Can we have a treaty or not?
Relaying, as emissary, the opening question of the delegation of Thaqif.
Yes, if you embrace Islam, we can have a treaty.
~Ramadan, 9 AH · 9 AH
In brief
In Ramadan of the ninth year of the Hijrah, the leaders of Thaqif, the people of Ta'if and the last pagan tribe of the Hejaz, came to Madinah to make terms with the Prophet ﷺ. They came all together and afraid, because they had killed one of their own chiefs, Urwah ibn Mas'ud, for calling them to Islam. They greeted the Prophet ﷺ rudely, yet he housed them as honoured guests in a tent inside his mosque. For about ten days they bargained through a go-between. They agreed to give up interest, sex outside marriage and wine, reasoning that if the Companions could do it, so could they. Their idol al-Lat would be destroyed, though the Muslims, not they, would do it. They were refused any exemption from prayer. They were at first excused from zakat and jihad, but as they left the Prophet ﷺ said, "They shall give zakat and they shall go for jihad." The delegates became Muslims and fasted the last days of Ramadan with the Muslims. They went home under their youngest member, who had spent his time learning the Qur'an. Soon afterwards al-Lat was torn down and a mosque built in its place, and in time Thaqif accepted Islam wholeheartedly.
The Prophet ﷺ first excused Thaqif from zakat and jihad, and then said a few days later that they would give zakat and go for jihad. This raises a major question of Islamic law. Some scholars see it as a one-off belonging to the Prophet ﷺ alone, who knew that faith would soon fill their hearts. Others see it as showing that a Muslim leader may accept imperfect conditions from new converts for a time, before full practice is expected. Either way, nothing was conceded on tawhid, the oneness of Allah, or on prayer. The episode shows a wider principle of patience with new Muslims. What is not yet right in their practice is overlooked, though never approved, while their faith grows.
The Expedition of Tabuk·Chapter 11 of 15Thaqif comes in
See the whole storyThe Year of Delegations·Chapter 3 of 15Thaqif
See the whole storyThe siege was lifted with a prayer for their guidance; the Thaqif came to Madinah the next Ramadan.
The killing of their own chief when he preached to them brought the Thaqif to terms.
Other events recorded in 9 AH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
Riba, zina, wine, al-Lat, and no excuse from prayer.
Can we have a treaty or not?
Relaying, as emissary, the opening question of the delegation of Thaqif.
Yes, if you embrace Islam, we can have a treaty.
We have heard that riba is not allowed.
Allah has forbidden riba.
But all of our money is riba.
You get back your principal: the original amount.
How about zina? We are merchants and we travel a lot, so we need to do zina.
Allah has forbidden zina.
How about our idol, al-Lat?
It shall be destroyed.
Give us some time before it is destroyed: three years... two years... one year... down to a single month.
No. You do not get any time at all.
Fine, but we cannot be the ones to destroy it ourselves.
You don't have to. We will take charge of that.
We cannot bow our backs down because of the cold weather, so can you forgive us from the salah?
There is no good in any religion that has no salah in it.
Okay, forgive us from wudu, then: Ta'if gets very cold.
Then forgive us from zakat and jihad.
You are forgiven from zakat and jihad.
They shall give zakat and they shall go for jihad.
Said to the Companions a few days later, once the delegation of Thaqif had already departed.
Bilal reassures them at suhur and at iftar.
I have just come, and even the Prophet ﷺ is still eating.
The newly-converted delegates of Thaqif, cautious in their new practice, protested at suhur that the sun had already risen.
I have come to you only after the Prophet ﷺ broke his fast.
At iftar, the delegates hesitated to eat, saying the sun had not yet set.
Uthman ibn Abi al-As, who spent the fortnight learning Qur'an.
The youngest of the delegation of Thaqif; embraced Islam before the rest of the group and spent his days studying the Qur'an with the Prophet ﷺ and Islam with Abu Bakr RA, rather than sitting with the elders in their guest tent.
Why don't you make Uthman their leader?
Appointed leader of the delegation of Thaqif by the Prophet ﷺ, on Abu Bakr RA's suggestion, despite being its youngest member.
The post directly references this ayah's prohibition of zina, cited to the Thaqif delegation.
Thematically resonant with Thaqif's refusal to bow in salah, though this Makkan-era ayah predates the 9 AH incident by years and is not its asbab al-nuzul.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْأَنصَابُ وَالْأَزْلَامُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“O believers! Intoxicants, gambling, idols, and drawing lots for decisions, are all evil of satan's handiwork. So shun them so you may be successful”
Quran 5:90 (khamr prohibition, already-revealed) was quoted back to Thaqif when they asked to keep drinking khamr.