The Second Pledge of Aqabah and the Role of the Ansar in Supporting the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

 

1.20    The Second Pledge of Aqabah

At Aqabah, they pledged their allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), vowing to defend him as they would defend their own families and to invite him, along with his companions, to join them in Medina. That night, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, though not yet a Muslim, attended as a guarantor for his nephew. Displaying remarkable sincerity, Al-Bara ibn Ma'rur gave his full support to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), being the first to pledge allegiance, joined by Abu al-Haytham ibn Tayhan and Abbas ibn Ubadah ibn Nadla. On that blessed night, seventy-three men and two women solemnly pledged their loyalty to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) selected twelve naqibs (leaders) from among them, representing the Khazraj and Aws tribes. Among them were:

• From the Khazraj:
• As'ad ibn Zurara, who was previously mentioned among the six and the twelve.
• Sa'd ibn Rabi' ibn Amr of Banu Amr ibn Abu Zuhayr ibn Malik.
• Rafi' ibn Malik ibn al-Ajlan, also among the six and the twelve.
• Al-Bara ibn Ma’rur of Banu Salama.
• Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Haram, father of Jabir.
• Sa'd ibn Ubadah of Banu Sa'idah.
• Al-Mundhir ibn Amr of Banu Sa'idah.
• Ubadah ibn al-Samit, mentioned previously among the twelve.
• Abdullah ibn Rawaha of Banu al-Harith.

These nine men were from different branches of the Khazraj: Banu Amr, Banu Awf, Banu al-Harith, Banu Ka'b, and Banu Jusham.

• From the Aws:
• Usayd ibn Hudayr of Banu Abd al-Ashhal.
• Sa'd ibn Khaythama of Banu al-Nahhat (this lineage later became extinct, with the last of its members passing during the time of Harun al-Rashid, fulfilling the prophecy of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that the Ansar would dwindle).
• Rifa’ah ibn Abd al-Mundhir, though some sources mention Abu al-Haytham ibn Tayhan in place of Rifa’ah.

 

1.20.1   The Names of Those Who Attended the Pledge of ‘Aqabah Amongst the Non- Leaders – May Allah Be Pleased with Them and Bestow His Mercy Upon Them

Among them were the men from the tribe of Aws, specifically from the clan of Banū ‘Abd al-Ashhal ibn Jusham ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj ibn ‘Amr ibn Mālik ibn al-Aws ibn Ḥārithah: 

1. Salamah ibn Salāmah ibn Waqsh ibn Zughbah ibn Za‘ūrā’ ibn ‘Abd al-Ashhal.  

          From the Banū Ḥārithah ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj ibn ‘Amr ibn Mālik ibn al-Aws: 

1. Ẓuhair ibn Rāfi‘ ibn ‘Adī ibn Zayd ibn Jusham ibn Ḥārithah.
2. Abū Burdah ibn Niyār, whose name was Hāni’ ibn Niyār ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Ubayd ibn Kilāb ibn Dahmān ibn Ghanm ibn Dhubyān ibn Hamīm ibn Kāhil ibn Dahl ibn Hanī’ ibn Balī ibn ‘Amr ibn al-Ḥāf ibn Quḍā‘ah, who was an ally of theirs.
3. Nuhair ibn al-Haytham, from the Banū Nābi’ ibn Majda‘ah ibn Ḥārithah; then from the household of al-Barrāq ibn Qays ibn ‘Āmir ibn Nābi’.

        From the Banū ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf ibn Mālik ibn al-Aws:

1. ‘Abdullāh ibn Jubayr ibn al-Nu‘mān ibn Umayyah ibn al-Barrāk. Al-Barrāk's given name was Imru’ al-Qays ibn Tha‘labah ibn ‘Amr.
2.  Ma‘an ibn ‘Adī ibn al-Judd ibn al-‘Ajlān ibn Dubay‘ah, who was an ally of theirs from Balī. He was martyred at the Battle of Yamāmah.
3. ‘Uwaym ibn Sā‘idah, who was also an ally from Balī.

Thus, the total number of those from the Aws who witnessed the pledge amounted to eleven men.

From the Khazraj, specifically from the Banū al-Najjār—who were the descendants of Taymullah ibn Tha‘labah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-Khazraj:

1. Abū Ayyūb Khālid ibn Zayd ibn Kulayb ibn Tha‘labah ibn ‘Abd ibn ‘Awf ibn Ghanm ibn Mālik ibn al-Najjār.
2. Mu‘ādh,
3. Mu‘awwidh,
4. and ‘Awf—the sons of ‘Afrā’, whose father was al-Ḥārith ibn Rifā‘ah ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Sawād ibn Mālik ibn Ghanm ibn Mālik ibn al-Najjār.
5.  ‘Amārah ibn Ḥazm ibn Zayd ibn Lawdhān ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Abd ibn ‘Awf ibn Ghanm ibn Mālik ibn al-Najjār, who was martyred at the Battle of Yamāmah.

From the Banū ‘Amr ibn Mabdhūl, whose given name was ‘Āmir ibn Mālik ibn al-Najjār:

1. Sahl ibn ‘Atīk ibn al-Nu‘mān ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Atīk ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Āmir, who was also known as Mabdhūl.

From the Banū ‘Amr ibn Mālik ibn al-Najjār, specifically from the Banū Ḥadīlah:

1. Aws ibn Thābit ibn al-Mundhir ibn Ḥarām ibn ‘Amr ibn Zayd Manāh ibn ‘Adī ibn ‘Amr ibn Mālik ibn al-Najjār.
2. Abū Talḥah, whose name was Zayd ibn Sahl ibn al-Aswad ibn Ḥarām ibn ‘Amr ibn Zayd Manāh ibn ‘Adī ibn ‘Amr ibn Mālik ibn al-Najjār.

From the Banū Māzin ibn al-Najjār:

1. Qays ibn Abī Ṣa‘ṣa‘ah, whose father’s name was ‘Amr ibn Zayd ibn ‘Awf ibn Mabdhūl ibn ‘Amr ibn Ghanm ibn Māzin. He was in charge of the rear guard at the Battle of Badr.
2. ‘Amr ibn Ghaziyyah ibn ‘Amr ibn Tha‘labah ibn Khansā’ ibn Mabdhūl ibn ‘Amr ibn Ghanm ibn Māzin.

Thus, the total number of those from the Khazraj who witnessed the pledge amounted to eleven men.

From the Banū al-Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj:

1. Khārijah ibn Zayd ibn Abī Zuhayr ibn Mālik ibn Imru’ al-Qays ibn Mālik al-Aghar ibn Tha‘labah ibn Ka‘b ibn al-Khazraj ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj.
2. Bashīr ibn Sa‘d ibn Tha‘labah ibn Khallās ibn Zayd ibn Mālik al-Aghar ibn Tha‘labah ibn Ka‘b ibn al-Khazraj ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj. He was the father of al-Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr.
3. ‘Abdullāh ibn Zayd ibn Tha‘labah ibn ‘Abd Rabbih ibn Zayd ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj ibn Jusham ibn al-Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj, who was the one shown the call to prayer (adhān).
4. Khallād ibn Suwayd ibn Tha‘labah ibn ‘Amr ibn Ḥārithah ibn Imru’ al-Qays ibn Mālik al-Aghar ibn Tha‘labah ibn Ka‘b ibn al-Khazraj.
5. ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amr ibn Tha‘labah ibn Yasīrah ibn ‘Usayrah ibn Jadhārah ibn ‘Awf ibn Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj, also known as Abū Mas‘ūd al-Badrī. He, along with Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh, was among the youngest to have attended the pledge.

From the Banū Jusham ibn al-Ḥārith, specifically from the Banū Bayāḍah ibn ‘Āmir ibn Zurayq ibn ‘Abd Ḥārithah ibn Mālik ibn Ghadab ibn Jusham ibn al-Khazraj:

1. Ziyād ibn Labīd ibn Tha‘labah ibn Sinān ibn ‘Āmir ibn ‘Adī ibn Umayyah ibn Bayāḍah.
2. Furwah ibn ‘Amr ibn Wudfah ibn ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Āmir ibn Umayyah ibn Bayāḍah.
3. Khālid ibn Qays ibn Mālik ibn ‘Ajlān ibn ‘Āmir ibn Bayāḍah.

From the Banū Zurayq ibn ‘Āmir, the brother of Bayāḍah ibn ‘Āmir:

1. Dhakwān ibn ‘Abd Qays ibn Khuldah ibn Mukhlid ibn ‘Āmir ibn Zurayq ibn ‘Āmir.

A Poetic Exposition on the Fragility of Faith and the Boundaries of Tawḥīd

 

The Nullifiers of Islam

¹⁵⁶O seeker of truth, with heart sincere,

    Attend, incline thy listening ear.

¹⁵⁷For He who reigns beyond the skies

    Commands His slaves to Islam rise.

¹⁵⁸To tread its path, to guard its way,

    And shun what leads the heart astray.

¹⁵⁹Through him, the Prophet, mercy’s light,

    Was sent to guide us to the right.

¹⁶⁰Who follows him shall never roam,

    Who turns away shall lose his home.

¹⁶¹The Book resounds in warnings dire,

    Of disbelief and Hell’s own fire.

¹⁶²The learned tell in words severe

    Of paths that lead to faith’s veneer.

¹⁶³A Muslim’s soul may fall, bereft,

    By acts that leave his creed unweft.

¹⁶⁴Among the snares that most ensnare,

    Ten nullifiers—heed, beware.

First of All: The Gravest Sin

¹⁶⁵To rival God, to shirk His throne,

    To bow to gods not His alone.

¹⁶⁶For He hath sworn and made it plain:

    No sin like this shall be forgiven.

¹⁶⁷"For he who partners doth proclaim,

    Paradise is not his claim.

¹⁶⁸The flames shall be his final bed,

    And none shall help him where he’s led."

¹⁶⁹So, call not out to those now dust,

    Nor seek their aid nor in them trust.

¹⁷⁰To vow, to sacrifice in name

    Of those long gone is sin’s dark claim.

 Second: Who Calls on Intercessors Near

¹⁷¹Who calls between himself and Him

    Another voice, a name grown dim,

¹⁷²And trusts their word, and bends his knee,

    Rejects divine supremacy.

¹⁷³This disbelief no doubt remains,

    And with it, faith’s last ember wanes.

 Third: He Who Does Not Disbelieve

¹⁷⁴Who sees the “shirk” of idol’s way,

    Yet deems it right or holds at bay

¹⁷⁵His doubt that such is disbelief—

    He too is lost beyond relief.

 Fourth: Preferring Law of Tyrants’ Rule

¹⁷⁶If one should claim that law of man

    Exceeds what Allah’s will began,

¹⁷⁷Or scorns the rule the Prophet gave,

    That soul is lost, that heart enslaved.

 Fifth: Who Loathes a Messenger’s Decree

¹⁷⁸To scorn the words the Prophet brought,

    Though lips obey, yet heart is fraught—

¹⁷⁹A loathing thus, though deeds remain,

    Shall strip the faith, make deeds in vain.

 

Sixth: Who Mocks Divine Command

¹⁸⁰Mock not the law, nor jest in vain,

    Nor scorn reward, nor Hell’s own pain.

¹⁸¹For God hath sworn, so take ye heed,

    That mockery makes void thy creed.

 Seventh: The Darkened Arts of Magic’s Spell

¹⁸²Who twists the fate, who bends the will,

    By sorcery in whispers shrill,

¹⁸³Or finds delight in magic’s thread,

    Is one who walks among the dead.

 Eighth: Who Aids the Enemies of Faith

¹⁸⁴To aid the foes of creed so pure,

    Is to forsake, is to obscure.

¹⁸⁵"Who joins their hands shall be as them,"

    So saith the Lord in warning grim.

 Ninth: Who Claims That Some May Stray Beyond the Path

¹⁸⁶If one should say that some may find

    A road outside what’s left behind—

¹⁸⁷Beyond Muhammad’s sacred way,

    That soul in darkness too shall stay.

Tenth: Who Turns Away from Sacred Lore

¹⁸⁸Who shuns the knowledge, turns his face,

    From truth, from law, from God’s embrace,

¹⁸⁹Shall find himself in shadow cast,

    A fate most grim, a doom held fast.

No Jest, No Jest, Beware, Beware!

¹⁹⁰These nullifiers stand in weight,

    No lightened load, nor jesting’s fate.

¹⁹¹No fear, nor play, nor careless game,

    Can shield thee from their scorching flame.

¹⁹²Who claims that laws of man outshine

    The words the Prophet made divine,

¹⁹³Or scorns the rule, or claims anew

    That faith must change with modern view—

¹⁹⁴He walks a path where loss is sure,

    Where faith is torn, where Hell is pure.

¹⁹⁵Who deems the thief’s just hand unshorn,

    Or lets adultery go unworn,

¹⁹⁶Or claims that judgment must be weighed

    By laws that mortal hands have laid—

¹⁹⁷Then he allows what God forbade,

    And in his sin, his faith is swayed.