Remembering Prophet Muhammad's legacy

— Saheefa, the Medina Constitution

- By Dr M Haris DEEN

On this day when Muslims all over the world are remembering the birth of Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him), I wish to recall the most incredible legacy of peace and unity offered by the Prophet to the people of Yathrib on his acceptance by the people of that region as their leader on the Prophet's migration to Yathrib 1445 years ago.

It is essential to highlight that Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not enter Medina as a conqueror. He went there seeking refuge from persecution in Mecca. But strangely, the people of Yathrib (as Medina was called by the Arabs during that time) admitted the Prophet as their leader. Therefore, he (Muhammad Peace be upon him) sought the confidence of the Yathribite populace by declaring the "Saheefa", a charter guaranteeing peace and protection to all the people. The Constitution of Medina, also known as the Charter of Medina (Sahifat al-Medina), is believed to have been written in 622-624 CE and is said to have been drawn up on behalf of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shortly after the Prophet arrived in Yathrib as it was known then, in 622 CE which is the first Hijra year (1 AH).

The preamble to the charter declares the document to be "a book [kitab] of the prophet Muhammad to operate between the believers [mu'minin] and Muslims from the Quraysh tribe from Yathrib and those who may be under them and wage war in their company" declaring them to constitute "one community [ummah wahidah] separate from all other people". It established the collective responsibility of nine constituent tribes for their members’ actions.