The Pledges of Aqabah

Part oneSix men, then twelve

Every year in the sacred months, Arab tribes came to Makkah for pilgrimage and trade. The camps and markets around Mina and Makkah filled with people from all over Arabia. The Prophet ﷺ made a habit of going from camp to camp, telling them about Allah and asking who would shelter him, so that he could deliver his Lord's message. His uncle Abu Lahab trailed behind him, telling people not to listen. One tribe, the Banu Amir, listened with interest, then asked whether they would rule after him if they followed. He told them that was for Allah to place where He willed, and they went away. Tribe after tribe turned him down.

In c. 620 CE, in the 11th year of the prophethood, he met six men from the Khazraj tribe at al-Aqabah, a spot on the road at Mina. They came from Yathrib, an oasis town more than four hundred kilometres to the north. They sat and listened as he recited the Quran, and something in it reached them.

Yathrib was a divided place. Two Arab tribes, the Aws and the Khazraj, had fought each other for years, and the recent battle of Bu'ath had drained both. Beside them lived Jewish clans who talked of a prophet to come. The six men looked at one another and wondered whether this was the man they had heard of. They accepted Islam and promised to carry it home. They hoped, they said, that Allah would bring their people together through him.

The next year the pledge grew. Twelve men from Yathrib met the Prophet ﷺ at al-Aqabah, ten from the Khazraj and two from the Aws. They gave their word that they would worship Allah alone, and not steal, commit adultery, kill their children or slander anyone, and that they would obey him in what was right. This is called the First Pledge of Aqabah.

From the hadith

Narrated 'Ubada bin As-Samit:

who took part in the battle of Badr and was a Naqib (a person heading a group of six persons), on the night of Al-'Aqaba pledge: Allah's Apostle said while a group of his companions were around him, "Swear allegiance to me for:

1. Not to join anything in worship along with Allah.

2. Not to steal.

3. Not to commit illegal sexual intercourse.

4. Not to kill your children.

5. Not to accuse an innocent person (to spread such an accusation among people).

6. Not to be disobedient (when ordered) to do good deed."

The Prophet (ﷺ) added: "Whoever among you fulfills his pledge will be rewarded by Allah. And whoever indulges in any one of them (except the ascription of partners to Allah) and gets the punishment in this world, that punishment will be an expiation for that sin. And if one indulges in any of them, and Allah conceals his sin, it is up to Him to forgive or punish him (in the Hereafter)." 'Ubada bin As-Samit added: "So we swore allegiance for these." (points to Allah's Apostle)

Part twoMus'ab in Yathrib

When the twelve left, they asked for someone to teach them. The Prophet ﷺ sent Mus'ab ibn Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him), a young man from a wealthy Makkan family who had given up comfort for Islam. He stayed in Yathrib with As'ad ibn Zurarah (may Allah be pleased with him), one of the six, and went from house to house reciting the Quran and explaining the faith. His gentle manner won people over.

Not everyone welcomed him at first. It is reported that Usayd ibn Hudayr (may Allah be pleased with him), a chief of the Aws, came at Mus'ab with his spear, angry that he was turning the young people from their old ways. Mus'ab asked him only to sit and listen, and to leave if he disliked what he heard. Usayd planted his spear and sat, and before he stood up he had accepted Islam. He then sent his friend Sa'd ibn Mu'adh to hear for himself. Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him), also a chief of the Aws, heard Mus'ab recite and accepted Islam. He went back to his clan and told them that he would not speak to any of them until they believed. By evening, the whole clan had become Muslim. Within a year there were Muslims in almost every household of the Aws and the Khazraj. A town that had been divided by feuds began to find that it had a common faith. That was no small thing, because it would soon be asked to shelter a leader.

Part threeThe second pledge, by night

In the summer of 622 CE, at the next pilgrimage season, seventy-three men and two women from Yathrib came to Makkah with a large group of pilgrims, along with others of their people who were still pagan. They kept their plans secret. During the days of the pilgrimage, one night, they slipped out of their camp one by one and gathered in the ravine at al-Aqabah to meet the Prophet ﷺ.

One of the two women was Nusaybah bint Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with her), who would later stand beside him on the battlefield. His uncle al-Abbas was there too. He had not yet accepted Islam, but he loved his nephew and wanted to be sure of the men who were taking him on. He told them that the Prophet ﷺ was safe among his own clan, and that if they took him, they would be taking on a great risk. If they could not keep the pledge, they should leave him now.

They answered that they had heard him and wanted only the Prophet ﷺ's decision. Al-Bara ibn Ma'rur (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke for them and swore that they would protect him as they protected their own families. They pledged to hear and obey in ease and in hardship, to spend in Allah's way, to speak the truth without fearing anyone's blame, and to protect him if he came to them. They asked what would be theirs in return, and he said Paradise. Then they gave him their hands.

The Prophet ﷺ asked them to choose twelve leaders from among themselves, to be responsible for their people, nine from the Khazraj and three from the Aws. Then he told everyone to return to their camps. This was the Second Pledge of Aqabah. The Quran later praised the first Muhajirun, those who migrated, and the Ansar, the helpers of Madinah, together, and this was the night the Ansar's part began.

From the Quran

وَٱلسَّـٰبِقُونَ ٱلْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُهَـٰجِرِينَ وَٱلْأَنصَارِ وَٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَـٰنٍ رَّضِىَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى تَحْتَهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ ۝١٠٠

As for the foremost—the first of the Emigrants and the Helpers—and those who follow them in goodness, Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. And He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow, to stay there for ever and ever. That is the ultimate triumph.

Part fourA door opens

The pledge changed the situation. For the first time since the call began, there was a community outside Makkah that had promised to protect him. The Quraysh heard rumours of a meeting and questioned the pilgrims from Yathrib the next morning. The pilgrims who were still pagan denied that anything of the kind had happened, and the group set off for home.

Soon afterwards, the Prophet ﷺ gave his followers in Makkah permission to emigrate to Yathrib. They began to leave quietly, in ones and twos and small families. Within weeks the road to Yathrib was busy with believers who had left their homes behind.

A town that had been divided by feuds began to find that it had a common faith.

More on How to Muslim

• guide.howtomuslim.orgLearn about IslamWhat the people of Yathrib pledged to believe.

WatchLectures for this chapter

Lecture Towards EternityO Messenger, Ep. 4: No Food, No Mercy to the Prophet's Family (opens on YouTube)

Lecture Islamic GuidanceThe Ansar Pledge Allegiance: Pledge of Aqabah (Seerah of Muhammad, part 40) (opens on YouTube)

The mapWhere it happened

• Makkah
• Mina (al-Aqabah)
• Yathrib

This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.

SourcesSources for this chapter