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The Sealed Nectar

 The Sealed Nectar by Shaykh Safi ur-Rahman

 The number of delegations listed in Ahl Al-Maghazi were over seventy. Investigating such a large number is not an accessible thing; besides stating them in detail is not of a great benefit. Therefore, I am going to reveal an expose about what is historically wonderful or highly significant. Anyway a reader should always keep in mind that whilst the majority of tribes arrived in Madinah after the conquest, there were also pre-conquest delegations.

The delegation of ‘Abdul Qais: This tribe had two arrivals. The first was in the fifth year of Al-Hijra or before that date. Munqidh bin Haiyan, a member of that tribe, used to trade in Madinah. So, as soon as he heard of Islam when he had arrived in it for trading — that was after the migration — he embraced Islam and carried a pledge from the Prophet (Peace be upon him) to his people who eventually became Muslims too. Thirteen or fourteen of them came to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) in one of the Hurum Months. It was then that they asked the Prophet’s advice about the Faith and drinks. Their chief was Al-Ashaj Al-Usri, to whom the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) said: “You have two qualities that Allâh likes: They are deliberatenessandclemency.”
Their second arrival was in the Year of Delegations. They were forty men. Al-Jarud bin Al-‘Alâ’ Al-‘Abdi, who was Christian but turned to be a good Muslim, was one of that group.
Daws Delegation: The arrival of this tribe was in the early times of the seventh year and that was when the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) was in Khaibar. At-Tufail bin ‘Amr Ad-Dawsi, that we have already talked about and explained how he became a Muslim at the time the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) was in Makkah. He went back home to his people where he kept calling people to Islam but they tarried till he despaired of them and returned to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and asked him to invoke Allâh against Daws but the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) invoked Allâh to guide Daws. Later on, Daws embraced Islam. So At-Tufail arrived in Madinah accompanied by seventy or eighty families of his people in the early times of the seventh year of Al-Hijra, at the time that the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) was at Khaibar, so he overtook him there.
Farwah Bani ‘Amr Al-Judhami’s messenger: Farwah was an Arab leader in the Byzantine army. He was a Byzantine agent ruler by proxy on the Arabs allied to the Byzantines. His home was at Mu‘an and the surrounding area of Ash-Sham lands. Seeing the stamina and courage of the Muslims he became a Muslim. The battle of Mu’tah — which took place in the eighth year of Al-Hijra — compelled his admiration. He sent a white mule gift with a messenger of his to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) to inform him of his conversion into Islam. When the Byzantines learnt of his embracing Islam, they sent him to prison. At first they gave him an opportunity to choose one of the two — “either he defects from Islam or death shall be his punishment.” Refusing to defect they crucified him and cut his neck at a water (fountain) called ‘Afra’ in Palestine.
Sudâ’ Delegation: The arrival of this delegation was after the departure of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) from Al-Ji‘ranah in the eighth year of Al-Hi. It was because the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) had already dispatched a mission that comprised four hundred Muslims and asked them to go to where Sudâ’ was. Sudâ’ was (a fresh-water fountain) in Yemen. While the mission was camping there at the starting point of a canal. Ziyad bin Al-Harith As-Sudâ’i learned of their stay, so he came to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and said: “I have come to you as a deputy of my people, so tell your army to go back and I guarantee of my people.” The army were sent away off the canal. In his turn As-Sudâ’i went back, cherished and urged his people to come and meet the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him). Eventually fifteen of them came and pledged allegiance to him as true Muslims. Returning home, they in their turn, urged the rest to be Muslims. Thus Islam spread among them. Later on, a hundred men joined the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) in Hajjatul-Wada‘ (Farewell Pilgrimage.)
The arrival of Ka‘b bin Zuhair bin Abi Sulma: Ka‘b who was a member of a family of poets, was considered one of the most poetic Arab poets. He used to satirize the Prophet (Peace be upon him) when he wasn’t a Muslim. In the eighth year of Al-Hijra and at the time that the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) had already gone back from At-Ta’if invasion, Bujair bin Zuhair wrote a letter to his brother Ka‘b warning and advising him: “The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) had killed some men in Makkah who used to satirize and harm him, and that the other poets who had survived fled in all directions for their lives. So if you want to save your skin, hasten to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him). He never kills those who resort to him as repentant. If you refuse to do as I tell, it is up to you to try to save your skin by any means.” The two brothers corresponded with one another for a long time till Ka‘b was awkward and felt as if the earth had constrained on him. Arriving in Madinah, he stayed at a man’s house from Juhainah as a guest. They performed the dawn prayer together; but when he was about to leave, the man suggested that he go to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him). He went there, sat by him, put his hand in his. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) who had never seen Ka‘b before, did not recognize him. Ka‘b then said: “O, Messenger of Allâh! Ka‘b bin Zuhair has come to you as a repentant Muslim; will he be secure and forgiven if I fetch him?” The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) said, “Yes.” “I am Ka‘b bin Zuhair,” said he. Upon hearing that one of the Helpers rose to his feet and asked the Messenger’s allowance to cut his throat. “Leave him alone!” Said the Prophet (Peace be upon him), “He has become a repentant Muslim after his disposal of the past.” Ka‘b then recited his well-known poem “Su‘ad appeared...” in which he praised the Prophet (Peace be upon him) , thanked him and apologized for the wrongs he had done. He acknowledged Muhammad’s mission. Both Emigrants and Helpers were spoken of in this poem but differently. He praised the Emigrants but criticized the Helpers, for one of them demanded a Prophet’s permission to kill him. Later on Ka‘b tried to compensate for that by praising the Helpers too but that was in another poem.
‘Udharah Delegation: This delegation which consisted of twelve men, had arrived in Madinah in Safar, the ninth year of Al-Hijra. They spent three days there. One of them was Hamza bin An-Nu‘man. When they were asked who they were, they said “We are Bani ‘Udharah, the foster brothers of Qusai to his mother. We are the ones who supported Qusai, and removed Khuza’a and Bani Bakr from the bosom of Makkah. We have relatives and kinspeople.” So the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) welcomed them and gave good tidings to them, which was Ash-Sham Conquest; but he, on the other hand, forbade them from consulting a soothsayer and from eating the slain animals they slaughtered. Eventually they became Muslims, stayed there for several days then went back.
Bali Delegation: Their arrival was in Rabi‘ Al-Awwal, the ninth year of Al-Hijra. They embraced Islam, stayed in Madinah for three days. Their chief Abu Ad-Dabeeb wondered whether hospitality was rewarded by Allâh. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) said:

“Yes, and so is any charity you offer to poor or rich people that is Sadaqah.”
He also inquired about the time allotted to hospitality. “Three days,” said he. “What about the stray ewe?” The Prophet said: “It is either yours or your brother’s, otherwise it goes to the wolf.” He inquired about the stray camel. “It is not of your business. Leave it alone! Its owner will try to find it.”

Thaqif Delegation: Their arrival was in Ramadan, the ninth year of Al-Hijra, after the return of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) from Tabuk. As to how they became Muslims, this could be deduced from the following:
Their chief ‘Urwah bin Mas‘ud Ath-Thaqafi came to see the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) after the latter’s return from At-Ta’if in Dhul-Qa‘dah in the year 8 A.H. ‘Urwah became a Muslim. He thought that when he will tell his people and call them to embrace Islam, they would obey him, because he had always been an obeyed Master. He was even more beloved to them than their own firstborn. But contrary to that, when he called them to Islam they shot arrows at him from everywhere and killed him. They remained as they were for months before they started discussing the situation again among themselves. Upon realizing that they were incapable of fighting the neighbouring Arabs who had paid allegiance to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and converted to Islam, they made up their mind to dispatch a man to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him). They concluded that ‘Abd Yalail bin ‘Amr would be the right messenger.
‘Abd refused to do such a thing lest they should kill him as they had killed ‘Urwah. “I will not do such a thing till you send some other men with me,” said ‘Abd. So they sent two men of their allies and three others from Bani Malik. The six of them including ‘Uthman bin Abi Al-‘As Ath-Thaqafi who was the youngest among them all.

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