One year later, between the tenth and eleventh years of Islam, efforts were made to spread this religion among other tribes. Our Master (saw) took advantage of every opportunity to present and offer Islam to those who came, but they hesitated to accept it due to negative propaganda by the people of Mecca, fearing the consequences.

These years were perhaps the most challenging for our Master, as the persecution he faced increased day by day. Mecca became unbearable for the Muslims.

Our Master would sometimes travel to the surrounding tribes, accompanied by Abu Bakr (ra) and Ali (ra) inviting the leaders of those tribes to embrace the religion of Islam. However, despite these efforts, no positive outcome was achieved, and they would return to their starting point with great sorrow. This continued for nearly two years.

Finally, a small group of six people from the Hazraj tribe in Medina (then known as Yathrib) came to Mecca. They had camped near Akaba in Mina. At that time, our Master happened to pass by them and asked:

“Who are you?”

“We are from the Hazraj tribe!”

“Are you neighbors and allies of the Jews?”

“Yes”

“Can we have a conversation with you?”

“Of course. Please, have a seat.”

The people of Medina were composed of the tribes of Aws and Khazraj. These tribes would sometimes have disputes and sometimes establish agreements with the Jews. The Jews were people of the scripture and knowledge, while the Hazraj and Aws tribes were polytheists and idolaters.

Whenever there was a rift between the Jews and other tribes, the Jews would become angry and threaten them in the following manner:

“A Messenger will come soon! The shadow of his arrival is already upon us! When he comes, we will all follow him, and then we will uproot you like the nations of Iram and Ad!”

Because of this, the people of the Hazraj and Aws tribes knew that they would encounter a Messenger in the near future. When our Master met with them and began to talk, things gradually became clear for these six individuals.

“I have been sent as a Rasul by Allah, the Rabb of all worlds... I invite you to recognize only Allah as your Rabb and to testify that I am indeed the Rasul of Allah!”

The six people from Medina were already convinced that our Master was the Rasul of Allah.

Then he recited verses from the Qur’an:

“Allah has willed for every ego/self to live the consequences of its earnings! Indeed, Allah is Sari’ul Hisab (instantly forms the results of deeds)!

This is a notice for mankind; let them be warned with it and know that HU is the ONE, the possessor of Uluhiyyah! Let those with reason, who can contemplate in depth, remember and evaluate (this truth)![1]

After these verses were recited, the people of Medina spoke to one another:

“He must be the Rasul that the Jews informed us about. Let us immediately believe in him and follow him, so that they do not surpass us and pull us to their ranks!”

And thus, they affirmed and believed in everything that our Master said, and then they spoke as follows:

“When we came here, our tribes were in a hostile and conflicting state among themselves and with the Jews. We hope that Allah, through you, will gather and unite them. We will now go back and invite them to what you have conveyed, and we will ask them to join the ranks of those who have submitted. If Allah gathers and unites them on this religion, there will be no one in a more honorable and esteemed position than you.”

 After these discussions, the first group of Muslims from Medina, consisting of Abu Umamah As’ad, Auf bin Harith, Rafi bin Malik, Qutbah bin Amir, Ukba bin Amir, and Jabir bin Abdullah, returned to their tribes and shared their experiences, inviting everyone to embrace Islam and surpass the Jews. News about Islam spread rapidly and extensively in Medina to the point that there was hardly a house where Islam and our Master were not mentioned. 

And thus, another year passed.

The following year, during the Hajj season, a group of twelve people arrived in Mecca from Medina. Six of them were those who had pledged allegiance to our Master during their previous visit, and the other six were new Muslims. The Rasul of Allah (saw) offered all of them the opportunity to pledge allegiance together, and he specified the following conditions:

1. Not associating anything or anyone with Allah.

2. Not stealing.

3. Not committing adultery.

4. Not killing children.

5. Not falsely accusing others or spreading lies.

6. Not opposing any righteous actions.

Furthermore, our Master added the following words:

“Whoever fulfills their pledge, their reward and recompense will be with Allah, and Paradise awaits them.

If anyone among you commits any of these sins and receives a punishment as a result, it will serve as an expiation for their wrongdoing.

And if anyone among you commits any of these sins but keeps it concealed from Allah without exposing it, then it is left to Allah to either forgive or punish them.”

Upon hearing these conditions, the people from Medina accepted them without any objections and pledged their allegiance to our Master, promising to follow and obey him.

The participants in the first Akaba pledge were as follows: Es’ad bin Zurara, Avf bin Harith, Mu’adh bin Harith, Rafi bin Malik, Zekvan bin Qays, Ubada bin Samit, Yazid bin Sallam, Abbas bin Ubada, Ukba bin Amir, Kutba bin Amir, Malik bin Tayyihan, and Umayr bin Sa’id, may Allah be pleased with them.

After the pledge, the Muslims returned to Medina and requested the Rasul to send someone to lead them in prayers and teach them the Qur’an. In response, our Master sent Mus’ab bin Umair to Medina as their leader and teacher. Additionally, later on, Ummu Maktum was also sent to Medina with the same responsibilities.

When Mus’ab arrived in Medina, he stayed at the house of Es’ad bin Zurara and resided there throughout his mission. While carrying out his duties and guiding the people of Medina to Islam, they decided, upon Es’ad’s suggestion, to visit the neighboring districts. They entered a garden belonging to a polytheist named Sa’d bin Mu’adh, who was from the tribe of Banu Zafar.

At that moment, Sa’d was also present there, accompanied by his close friend Useyd bin Hudayr, who was a prominent member of their tribe. Es’ad, who brought Mus’ab to the garden, was a distant relative of Sa’d, so he couldn’t directly ask them to leave the garden. Instead, he requested his friend Hudayr, who was with them.

“You know that Es’ad is my relative, so I can’t go to them right now. But you can go there and ask those who deceive the ignorant and weak among us to leave the garden. Tell them not to come back, or else I will deal with them severely!” Es’ad asked Hudayr.

Hudayr didn’t refuse his friend’s request and took his spear, walking towards the Muslims gathered by the well in the garden. Es’ad saw Hudayr’s arrival from a distance, bent down, and whispered in Mus’ab’s ear:

“This person who has come is an important figure among my people. Try to convert him to Islam when he arrives here.”

Mus’ab replied, “If he listens to me, I will indeed try to make him a Muslim.”