Hilf al-Fuzul

Hilf al-Fuzul,[60] the most important Qurayshi treaty,[61] was held among some branches of Quraysh tribe, because one of the Banu-Zubayd tribe had entered Mecca and sold some goods to al-`as ibn Wa'il of Banu-Sahm. The goods were delivered to al-`as ibn Wa'il who refused to pay the price to the seller. A man from Banu-Zubayd then came to Wa'il to receive his money, but he received nothing. There was a strong tribal system in Arabia in those days and every tribe tried to defend its own interests and those of its members. If a foreigner was wronged, there was nobody to help or protect him. The Zubaydi man had to climb Abu-Qubays Mount and say passionate poems to let the leaders of Quraysh hear what injustice he had suffered. At that time, these leaders had gathered below the mountain to have a meeting. Having heard the man's call for justice, Zubayr ibn `Abd al-Muttalib encouraged the leaders of Banu-Hashim, i.e. `Abd al-Muttalib, Banu-Zuhrah, Banu-Tamim and Banu-Harith (who were among the prominent clans of Quraysh) to gather at the home of `Abdullah ibn Jad`an al-Taymi. They convened a treaty according to which nobody, either weak or poor, was to be the subject of any act of injustice. Then they went to the home of al-`as and received the money for the Zubaydi man. [62] At that time, Muhammad (s) was twenty years old. [63]

The participation of Muhammad (s) in this treaty was a brave act. It is interpreted now as a symbolic act of protection of human rights in that backward and ignorant society. His brave and just act is appreciated when we notice that the youngsters of his age in those days were participating in pleasure-seeking parties and did not have any concept of protecting the oppressed or carrying out justice. After prophethood, he used to remember his participation in that treaty with a lot of joy. He said:

“I took part in a treaty at the home of `Abdullah ibn Jad`an which made me even more delighted than receiving red-haired camels. If at this era of Islam I am invited to such a pact, I will joyfully accept it.”[64]

Since this pact was superior to any other treaty, it had the name of Hilf al-Fuzul. [65] This pact was a stronghold for the homeless and the miserable. Later on, it was repeatedly used to protect the oppressed ones in Mecca against tyrants and oppressors. [66]

Second Journey to Damascus

Khadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid, was a rich, honorable and dignified trader who used to employ men for trade purposes, provide them with capital and pay them wages in return. [67] When Muhammad (s) was twenty-five years old,[68] Abu-talib said to him, “I have become broke and empty-handed. Now a caravan is on its way to Damascus. I wish you to go to Khadijah and ask for a job.”

At this time, Khadijah had become aware of Muhammad's traits of honesty and good manners. She sent an errand to him saying, “If you accept the supervision of my caravan, I will pay you more than others and I would send my special servant, Maysarah, to help you.” Muhammad (s) accepted this offer[69] and accompanied the caravan to Damascus accompanied by Maysarah. [70] He could make more money than others. [71]

Maysarah observed such feats of magnanimity in Muhammad (s) that he was surprised. During this trip, Nustur the monk predicted his prophethood. He observed that Muhammad (s) had some arguments with a man over trade. That man said, “You should swear to Lat and `Uzza so that I could accept your statement.” Muhammad (s) replied, “I have never sworn to Lat and `Uzza in my whole life.”[72] On his return to Mecca, Maysarah told Khadijah what he had seen in Muhammad (s). [73]

Marrying Khadijah

Khadijah was a farsighted, provident, honorable and dignified woman of noble lineage. She was superior to all women of Quraysh. [74] Due to her high moral standards, she was nicknamed tahirah (immaculate)[75] and Sayyidah (doyenne) of Quraysh. [76] She is said to have married twice but her previous husbands had died. [77] Every Qurayshi nobleman desired to marry her. [78] Some well-known persons such as `Uqbah ibn Abi-Mu`it, Abu-Jahl, and Abu-Sufyan had asked her for marriage but she always turned them down. [79]

On the other hand, Khadijah was a relative of Muhammad (s) and both of them had the common ancestor of Qusay. She had recognized the bright future for Muhammad (s),[80] and was pleased to accept him as her spouse. [81] She made an offer of marriage and he consulted with his uncles who accepted this marriage, which took place in a family gathering. [82] It is said that at that time, Khadijah was forty years old and Muhammad (s) was twenty-five. [83] She was his first wife. [84]

Installation of the Black Stone

Muhammad's excellent manners, honesty and decency had attracted the Meccan people so much that everybody called him amin meaning trustworthy. [85] He was so reliable that they decided to use his good judgment in the installation of the Black Stone. [86] He resolved their problem through high prudence and discretion. Due to the flood which descended from the mountains of Mecca, the walls of the Kaaba had broken on several sides. This event took place when he was thirty-five years old. Up to that day, the Kaaba had no ceiling and its walls were low. For this reason, its internal treasures were unprotected. People of Quraysh decided to build a roof; however, they were not able to carry out their plan. After the event of the flood, the leaders of the Meccan tribes decided to destroy the building to reconstruct it with a roof over it. At the time of the reconstruction, there were disagreements among the tribes over the location of the Black Stone. Once again, competitions and resorting to tribal pride surfaced. Each tribe desperately tried to have the honor of installing the stone. Some tribes, by thrusting their hands into a vessel full of blood, vowed not to let any other tribe have the honor of the installation.

Finally, upon the suggestion made by the eldest man of Quraysh, they decided to follow the opinion of the first person who would enter the Mosque from the entrance called Bab al-safa. Suddenly, Muhammad (s) entered the mosque from that direction. Everybody declared that Muhammad (s) was trustworthy and they would listen to his judgment. A piece of cloth was brought in by the order of the trustworthy man of Quraysh i.e. Muhammad (s). He spread the piece of cloth, wrapped the stone inside it and asked the Qurayshi leaders to take each corner of it and collectively carry it to the wall. As soon as the stone was taken to the wall, Muhammad (s) installed it in its original location. [87] With his delicate discretion and prudence, he solved their problem stopping a potentially huge amount of bloodshed.

`Ali in the School of Muhammad

A devastating famine occurred in Mecca after the reconstruction of the Kaaba and several years before Muhammad's prophethood. Abu-talib, the Holy Prophet's uncle, was insolvent. Muhammad made the proposal to his other uncle `Abbas who was one of the richest members of Quraysh that each one of them would take one of Abu-talib's children to his home to protect them against famine. `Abbas accepted this proposal. Both of them went to Abu-talib and offered so. Thus, `Abbas took Ja`far, and Muhammad (s) took `Ali home to protect and educate. `Ali stayed at Muhammad's home until he was promoted to the status of prophethood. Then, `Ali confirmed and followed him. [88] At that time, `Ali (a.s) was six years old and his personality was in the making. [89] Muhammad (s) wanted to compensate for the hardships Abu-talib and his wife, Fatimah bint Asad, had gone through when he was young by adopting one of his children, namely `Ali. He saw `Ali as the most competent of Abu-talib's children. This is evident by Muhammad's remark after he had adopted `Ali, “I have selected the one who has been selected by God to help me.”[90] Muhammad (s) showed a lot of respect and affection to `Ali (a.s) and did everything possible to educate him well. Fazl ibn `Abbas, one of `Ali's cousins, says:

I asked my father, “Which one of his children did the Prophet love the most?” He replied, “`Ali ibn Abi-talib.” I said, “I have asked you of the Prophet's sons.” He replied, “The Prophet loves `Ali more than any of his sons and showed affection towards him more than others. The Prophet would never let go of `Ali except for those days when he attended Khadijah's caravan. We have never seen a father more affectionate towards his son than the Prophet and we have never seen a son more obedient to his father than `Ali to the Prophet.”[91]

After his prophethood, Muhammad (s) had so much emphasis over `Ali's education in the Islamic issues that if he received a Divine revelation at night, he would teach it to `Ali before dawn. If he received Divine revelation during the day, he would inform `Ali of it before sunset. [92] Once, `Ali (a.s) was asked, “How come you learned more narrations from the Prophet than his other followers?” He answered, “Whenever I asked the Prophet anything, he would answer; and whenever I was silent, he used to start telling me a narration.”[93]

When `Ali (a.s) was the caliph, he referred to his religious education with the following remarks:

“You, followers of the Prophet, are well aware of my close relationship with him; and you know that when I was a small boy, he used to embrace me close to his breast and let me sleep in his bed in such a way that I could touch his body and feel his smell; he even used to put food into my mouth. I used to follow the Prophet like a child going after his mother. He used to teach me one of his ethical virtues each day and ordered me to adopt that virtue. Each year, he used to pray God at the Hara' Mountain; I was the only person to be with him. When he received the Divine revelation, I could vividly hear Satan's voice. I asked the Prophet what that noise was. He answered that it was Satan's noise and that it had a terrible sensation for not being obedient on the earth. He says that I could hear what he heard and see what he saw; the difference was that he was the Prophet and I was not; I was his vizier and representative for doing good on the earth.”[94]

This discourse might just refer to the Prophet's prayer at Hara’ after his prophethood, but since most of the Prophet's prayers were done at Hara’ prior to his prophethood, we can be sure that this issue is related to the era prior to his prophethood and Satan's noise of discomfort is related to the descent of the first revelations. Anyway, `Ali's spirit and continuous education from the Prophet prepared him to see and hear things which were not possible for ordinary people to hear or see. These were due to his sensitive mind, piercing eyes, sensitive ears and specific insight.