Waislamu wa Madina walikuwa karibu wa vikundi viwili: Kundi la kwanza tayari lilikuwa limekaa katika makazi yao, ardhi yao na mali zao, wakiwa na amani kamili, lakini mbegu za fitina miongoni mwao zilikuwa zimejikita sana, na chuki ya kudumu ilikuwa ikiibuka mara kwa mara; hawa walikuwa Al-Ansar (Wasaidizi). Kundi la pili walikuwa Al-Muhajirun (Wahamiaji), wasio na makazi, wasio na kazi, na wasio na chochote. Idadi yao haikuwa ndogo; kinyume chake, ilikuwa ikiongezeka siku baada ya siku baada ya Mtume ﷺ kuwapa ruhusa ya kuhama kwenda Madina, ambayo muundo wake wa kiuchumi, awali ukiwa si wenye ustawi mkubwa, ulianza kuonyesha dalili za kukosekana kwa uwiano, zilizozidishwa na mzingiro wa kiuchumi ambao makundi yanayopinga Uislamu yaliuweka; matokeo yake uagizaji wa bidhaa ulipungua na hali ya maisha ikazidi kuwa mbaya.

The Muslims in Madinah consisted virtually of two parties: The first one already settled down in their abode, land and wealth, fully at ease, but seeds of discord amongst them were deeply seated and chronic enmity continually evoked; they were Al-Ansar (the Helpers). The second party were Al-Muhajirun (the Emigrants), homeless, jobless and penniless. Their number was not small, on the contrary, it was increasing day by day after the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had given them the green light to leave for Madinah whose economic structure, originally not that prosperous one, began to show signs of imbalance aggravated by the economic boycott that the anti-Islamic groups imposed and consequently imports diminished and living conditions worsened.

2. Sehemu ya pili ya watu ambao Mtume ﷺ alilazimika kushughulika nao walikuwa washirikina wa Madina tu. Watu hao hawakuwa na uwezo wowote juu ya Waislamu. Baadhi yao hawakuwa na chuki yoyote dhidi ya Waislamu, badala yake walianza kutilia shaka desturi za kidini za mababu zao, na mwelekeo dhaifu wa kuukubali Uislamu ukaanza kujitokeza kwao; baada ya muda mfupi wakaukubali dini mpya na wakamwelekea Allah kwa dhati. Hata hivyo, wengine walikuwa na nia mbaya dhidi ya Mtume ﷺ na wafuasi wake, lakini walikuwa waoga mno kuwapinga hadharani; badala yake, chini ya hali hizo zilizokuwa za kiIslamu, walilazimika kujifanya wenye urafiki na mapenzi. ‘Abdullah bin Ubai, ambaye karibu alikuwa amepewa uongozi wa kabila la Al-Khazraj na Al-Aws baada ya Vita vya Bu‘ath kati ya makabila hayo mawili, aliongoza kundi hilo la wanafiki. Kuja kwa Mtume ﷺ na kuibuka kwa nguvu kwa roho mpya ya Uislamu kuliharibu mwelekeo huo, na wazo hilo likasahaulika punde. Alipomwona mtu mwingine, Muhammad ﷺ, akija kumnyang'anya yeye na mawakala wake faida za kidunia walizotarajia, hakuweza kuridhika, na kwa sababu zilizokuwa na nguvu sana alijionyesha kuwa Muislamu, lakini ukafiri wa kutisha ulikuwa umekita mizizi moyoni mwake. Pia alikuwa akitumia baadhi ya matukio na waongofu wapya wenye mioyo dhaifu kupanga njama za kuwadhuru waumini wa kweli.

2. The purely Madinese polytheists constituted the second sector with whom the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had to deal. Those people had no control at all over the Muslim. Some of them nursed no grudge against the Muslims, but were rather skeptical of their ancestors’ religious practices, and developed tentative inclination towards Islam and before long they embraced the new faith and were truly devoted to Allâh. However, some others harboured evil intentions against the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and his followers but were too cowardly to resist them publicly, they were rather, under those Islamically favourable conditions, obliged to fake amicability and friendliness. ‘Abdullah bin Ubai, who had almost been given presidency over Al-Khazraj and Al-Aws tribes in the wake of Bu‘ath War between the two tribes, came at the head of that group of hypocrites. The Prophet’s advent and the vigorous rise of the new spirit of Islam foiled that orientation and the idea soon went into oblivion. He, seeing another one, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), coming to deprive him and his agents of the prospective temporal privileges, could not be pleased, and for overriding reasons he showed pretension to Islam but with horrible disbelief deeply-rooted in his heart. He also used to exploit some events and weak-hearted new converts in scheming malevolently against the true believers.

3. Wayahudi (Waebrania), waliohamia Al-Hijaz kutoka Shamu kufuatia kampeni za mateso za Wabyzantium na Waashuri, walikuwa kundi la tatu lililokuwepo katika mandhari ya kidemografia ya Madinah. Katika makazi yao mapya walijipambanua kwa mtindo wa Kiarabu katika mavazi, lugha na namna ya maisha, na kulikuwepo mifano ya ndoa baina yao na Waarabu wenyeji; hata hivyo walihifadhi utengano wao wa kikabila na hawakujiunganisha na mazingira yaliyowazunguka. Walikuwa hata wakijivunia asili yao ya Kiyahudi-Kiisraeli, na kuwadharau Waarabu waliowazunguka kwa kuwaita wasiojua kusoma na kuandika, maana yake wakatili, wajinga na washamba. Walitamani mali ya majirani zao ihalalishwe kwao, ili waweze kuichukua kwa namna wapendavyo.

3. The Jews (the Hebrews), who had migrated to Al-Hijaz from Syria following the Byzantine and Assyrian persecution campaigns, were the third category existent on the demographic scene in Madinah. In their new abode they assumed the Arabian stamp in dress, language and manner of life and there were instances of intermarriage with the local Arabs, however they retained their ethnic particularism and detached themselves from amalgamation with the immediate environment. They even used to pride in their Jewish-Israeli origin, and spurn the Arabs around designating them as illiterate meaning brutal, naïve and backward. They desired the wealth of their neighbours to be made lawful to them and they could thus appropriate it the way they liked.

• “… kwa sababu wao husema: “Hakuna lawama juu yetu kuwadanganya na kuchukua mali za wasiojua kusoma na kuandika (Waarabu)” [3:75].

• “… because they say: “There is no blame on us to betray and take the properties of the illiterates (Arabs)” [3:75].

Kidini, hawakuonyesha bidii yoyote; bidhaa yao kuu ya kidini ilikuwa ubashiri, uchawi na sanaa za siri (kupuliza kwenye mafundo), ambazo walikuwa wakijihusisha nazo faida za elimu na ubora wa kiroho.

Religiously, they showed no zeal; their most obvious religious commodity was fortunetelling, witchcraft and the secret arts (blowing on knots), for which they used to attach to themselves advantages of science and spiritual precedence.

Walikuwa mahiri katika sanaa ya kutafuta fedha na biashara. Kwa hakika walikuwa wakidhibiti biashara ya nafaka, tende, divai, nguo, pamoja na uuzaji nje na uingizaji wa bidhaa. Kwa huduma walizowapa Waarabu, Waarabu hao walilipa kwa wingi. Riba ilikuwa jambo la kawaida miongoni mwao, wakiwakopesha viongozi mashuhuri wa Kiarabu fedha nyingi ambazo zilitumiwa kovu kwa washairi walioajiriwa kwa malipo, na katika njia za majivuno, kisha wao kunyakua ardhi zao zenye rutuba zilizotolewa kama dhamana.

They excelled at the arts of earning money and trading. They in fact monopolized trading in cereals, dates, wine, clothes, export and import. For the services they offered to the Arabs, the latter paid heavily. Usury was a common practice amongst them, lending the Arab notables great sums to be squandered on mercenary poets, and in vanity avenues, and in return seizing their fertile land given as surety.

Walikuwa hodari sana katika kupotosha na kupanga njama. Walikuwa wakipanda mbegu za fitina kati ya makabila jirani na kuwashawishi kila moja kupanga hila dhidi ya jingine, na matokeo yake yakiwa ni mapigano ya umwagaji damu yasiyokoma na yenye kuchosha. Kila walipohisi moto wa chuki unakaribia kufifia, walikuwa wakiulisha kwa njia mpya za kuudumisha, ili wapate kila mara mkono wa juu, na wakati huo huo wapate riba kubwa kutokana na mikopo iliyotumika katika vita kati ya makabila. Makabila matatu maarufu ya Mayahudi ndiyo yaliyounda uwepo wa kidemografia huko Yathrib (sasa Madinah): Banu Qainuqa‘, washirika wa kabila la Al-Khazraj, Banu An-Nadir, na Banu Quraizah, waliokuwa washirika wa Al-Aws, ambao walikaa vitongoji vya Madinah.

They were very good at corrupting and scheming. They used to sow seeds of discord between adjacent tribes and entice each one to hatch plots against the other with the natural corollary of continual exhaustive bloody fighting. Whenever they felt that fire of hatred was about to subside, they would nourish it with new means of perpetuity so that they could always have the upper hand, and at the same time gain heavy interest rates on loans spent on inter-tribal warfare. Three famous tribes of Jews constituted the demographic presence in Yathrib (now Madinah): Banu Qainuqua‘, allies of Al-Khazraj tribe, Banu An-Nadir and Banu Quraizah who allied Al-Aws and inhabited the suburbs of Madinah.

Kwa kawaida walizipokea mabadiliko mapya kwa chuki kubwa na walikuwa wakiwachukia sana kwa sababu tu Mtume wa Allaah ﷺ alikuwa wa kabila tofauti, na jambo hili lenyewe lilikuwa la kuchukiza mno kwao hata wasiweze kulipatanisha na mioyo yao. Pili, Uislamu ulikuja kuleta upatanifu, kuondoa hali ya uadui na chuki, na kuanzisha mfumo wa kijamii uliojengwa juu ya kukemea yaliyoharamishwa na kuhimiza yaliyohalalishwa. Kushikamana na kanuni hizi za maisha kulimaanisha kutayarisha njia ya umoja wa Waarabu ambao ungeweza kufanya kazi kwa madhara ya Mayahudi na maslahi yao katika ngazi ya kijamii na kiuchumi; kabila za Waarabu zingejaribu basi kurejesha mali na ardhi yao zilizochukuliwa kwa dhuluma na Mayahudi kupitia mbinu za riba. Mayahudi bila shaka walitafakari sana mambo haya yote tangu walipojua kwamba Da'wah ya Kiislamu ingejaribu kuweka makazi yake Yathrib, na haikushangaza kugundua kwamba walikuwa na uadui na chuki kubwa zaidi dhidi ya Uislamu na Mtume ﷺ, ingawa mwanzoni hawakuwa na ujasiri wa kudhihirisha hisia zao.

Naturally they held the new changes with abhorrence and were terribly hateful to them, simply because the Messenger of Allâh was of a different race, and this point was in itself too repugnant for them to reconcile with. Second, Islam came to brabout a spirit of rapport, to terminate the state of enmity and hatred, and to establish a social regime based on denunciation of the prohibited and promotion of the allowed. Adherence to these canons of life implied paving the way for an Arab unity that could work to the prejudice of the Jews and their interests at both the social and economic levels; the Arab tribes would then try to restore their wealth and land misappropriated by the Jews through usurious practices. The Jews of course deeply considered all these things ever since they had known that the Islamic Call would try to settle in Yathrib, and it was no surprise to discover that they harboured the most enmity and hatred to Islam and the Messenger (Peace be upon him) even though they did not have the courage to uncover their feelings in the beginning.

Tukio lifuatalo linaweza kuthibitisha wazi ile chuki mbaya ambayo Mayahudi walikuwa nayo dhidi ya mabadiliko mapya ya kisiasa na kidini yaliyokuja kuutia alama maisha ya Madina. Ibn Ishaq, kwa mamlaka ya Mama wa Waumini Safiyah (Allah amridhie), amesimulia: Safiyah, binti wa Huyayi bin Akhtab, alisema: Nilikuwa mtoto aliyekuwa karibu zaidi moyoni mwa baba yangu na mjomba wangu Abi Yasir. Kila waliponiona nikiwa na mtoto wao, wangenibembeleza kwa upole mkubwa, bila ya mtu mwingine yeyote. Hata hivyo, Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ alipowasili na kukaa Quba' pamoja na Bani 'Amr bin 'Awf, baba yangu Huyayi bin Akhtab na mjomba wangu Abu Yasir bin Akhtab walikwenda kumwona, wala hawakurudi hadi jua lilipotua. Walirudi wakitembea kwa uvivu na wakiwa wamevunjika moyo kabisa. Mimi, kama kawaida, nilikimbilia kuwalaki nikitabasamu, lakini hawakunigeukia kwa sababu ya huzuni iliyowashika. Nilimsikia mjomba wangu Abu Yasir akimwambia Ubai na Huyayi: "Je, kweli ndiye huyo [yaani Muhammad ﷺ]?" Yule wa kwanza akasema: "Ndiye, naapa kwa Allah!" "Je, kweli umemtambua?" wakauliza. Akajibu: "Ndiyo, na moyo wangu unawaka kwa uadui dhidi yake."

The following incident could attest clearly to that abominable antipathy that the Jews harboured towards the new political and religious changes that came to stamp the life of Madinah. Ibn Ishaq, on the authority of the Mother of believers Safiyah (May Allah be pleased her) narrated: Safiyah, daughter of Huyayi bin Akhtab said: I was the closest child to my father and my uncle Abi Yasir’s heart. Whenever they saw me with a child of theirs, they should pamper me so tenderly to the exclusion of anyone else. However, with the advent of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and setting in Quba’ with Bani ‘Amr bin ‘Awf, my father, Huyayi bin Akhtab and my uncle Abu Yasir bin Akhtab went to see him and did not return until sunset when they came back walking lazily and fully dejected. I, as usually, hurried to meet them smiling, but they would not turn to me for the grief that caught them. I heard my uncle Abu Yasir say to Ubai and Huyayi: “Is it really he [i.e. Muhammad (Peace be upon him)]?” The former said: “It is he, I swear by Allâh!” “Did you really recognize him?” they asked. He answered: “Yes, and my heart is burning with enmity towards him”.

Hadithi ya kuvutia iliyotokea siku ya kwanza, mara Mtume (Rehma na amani ziwe juu yake) alipoingia Madina, inaweza kunukuliwa kuonyesha msukosuko wa akili na wasiwasi mkubwa uliowakumba Mayahudi. ‘Abdullah bin Salam, rabi mwenye elimu zaidi miongoni mwa Mayahudi, alikuja kumwona Mtume ﷺ alipowasili, akamuuliza maswali fulani ili kuthibitisha unabii wake wa kweli. Mara tu alipozisikia majibu ya Mtume ﷺ, alisilimu, lakini akaongeza kwamba iwapo watu wake wangejua kuwa amesilimu, wangetoa hoja za uongo dhidi yangu. Mtume ﷺ aliwaita baadhi ya Mayahudi na kuwauliza kuhusu ‘Abdullah bin Salam; wakashuhudia uwezo wake wa kielimu na hadhi yake ya wema. Hapo ikafichuliwa kwao kwamba amesilimu, na papo hapo wakatoa ushuhuda tofauti kabisa na ule wa awali, wakamweleza kuwa ndiye mbaya zaidi kuliko wote walio waovu. Katika simulizi nyingine, ‘Abdullah bin Salam alisema, "Enyi Mayahudi! Mcheni Allah. Kwa Allah, Mmoja pekee, mnajua kwamba yeye ni Mtume wa Allah aliyetumwa kwa watu kwa haki." Wakajibu, "Wewe unasema uongo." ... Huo ndio ulikuwa uzoefu wa kwanza wa Mtume ﷺ na Mayahudi.

An interesting story that took place on the first day, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) stepped in Madinah, could be quoted to illustrate the mental disturbance and deep anxiety that beset the Jews. ‘Abdullah bin Salam, the most learned rabbi among the Jews came to see the Prophet (Peace be upon him) when he arrived, and asked him certain questions to ascertain his real Prophethood. No sooner did he hear the Prophet’s answers than he embraced Islam, but added that if his people knew of his Islamization they would advance false arguments against me. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) sent for some Jews and asked them about ‘Abdullah bin Salam, they testified to his scholarly aptitude and virtuous standing. Here it was divulged to them that he had embraced Islam and on the spot, they imparted categorically opposite testimonies and described him as the most evil of all evils. In another narration ‘Abdullah bin Salam said, “O Jews! Be Allâh fearing. By Allâh, the only One, you know that he is the Messenger of Allâh sent to people with the Truth.” They replied, “You are lying.” ... That was the Prophet’s first experience with the Jews.

Hiyo ilikuwa picha ya kisiasa na kijeshi ndani ya Madina. Umbali wa kilomita mia tano, huko Makka, bado kulikuwepo chanzo kingine cha tishio lenye madhara, adui mkubwa wa Uislamu, Quraish. Kwa miaka kumi, wakiwa chini ya mamlaka ya Quraish, Waislamu walikumbwa na aina mbalimbali za ugaidi,ususiaji, unyanyasaji na njaa, pamoja na vita kubwa vya kisaikolojia vilivyopangwa kwa makini na propaganda kali zilizopangwa. Walipohama kwenda Madina, ardhi yao, mali zao na mali zao zilichukuliwa, wake zao walizuiliwa, na watu wa tabaka la chini kijamii waliteswa kikatili. Quraish pia walipanga njama na kujaribu kumuua kiongozi mkuu wa Da'wa, Muhammad ﷺ. Kutokana na uongozi wao wa kidunia unaotambulika na ukuu wao wa kidini miongoni mwa Waarabu washirikina, pamoja na kuwa walinzi wa Haram Takatifu, Maquraishi hawakuacha juhudi yoyote ya kuwachochea Waarabu dhidi ya Madina na kuwasusia wakazi wa Madina kijamii na kiuchumi. Kama alivyonukuu Muhammad Al-Ghazali: “Hali ya vita ilikuwepo kwa vitendo kati ya madhalimu wa Makka na Waislamu waliokuwa katika makazi yao. Ni upumbavu kuwalaumu Waislamu kwa matokeo mabaya yaliyokuwa lazima yatokee kutokana na uhasama huo wa muda mrefu.”.

That was the demo-political picture within Madinah. Five hundred kilometres away in Makkah, there still lay another source of detrimental threat, the archenemy of Islam, Quraish. For ten years, while at the mercy of Quraish, the Muslims were subjected to all sorts of terrorism, boycott, harassment and starvation coupled by a large scale painstaking psychological war and aggressive organized propaganda. When they had emigrated to Madinah, their land, wealth and property were seized, wives detained and the socially humble in rank brutally tortured. Quraish also schemed and made attempts on the life of the first figure of the Call, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) . Due to their acknowledged temporal leadership and religious supremacy among the pagan Arabs, given the custodianship of the Sacred Sanctuary, the Quraishites spared no effort in enticing the Arabians against Madinah and boycotting the Madinese socially and economically. To quote Muhammad Al-Ghazali: “A state of war virtually existed between the Makkan tyrants and the Muslims in their abode. It is foolish to blame the Muslims for the horrible consequences that were bound to ensue in the light of that long-standing feud.”.

Waislamu wa Madina wakati huo walikuwa na haki kamili ya kuchukua mali ya madhalimu hao, kuwaadhibu kwa adhabu ya mfano, na kuwalipiza kisasi mara mbili ili kuwazuia wasifanye upumbavu wowote dhidi ya Waislamu na heshima zao.

The Muslims in Madinah were completely eligible then to confiscate the wealth of those tyrants, mete out for them exemplary punishment and bring twofold retaliation on them in order to deter them from committing any folly against the Muslims and their sanctities.

Hiyo ilikuwa muhtasari wa matatizo makubwa ambayo Mtume Muhammad ﷺ alilazimika kukabiliana nayo, na masuala tata aliyopaswa kuyatatua.

That was a resume of the major problems that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) had to face, and the complicated issues he was supposed to resolve.

Kwa kukiri kikamilifu, tunaweza kusema bila shaka kwamba yeye kwa dhati alibeba majukumu ya Utume, na kwa busara alitekeleza wajibu wa uongozi wa kidunia na wa kidini huko Madina. Alimpa kila mtu haki yake, iwe ya rehema au ya adhabu, huku rehema ikiwa mara nyingi ndiyo iliyopamba adhabu katika mchakato mzima wa kuimarisha Uislamu kwa misingi thabiti miongoni mwa waumini wake ﷺ.

In full acknowledgment, we could safely say that he quite honestly shouldered the responsibilities of Messengership, and cleverly discharged the liabilities of both temporal and religious leadership in Madinah. He accorded to everyone his due portion whether of mercy or punishment, with the former usually seasoning the latter in the overall process of establishing Islam on firm grounds among its faithful adherents.

Uhamiaji kwenda Madina haukuweza kamwe kuhusishwa tu na juhudi za kukimbia dhihaka na dhulma, bali pia ulikuwa aina ya ushirikiano wenye lengo la kujenga misingi ya jamii mpya mahali salama. Kwa hiyo ilikuwa wajibu kwa kila Muislamu mwenye uwezo kuchangia katika kujenga nchi hii mpya, kuilinda na kuitegemeza. Kama kiongozi na mwongozaji wa kiroho, hakuna shaka kwamba Mtume Mtukufu ﷺ ndiye ambaye mikononi mwake pekee yalitatuliwa mambo yote. Huko Madina, Mtume ﷺ alilazimika kushughulika na makundi matatu ya watu yenye tofauti kubwa, kila moja likiwa na matatizo yake tofauti:

Emigration to Madinah could never be attributable to attempts to escape from jeers and oppression only, but it also constituted a sort of cooperation with the aim of erecting the pillars of a new society in a secure place. Hence it was incumbent upon every capable Muslim to contribute to building this new homeland, immunizing it and holding up its prop. As a leader and spiritual guide, there was no doubt the Noble Messenger (Peace be upon him), in whose hands exclusively all affairs would be resolved. In Madinah, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had to deal with three distinctively different categories of people with different respective problems:

1. Maswahaba zake, wasomi watukufu na wacha Mungu (Allah awaridhie wote).

1. His Companions, the noble and Allâh fearing elite (May Allah be pleased with them).

2. Washirikina ambao bado walikuwa mbali na Uislamu, na walikuwa makabila ya Madina pekee.

2. Polytheists still detached from the Islam and were purely Madinese tribes.

3. Mayahudi.

3. The Jews.

1. Kuhusu Maswahaba wake, hali ya maisha huko Madina ilikuwa tofauti kabisa na ile waliyoipitia huko Makka. Huko Makka walikuwa wakijitahidi kwa lengo moja la pamoja, lakini kimwili walitawanyika, walizidiwa nguvu na kuachwa peke yao. Hawakuwa na uwezo wa kufuatilia mwelekeo wao mpya. Njia zao, kijamii na kimali, hazikutosha kuanzisha jamii mpya ya Kiislamu. Sambamba na hayo, Sura za Makka za Qur'ani Tukufu zilikuwa zikijikita katika kufafanua misingi ya Kiislamu, kutunga sheria zinazohusu waumini mmoja mmoja, na kuamrisha wema na uchamungu pamoja na kukataza maovu na uasi.

1. As for his Companions, the conditions of life in Madinah were totally different from those they experienced in Makkah. There, in Makkah, they used to strive for one corporate target, but physically, they were scattered, overpowered and forsaken. They were helpless in terms of pursuing their new course of orientation. Their means, socially and materially, fell short of establishing a new Muslim community. In parallel lines, the Makkan Chapters of the Noble Qur’ân were confined to delineating the Islamic precepts, enacting legislations pertaining to the believers individually and enjoining good and piety and forbidding evils and vices.