The Makkan Period, Part 4: Lineage, Names, Nursing, and the Pact of the Virtuous
Section 23 of 23 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Makkan Period
Shaykh Muḥammad al-Ghazālī on the Pact
Shaykh Muḥammad al-Ghazālī comments on this pact. He says: "This pact shows that no matter how dark life becomes, and oppressive dictators become, noble characteristics will still remain in certain people who stand up for justice, and there is righteousness. Allah has made cooperation in enjoining good an obligation upon Muslims, which He has called to in the verse:"
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تُحِلُّوا۟ شَعَـٰٓئِرَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا ٱلشَّهْرَ ٱلْحَرَامَ وَلَا ٱلْهَدْىَ وَلَا ٱلْقَلَـٰٓئِدَ وَلَآ ءَآمِّينَ ٱلْبَيْتَ ٱلْحَرَامَ يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرِضْوَٰنًا ۚ وَإِذَا حَلَلْتُمْ فَٱصْطَادُوا۟ ۚ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَـَٔانُ قَوْمٍ أَن صَدُّوكُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ أَن تَعْتَدُوا۟ ۘ وَتَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ
“O you who believe, do not violate (the sanctity) of the Marks of Allah, nor of the sacred month, nor of the sacrificial animal, nor of the garlands, nor of those proceeding to the Sacred House, seeking the grace of their Lord and (His) Pleasure. When you are out of Ihrām, you may hunt. Malice against a people for their having prevented you from Al-Masjid-ul-Harām, should not cause you to cross the limits. Help each other in righteousness and piety, and do not help each other in sin and aggression. Fear Allah. Surely, Allah is severe at punishment.” (5:2)
"...and cooperate in virtue and taqwā, and do not help one another in sin and transgression. So for a group of Muslims to enter into a treaty or a contract, such as the aforementioned, is made permissible, because it is only a reinforcement for an Islamic obligation. However, this, by definition, must be dissimilar to the situation of Masjid al-Ḍirār" — this was a mosque created in Madīnah to exclude groups of Muslims — "where the cooperation turns into a nationalistic or elitist strategy to exclude Muslims. As for the Muslims contracting with the people of other faiths, in order to remove oppression or to face an oppressor, this becomes permissible for them if there is in it the welfare of Islam and the Muslims, in the present and the future." The basis for this is essentially the willingness of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to answer the call for the pact even after Islam.