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After the Pledge (in the form of an oath had been
taken) the Prophet [pbuh] sent to Yathrib (Madinah) Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair
Al-‘Abdari [R], the first Muslim ‘ambassador’ to teach the people there the
doctrines of Islam, give them practical guidance and make attempts at propagating the
Islam among those who still professed polytheism. As‘ad bin Zurarah hosted him in
Madinah. So prepared was the ground, and so zealous the propagation that the Islam spread
rapidly from house to house and from tribe to tribe. There were various cheerful and
promising aspects of success that characterized Mus‘ab’s task. One day
Mus‘ab and As‘ad were on their way to the habitations of Bani ‘Abd
Al-Ashhal and Bani Zafar, when they went into the premises of the latter clan. There they
sat near a well conversing with some new converts. Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh and Usaid bin
Hudair, chiefs of the two clans heard of this meeting, so Usaid approached the Muslims
armed with his lance while the other Sa‘d excused himself on grounds that As‘ad
was his maternal cousin. Usaid came closer cursing and swearing and accused the two men of
befooling people weak of heart, and ordered that they stop it altogether. Mus‘ab
calmly invited him to sit saying, "If you are pleased with our talk, you can accept
it; should you hold it in abhorrence, you could freely immunize yourself against what you
hate." "That’s fair," said Usaid, pierced his lance in the sand,
listened to Mus‘ab and then heard some verses of the Noble Qur’ân. His face
bespoke satisfaction and pleasure before uttering any words of approval. He asked the two
men about the procedures pertinent to embracing Islam. They asked him to observe washing,
purge his garment, bear witness to the Truth and then perform two Rak‘a. He
responded and did exactly what he was asked to do, and then said there was a man
(Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh) whose people would never hang back if he followed the Islam.
He then left to see Sa‘d and his people. Sa‘d could immediately understand that
Usaid had changed. To a question posed by Sa‘d, Usaid said that two men were ready to
comply with whatever orders they received. He then managed a certain situation that
provided the two men with a chance to talk with Sa‘d privately. The previous scene
with Usaid recurred and Sa‘d embraced Islam, and directly turned to his people
swearing that he would never talk with them until they had believed in Allâh, and in His
Messenger. Hardly did the evening of that day arrive when all the men and women of that
sept of Arabians embraced Islam with the exception of one, Al-Usairim, who hung back until
the Day of Uhud. On that day he embraced Islam and fought the polytheists but was
eventually killed before observing any prostration in the way of prayer. The Prophet
[pbuh] commented saying: "He has done a little but his reward is great."
Mus‘ab stayed in Madinah carrying out his
mission diligently and successfully until all the houses of Al-Ansar (the future
Helpers) had Muslims elements, men and women. One family only stood obdurate to the
Islamic Da‘wah (Call). They were under the influence of the poet Qais bin
Al-Aslat, who managed to hold them at bay and screen off the Call of Islam from their ears
until the year 5 A.H.
Shortly before the approach of the following
pilgrimage season, i.e. the thirteenth year of Prophethood, Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair
returned to Makkah carrying to the Prophet [pbuh] glad tidings about the new fertile soil
of Islam in Madinah, and its environment rich in the prospects of good, and the power and
immunity that that city was bound to provide to the cause of Islam. [Ibn
Hisham 1/435; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/51]
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