“Go back and stay with your families and teach them the religion and tell them whatever needs to be said.”
Bukhari, Adhan, 18
During the final years of the Medinan period when Islam became known around Medina, delegates from neighboring tribes began to come to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and embrace Islam. These delegates had various objectives and requests:
1) To inform that their tribe converted to Islam and to pledge allegiance on behalf of their people
2) To learn the Islamic regulations and teach them to their people when they return
3) To ask instructors and missionaries to teach them Islam
4) To sing treaties and accept to pay jizya tax even though they did not accept to convert to Islam
5) To discuss religious and scholarly matters with the Messenger of Allah
6) To learn the situation of the Prophet and the Muslim state
Below are some examples in this context.
One of the guest delegates came to the Prophet (pbuh) was from the tribe of Tayy. When they came to Medina, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) was in the mosque. He looked at the delegates and said:
“I advise you something better than Uzza which has no benefit to you but which you worship.” Zaid al-Hayy said:
“O Messenger of Allah! I came to you from a place nine-day away exhausting my animal. My nights were sleepless and my days were waterless.” Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) held Zaid’s hand and told him:
“All praises be to Allah Who brought your heart closer to faith and brought you here after passing many obstacles.” and then asked:
“Who are you?” Zaid replied:
“I am Zaid al-Hayy. I bear testimony that there is no god but Allah and you are His servant and Messenger.” Allah’s Messenger told him:
“You are not Zaid al-Hayl but Zaid al-Hair from now on.”
When the Prophet (pbuh) told the delegates of Tayy about Islam and offered them to embrace it, they immediately converted to Islam. (Ibn Hisham, IV, 245; Ibn Sa’d, I, 321)
Representatives of Sa’d-i Hudhaim from Yemen had already embraced Islam. They came to Medina to pledge allegiance and learn the stipulations of Islam. One of them Abu Nu’man narrates:
“We set off on a journey to go to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). When we arrived at the gate of the Prophet’s mosque, we saw that the Prophet (pbuh) was leading a funeral prayer so we waited. After the prayer, Allah’s Messenger turned to us and asked:
“Who are you?” We said:
“We are from the Sa’d-i Hudhaim clan.” He asked again:
“Are you Muslims?” We replied affirmatively. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) asked:
“Have you prayed in your brother’s funeral?” We replied:
“O Messenger of Allah! We thought we were not allowed to do that until we pledged allegiance to you.” Then the Prophet (pbuh) told us:
“You become Muslims no matter where you accept Islam.”
We pledged allegiance and then went back to our camping site. Allah’s Messenger ordered his Companions to treat and host us well. After we stayed for three days in Medina, we came to the Prophet to say goodbye. As we were leaving, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) gave an order to Bilal and he gave us many silver pieces as presents and we went back to our tribe. (Ibn Qayyim, III, 652-653; Ibn Sa’d, I, 329-330)
Envoy from the Banu Tujib is another good example for the delegates that learned Islam from the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and returned to their tribes to teach what they learned. A thirteen-man envoy came to the Prophet (pbuh). They brought their almsgiving with them. This pleased the Prophet very much. He welcomed the envoy and ordered Bilal al-Habashi to host them well. The envoy of Banu Tujib said:
“O messenger of Allah! We brought to you the right of Allah in our possessions.” Allah’s Messenger told us:
“Take it back to your people and distribute it among the poor.” The envoy said:
“O Messenger of Allah! We brought you the amount left after we gave our share to the poor.” Abu Bakr (r.a.) said:
“O Messenger of Allah! There is no envoy among the Arab tribes like the one from Banu Tujib.” Our Prophet (pbuh) said:
“Guidance is in the hand of Allah the Almighty. He opens the heart of those for whom He wants goodness.”
Banu Tujib’s envoy asked the Prophet (pbuh) about issues from the Qur’an and Sunnah. Answers to their questions were given to them in writing, and because of their efforts, the Prophet’s love and interest deepened for them. After staying for a few days the envoy wanted to go back. They were told:
“Why do you hurry?” They said:
“We will go back to our people and tell them what we saw, asked, and learned from the Messenger of Allah.”
They came to our beloved Prophet (pbuh) and said goodbye. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) sent and asked Bilal (r.a.) to give them some gifts. He also told Bilal to give them gifts more than the other tribes had been given. (Ibn Sa’d, I, 323; Ibn Qayyim, III, 650-651)
As can be seen in this incident, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) took more interest in those who were demanding and eager to learn abou the Qur’an and Islam. Similarly, the Prophet (pbuh) appointed one of the members of an envoy as the leader of it because of his knowledge of the Qur’an even though he was the youngest member. (Ibn Sa’d, V, 508; Ibn Hisham, IV, 185; Ibn Hanbal, IV, 218)
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) regarded his guests with the utmost care and courtesy. He always talked to them politely and complementarily. His polite treatment and close attention to the problems of his guests made Islam heard and received well in every way.
Since delegates were representatives of a group of people, it was necessary to treat them with courtesy and respect; because their gratification meant the gratification of their tribes, whereas their dissatisfaction meant a distancing of their tribes from Islam. These prophetic principles have maintained their validity for all time.
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) had designated a special place in his mosque to meet foreign delegates. This place was called “ustuwat al-wufud or the pillar of the delegations.” Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) used to put on nice and clean clothes when he was expecting a delegation. He also ordered his Companions, who were going to be with him in the meeting, to do the same. For instance, he wore costly clothes made in Yemen when he (pbuh), Abu Bakr, Umar, and Ali (r. anhum) were going to meet a delegation from Kinda. (Ibn Sa’d, IV, 346)
Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) also appointed some of his Companions for the protocol. Their job was to inform the Prophet (pbuh) about the arrival of the delegations and to meet the delegations and give them instructions about how to act in the presence of the Prophet. Abu Bakr (r.a.) was responsible for the protocol, the Prophet’s personal servant, Thawban (r.a.), was in charge of serving the guests while Bilal (r.a.) organized the kitchen duties. Delegates were sometimes offered meat and bread and sometimes milk and bread. (Kattani, I, 348)
Our prophet (pbuh) would ask about the delegates’ health and state, get information about their land, listen to their requests, answer their questions, and take care of their problems. (Nasai, Umra, 5) Many times he (pbuh) would compliment his guests and serve them personally. For instance, he had once begun to serve his guests when his Companions requested:
“O Messenger of Allah! May our parents be sacrificed for you. Let us serve them.” He said:
“They have served my Companions and in return I would like to reward them” and he continued to serve them. (Bayhaqi, Shu’ab al-Iman, VI, 518; VII, 436)
Day and night whenever he (pbuh) found time, he would visit and talk to the members of guest delegations. For instance he used to visit and have a talk with an envoy from Thaqif every day after the night prayer. One night he remained standing for such a long time (talking to them) that he placed his weight on one leg and then sometimes on the other. (Abu Dawud, Ramadan, 9)
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) was extremely modest, sincere, and warm towards his guests. If the delegates spoke in a different dialect, he would address them in their dialect. Moreover, the coldness and formality of diplomatic protocol would not be observed in the Prophet’s words and actions. (Ibn Hanbal, IV, 9, 343)
When the delegates were going back to their home town, the Prophet (pbuh) would ask them to teach their people what they learned from him. (Nasai, Adhan, 8)
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) would encourage the visiting delegations to stay for some time in Medina and learn the Qur’an and the principles of their religion. He wanted them to see how he practiced Islam so they could understand it. For instance, when the delegation of Abd al-Qais came, he asked the ansar to host and treat the members of the delegation well. Meanwhile he also enjoined them to learn religious knowledge and to memorize some chapters from the Qur’an in order to recite in their prayers. When the Prophet visited them in the morning, he asked about their health and if everything was alright. They expressed their pleasure. Then the Prophet (pbuh) entrusted them to the ansar one by one or in twos. This was a useful method for them to learn Islam. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) was very happy with Abd al-Qais’s determination to learn their religion and with the efforts of the ansar. And he personally checked what they had learned and listened to the chapters they had memorized for their prayers. (Ibn Hanbal, III, 432)
There were special guest houses assigned in Medina for the delegations that stayed ten days or longer. For instance, Abdurrahman b. Awf’s house was used for such purposes and it was also reported that another one was Ramla bint al-Harith’s big and beautiful house. (Abu Dawud, Ramadan, 9; Kattani, I, 347)
The Prophet’s methods and principles are universal principles reflecting the nature and the reality of human being. It is necessary for us to apply these principles in our missionary activities.