Lessons from the Seerah: Gaza, the Call for Justice and the Role of Non-Muslims.

MANY MUSLIMS LIVING in the West look to non-Muslims and their movements to end the genocide that we are witnessing in Gaza.

Certainly, the activity and weekly protests, vigils, sit-ins etc, in major cities worldwide by millions of non-Muslims show that there are good people still, despite the stance of the ruling classes.

But what and how much help can we expect from the non-muslims?

To understand this there is a good example in the seerah of the Messenger ﷺ.

7 years into the Prophet’s ﷺ mission, the Quraysh had had enough. They decided to kill him and put an end to the Islamic call. They openly demanded that he be turned over by his clan so that they could execute him. Being a tribal society, however, the Prophet’s clan, Banu Hashim, would not hand over one of their own. The Prophet’s uncle, Abu Talib, gathered the clan and ordered them to take the Messenger ﷺ into their mountain pass and defend him. They all agreed on the plan, both Muslims (out of iman) and non-Muslims (out of tribal loyalty) of the clan.

There were some exceptions. Abu Lahab, the uncle and enemy of Islam, allied with the Quraysh as did a few others.

When the Quraysh saw that the Messenger ﷺ would not be handed over, they agreed on a complete socioeconomic boycott. They pledged to stop all interclan marriage (a mainstay of tribal societies), not to sell them anything nor to buy from them, not to allow any means of sustenance to them, not to make reconciliation with them, not to show mercy to them, not to mix with them, not to sit with them, not to speak to them, not to enter their houses until they surrendered the Prophet ﷺ. They planned this meticulously drawing up a document which was hung inside the Ka’bah to emphasise the seriousness of the pact.

The collective punishment of Banu Hashim was brutal. They were starved for three years, and at night, the valley would erupt with the sound of children crying from hunger. The people had to eat tree leaves. One sahaba remembers stepping on something while going out one night; it was an old piece of camel skin. He cleaned it, cooked it, and ate it to satisfy his hunger. Occasionally, some of their relatives from other tribes would secretly help by bringing animals and supplies and letting them loose at the entrance to the valley.

The Quraysh blocked any of them from going to the marketplace. Indeed they would buy up all produce that came to market regardless of whether they needed it or not just so Banu Hashim could not get any. The intent was clear- to cause maximal harm.

The unending cruelty did not touch the hearts of the Qurayshi leadership, except for a few.

3 years into the siege, Hishaam ibn Amar went to Zuhair ibn Abi Umayyah of Abu Jahl’s Makhzoom clan and said: “O Zuhair, are you pleased to eat food, wear clothes and marry women, while your uncles (Zuhair’s mother was of Banu Hashim) are in this situation that you know very well about? They cannot buy anything, nor can anyone buy from them, they cannot marry nor can they marry their daughters to anyone. Indeed, I swear by Allah, that had they been the uncles of Abu Jahl and had I then invited him to do the same to them that he asks you to do, he would never have agreed.”

Moved by Hishaam’s passionate plea, Zuhair said: “Woe, upon you, O Hishaam. What can I do? I am only one man. By Allah, if I had with me another, I would have made a stand to nullify the pact.”

“You have indeed found a man to join you,” said Hishaam.

“Who is he?’

“Me,’ said Hishaam.

“Then find us a third person to join our cause,” said Zuhair.

Hishaam then went to al-Mut’im ibn ‘Adi and said to him: “O Mut’im are you pleased that two clans from the children of Abdul Manaf will be destroyed while you will witness that happening and whilst you are in agreement with the Quraysh…”

Al Mut’im was similarly won over and they sought a fourth person who was Abu al-Bukhtari and a fifth person, Zum’ah ibn al-Aswad.

The five non-Muslims, motivated by their principles to stop the injustice they saw, met secretly that night and made a plan.

The next day, as the Quraysh gathered outside the Ka’bah as was custom, the five spread out among the crowds.

Zuhair spoke first, addressing the crowds: “Shall we eat food and wear clothing while the children of Hashim are being destroyed? They cannot buy, nor can anyone buy from them. By Allah, I will not sit down until this false declaration, this divisive declaration, is torn up.”

Abu Jahl, who was there said: ‘You have lied. By Allah, this will not be torn up.”

Zum’ah stood up: ‘By Allah, you are the greater liar. we were not pleased with the writing of the declaration when it was being written.”

Abu al-Bukari followed: “Zum’ah has spoken the truth we were not pleased with what was written in it and we do not accept it.”

Al Mut’im stood: ‘The two of you have spoken the truth and he has lied who says otherwise. We absolve ourselves from it and from what has been written in it.’

This was echoed by Hishaam ibn Amr from another section of the crowd.

Abu Jahl realised what was happening: “This is a matter that has been decided upon during the night. Decisions were made regarding this matter in other than this place.”

Mut ‘im went to the declaration inside the Ka’bah to tear it up but found that woodworms had already eaten the scroll apart from the section on which was written: “In your name, O Allah.”

One by one the Qurayshi noblemen expressed a rejection of the declaration and the siege came to an end. The Prophet’s ﷺ clan returned to Makkah.

This chapter from the seerah of the Prophet ﷺ bears many parallels with what we see happening in Gaza today.

A community of Muslims and Christians are being destroyed by 2000-pound bombs and starved to death by a merciless occupying force and its powerful allies.

Non-Muslims across the world are haunted by the image of suffering that is coming out from a besieged Gaza. They are amazed by the grace of the believers who like the sahaba are patient with Allah’s decree. We see the treacherous likes of Abu Lahab in the form of our rulers who are lap dogs in the hands of the colonialist powers.

People who care about justice are speaking out. They demand a ceasefire and an end to the violence and discrimination by the Israeli occupation. They recognize the deceit of leaders who use empty words and fail to uphold decency and humanity.

We see these people come out every week in the marches. They speak up. They write. They petition. They are willing to get arrested for standing up for justice.

Their stance is appreciated and thanked by Muslims. The Prophet ﷺ spoke about the likes of Mut’im ibn Adi and what he did for the Muslims. For instance, after the battle of Badr, he ﷺ said: “Had Al-Mut ‘im ibn Adi been alive and interceded with me for these mean people, I would have freed them for his sake.”(Bukhari)

But the non-Muslims can only go so far.

Yes, by Allah’s Will, they helped to lift the 3 year siege allowing the return of the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims to Makkah. But their return wasn’t the end goal. The Prophet’s mission wasn’t to lift the sanction. It was to establish the Islamic way of life in the land.

The siege, like many other events, was one of a series of testing episodes that he ﷺ and the Muslims went through in that mission.

We can’t forget that. The mission for the Muslims is not a ceasefire (we have had ceasefires many, many times before). It isn’t even an end to apartheid, which is needed. It isn’t a two-state solution which is unjust, unworkable and unIslamic. It is to restore Islamic rule in the Holy Land and every other land. Indeed in history, we have seen that it is only under Islamic rule that there has been peace in this region where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in harmony.

This idea of what Muslims should do may have been forgotten due to centuries of colonization and our current state of weakness or sense of desperation given what we are seeing and the complete absence of a response from our rulers. However, working for the Islamic cause is based on our aqeeda and demonstrated by our Messenger ﷺ during his prophetic mission, no matter how few in number or weak he appeared.

While we value support from everyone, we must always remember to share our cause with non-Muslims sincerely and wisely. Our values and worldviews stem from our Islamic creed and our goal is to present Islam as it is and not be embarrassed by it or think it irrelevant. After all, what greater gift can we offer a non-Muslim than the gift of iman!

Gaza has changed the world and the way that Muslims and Islam are perceived. We now need to do our part to present and build public opinion for Islam as the only solution that will bring justice and peace to the Holy Land and beyond.

وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةًۭ وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ ٱلْوَٰرِثِينَ

وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ

And We wished to do a favour to those who were weak (and oppressed) in the land, and to make them leaders and to make them the inheritors. And establish them in the land… (Qasas 5-6)