Islam comes to Madinah

ISLAM COMES TO MADINAH war, the Khazraj first had ascendancy. Then the Aws, under Abu Usayd, defeated the Khazraj. They inflicted heavy losses on one another, even burning houses and orchards. In this way, the Arabs weakened themselves through their internal warfare. It was the Jews who benefited from this war, and their ascendancy in Madinah was further consolidated. When feelings cooled, responsible people of both the Aws and the Khazraj realized they had made a grave mistake. They had played into the hands of their enemies. They had weakened themselves and strengthened the Jews. Many people in both tribes realized the need to rectify this situation. But this could be done only by both tribes agreeing to forgive and forget. The best way to achieve reconciliation would be by appointing a king to coordinate peacemaking. ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy of the Khazraj tribe, a man of personality and gifted with leadership qualities, was chosen for this task. At this very juncture, some Khazrajis travelled to Makkah on a pilgrimage. There they met the Prophet, Muhammad. He told them God had sent him with the true religion and called on them to believe in him. The Prophet’s words rang a bell in their minds. They remembered that the Jews used to tell them that a Prophet who would reign supreme would soon be coming. The Jews used to rejoice in the promise of his coming, for they envisaged joining forces with him to vanquish the Arabs permanently. The people of Madinah realized this was the Prophet the Jews had told them about.