How the Prophet ﷺ United the Divided | Jumu'ah Khutbah | Dr. AbdulRazzak Junaid

How the Prophet ﷺ United the Divided

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that there is none worthy of worship except Him. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, and that he is His advisor and friend, and that he is the best of His creation, and that he is entrusted with His revelation.

All praise is due to Allah, our creator, the originator and designer of the heavens and the earth, and upon the best of creation, Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. Sallu 'ala Rasulillah.

We send our salutations upon him, his family, his companions, and all those that follow them in goodness till the end of times. Allahumma aj'alna minhum.

The Divided Tribes of Medina Before Islam

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, before the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came to Medina, and before Islam entered into Medina, the two Arab tribes, Aus and Khazraj, whose roots go back to Yemen, were in over a hundred years of tribal wars, and tribal feuds, and grudges that went generations.

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, before he came to them, and before Islam came to them, they were completely divided. And one of the main reasons for this was the Yahud that were there in Medina, who would cause civil strife between them — by fueling those grudges, by fueling those battles, and by taking sides. And even, subhanAllah, the Yahud that were there would threaten some of the members of Khazraj, that when that Prophet of ours is to come, we will come after you.

And so, subhanAllah, the words of the Yahud actually planted the seeds of Islam in the hearts of the Ansar. Look how Allah works. When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, later in the Meccan Sira, every year when the tribes would come from all across the Arabian Peninsula to do pilgrimage in Mecca al-Mukarramah, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would use it as an opportunity to do da'wah to them, and to explain Islam to them, so that he could have an ally.

And all of the tribes that were coming were refusing, except six men that belonged to Medina — Yathrib at the time — from Khazraj. And when they heard the message of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and when Islam was explained to them, they said amongst themselves:

This is that Prophet that they said — when his time comes, قَدْ أَظَلَّ زَمَانُهُ — they said to the Ansar, they said to Khazraj: when he comes, we will join him and we will fight you:

We'll fight you like it was done to Aad and Iram. And so they said to themselves, amongst themselves: let's not let them beat us to him صلى الله عليه وسلم. And so that was one of the main reasons as to them accepting Islam — one of the reasons.

The Bay'ah of Aqaba and the Prophet's Promise

And every year after that, the Ansar — yet to be named Ansar of course — coming from Medina in batches, more and more people accepting Islam each year at the pledge of Aqaba. At the second year, when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم made the bay'ah with them, and they took their pledge to Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم and to Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, one of them had a concern — Abu al-Haytham.

And he said, Ya Rasulullah, we have agreements and covenants between us and the people in Medina, in Yathrib — the Yahud. We have hibal between us, covenants. And so if we join you, we're going to have to break those covenants. And so if Allah were to give you victory — hawakallah — would you leave us and go back to your people? Would you leave us and go back to the people of Mecca?

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, he said to them, smiling:

(Reported in Sirah Ibn Hisham and Musnad Ahmad)

We're going to be sharing blood. When we lose, we lose together. When we win, we win together. I'm from you, and you're from me. I'll fight who you fight, and I'll make peace with who you make peace with. We'll become one.

Brotherhood in Medina

And so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم — sallu 'ala Rasulillah — he was able to unite the divided. Those same two tribes that were at war for hundreds of years. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came to Medina and he taught them brotherhood. He told them:

None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 13; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 45)

He taught them صلى الله عليه وسلم:

Don't have hatred amongst one another. Don't have jealousy amongst one another. And be servants of Allah as brothers. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6076; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2559)

Look at how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم united those that were once divided. And Allah revealed:

Remember the blessing of Allah upon you. When you used to be enemies, and Allah joined your hearts, and through the blessing of Islam — through Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم — He made you all brothers.

And so the Ansar from the early Medinan period of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم — where he is establishing brotherhood, he is establishing community — they became one ummah. No longer Aus, Khazraj, Qurashi — this or that — but all Muslim brothers. And they fought alongside the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in all of his battles. They were there in Badr, they were there in Uhud, in Khandaq, in Hudaybiyyah, until the conquest of Mecca, and Ta'if, and Khaybar.

The Ansar's Hurt After Hunayn

And so many people start to now accept Islam, and Islam is just growing and growing and growing — until Hunayn. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, with the spoils of all of these conquests, he is giving them intentionally to the new Muslims from the conquest of Mecca, from Quraysh, in order to bring them and attract them to Islam. But the Ansar were hurt — they were hurt — that we were with Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم this whole time, we fought alongside him, we did everything. But why is he prioritizing them?

In fact, some of the young from the Ansar said:

The Prophet has now met his people. (Reported in Sahih Muslim, Book 12, Hadith 2437)

They were hurting inside. And so Sa'd ibn Ubadah رضي الله عنه, a leader from amongst the Ansar, tells the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم what conversations and feelings are going on, what's hurting inside. And so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم asked Sa'd, he said: Ya Sa'd, what do you think about this? What do you have to say?

He said:

I am just a man from my people.

The Prophet's Address to the Ansar

And so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gathers the Ansar — privately, just him and the Ansar. And he speaks to them. He praises Allah. And he tells them:

I have heard some words that have been said. You are harboring some feelings inside about me. (Reported in Sahih Muslim, Book 12, Hadith 2437)

I know what it is. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم tells them:

Did I not come to you misguided and Allah guided you? Did I not come to you poor and Allah enriched you? Did I not come to you when you were once enemies and Allah joined your hearts together? (Sahih Muslim, Book 12, Hadith 2437)

They said: بَلَى. Of course, Ya Rasulullah. المَنُّ وَالفَضْلُ لِلَّهِ وَلِرَسُولِهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم.

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then says to them: why don't you answer me? They said: what do you mean? How can we answer you, Ya Rasulullah? He said: if you wanted —

If you wanted, by Allah, you could have said — and you would have spoken the truth and I would have affirmed it — that you came to us belied and rejected, and we believed in you; that you came to us abandoned and betrayed, and we cared for you and we were with you. (Sahih Muslim, Book 12, Hadith 2437)

You could have said this, O Ansar. And then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم speaks to them heart to heart. And he said: I gave them from these little spoils of war of the dunya in order to attract them to Islam, and I entrusted you, O Ansar, with your Islam.

And then he said:

O Ansar, are you not pleased that the people leave with their sheep and camels, and you leave with Rasulullah ﷺ? (Sahih Muslim, Book 12, Hadith 2437)

And he said to the Ansar:

By the One in Whose Hand is my soul — were it not for the Hijrah, I would have been a man from the Ansar. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3779)

And he told them صلى الله عليه وسلم that if all the people were to take a valley and the Ansar were to take a valley, I would take the valley of the Ansar.

And the Ansar at this point were all in tears, their beards soaked with their tears. And they said to Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم:

We are pleased with Rasulullah ﷺ as our share. (Sahih Muslim, Book 12, Hadith 2437)

My dear brothers and sisters, look at how Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم was able to unite those that were once divided.

The believers are brothers.

Aqulu ma tasma'oon, wa astaghfirullaha li wa lakum wa li sa'ir al-Muslimeen, fastaghfiruhu innahu huwa al-Ghafoor al-Raheem.

The Keys to Victory from Surah Al-Anfal

Alhamdulillahi rabb il-'alameen, was-salatu was-salamu 'ala sayyidina wa nabiyyina wa habibina Muhammad wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'een. Sallu 'ala Rasulillah.

Allah in Surah Al-Anfal gives us the keys to victory. Historically, Muslims would read Surah Al-Anfal before battles. It is also the Surah of Badr. Throughout this Surah, Allah calls out to the believers: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا. These special ayat give us the answer to our problems in today's world. They give us the answer to victory.

Allah tells us: Believers, when you meet your foes, when you meet your enemies — فَاثْبُتُوا — stand firm. Don't be shaky. وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا — be people who remember Allah. Be people of Qur'an. Be people that study the ahadith of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ. That's number one.

وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ — Obey Allah, obey His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم. وَلَا تَنَازَعُوا — and don't quarrel amongst one another, don't fight with your Muslim brothers. فَتَفْشَلُوا — and if you fight amongst one another, you will lose. وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ — your strength will go. وَاصْبِرُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ — and be patient. Indeed Allah is with the patient.

Do Not Be Divided — A Call to Unity

My dear brothers and sisters, the political powers in today's world — the hidden enemies, the apparent enemies — they have weaponized sectarianism. They have weaponized nationalism. And they use it against us. We are one Ummah. The Ummah of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم.

They put us against one another. They tell us: you're not just one Muslim Ummah — but you're Jordanian, you're Palestinian, you're Algerian, you're Tunisian. Putting one community against another. Constantly making reasons for us to be divided. They use this against us. The colonial powers: divide and conquer. We have to be aware of this. We have to know what they have been plotting. They want us to be divided. They don't want us to be united. Because when we're united, they don't stand a chance.

Because when we're united, what happens in Gaza would not happen. If we're united, what happens to the Muslim world today would not be happening. Are we not tired as an Ummah? Are we not tired as an Ummah — where our women are oppressed, our children slaughtered, our people stepped on — and we are billions of Muslims?

Do we really have the time to fight amongst ourselves? Do we really have the time to say: Mawlid is this, and this is that, and this is impermissible, and this person is not a Muslim, and this person is a person of bid'ah — and our brothers and sisters are being slaughtered?

Do not quarrel amongst yourselves. Do not quarrel amongst yourselves.

The Lesson of Surah Al-Saf: One Ummah, One Building

I'll leave you with this. Allah in the Surah that has the most mention of the word Ansar — it is Surah Al-Saf. It comes in the stretch of musabbihat, where Allah warns us of two enemies: the munafiqoon and the Yahud. And He tells us to be an Ummah that is aligned in rows:

Like we are one building.

My dear brothers and my dear sisters — don't quarrel amongst Muslims. Don't fight amongst Muslims. Be united. Be under the umbrella of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم.

We face the same qibla. We love the same Messenger. We worship the same Allah. We pray the same salah. Let us be together — because we have the same mission, we have the same goal: that Islam spreads and our people are protected.