غزوةُ تبوك مكّنت رسولَ الله ﷺ من تأمين حدود الدولة، مما جعل الأعداء يأخذون الدولةَ بجدّ. كما وضعت القدوةَ لجميع خلفائه ﷺ ليقتدوا بها في حمل رسالة الإسلام إلى العالم الخارجي.

The raid on Tabuk enabled the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) to secure the frontiers of the State which led the enemies to take the State seriously. It also set the example for all of his (pbuh) successors to emulate in order to carry the Message of Islam to the outside world.

ما إن عاد رسول الله ﷺ من غزوة تبوك حتى قدم عليه وفد جنوب الجزيرة كله، من اليمن وحضرموت وعُمان، فأعلنوا إسلامهم له، وخضعوا لحكم الدولة الإسلامية وسلطانها.

As soon as Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) returned from the raid on Tabuk the whole of the south of the Peninsula from Yemen, Hadramaut and ‘Oman came and declared their Islam to him. They submitted to the rule and authority of the Islamic State.

فِي السَّنَةِ التَّاسِعَةِ مِنَ الْهِجْرَةِ، ذَهَبَ الْوُفُودُ مُسْرِعِينَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ لِيُعْلِنُوا إِسْلَامَهُمْ وَإِسْلَامَ قَوْمِهِمْ. وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ إِيذَانًا بِسَيْطَرَةِ الدَّوْلَةِ الْإِسْلَامِيَّةِ سَيْطَرَةً تَامَّةً عَلَى شِبْهِ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ. وَلَمْ يَبْقَ مِنْ خَطَرٍ دَاخِلِيٍّ إِلَّا الْمُشْرِكُونَ، الَّذِينَ سُمِحَ لَهُمْ بِمُوَاصَلَةِ عِبَادَةِ أَصْنَامِهِمْ وَأَدَاءِ الْحَجِّ إِلَى الْبَيْتِ الْحَرَامِ، بِمُقْتَضَى الْعَهْدِ الَّذِي عَقَدَهُ مَعَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ. وَقَدْ نَصَّ الْعَهْدُ عَلَى أَلَّا يُمْنَعَ النَّاسُ مِنْ زِيَارَةِ الْبَيْتِ الْحَرَامِ، وَلَا يُؤْذَوْا فِي الْأَشْهُرِ الْحُرُمِ.

In the ninth year of Hijrah, the delegates anxiously went to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) to declare their Islam and that of their people. This marked the total dominance of the Islamic State over the Arabian Peninsula. The only internal threat which remained were the polytheists who had been allowed to continue worshipping their idols and performing the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of Allah due to the agreement that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had made with them. The agreement stated that the people were not to be forbidden from visiting the Sacred House, nor were they to be harmed during the sacred months.

ومع ذلك، لم يكن من الممكن أن يستمر هذا الوضع، فكيف يمكن للبيت الحرام أن يستضيف أناساً من عقائد متناقضة، يحتقر أحدهم الآخر؟ وكيف يمكن أن تجتمع عقيدتان متضادتان حول بيت الله، وقد أدّت إحداهما إلى تحطيم أصنام الأخرى؟ والأخطر من ذلك، هل يمكن أن يُترك أتباع العقيدة المخالفة وشأنهم، بينما خضع سائر المجتمع لسلطان الدولة الإسلامية وتوحيد الله ؟ وكان واضحاً أن الشرك قد صار أمراً متجاوزاً للزمن وخطراً على وحدة المجتمع، فوجب استئصاله. وفيما يتعلق بالمشركين، أنزل الله (سبحانه وتعالى) سورة التوبة على رسول الله ﷺ بعد غزوة تبوك، وحين كان الحج بقيادة أبي بكر في طريقه. فاستدعى رسول الله ﷺ عليَّ بن أبي طالب، وأمره أن يلحق بأبي بكر في مكة، حيث أُمر أن يخاطب الناس بالوحي الجديد. فذهب علي إلى هناك والتقى بالناس. ثم قام، وإلى جانبه أبو هريرة، فتلا من القرآن:

However, this state of affairs could not be allowed to last, for how could it be that the Sacred House would be able to play host to people of contradictory beliefs, one despising the other? How would it be possible for two conflicting beliefs to come together around the House of Allah when one of those beliefs had led to the destruction of the others’ idols? More seriously still, could the adherents of the opposing faith be left to their own devices while the rest of society had submitted to the authority of the Islamic State and the oneness of Allah I? Clearly, polytheism had become an anachronism and a danger to the unity of society and thus it had to be eradicated. Concerning the polytheists, Allah (swt) revealed the Surah of al-Taubah to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) after the raid on Tabuk and once the Hajj led by Abu Bakr was underway. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) summoned ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib and asked him to join Abu Bakr in Makkah where he was instructed to address the people with the new revelation. ‘Ali went there and met with the people. Then he, with Abu Hurayrah next to him, arose and recited from the Qur’an,

بَرَاءَةٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ إِلَى الَّذِينَ عَاهَدْتُم مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ۝ — الآية. [التوبة، ٩:١] Note on the translation: the verse text is rendered in Qur'anic form (in Arabic, since the verse itself was quoted in Arabic). The Qur'an verse is set between { and } markers in the rules; since the source gave the verse as a quotation, I've rendered it as the verse's own Arabic words, bracketed as "…", and I've adjusted the wording to match the Arabic text of the Qur'an. The ﷺ honorific is not applicable here since the text mentions "His Messenger" in the verse context and no direct mention of the Prophet's name appears.

“Freedom from all obligations (is declared) from Allah and His Messenger to those of the “Mushrikun”, with whom you made a treaty.” [At-Tauba, 9:1].

حتى بلغ الموضع الذي يقول فيه الله (سبحانه وتعالى)،

until he reached the point where Allah (swt) says,

وَقَاتِلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ كَافَّةً كَمَا يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ كَافَّةً ۚ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِينَ ۝ [التوبة، ٩:٣٦].

“And fight against the Mushrikun collectively, as they fight against you collectively. But know that Allah is with those who are Al-Muttaqun.” [At-Tauba, 9:36].

فَلَمَّا فَرَغَ عَلِيٌّ مِنْ تِلَاوَةِ هَذِهِ الْآيَاتِ وَقَفَ هُنَيَّةً، ثُمَّ نَادَى: «أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، إِنَّهُ لَا يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ كَافِرٌ، وَلَا يَحُجُّ بَعْدَ هَذَا الْعَامِ مُشْرِكٌ، وَلَا يَطُوفُ بِالْبَيْتِ عُرْيَانٌ، وَمَنْ كَانَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ عَهْدٌ فَعَهْدُهُ إِلَى مُدَّتِهِ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ عَهْدٌ فَأَجَلُهُ أَرْبَعَةُ أَشْهُرٍ». فَأَعْلَنَ عَلِيٌّ هَذِهِ الْأَوَامِرَ الْأَرْبَعَ، ثُمَّ أَمْهَلَ النَّاسَ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ لِيَرْجِعُوا إِلَى دِيَارِهِمْ. وَلَمْ يَحُجَّ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ الْعَامِ أَيُّ مُشْرِكٍ، وَلَمْ يَطُفْ أَحَدٌ بِالْبَيْتِ الْحَرَامِ عُرْيَانًا أَبَدًا.

When ‘Ali finished reciting these verses he paused for awhile and then shouted, “O people, verily no disbeliever will enter paradise, no polytheist will go on pilgrimage after this year and nobody should circumambulate the House naked. Afterwards there will be no covenant except for those who had an agreement with the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) for a period, he can have it for that specified period.” ‘Ali declared these four orders and then he gave the people four months in which to return to their homes. Never again after that year did any polytheist go on the pilgrimage nor did anyone ever circumambulate the Sacred House naked.

لقد بلغت كلمة الله الآن كامل شبه الجزيرة العربية من خلال الدولة الإسلامية الناشئة التي كانت، وظلّت، قائمة على العقيدة الإسلامية كما أنزلها الخالق، الله (سبحانه وتعالى). ومع نزول سورة براءة (التوبة)، وهي آخر السور، اكتمل القضاء على الشرك في جزيرة العرب، وتأسيس الدولة الإسلامية وإقامتها. فاقتُلعت كل الأفكار المناقضة للإسلام، وزالت كل السلطات غير الدولة الإسلامية. وهكذا أُرسيت بثبات الأسس اللازمة لحمل رسالة الإسلام إلى بقية البشرية.

The Word of Allah had now engulfed the whole of the Arabian Peninsula through the agency of the newly established Islamic State which was, and remained, based on the Islamic ‘Aqeedah as revealed by the Creator, Allah (swt). With the revelation of Surah Bara’ah (Taubah) , the last Surah, the abolition of polytheism in the Arabian Peninsula and the founding and establishment of the Islamic State was complete. All thoughts contradictory to Islam were eradicated, and all authorities other than the Islamic State were wiped away. The grounds for carrying the Message of Islam to the rest of mankind were thus firmly laid.