The Prophet's First Words in Madinah: Foundations of Peace

The Hijrah and the Foundation of the Prophetic Community

One of the most significant events in the seerah of Rasulullah ﷺ was the hijrah — his migration from Makkah Mukarramah to Madinah Munawwarah. When Rasulullah ﷺ migrated, there were many people who came to welcome him. Among those were Muslims who had accepted Islam during Hajj. There were also Jews who had resided in Madinah Munawwarah — they had come to welcome Rasulullah ﷺ, hoping that he may also be from Bani Israel. And there were others as well who came to welcome the last Prophet ﷺ.

Abdullah ibn Salam and the Face of the Prophet

Among the Jews, there was a chief rabbi of Madinah, Abdullah ibn Salam رضي الله عنه, who had also come to witness Rasulullah ﷺ. He had learned different signs to verify whether or not Rasulullah ﷺ was a true prophet. So, to verify those signs, when he came to welcome Rasulullah ﷺ, as soon as he saw him, he says that the iman entered my heart:

"As soon as I saw the face of Rasulullah ﷺ, I concluded that this is not the face of a liar."

The mere presence of Rasulullah ﷺ was da'wah. The mere looking at him would attract people to accept Islam, to fall in love with him ﷺ. And on that occasion, Rasulullah ﷺ said a small hadith which became a means of Abdullah ibn Salam رضي الله عنه accepting Islam. To the extent that this very same hadith is known as the Hadith of Abdullah ibn Salam — it is attributed to him since he is the one who narrates it. It is also the hadith of Salam, because it speaks about salam.

The Hadith of Abdullah ibn Salam: A Summary of the Entire Deen

On the momentous occasion of the Hijrah, where so many who had yet to become Muslim had gathered to see what Rasulullah ﷺ had to say, he was laying the foundation of the new prophetic community. And Rasulullah ﷺ started his words:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3251; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2485)

"O people, spread salam, feed people, pray at night while others are asleep — you will enter jannah with peace."

Rasulullah ﷺ said a few words so comprehensive that we can definitely say that this is the summary of the entire deen. He had left behind the struggle in Makkah Mukarramah, the people of Madinah had invited him to come, and now he was laying the foundation of the sacred community. These words are applicable to a believer, to a non-mu'min, and to everyone. Therefore Rasulullah ﷺ even begins by saying "O people" instead of "O believers." Here he is saying: O people, listen to the message of Islam, listen to the message of deen. I am laying the foundation of the community — what are the values upon which a community is founded?

The First Foundation: Spread Salam

Rasulullah ﷺ encourages us to follow one of the basic sunnah — to spread salam among one another:

Saying salam is one of the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ, and salam is one of the means of bringing love between one another. Rasulullah ﷺ says: the one who initiates saying salam is free of kibr — that kibr that brings about contempt in one's eye for his brother or sister, that kibr that brings about hatred and illness in one's heart. Rasulullah ﷺ is mentioning a remedy: by saying salam, by initiating salam, one's heart will be free of kibr, which will bring about respect and harmony. And that is how the community is founded.

And Rasulullah ﷺ says in another hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 54)

"You will not enter jannah until you become true believers, and you will not become true believers until you love one another. Shall I not tell you of something that if you were to do, you will begin to love one another? Spread salam amongst one another."

Salam is something that serves as one of the prerequisites of iman. It helps a person create love for other mu'mineen, which in turn allows a person to bring the quality of iman. And insha'Allah, it will lead a person to enter Darussalam — the abode of eternal peace — granted by Allah.

What does salam imply? When we say assalamu alaikum, just as it is a du'a — as Rasulullah ﷺ has taught us that whoever says assalamu alaikum to his brother, he gets 10 rewards — at the same time, when we are saying salam, we are implying and guaranteeing our brother that he is free of any harm from us. One of the scholars, Imam al-Qaysari, says that when you say assalamu alaikum, you are telling your brother or your sister:

"You are free of my harm." I am ensuring that no harm will come to you — not from my external, in that I will not hurt you physically, and not from my internal, in that I will not hurt you in any way, shape or form. That is when the true love comes for a believer. And that is one of the prerequisites to enter the fold of true iman and enter jannah. As Allah says:

"The one who rectifies himself is the one who has truly succeeded."

The Second Foundation: Feed One Another

After the first piece of advice, Rasulullah ﷺ wants us to go above and beyond. He says: wa at'imut ta'am — feed one another.

Sometimes we just restrict our deen to our individual ibadah. But in reality, deen is not only about individual ibadah. It is also about akhlaq. Just like how Rasulullah ﷺ is teaching us to make sure no one is hurt by you — now you go above and beyond that, and become a means of comfort for one another. Become a means of bringing joy and happiness to someone else. Feed people.

This was the quality that Rasulullah ﷺ inculcated in the Sahaba, to the extent that Allah revealed an ayah:

"They prefer others over themselves, even though they may be in need of that thing." Describing the quality of the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم أجمعين.

The Story of Abu Talha and His Guest

Once a guest came to Rasulullah ﷺ. He sent a messenger to his families to see if there was someone who could host this guest. The messenger came back from three different houses saying: "O Prophet of Allah, there is nothing but water." So Rasulullah ﷺ asked, "Who will host this guest of Allah and His Rasul?" One of the Sahaba, Abu Talha رضي الله عنه, said: "O Prophet of Allah, I will host your guest today."

He went home with this guest and said to his wife: "I have brought a guest of Allah and His Rasul to our house." His wife replied: "There is no food for ourselves — there was just a little food for the kids, and that is all we have." This Sahabi said: "You and I can survive without food. Let the kids go to sleep — this is the guest of Allah and His Rasul. And when I serve food to the guest, you turn off the lights, so I will pretend that I am eating." There was no food to eat except the little that would suffice for the guest. And this is how he hosted the guest of Allah and His Rasul.

The next morning, he went to the majlis of Rasulullah ﷺ. Rasulullah ﷺ said: "Allah very much loved your hospitality last night." SubhanAllah. The Sahabi was confused — what did I do so special? The Sahaba, despite doing so much for deen, despite sacrificing everything, would belittle their own actions. Because they would look at the favors of Allah upon them and always remain in a state of gratitude. They would always regard themselves as falling short in having the amount of shukr towards Allah. So a Sahabi hosted the guest of Allah and His Rasul in such a manner that Allah revealed an entire ayah about them.

This was just one incident. There are many incidents in the stories of the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم أجمعين showing that this was a quality Rasulullah ﷺ had inculcated in all of them — that they would go above and beyond to become a means of comfort for one another.

Akhlaq: The Weightiest Action on the Day of Judgment

Today, at times we restrict our ibadah to our prayers. Dear friends, our ibadah are not only our prayers. Deen is not only about ibadah — deen is also about akhlaq. In fact, the weightiest action in the scale on the Day of Judgment is akhlaq. And the worst thing that will take people towards the fire of Jahannam is the lack of akhlaq.

Rasulullah ﷺ once addressed his Sahaba and asked: "O Sahaba, tell me — who is the bankrupt person?" The Sahaba replied: "Allah and His Messenger know best." Rasulullah ﷺ said that the true muflis — the true bankrupt person — is the one who will come with loads of ibadah on the Day of Judgment, however he may have cursed someone, he may have hurt someone. So all of these people that he has hurt will line up before Allah and demand their right on that day. Allah will have the angels give his good deeds to those people he has oppressed in this life, because the only currency that works over there are the a'mal. One by one, he will have to pay them back using his a'mal. And when his a'mal are depleted and come to an end, Allah will say: now put their sins on him. SubhanAllah — he came with loads of ibadah and now, Allah forbid, will be going with loads of sins into the fire of Jahannam.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2581)

This is the effect that akhlaq has on a person. Here Rasulullah ﷺ describes such a person to be the true bankrupt.

The Third Foundation: Prayer at Night

After fixing one's akhlaq and ensuring that a person has excellent character, Rasulullah ﷺ says that is still not enough — you still have to have a good relationship with Allah. So what is that salient feature that brings about harmony in the community and connection with Allah?

"Pray at night while others are sleeping." And by mentioning tahajjud and qiyamul layl in this hadith, the other fara'id are already included by default. Therefore Rasulullah ﷺ mentions the peak of those ibadat — which is tahajjud. Have the habit of praying tahajjud, create such a bond and ta'alluq with Allah, show the utmost sincerity and ikhlas to Allah, which is only truly found in that ibadat that is tahajjud.

The Promise: Entering Jannah with Peace

When a person does all three of these actions, Rasulullah ﷺ says:

"You enter the abode of as-salam with peace." SubhanAllah. When we spread salam in this world, we enter the abode of as-salam and we hear the salam of as-salam in Darussalam. Because what is one of the greatest blessings given to the people of Jannah?

The greatest blessing that will be bestowed upon the people of Jannah is mentioned in the Quran — that they will hear the greetings of Allah. When we ensure that we greet one another, when we ensure that we become a means of peace for one another, then we receive the greetings of Allah in Jannah. When we spread salam in this world, we get the salam of as-salam in Darussalam. May Allah give us all the tawfiq.

Replicating the Prophetic Community

These are the moral values upon which a community is founded. And each and every single community should replicate the values that Rasulullah ﷺ set for the prophetic community of Madinah Munawwarah. When we have these values inculcated in us, our communities will also become like the community of Rasulullah ﷺ was in Madinah Munawwarah.

Consider the story of Thumamah ibn Uthal رضي الله عنه — he was brought as a prisoner and tied to one of the pillars in Masjid al-Nabawi. Not a single Sahabi went to him to give any da'wah. He simply observed the interactions of the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم أجمعين with one another. Three days passed by, and then Rasulullah ﷺ ordered his Sahaba to free him. Thumamah ibn Uthal went outside of Madinah, accepted Islam, and came back. SubhanAllah — such was the akhlaq of the Sahaba رضي الله عنهم أجمعين that without a single word of da'wah, without an invitation towards Islam, people were accepting Islam.

This happens when we bring about those values taught by Rasulullah ﷺ — just as it is mentioned in this hadith. This was one of the first speeches of Rasulullah ﷺ when he entered Madinah Munawwarah. And this is how Rasulullah ﷺ laid the foundation of a prophetic community. May Allah give us all the tawfiq and grant us all the ability to bring those salient features into our community as well — this Darussalam — and insha'Allah we hope that Allah will grant us the tawfiq to enter the Darussalam of eternal Jannah. Ameen.

Announcements

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An Evening with Mufti Tariq Masroor — Saturday, April 27th, after Maghrib at Masjid Darussalam, pending any disruption in his travel time.

Save the date for our Annual Retreat — Islam and Artificial Intelligence: Navigating New Frontiers in the Modern World — Friday, May 10th to Sunday, May 12th. Register at masjidds.org/retreat2024.

Moms and Kids Sessions — Nurture your little one's love for the deen in a welcoming space by joining our fun-filled session every Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., ages 0–5, sisters' side banquet hall, lower level seminary building.

Summer Programs — Darussalam offers summer programs for the entire family. For those eager to taste the sweetness of Islamic knowledge but who do not have the opportunity to do so on a full-time basis, we offer a variety of courses to fit your schedule:

• Tamhees Summer Arabic — for young adults and older brothers and sisters, ages 14+
• Quran, Islamic Studies, and Sports Camp — for kids, boys and girls, ages 6–13
• Therapy for Tots — kids and youth, boys and girls, ages 4–5

Register at masjidds.org/summer.

Weekly Programs — Team Fajr will resume tomorrow. Fajr Iqamah is at 5:15 a.m. Tuesday Tafsir will continue after Maghrib Salah — we will continue Suratul Mumtahinah. Weekly Salawat and Khatirah every Thursday after Maghrib Salah.

University of Chicago MSA Annual Quran Night — a benefit recitation for Gaza. Speakers and Quran: Sheikh Hassan Saleh, Sheikh Hassan Qassi, Qari Adib Bari, Qari Abrar Jamaluddin. Tafsir by Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmed. Saturday, May 4th at 4 p.m., Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.

Du'a Requests — Please make du'a for the Muslims of Palestine. Brother Tanweer Zaman is suffering from cancer — please make du'a for him. May Allah grant them all shifa and ease. Ameen.