Early Days in Madina

Life in Madina

Ali arrived in Yathrib renamed as Madina-tun-Nabi or Madina in the honor of the Holy Prophet towards the close of September in the year 622 C.E. The Holy Prophet welcomed him to Madina, and appreciated his services for risking his life for him at Makkah in facing the fury of the Quraish. The Holy Prophet was glad to note that the task allotted to Ali at Makkah had been properly and satisfactorily done by him.

The world of Madina was quite different from the world of Makkah. At Makkah the Muslims were a persecuted people; at Madina they were the masters of their destiny. At Makkah they were surrounded by enemies; at Madina they were in the midst of friends. The life at Madina marked a break with the past. The days of trials, tribulations and tortures were over and the Muslims were now set on the path of fulfillment. The Muslims were now to build a new society and a new common wealth.

The climate of Makkah was dry, but the climate of Madina was damp. The landscape of Makkah was marked by barren rocks, and stony wastes; the landscape of Madina was market by agricultural fields, gardens, and groves of date palms. The change in the physical scene affected the health of the emigrants, and some of them including Abu Bakr fell sick. Ali withstood the climatic change without being affected in health. He spent most of his time in nursing the sick and helping them in adjusting themselves to the new environments.

Brotherhood between the emigrants and the Muslims of Madina

The Madinites felt honored to have the Holy Prophet and his companions in their midst, and in order to insure the comfort and well being of their friends from Makkah they were prepared to undergo any sacrifice themselves. Under the electrifying influence of Islam, the Madinites came to develop such traits of character which are unique and without a parallel in the annals of mankind.

The emigrants from Makkah were not to adjust themselves to the changed physical environments alone, they had to adjust themselves to changed social environments as well. To bring about such adjustment and rehabilitation the Holy Prophet established a fraternity among the Muslims from Makkah and those of Madina whereunder each emigrant was paired with a resident of Madina of the corresponding status. For their selflessness and help in the rehabilitation of the emigrants from Makkah in the society of Madina, the Madinites came to be known as "Ansars"-helpers. The brotherhood that was established in Madina during this period shows to what heights men can rise when they are motivated by some noble purpose. The bonds established as a consequence of this brotherhood surpassed the ties of blood relationship.

According to the accounts that have come down to us the Holy Prophet paired all emigrants except Ali with the Ansar. According to some traditions quoted by Arman Sarhadi in his book Ali b Abu Talib, Ali felt great disappointment in being passed over in the process of pairing. It is stated that Ali went weeping to his house where he was consoled by his wife Fatima. Later the Holy Prophet paired Ali with himself declaring that Ali was to him what Haroon was to the prophet Moses.

It is difficult to believe in the veracity of this tradition. By this time Ali was still unmarried, and it is prima facie untrue that his wife Fatima consoled him. Ali was a man of great courage who could face any ordeal, and he was not the man to weep because he was not paired with any Ansar. At this time Ali was a member of the family of the Holy Prophet. Ali had not acquired an independent identity of his own so far apart from being a member of the family of the Holy Prophet and the question of pairing him with any Ansar did not arise.

Implications of the pairing of the Holy Prophet and Ali

The pairing of the Holy Prophet and Ali was a matter of great significance, and it had deep implications and repercussions. In the various source books that have come down to us, no light is thrown on such implications. We will, therefore, have to undertake an exercise on our own account in spelling out the underlying implications. In the process of brotherhood-formation every emigrant from Makkah was paired with an Ansar of Madina. The Holy Prophet was himself an emigrant from Makkah, and the question that arises for consideration is: why did the Holy Prophet not pair himself with any Ansar of Madina ? To be paired with the Holy Prophet was a great honor, and many Ansars coveted this honor. If the Holy Prophet had shown preference for some particular Ansar that would have been a cause for jealousy on the part of the other Ansars who equally coveted the honor. In Madina the status of the Holy Prophet was that of a ruler, and if he had shown preference for some particular Ansar, that would have been a cause of heart burning for the other Ansar. The Holy Prophet did not pair himself with any Ansar because of his impartiality.

A consequence of the pairing of the emigrants and the Ansars was that the emigrants shared with the Ansar their income and property. If the Holy Prophet did not pair with any particular Ansar the question is what was the source of income of the Holy Prophet in Madina? When the Holy Prophet in order to maintain his impartially did not choose to have a share in the income and property of a particular Ansar, it implies that he had his share in the income and property of all Ansars. It is a common practice with religious fraternities that each person belonging to the fraternity contributes a certain percentage of his income to the common fund of the fraternity which is places at the disposal of the head of the fraternity. It appears that the Ansars of Madina constituted some common fund of similar nature and placed it at the disposal of the Holy Prophet. Presumably some property was also placed at the disposal of the Holy Prophet the income whereof could be utilized to meet his expenses as well as other common needs. The emigrants from Makkah were traders, and in Madina as well they undertook trading activities. Indeed Madina offered more trading opportunities than Makkah. The Holy Prophet ran some sort of business at Makkah which was managed by Ali. It appears that the same business was continued in Madinah. As the Holy Prophet had to devote a good deal of his attention to the affairs of the State, the responsibility for running the business enterprise rested a good deal on Ali. The Holy Prophet and Ali were already cousins and the brotherhood constituted signified that the ties between the Holy Prophet and Ali became still closer and stronger, and they shared each other's property.

Masjid-i-Nabwi

In 623 C.E. the Holy Prophet decided to build a mosque in Madina which was to be a prayer house as well as a community center. The Holy Prophet asked the Muslims to offer their services in labor as well as capital towards the construction of the mosque. Ali was the first person to offer his services as laborer. He shoveled the earth when the foundations were being laid and later carried on baskets of brick and mortar which he passed on to the masons. Ali composed some verses for the occasion, and he recited them as he worked as a laborer. Some of these verses which have been preserved are: "Whoever builds a mosque and works whether sitting or standing puts up with the pain of labor, while others shirk work for fear of dust and pain. Both of these verily cannot equal each other". As the other Muslims labored they chanted: "There is no life but the life of the next world, O God have mercy on the Muhajireen and the Ansar". Within a few months the mosque was completed. It was square in form, and each side measured fifty yards. The mosque faced towards the north, and had three gates on each of the remaining three sides. Adjoining the mosque apartments were constructed for the household of the Holy Prophet. Ali also had an apartment in the mosque. The mosque was a monument of simplicity. The walls were made of mud bricks and the roofs were supported by trunks of palm trees. The apartments for the household were hung with blankets of camel hair as doors. The courtyard in each case was hardly six to seven paces in length, and the length of the rooms did not extend ten paces.