Fraternity smashed class discrimination and gender bias among Muslim migrants, as they included the rich, nobles and merchants as well as simple people, the poor, the needy and the freed slaves.

Prophet establishes brotherhood between Muhajireen and Ansar in Medina

The second task the prophet did after the migration to Medina was establishing brotherhood (Moakhat) between Muhajireen (immigrants) and Ansar (supporters/residents of Medina). This was the first step in terms of organizing the Muslim community. The prophet called upon all his companions, Muhajireen and Ansar, after five or eight months, to fraternize among them, and said: “Fraternize in Allah in pairs.” Then, the prophet took the hand of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (AS) and said: “This is my brother.”

Every one of the Muhajireen established brotherhood with one of the Ansar, the Prophet (pbuh) and Imam Ali (AS) were brothers, Abu Bakr and Kharej Al-Khazraji were brothers, Omar fraternized with Utban ibn Malik and so on.

Humane Brotherhood established by Islam

Historians say this brotherhood which took place in Medina after the migration was the second one. The first was in Mecca between the migrants themselves, where the Prophet (pbuh) established brotherhood, prior to migration, between his Quraish companions and their freed slaves. He established brotherhood between, for example, his uncle Hamza and his slave Zaid Ibn Haritha, and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah and Salim, Abu Hudhayfa’s slave. He fraternized among them on righteousness and equality.

The aim of this fraternity that took place in Mecca is to smash class discrimination and gender bias among Muslim migrants, as they included the rich, nobles and merchants as well as simple people, the poor, the needy and the freed slaves. So, Islam deemed it necessary to break down the social and living class differences among the faithful, and expressing the form of Islamic equality as well as to deepen the faithful relationship between Muslim.

Brotherhood between Muhajireen and Ansar after the migration to Medina was to achieve several things:

The first thing was to organize the lives of Muslims and affirm their unity to eliminate the internal contradictions among them, especially between the Aws and Khazraj, and the elimination of all suspicion in the return of old enmity between them. It was also to eliminate any potential or expected conflicts between Muhajireen and Ansar since that the Muhajireen were guests of the Ansar and because they had no links or relationships that may grab Arabs to each other. The Ansar were formed of two tribes, the Aws and Khazraj, who had wars between them and old feuds. Islam at that point was awaiting major dues; establishing the state and Islamic political community, as well as spreading Islam (Daawa).

Muslims were to face major challenges as a new society, the challenges of the infidels, hypocrites and Jews inside Medina, and the challenges of the Jews and the polytheists in Mecca and the Arabian Peninsula in general. These challenges and the amount of responsibility borne by Muslims to establish and defend this religion required on the first hand that Muslims forget their grudges and feuds that existed among them in Jahiliya era (era of ignorance). It also required that they remove tribal sensitivities, so that their community would be coherent and interrelated after it was at odds.

As a result of this brotherhood, the earliest Muslims in the Prophet’s era has shifted from a disjointed society to a coherent and united one with common goal and destiny. They focused their capabilities against the enemies of Islam and religion. This brotherhood had significant results, in the history of confrontation with the enemy, Muslims were able to achieve great victories in the battles of Badr, Khandak, and others, despite they were few in number and poor in gear.

The second thing was to heal the severe disparity in the living and economic standard between Muhajireen and Ansar as the latter were already rich. However Muhajireen were poor because they left everything behind in Mecca when they migrated to Medina. Most of them didn’t have a living. Thus, brotherhood was important to achieve the principle of sympathy and the Islamic Justice.

With the spirit of Moakhat (brotherhood), Ansar consoled their brothers Muhajireen with the most brothers can console each other. It left among Ansar a sense of responsibility towards their fellow Muhajireen. They provided them with the means to work and be productive so they alongside them in agriculture. Ansar waivered with half of their own wealth, property, and land for Muhajireen without hesitation. “We haven’t seen as the Ansar of Medina, they truly consoled us, paid much and gave us professions until we feared they had the whole reward from Allah,” Muhajireen said of their fellow Ansar.

The third thing is to find the most appropriate alternative for Muslims at that stage as a compensate for their loss of blood kinship and brotherhood. Those who converted to Islam, especially the Muhajireen, had been totally separated from their people and fellows, and were confronted from people closest to them because of their Islam and following the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). They became lonely, with no clan or brothers. Islamic Moakhat came to clog the gap and heal their loneliness and alienation, and to be the most appropriate alternative for the loss of their kin and relatives.

Edited and Translated by: Batoul Wehbe