Saying · Second Covenant of Aqaba
O my nephew, I don't know any of these men, and I don't feel comfortable.
Said privately to the Prophet ﷺ upon first seeing the Yathribi delegation.
In brief
A few months before the Hijrah, about 75 Muslims from Yathrib, the city later called Madinah, came to Makkah for the Hajj, hiding their faith from the pagan relatives travelling with them. On the last night of the pilgrimage they slipped out of their tents one by one to meet the Prophet ﷺ in a valley behind Aqaba. His uncle al-Abbas, still a pagan himself, spoke first and warned them to take on the Prophet ﷺ's protection only if they could truly keep it. The Prophet ﷺ recited the Qur'an and asked them to protect him as they would their own families. When one of them asked whether he would leave them once Allah gave him victory, he replied, "My blood is your blood, and my destruction is your destruction." He set out the terms: to hear and obey in hardship and in ease, to spend in the way of Allah, to command good and forbid evil, and to support him once he came to Yathrib. Their reward, he said, was Paradise. Before anyone took his hand, As'ad ibn Zurarah warned them that this meant war with the Quraysh and the loss of fathers and sons. They pledged anyway, all 72 men present, and two women by word alone. The covenant turned shared belief into an alliance, and it opened the way to the Hijrah.
Outcome: All 72 men present gave the bay'ah and were promised Jannah; two women gave their oath verbally.
The Second Covenant converted the relationship between the Prophet ﷺ and the people of Yathrib from one of shared belief into one of political and military alliance, laying the direct foundation for the Hijrah a few months later.
Other events recorded in 1 BH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
O my nephew, I don't know any of these men, and I don't feel comfortable.
Said privately to the Prophet ﷺ upon first seeing the Yathribi delegation.
O people of the Khazraj, you know the status of this man amongst us. We have protected him from his own people, even though we agree with the religion of our people. He has honor and protection amongst us. But he has decided to leave us to go over to you. If you are sure that you can live up to your conditions with him and protect him from those who disagree, then bear this responsibility. Otherwise, let him be from now, and realize that he is honored amongst his people.
Spoken publicly on the Prophet ﷺ's behalf to the assembled Yathribi delegation.
I shall give the bay'ah in return for protection: you shall protect me like one of your own.
Spoken after preaching about fearing Allah and reciting the Qur'an, once the people asked Abbas to yield the floor to him.
Ya Rasulullah, we have ties with the Jews. By accepting you, those ties will be broken, and we know it. So once you come over to our side and Allah gives us victory, will you then leave us and go back to your people?
No. My blood is your blood, and my destruction is your destruction.
Said with a smile, meaning the Prophet ﷺ would now permanently settle in Madinah, living and dying with them.
We are experienced in the arts of war: this is an easy condition. We will protect you, and no one will touch you. Stretch forth your hand and we will give you the allegiance.
You must give the bay'ah that you hear and you obey in times of difficulty and ease, that you spend in the way of Allah, that you command the good and forbid the evil, that you speak the truth no matter the consequences, and that you help me once I come to Yathrib just like you help your own family. Al-Jannah.
Set out when the people asked what phrase of bay'ah to give; the final word answers a voice that called out asking what they would receive in return.
These are people I don't know any of them. And all of them are young kids.
Said after the pledge concluded, still uneasy about the Yathribi delegation.
When we went for hajj, we hid our Islam from our pagan relatives. We all agreed to meet at a particular place, the valley behind Aqaba, in the last third of the night, and we snuck out of our tents one by one, so as not to arouse suspicion, to meet with the Prophet ﷺ. We waited for him, and eventually he ﷺ came with his uncle al-Abbas, even though al-Abbas was still upon the religion of his people.
Narrated by Ka'b ibn Malik, an eyewitness to the Second Covenant.
The Prophet ﷺ stayed for more than ten years in Makkah, preaching to the people in the hajj season. He ﷺ would ask the tribes, "Who will support me so that I can spread the Message of my Lord?" and would not find anyone embracing his faith except for a man or two, from Egypt, Yemen, and elsewhere, until Allah sent some of us from Yathrib. We accepted Islam and learned the Qur'an, then returned to our people and preached the Message, until there was not a single subtribe of Yathrib but that some among them had embraced Islam. Then Allah caused us to come together, and we said to one another, "For how long will we allow the Prophet ﷺ to be repelled from one valley to another outside Makkah, living in fear?" Allah gave us this idea.
Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdillah, an eyewitness, recounting how the people of Yathrib came to invite the Prophet ﷺ to their city.
Wait. O people of Yathrib, we have not travelled this whole distance except that we know this man is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Once his people expel him, you will be asking for war. If you are ready that your necks meet swords, then go and give him the oath of allegiance, and realize that the best of you will be killed: fathers will lose their sons, and sons will lose their fathers, and you will cause death amongst yourselves. If you are prepared for this, then give him the oath. If not, then stop now, perchance Allah will forgive you.
Spoken while holding the Prophet ﷺ's hand back, before anyone could take it in pledge.
This is Azab ibn Uzayb, the leader of the shayatin of Aqaba. I swear by Allah, O enemy of Allah, I will deal with you.
Said after a shaytan cried out in the night during the Second Covenant of Aqaba, warning the sleeping pilgrims that a group of rebels had gathered with the Sabi' (the Prophet ﷺ) to wage war against them.
I have not been commanded to do this.
Said when some of the Ansar, having heard the shaytan's cry, offered to launch a preemptive attack that night on the unsuspecting and unarmed pilgrims of the Quraysh.
إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا
“Indeed, shaytan is an enemy to you; so take him as an enemy.”
Cited regarding the desperation of the shaytan who cried out during the Second Covenant of Aqaba.