Friday, March 16, 2012

Hilful Fudul

During the time of the Quraysh, one of the noblest covenants was made in which the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) played a prominent part. It so happened that a man from Zabid (A town in Yemen) came to sell his merchandise in Mecca. One of the Quraysh chieftains in the person of Al-As Ibn Wayel purchased the whole of it but paid nothing in return. Because of this, Zabid approached several influential Quraysh leaders but none of them agreed to confront Al-As Ibn Wayel.

Having been turned down by those that he had previously asked for help, Zabid called upon the people of Mecca exhorting every bold and fair-minded young man to come to his rescue. At last, many of them, moved by embarrassment, assembled in the house of ‘Abdallah Ibn Jad’an who entertained everyone that came to his house. Thereafter, they formed a pact, in the name of Allah, for repression of acts of lawlessness and restoration of justice to the weak and the oppressed within the walls of Mecca. The covenant was called Hilful-Fudul wherein all its members finally approached Al-As Ibn Wayel and forced him to return the merchandise of Zabid.

The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) had been one of the prominent movers of the pact and he always made it a point to express his satisfaction over the execution of this agreement. Once he remarked: “I had a hand in making such an arrangement in the house of ‘Abdullah Ibn Jad’an to which if I were invited again to help even after the advent of Islam, I would have undoubtedly participated once more”. Thru such Hiful Fudul, they had agreed to restore upon everyone what is due of him and to protect the weak from the exploits and manipulations of the oppressors.”

From the Seerah of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) we learn that Muslims should not allow for wrong to happen to anyone (believers or non-believers).

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