In Search of a Base

After the passing of Abū Ṭālib and Khadījah (may Allah be pleased with her), and seeing the stalemate the mission had reached in Makkah — some converts were still trickling in, but overall it had reached a stagnating state, with many avenues blocked — the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) felt the necessity of finding an alternative base, somewhere he could have freedom to propagate the message. He actively pursued that goal by meeting with the Arab tribes and their delegates during the season of pilgrimage, a time when people came from all over Arabia to the one location of Makkah. He would devote the days of Ḥajj to visiting the camps of the Arabs, going to every tribe in their campground, giving them daʿwah and asking them for protection.

As al-Zuhrī states, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would, over the period of those years, present himself to the Arab tribes at each fair, speaking with each tribal leader but asking them only for their protection and support. He would say: "I do not wish to force any of you to do anything. Any of you who agree to what I ask may do so, but I would not compel anyone unwilling. All I want is to guard myself against those who want to kill me, so that I may fulfil my Lord's mission and carry out whatever decree He wishes regarding myself and those who support me." Al-Zuhrī then says: "But not one of them accepted him. Every one of those tribes reached the following conclusion: the man's own tribe knew him best — how could they accept as suitable for them someone his own tribe had subverted and expelled? Since his tribe did not accept him, they knew best." That was their conclusion.

Al-Zuhrī is one of the early Muslim scholars, of the generation of the Tābiʿūn or a little after it, and he was the one given the responsibility of compiling ḥadīth, during the time of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. This was the first official project to compile the ḥadīth of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and the one entrusted with this mission was al-Zuhrī, and the one who appointed him to that position was the Khalīfah himself, ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. So again, these were the words of al-Zuhrī.

Ibn Isḥāq states that Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī, again, is relating to him that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) visited some of the tribes, and he narrates the story of visiting the tribe of Kindah: the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went to them, gave them daʿwah, they refused him. He next went to a tribe, or a clan, called Banū ʿAbd Allāh, the sons of ʿAbd Allāh, and after explaining Islam to them, told them: "Look at how Allah has chosen a good name for you — you are the sons of ʿAbd Allāh." They too turned him down.

Next, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went to the tribe of Banū Ḥanīfah, who treated him so badly that, as al-Zuhrī says, none of the Arabs gave him so rude a rejection as they did. Subḥānallāh, these same people, Banū Ḥanīfah, would years later lead the worst revolt ever against the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) — a revolt that broke out right before his death and was only ended in the time of Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). This revolt was led by Musaylimah al-Kadhdhāb, of the tribe of Banū Ḥanīfah, the man who claimed prophethood; it was the greatest revolt and one of the worst battles fought against the Muslim armies.

Next, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went to the campgrounds of the tribe of Banū ʿĀmir ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿah. When their leader, Bayḥarah ibn Firās, met the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and listened to his words, he became deeply impressed by what he saw, and said: