Quote · 1 AH
Every subtribe will be left with their own responsibilities they had before Islam: they shall take care of their own blood-money disputes, their own prisoners of war, and their own poor.
~1 AH (622-623 CE), in the early Madani period · 1 AH
Strength of the report
The constitution is not preserved with a full chain of narrators (isnad) in any early source; Ibn Ishaq transmits it in full without an isnad, and only one phrase is separately attested with an isnad in Musnad Imam Ahmad. Some have therefore doubted it was ever issued, though most modern scholars consider it authentic on the strength of its archaic language and its naming of many otherwise-unknown subtribes, which would be an unlikely thing to fabricate.
Not long after the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah, he built the mosque and paired each emigrant from Makkah (the Muhajirun) with a Muslim of Madinah (the Ansar) as brothers, a pairing called the muakha. He ﷺ then issued a written constitution that governed the whole city, which was still called Yathrib at the time.
The constitution named, one by one, around 40 Muslim subtribes from the Quraysh and from Yathrib, including the clans of the Aws and the Khazraj. It also named around a dozen Jewish tribes. It set out terms as well for the pagans who still lived in Yathrib at this stage. Its clauses can be grouped into four parts: those for the Muslims, those for the Jews, those for the pagans, and those for the whole community.
Several features suggest that the document is early and authentic. It calls the city "Yathrib," not yet "Madinah." It does not yet use "Muhajirun" and "Ansar" as fixed titles. Its language is archaic, and it lists many subtribes whose names are now obscure. Ibn Ishaq preserves it in full, though without a complete chain of narrators (isnad). Musnad Imam Ahmad separately preserves one phrase of it with a chain.
Outcome: It founded the first Islamic state. The Muslims, the Jewish tribes and the pagans of Yathrib were joined in one political federation. Each community kept its internal autonomy, all shared in the city's defence, and disputes between them were referred to the Prophet ﷺ.
For the first time in Arabia, the constitution defined belonging by faith rather than by lineage. The Ansar, the Muhajirun and anyone who later accepted Islam became one ummah (community), whatever their tribe. So a former slave like Bilal ibn Rabah RA and a nobleman like Abu Bakr RA stood as equals within it. It also showed the Prophet ﷺ's justice towards the Jews of Madinah. It described them as an ummah "along with" (ma'a) the believers, not beneath them. They ran their own internal affairs, and they shared equally with the Muslims in the cost of defending the city. The constitution put in writing what was already true. The Prophet ﷺ was the accepted ruler of Madinah, and disputes between its different communities would be brought to him. Anyone who committed a crime, Muslim or not, would be held to account. Each tribe kept its own customary law (urf) as long as it did not conflict with the shariah. There is no mention of jizya, the tax later paid by non-Muslim subjects, because the verses about it had not yet been revealed. Together with the building of the mosque and the muakha, the constitution completed the founding of the first Islamic state.
The First Year in Madinah·Chapter 8 of 12The Constitution
See the whole storyOther events recorded in 1 AH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
Every subtribe will be left with their own responsibilities they had before Islam: they shall take care of their own blood-money disputes, their own prisoners of war, and their own poor.
All of the Muslims shall unite against those who do injustice, even if it be one of their own.
The dhimmah granted by the Muslims is the same, and even the lowliest of them can give protection.
The Muslims from the Quraysh and Yathrib, and those who join them, are one ummah, and this ummah is unto itself, to the exclusion of the rest of mankind.
Between the two shall be mutual support against those who fight the subjects of this constitution, and the Jews will spend along with the Muslims as long as they are being fought.
The two refers to the Muslims and the Jews, the constitution's two named ummahs of Madinah.
اليهود أمة مع المؤمنين
All of these Jews are one ummah, along with the Believers.
This followed the Constitution naming each of Madinah's roughly twelve Jewish tribes individually.
Any Jew who wishes to embrace Islam shall be helped and protected, and no injustice shall be done to him.
No Jew shall leave Madinah without my permission.
No mushrik shall offer protection to the Quraysh, even in return for life or money, nor shall he in any way come between the Quraysh and the Believers.
The interior of Yathrib is a Haram for the subjects of this constitution. This is the Haram: bounded at east and west by the two labba, and at south and north by the mountains of Ayr and Thawr.
Whatever disagreement occurs between the peoples of this constitution which leads to internal fasad shall be decided by Allah and His Messenger.
It will not be allowed for any Believer who agrees to this constitution, and believes in Allah and the Last Day, to help or support any rebel. Whoever does so will have the curse of Allah, the angels, and all of mankind, and no good deed will be accepted from him.
Whoever leaves Madinah shall be safe, and whoever stays in Madinah shall be safe, except for anyone who does an injustice or sin. And Allah will protect those who are pious and righteous, and Muhammad ﷺ is His Messenger.