The Seerah · Chapter 15
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PART 2 · THE MAKKAN PERIOD · الْعَهْدُ الْمَكِّيُّ

STAGE 5 · TOWARD MADINAH

بَيْعَتَا الْعَقَبَةِ

Chapter 15: The Pledges of al-‘Aqabah

The people of Yathrib open their hearts — and their city — to Islam

Sheikh Mohamed Fawzyالشيخ محمد فوزي

© 2026 Sheikh Mohamed Fawzy. All rights reserved. Version 1.7

A new hope عَرْضُ الْإِسْلَامِ عَلَى الْقَبَائِلِ

Looking for a home for Islam

Each Hajj season, the Prophet ﷺ went to the tents of the tribes at Minā and called them to Islam. Most refused. Then he met a small group from Yathrib…

Makkah مكةYathrib يثربal-‘Aqabah, Minā العقبة
  1. Year 11 Six men of al-Khazraj from Yathrib listen, believe, and promise to tell their people.
  2. Year 12 Twelve men come back and make the First Pledge of al-‘Aqabah. The Prophet ﷺ sends Muṣ‘ab ibn ‘Umayr with them as a teacher.
  3. Year 13 More than seventy come at night and make the Second Pledge: to protect the Prophet ﷺ as they protect their own families.
Numbers and years: Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm.
The pledge بَيْعَةُ الْعَقَبَةِ

“We pledged to him that…”

عَنْ عُبَادَةَ بْنِ الصَّامِتِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: إِنِّي مِنَ النُّقَبَاءِ الَّذِينَ بَايَعُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. وَقَالَ بَايَعْنَاهُ عَلَى أَنْ لَا نُشْرِكَ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا، وَلَا نَسْرِقَ، وَلَا نَزْنِيَ، وَلَا نَقْتُلَ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ، وَلَا نَنْتَهِبَ، وَلَا نَعْصِيَ بِالْجَنَّةِ إِنْ فَعَلْنَا ذَلِكَ، فَإِنْ غَشِينَا مِنْ ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا كَانَ قَضَاءُ ذَلِكَ إِلَى اللَّهِ.
‘Ubādah ibn al-Ṣāmit said: “I am one of the leaders (nuqabā’) who pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” And he said: “We pledged to him that we would not associate anything with Allah, not steal, not commit adultery, not kill a soul Allah has made sacred, not plunder, and not disobey — with Paradise as the reward if we did that. If we fell into any of that, the judgement of it is with Allah.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 3893Sahih

Belief

Worship Allah alone.

Character

No stealing, no adultery, no killing, no robbing.

Obedience

Obey him in what is good — and the reward is Paradise.

“In what is good” comes from another narration of ‘Ubādah: «وَلَا تَعْصُوا فِي مَعْرُوفٍ» (al-Bukhari 18). Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm treats these terms as those of the First Pledge.

The first teacher مُصْعَبُ بْنُ عُمَيْرٍ

A young teacher for a whole city

عَنِ الْبَرَاءِ بْنِ عَازِبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: أَوَّلُ مَنْ قَدِمَ عَلَيْنَا مُصْعَبُ بْنُ عُمَيْرٍ وَابْنُ أُمِّ مَكْتُومٍ، وَكَانَا يُقْرِئَانِ النَّاسَ ...
al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib said: “The first [of the Companions] to come to us [in Madinah] were Muṣ‘ab ibn ‘Umayr and Ibn Umm Maktūm, and they taught the people the Qur’an…”
Sahih al-Bukhari 3925Sahih

Muṣ‘ab

A young man from a rich Makkan family, who gave up his comfort for Islam. In one year in Yathrib, Islam entered almost every house.

The power of the Qur’an

He did not fight anyone — he taught the Qur’an, and hearts opened.

Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm: through Muṣ‘ab, the leaders Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ādh and Usayd ibn Ḥuḍayr accepted Islam, and with them most of their clans.

Year 13 بَيْعَةُ الْعَقَبَةِ الثَّانِيَةُ

A secret meeting at night

In secret

At night, during the days of Hajj, more than seventy men and two women from Yathrib slipped away to the valley of al-‘Aqabah to meet him.

The promise

They pledged to listen and obey, to spend in hard times and easy times, and to protect him as they protected their own families.

Twelve leaders

He chose twelve nuqabā’ (leaders) from them — ‘Ubādah ibn al-Ṣāmit was one of them.

Source: Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm, in summary. ‘Ubādah calls himself “one of the nuqabā’” in al-Bukhari 3893 (previous slides).

The door to the Hijrah was now open: Yathrib was ready to become al-Madīnah, the City of the Prophet ﷺ.

Lessons دُرُوسٌ وَعِبَرٌ

What we learn

1

Never give up

Year after year, tribe after tribe refused — until Allah opened Yathrib.

2

Teach the Qur’an

One sincere teacher, Muṣ‘ab, changed a whole city.

3

Keep your promises

The Anṣār kept their pledge with their lives and wealth.

Review مُرَاجَعَةٌ

Quick quiz

Score: 0 / 4
1.Where were the pledges made?
Correct.
At al-‘Aqabah, at Minā near Makkah.
2.Who was sent to Yathrib to teach the Qur’an?
Right — sent after the First Pledge (Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm).
Muṣ‘ab ibn ‘Umayr, sent after the First Pledge (Ar-Raḥīq); al-Bukhari 3925 says he and Ibn Umm Maktūm were the first to arrive and teach the Qur’an.
3.About how many came to the Second Pledge?
Correct.
More than seventy.
4.What was the reward promised for keeping the pledge?
Yes (al-Bukhari 3893).
Paradise.

Thirteen years in Makkah — and now, the Hijrah

ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam ﷺ

END OF PART 2 · نِهَايَةُ الْبَابِ الثَّانِي

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