge of allegiance, called the Pledge of the Women — even though none of the twelve was a woman, the pledge was called Bayʿat al-Nisāʾ because it did not include within its terms any pledge of fighting. Its terms were: "We pledge to the Messenger of Allah, on the night of the first meeting at ʿAqabah, that we will not associate any other god with Allah, that we will not steal, commit fornication, kill our children, make false accusations, nor disobey him in anything good." He told them: "If you keep to this, you shall have Paradise. But if you give up any of it and are punished for it in this world, that will be an atonement for you; but if it is overlooked until the Day of Judgement, it will be up to Allah to decide whether to punish or forgive you." This pledge commits them to Islam and to individual worship, but does not include any terms of protection or fighting, which is why it was called the Pledge of the Women — the pledge that women would later give to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

A fiqh matter arises here. These — stealing, fornication, killing children, making false accusations — are major sins: all of them major sins, each with a prescribed ḥadd punishment. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) states here that if the punishment is carried out in this world, that stands as an atonement for the sin. So if someone steals and is punished for the theft by the cutting off of the hand, that forgives the sin — the sin is gone. But if the punishment is not carried out in this world, then it is up to Allah either to forgive or to punish for it on the Day of Judgement — and this relates to al-kabāʾir, the major sins.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) appointed Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr to go and teach the people of Madīnah Islam. He could be called an ambassador, a teacher, a scholar — he had all of these roles in one. Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr (may Allah be pleased with him) came from a wealthy family in Quraysh, and was the most spoiled young man in Makkah before Islam: he wore the most expensive clothes and the finest perfume, and his mother, a wealthy woman with few other children to care for, looked after him very well. When he became Muslim, his mother boycotted him and stood against him, and Subḥānallāh, Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr — who had been wealthy — turned from wealth to poverty, from a spoiled life to a tough and harsh one.

When Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr (may Allah be pleased with him) was killed in the Battle of Uḥud, those present at his burial said he did not leave behind even enough money to buy a coffin. As a shahīd he was not wrapped in any special clothes, but in battle he had on himself only one piece of cloth, insufficient to cover him — whenever they covered his face, his feet would appear, and whenever they covered his feet, his face would appear. They went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked what could be done; he said: "Cover his face, and use some tree leaves to cover his feet."

Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr was given the difficult task and major responsibility of being the Messenger of Allah's personal representative in Madīnah, and he left Makkah to reside there. Since al-Aws and al-Khazraj were enemies, Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr had to lead them in ṣalāh himself, because neither would accept praying behind an imām from the other tribe.