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The Sacrilegious War had just ended, but still fresh on everyones mind

1.

Muhammad (saw) was 19-20 years old when the war had ended
A man from outside of Makkah (Yemen) from another tribe (Zubaid) came to
Makkah to do some business

He came into contact with a Qurayshi Makkan named Al-Aas bin Wa-il. They
agree to do business together.
Aas bin Wa-il said, Forward me the merchandise, and Ill pay you tomorrow.
1 He was a Quryashi Makkan. Qurayshi Makkans were generally seen
as honest because they were the caretakers of al-haram
When the Zubaidi man went to collect his payment, Al-Aas said, What
payment? I dont know what youre talking about.

This Zubaidi man was distraught at being taken advantage of he was a simple
man just looking to support his family
He went to different leaders of Quraysh telling them that one of their men has
stinged him on a business payment
Custom of the time was that your loyalty was to your tribe, not to truth & justice.
So other leaders replied, We dont know what youre talking about. We cant help
you. They pretty much dismissed him
During sunrise, leaders of the Quraysh would congregate at the Kabah to go
over days agenda

The Zubaidi man went to the Kabah during sunrise & stood in front of the door
He took his shirt off, which meant a sign of desperation
He calls out to the people, Oh people of dignity & honor. This man has taken
merchandise from me. How can this happen in the heart of the Kabah? This is
where sanctuary is, where people flock to. I cam here not just to sell my
merchanise, but I also had the hope to worship here at the Kabah. I havent even
fulfilled my wish of worshipping here at the sacred sanctuary. Where are the all
the men of honor & dignity in this House of God. This sacred sanctuary is for
people who are honorable, but here I find people who are dishonest and
deceitful.
Everyone is just sitting & listening. First one among them to stand was Zubair bin
Abdul Mutallib, Muhammads uncle (he later accepted Islam)
Zubair goes to the Zubaidi man & sympathizes with him

All the Qurayshi gather together, saying that they need to do something about
this. This situation is reminiscent of the events that led to the Sacrilegious War
A man named Abdullah bin Jadaan calls a meeting in his house

The leaders of Quraysh gather at his house & reach an agreement. They were just
done with a 5 year war & dont want more trouble, so they make a pact
They make a pact, which stated that they will support the rights of the all the
oppressed, even if its an outsider. The pact also stated that they will oppose the

oppressor, even if hes one of the Quraysh


This pact was called Hilf al-Fudl (League of the Virtuous)

Conditions of the pact


The Quraysh will support the rights of all the oppressed, even if its an outsider
The Quraysh will oppose the oppressor, even if hes one of the Quraysh
Basically, they pledged to respect the principles of justice and collectively
intervene in conflicts to establish justice (X)
2 explanations behind the name
There were 3 individuals from the dozens of Qurayshi men present at the
meeting. These 3 men were named Al-Fadul
Fudul means virtue, so the Virtuous Pact
What the Quraysh did aftering drawing up the pact
Two dozen powerful Qurayshi leders go & knock on door of Al-Aas bin Wa-il.
They tell him, You did business with a man from Zubaid, but you didnt pay
him.
Al-Aas: Yeah, but you know how we do. Youre supposed to overlook these
things. You scratch my back, I scratch yours.
Qurayshi men: Sorry we dont roll that way anymore. Its not gonna fly. Things
have changed. Were going to be fair. First things first. You pay that man.
Al-Aas: I dont have money.
Qurayshi men: Then bring the merchandise.
Al-Aas: Are you serious?
Qurayshi men: Were absolutely serious. We got swords to prove that were
serious.
They take Al-Aas & the merchandise and return it to the Zubaidi. The Quraysh
apologizes on behalf of the Alas & the rest of the tribe to the Zubaidi man.
During the Medinan Period of his Prophethood, Muhammad looked back on
this pact & said, I witnessed a pact and an oath in the house of Abdullah bin
Jadaan. I wouldnt like for me to have red she-camels in exchange for witnessing
that pact I wouldnt trade my presence there & witnessing that pact take place
for the most valuable things in the world. If I was called to take part in that pact
today, with Islam & Shariah established, I would go.
Red-she camels at the time were like ferarris today. The Prophet was saying that
he wouldnt trade his presence at the pact-drawing for any materialistic things.
Essentially, he was very proud of this moment in his tribes history
This pact was in the cause of social justice & ethics, even though it was in the preIslam period & conjured by idolworshippers in an era of ignorance. The pact was
vital in the role of Islamic ethics shariah, & thus the pact was praised by the
Prophet
Hussain (ra) ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib ibn Abdul Mutallib (grandson of
Muhammad) and Al Walid, grandson of Abu Sufyan had a disagreement over
money
Walid was the amir of Medina at the time his uncle Mua (ra) had appointed

him
Walid used his position as a leader to take advantage of Hussain, threw his
political weight to take advantage of Hussain
Hussain said to Walid, I swear by Allah, that you will fulfill my right to me, or
Ill pick up my sword if I have to. Walid, you will pay me my money or I will take
my sword & stand in the masjid of the Prophet & call for the Hilf al-Fudul
Abdullah bin Zubair (ra) says to Hussain, If Hussain bin Ali calls for the Hilf alFudul, then by the virtue of that oath, I will also take my sword & stand by him in
the masjid of Prophet & support him. I will die pursuing his right to be fulfilled.
Miswar bin Rama said, Same here, I will also take my sword & stand by Hussain
by virtue of that oath & make sure that Hussains right is fulfilled.
Abdul Rahman bin Uthman said, I will also take my sword & stand in the masjid
of the Prophet & support Hussain until his right is fulfilled by virtue of the pact.
More & more of the Sahaba & the children of the Sahaba express their support of
Hussain by virtue of the Hilf al-Fudul
Finally this news reaches Walid, who gives Hussain his right, My bad. Heres
your payment.
This event took place long after Muhammads passing. This event was significant
because the Sahaba called on this pact (which took place 50+ years ago) to settle
a dispute to support a cause of justice
Tariq Ramadan draws 3 principles from this pact:
Islam embraces values derived from the human conscience that are outside of the
Islamic tradition. This is because Muhammad had acknowledged a pact before
revelation, in the pre-Islamic era.
Islam acknowledges the righteousness of non-Muslims. In this case, the nonMuslims had defended justice and the oppressed.
Islam, instead of building allegiance to a closed community, requires allegiance to
a set of universal principles. The message of Islam is not a closed value system, or
at variance or conflict with other value systems.

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