After the Prophet (peace be upon him) overpowered the Quraysh and regained Makkah in an almost bloodless conquest, all Arabia began to recognize his authority. Tribes from far and wide sent delegations to Madinah to establish good relations and declare allegiance. While the conflict with the Quraysh, the major Arab tribe, was going on, other tribes adopted a policy of wait and see. They did not wish to be on the wrong side of the Quraysh, fearing that should it be successful in their attempt to suppress Islam, they would suffer at their hands. Now that the Quraysh resistance was at an end, and most, if not all, its people became Muslims, other tribes began to look at Islam on its merits. They recognized its truth. Since there was no history of conflict with the Muslim state, they were willing to accept Islam. The Prophet sent groups of his companions to many tribes advocating Islam and explaining its principles and values.
Delegations were arriving in Madinah either to confirm their positions of loyalty or to find out more about Islam. One such delegation was from the Azd tribe. One man in the delegation, Alqamah ibn Yazid reports:
I was one of seven men who were sent as a delegation from our tribe to the Prophet. When we entered the mosque and spoke to him, he was pleased with our appearance. He asked us what we were. We said: “We are believers.” The Prophet smiled and said: “Every statement must have a substance. What is the substance of your statement and your beliefs?” Our answer was: “Fifteen characteristics, five of which we were ordered to believe in by your messengers, and five we were ordered by them to implement, and five were part of our moral code, prior to Islam, which we still maintain unless you reject any of them.” The Prophet asked: “What are the five in which my messengers have ordered you to believe?” We said: “They have ordered us to believe in God, His angels, His books, His messengers and in resurrection after death.”
The Prophet asked: “What are the five that my messengers have ordered you to implement?” We said: “They have ordered us to declare that there is no deity other than God, to attend regularly to our prayers, to pay zakah, fast in the month of Ramadan and offer pilgrimage to the House if we are able to do so.”
The Prophet then asked us: “And what are the five which you have adopted in pre-Islamic days?” Our answer was: “To be thankful in times of plenty and to be patient in times of trial, and to accept the turns of fate, and to show our commitment and dedication when we meet the enemy, and not to express pleasure at misfortunes befalling our enemy.” The Prophet commented: These people are wise and learned. Indeed, they are so wise that they approach the degree of prophets.” He then said: “I am adding five more qualities so that you have 20 in all. If you are truly as you have described, then do not accumulate what you cannot eat; do not build houses you shall not use for living; do not compete for something you are leaving behind tomorrow; have fear of God, to whom you shall return and be accountable; and look forward to what you are certainly facing and that in which you shall remain for ever.”
The dialogue between this delegation and the Prophet hardly needs any comment. It is clear that the delegation represented a community with a sound moral code. When the Prophet’s emissaries advocated Islam among them, they were quick to respond positively to it. Their delegation meant to establish stronger contacts with the Prophet and to learn more about Islam and its principles.
The Prophet wished to push this tribe a step further on the ladder of strong faith. Hence, he added five more qualities to their 15 sound ones. These five concentrate on defining the aim of one’s pursuit in life. It should always be geared toward gaining God’s acceptance in the hereafter. Hence, the Prophet advises them not to try to accumulate wealth, or build houses and palaces they would not use. They must remember that there will come a day when they depart this life. On such a day, they will leave behind all that they have and go to God with nothing other than their faith and good deeds. Remembering the hereafter provides the strongest motive to do good and to avoid evil. It is in the hereafter that we have to account for our deeds before God. Since the hereafter represents an everlasting life in which our fate depends on what we do in this present life, then we must always try our best to improve our position there by keeping to what is right in this our first life.
Another delegation of believers was that of the tribe of Abd Al-Qays. The Prophet gave them a warm reception saying: “Welcome to you people. You will suffer neither humiliation nor regret.” As they explained their situation, they had a request to make. They said: “Messenger of God! Our route to you passes by the idolaters of Mudar, and we cannot reach you safely except in the sacred months.” This was a reference to the frequent, often unjustified, raids Arabian tribes were launching on others. Since this tribe’s route passed by a tribe that was hostile to them, they could only travel in the four Sacred Months when Arabian tribes refrained from fighting.
Because of this difficulty, the delegation had a request to make. They said to the Prophet: “Teach us some important things which would ensure our admittance into heaven if we implement them.” “The Prophet said: “I command you to do four things and I forbid you four others. I command you to believe in God alone, declaring that there is no deity other than God, to attend regularly to prayers, to pay the zakah, to fast in the month of Ramadan, and to give one fifth of the spoils of war to the Islamic state.” He also forbade them the use of four types of containers that they used to make intoxicant drinks.
Other reports of the visit of this delegation to Madinah suggest that drinking was very common among those people and they had a variety of drinks for which they used different methods and containers to brew. Their habit caused them much trouble. Hence the Prophet wanted to emphasize the need to abide by the Islamic code of conduct that forbids all drinking and all intoxicants.
