by saying: “If the whole world went one way and the Anṣār went another way, I would go with the Ansar. May God have mercy on the Anṣār, their children and grandchildren.”4 That was enough to make them very happy. They said: “We are happy to have God’s Messenger as our lot.” All this was in line with their initial agreement with the Prophet, when they pledged their support to him eight years earlier at ʿAqabah in Mina, promising to protect and defend him as they would protect and defend their women and children. At the time, they asked him: “What do we get in return for honouring our pledges?” He replied: “Paradise.” He had promised them no reward in this world.
Having appointed a twenty-year-old man, named ʿAttāb ibn Usayd, as governor of Makkah, the Prophet returned with his Companions to Madinah early in the ninth year after the Hijrah which is equivalent to 630 CE. Back in Madinah, delegations from various tribes began to arrive. Some came to pledge their loyalty, while others wanted to learn about Islam and go back to their people to consider their options. During the summer of that year, the Prophet told his Companions to get ready to march for a campaign against the Byzantine Empire. He had received information, provided by traders from Syria, that the Byzantines were preparing to invade Arabia. For the first time ever, the Prophet mentioned clearly and openly where the army would be heading to and named the enemy it would be fighting. Normally the Prophet left such matters ambiguous. The reason for his open indication was that for a long time the Arabs had held the Byzantines in awe. They never dared to stand in clear opposition to them. Besides, the time in mid-summer made such a long distance travel in a desert area very difficult. The Muslims were still poor, despite all the gains they had made, because their land did not have enough resources to make theirs an affluent society. Announcing a very difficult mission was certain to make any hypocrite try to find excuses, even very absurd ones, to avoid being involved. Thus, declaring the intended objective in advance made it a test for everyone. Only people with strong faith were expected to join. The Prophet also called on all Muslims to come forward with generous donations to the war effort. Many, particularly those among the earliest to accept Islam, donated generously. Several of them brought half of their properties. The largest donation was given by ʿUthmān: he provided 300 fully-equipped camels.
The army that went with the Prophet on this expedition was estimated to number 30,000, which was the largest army that had ever marched in the Arabian Peninsula. The Muslims of Madinah were reinforced by large numbers of the Muslims from Makkah and from all tribes that had accepted Islam. That in itself indicated that the Arabs were now a nation, rather than a host of independent and warring tribes. The going was certainly hard. By the time the army arrived in Tabūk (which is today in Saudi Arabia, not far from its borders with Jordan), they had endured much hardship. However, there was no trace of any Byzantine army in the area, or even further afield. Making sure that there was nothing to cause the Muslim state any worry, the Prophet sent detachments of his army to certain places in the area, calling on them to accept Islam. He made peace arrangements with several of them. This expedition achieved some important goals: it exposed the hypocrites that continued to plague the society of Madinah; it also ensured that the northern parts of Arabia felt that their best course was to live in peace with the Muslim state; and it strengthened the bonds within the Muslim community, as those who had plenty were ready to help their brethren who were poor.
When the Prophet and his Companions returned to Madinah, they felt their state was much more peaceful. Although it had started as a city-state, it now commanded a large area of Arabia. Delegations from tribes in remote areas continued to arrive in Madinah to declare their belief in Islam. The Prophet was very hospitable to these delegations, ensuring that they listened to the Qur’ān and learnt about Islam. He gave a generous gift to everyone in every delegation. One of these delegations came from the tribe of Thaqīf, who had a change of heart and mind. They wanted to live in peace with Islam, but they hoped that they would be given some concessions with regard to the Islamic way of life. Their six-man delegation assured the Prophet that they would become Muslims if he would agree to these concessions. They requested that they be allowed to retain their famous idol, al-Lāt. They also asked him to cancel the prohibition of adultery, alcoholic drinks and usury. The Prophet told them that they could expect no concession on any item. These were God’s prohibitions, and no one could alter them. The only concession he gave them was that they would not be required to destroy al-Lāt with their own hands. He would send some of his Companions to do that. Thaqif eventually accepted his terms and embraced Islam. The Prophet sent several of his Companions, who destroyed al-Lat, as he previously destroyed all other idols.
When the pilgrimage season at the end of the ninth year after the Hijrah approached, the Prophet appointed his Companion, Abū Bakr, to lead the pilgrimage. Abū Bakr travelled to Makkah with a good number of Muslims. Shortly after his departure, God revealed Sūrah 9 of the Qur’ān, which opens with an announcement addressed to the remaining unbelievers in Arabia. Since the announcement gave notice to all Arabs, it had to be made, as the sūrah states in its opening, on the grand day of pilgrimage. Therefore, the Prophet sent his cousin, ʿAlī, to make the announcement: according to the Arabian tradition, it had to be made on his behalf by a member of his own family. The opening of the sūrah is as follows:
Disavowal by God and His Messenger [is hereby announced] to those of the idolaters with whom you have made a treaty. [Announce to them:] You may go freely in the land for four months, but you must realize that you can never escape God’s judgement, and that God shall bring disgrace upon the unbelievers. And a proclamation from God and His Messenger is hereby made to all mankind on this day of the greater pilgrimage: God is free from obligation to the idolaters, and so is His Messenger. If you repent, it shall be for your own good; and if you turn away, then know that you can never escape God’s judgement. Give the unbelievers the news of grievous suffering, except for those idolaters with whom you have made a treaty and who have honoured their obligations [under the treaty] in every detail, and have not aided anyone against you. To these fulfil your obligations until their treaties have run their term. God loves those who are righteous. When these months of grace are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captive, besiege them, and lie in wait for them at every conceivable place. Yet if they should repent, take to prayer and pay the zakāt, let them go their way. For God is Much-forgiving, Merciful. (9: 1-5)
This announcement meant that the Muslims were bound by the treaties they made with believers to the end of the terms specified by those treaties, provided that the other party had honoured their obligations under their treaty in full. Those who had not honoured their treaties in full were given notice of cancellation. Likewise, those who had treaties that did not specify a date of termination were also given notice of termination of the treaties. In both these last cases, the notice allowed them a period of grace of four months. They had to make their choice during those four months: either they would accept Islam and live as Muslims or they must leave the Arabian Peninsula. In effect, the announcement claimed Arabia as a land of Islam where no pagans could live.
ʿAlī and Abū Bakr made the announcement on the day of attendance at ʿArafāt, where all pilgrims gather. They then made it again on the following day, which was the day of sacrifice. Again all pilgrims would be there. Furthermore, Abū Bakr sent callers to the camps of all tribes to make the announcement. Thus, all pilgrims were aware of it, which meant that all tribes heard of it as soon as their pilgrims returned home. Another announcement made clear that this was the last year that idolaters were allowed to offer the pilgrimage. No one was ever to be allowed to go around the Kaʿbah naked, as the Quraysh imposed on visitors from outside Makkah. This was a distortion of the worship rituals established by the Prophet Abraham when he built the Kaʿbah.
This announcement was made at the end of year 9 AH (631 CE). The following year is known in Islamic history as the Year of Delegations: delegations of Arabian tribes continued to come to Madinah where they pledged their loyalty to the Prophet as Muslims. They came from every corner of the Peninsula, including Yemen, Oman and the eastern and central parts. This ensured that the whole of the Arabian Peninsula accepted Islam as its faith. This was a remarkable achievement for the Prophet, as it had taken only twenty-two lunar years for Islam to be the only religion of all
