The Charter of Medina

Capulet

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While we're on the subject of constitutions and Islam (Iraq), did you know that the Prophet Muhammad (SWT) wrote one of the first constitutions in the world?

And believe it or not, it called for cooperation and loyalty to Jews.

http://www.constitution.org/cons/medina/con_medina.htm

THE MEDINA CHARTER

622 C.E.

In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful.

(1) This is a document from Muhammad the prophet (governing the relations) between the believers and Muslims of Quraysh and Yathrib, and those who followed them and joined them and labored with them.

(2) They are one community (umma) to the exclusion of all men.

(3) The Quraysh emigrants according to their present custom shall pay the bloodwit within their number and shall redeem their prisoners with the kindness and justice common among believers.

(4-8) The B. ‘Auf according to their present custom shall pay the bloodwit they paid in heatheism; every section shall redeem its prisoners with the kindness and justice common among believers. The B. Sa ida, the B. ‘l-Harith, and the B. Jusham, and the B. al-Najjar likewise.

(9-11) The B. ‘Amr b. ‘Auf, the B. al-Nabit and the B. al-‘Aus likewise.

(12)(a) Believers shall not leave anyone destitute among them by not paying his redemption money or bloodwit in kindness.

(12)(b) A believer shall not take as an ally the freedman of another Muslim against him.

(13) The God-fearing believers shall be against the rebellious or him who seeks to spread injustice, or sin or animosity, or corruption between believers; the hand of every man shall be against him even if he be a son of one of them.

(14) A believer shall not slay a believer for the sake of an unbeliever, nor shall he aid an unbeliever against a believer.

(15) God’s protection is one, the least of them may give protection to a stranger on their behalf. Believers are friends one to the other to the exclusion of outsiders.

(16) To the Jew who follows us belong help and equality. He shall not be wronged nor shall his enemies be aided.

(17) The peace of the believers is indivisible. No separate peace shall be made when believers are fighting in the way of God. Conditions must be fair and equitable to all.

(18) In every foray a rider must take another behind him.

(19) The believers must avenge the blood of one another shed in the way of God.

(20)(a) The God-fearing believers enjoy the best and most upright guidance.

(20)(b) No polytheist shall take the property of person of Quraysh under his protection nor shall he intervene against a believer.

(21) Whoever is convicted of killing a believer without good reason shall be subject to retaliation unless the next of kin is satisfied (with blood-money), and the believers shall be against him as one man, and they are bound to take action against him.

(22) It shall not be lawful to a believer who holds by what is in this document and believes in God and the last day to help an evil-doer or to shelter him. The curse of God and His anger on the day of resurrection will be upon him if he does, and neither repentance nor ransom will be received from him.

(23) Whenever you differ about a matter it must be referred to God and to Muhammad.

(24) The Jews shall contribute to the cost of war so long as they are fighting alongside the believers.

(25) The Jews of the B. ‘Auf are one community with the believers (the Jews have their religion and the Muslims have theirs), their freedmen and their persons except those who behave unjustly and sinfully, for they hurt but themselves and their families.

(26-35) The same applies to the Jews of the B. al-Najjar, B. al-Harith, B. Sai ida, B. Jusham, B. al-Aus, B. Tha'laba, and the Jafna, a clan of the Tha‘laba and the B. al-Shutayba. Loyalty is a protection against treachery. The freedmen of Tha ‘laba are as themselves. The close friends of the Jews are as themselves.

(36) None of them shall go out to war save the permission of Muhammad, but he shall not be prevented from taking revenge for a wound. He who slays a man without warning slays himself and his household, unless it be one who has wronged him, for God will accept that.

(37) The Jews must bear their expenses and the Muslims their expenses. Each must help the other against anyone who attacks the people of this document. They must seek mutual advice and consultation, and loyalty is a protection against treachery. A man is not liable for his ally’s misdeeds. The wronged must be helped.

(38) The Jews must pay with the believers so long as war lasts.

(39) Yathrib shall be a sanctuary for the people of this document.

(40) A stranger under protection shall be as his host doing no harm and committing no crime.

(41) A woman shall only be given protection with the consent of her family.

(42) If any dispute or controversy likely to cause trouble should arise it must be referred to God and to Muhammad the apostle of God. God accepts what is nearest to piety and goodness in this document.

(43) Quraysh and their helpers shall not be given protection.

(44) The contracting parties are bound to help one another against any attack on Yathrib.

(45)(a) If they are called to make peace and maintain it they must do so; and if they make a similar demand on the Muslims it must be carried out except in the case of a holy war.

(45)(b) Every one shall have his portion from the side to which he belongs.

(46) The Jews of al-Aus, their freedmen and themselves have the same standing with the people of this document in purely loyalty from the people of this document. Loyalty is a protection against treachery. He who acquires ought acquires it for himself. God approves of this document.

(47) This deed will not protect the unjust and the sinner. The man who goes forth to fight and the man who stays at home in the city is safe unless he has been unjust and sinned. God is the protector of the good and God-fearing man and Muhammad is the apostle of God.
 
Interesting to say the least... Maybe we should have a media blitz with this.
 
Very interesting indeed. A top drawer find there Capulet! :hatsoff:

You are right to highlight the stated relationship with those of Jewish faith. That is something too many preachers of his faith need to be reminded of.

Number 21 is also quite interesting.
 
You (or the site, which is nevertheless interesting) seem to misunderstand the modern concept of constitution...
Modern constitution = basics of the organisation of the state (that is, without detailed laws) (in the past all laws were called "constitutions")
"Constitution of Medina" is a list of more and less detailed laws organising the relations between two groups of people in Yathrib (Madina).

And btw, the cooperation ended very quickly.
 
It is really a great find. Constitution or not, it shows the bond between the Jews and Arabs (no matter how short lived) was one preached by Muhammed himself.

P.S.-Dreadnought, hate to break this to you, but you didn't seperate the "que" form the "populous" in SPQR. "Senatus Populus Que Romanus".
 
Israelite9191 said:
It is really a great find. Constitution or not, it shows the bond between the Jews and Arabs (no matter how short lived) was one preached by Muhammed himself.

P.S.-Dreadnought, hate to break this to you, but you didn't seperate the "que" form the "populous" in SPQR. "Senatus Populus Que Romanus".

-que is an enclitic, IIRC... it isn't supposed to be separated ;)

you're quite right BTW, there was a cultural bond between Jews and Arabs, and it didn't end as quickly at all as someone suggested in this thread. Jews and Arabs certainly shared a bond in Iberia, I can tell you that much...
 
Sorry, haven't taken Latin in four years now. And yes, they most certainly did share a bond in Cordova. Also, it was common for Jews to flee Christian Europe for the Ottoman Empire. In fact, durring the Spanish Inquisition, it was one of, if not the, most favored destinations by escaping Jews. More so than Navar, France, and even Venice, the most liberal state in Europe.
 
The Medina charter is just one of many agreements signed by the prophet Mohammed.

Why don’t the Jews call the other 11 tribes of the Hebrew faith, and consult the matter of Palestine via a council session?
 
Capulet said:
While we're on the subject of constitutions and Islam (Iraq), did you know that the Prophet Muhammad (SWT) wrote one of the first constitutions in the world?

So the first question I have is, where is this document from? Or is it just made up?
 
Nanocyborgasm said:
So the first question I have is, where is this document from? Or is it just made up?
It is just made up of course. :lol:
 
Well, everything has to be written, or "made up" doesn't it? And it was supposedly "made up" by the Prophet Muhammad (SWT).

I don't know where the source of the actual text is from, but I don't think someone would make an effort to fake something like this. And the charter's creation has been recorded in history.
 
Capulet said:
Well, everything has to be written, or "made up" doesn't it? And it was supposedly "made up" by the Prophet Muhammad (SWT).

I don't know where the source of the actual text is from, but I don't think someone would make an effort to fake something like this. And the charter's creation has been recorded in history.

And yet it just comes up now. How convenient!

Please provide an actual source.
 
Nanocyborgasm said:
And yet it just comes up now. How convenient!

Please provide an actual source.

It just comes up now? It has always been there, no one has bothered to look for it. I found out about it through my own skimming through Wikipedia. :lol:

Anyway:

http://al-islam.org/restatement/34.htm

Washington Irving

Calling a council of war, he (Mohammed) propounded thequestion whether or not to continue forward (from Tabuk). To this Omar replied drily: "If thou has the command of God to proceed further, do so." "If I had the command of God to proceed further," observed Mohammed, "I should not have asked thy counsel." (The Life of Mohammed)

Eventually, the Prophet decided not to advance into Syria but to return to Medina.

The army spent ten days in Tabuk. Though it had not been engaged in any action, its presence at the frontier had some salutary effects. Many northern tribes of Bedouins accepted Islam. Dauma-tul-Jandal, a strategic post between Medina and Syria, was acquired as new territory.

Just before the army left Tabuk, the monks of the monastery of St. Catherine in the valley of Sinai, came to see the Prophet. He gave them audience, and granted them a charter which is comparable to the Charter of Medina which he had granted to the Jews. Its main terms were:

1. The Muslims would protect the churches and monasteries of the Christians. They would not demolish any church property either to build mosques or to build houses for the Muslims.

2. All ecclesiastical property (of the Christians) would be exempt from every tax.

3. No ecclesiastical authority would ever be forced by the Muslims to abandon his post.

4. No Christian would ever be forced by the Muslims to become a convert to Islam.

5. If a Christian woman marries a Muslim, she would have full freedom to follow her own religion.

The army recuperated from the toil and fatigue of the long journey, and the Prophet gave it the signal to return home. He arrived in Medina after an absence of one month.

http://www.freemuslims.org/document.php?id=62

4. The Charter of Medina.

The charter was an embodiment of the Prophet Mohammed's understanding and practice of pluralism. Upon his holy flight (hijra) from Mecca to Yathrib in 622, he proposed a new name for its "civicus," or "medina" in Arabic. The Muslim newcomers were to peacefully live with several non-Muslim communities and tribes in the same city. A written Charter was negotiated and signed by the elders (leaders) of some 17 such distinct groups in Civicus. The Charter of Medina asserted the basic values and rights of the peaceful coexistence:

freedom of religious belief and worship for each and all; equality in all worldly rights and obligations, communal settlement of disputes, and shared responsibility in the defense of Civicus against outsider threats. Coming nearly six centuries before the Magna Carta (1215), the Charter of Medina was probably the earliest formulation of the basis of what later on will be termed "civil society."

http://www.satribune.com/archives/200508/P1_ahsan.htm

He offered a package in shape of Pakistan which while providing freedom to live according to Islam offered self governance, justice, dignity, security, and opportunities of economic emancipation to all citizens without any prejudice of religion. He modeled his vision on Charter of Medina, signed by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), in which there is no distinction between Muslims and non-Muslims as citizens of state so that all are equal in the eyes of state and can identify with the state. He was able to appeal to secular and religious, traditional and modern, and old and youth alike.

From an Islamic School's website:

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cach...rter+of+medina+history&hl=en&client=firefox-a

The first constitution during the prophet’s life was the Charter of Medina which was drawn by Prophet Muhammad 500-600 years before the Magna Carta. It laid out a federal role over the tribes. It was a pact signed by the Prophet and the main non-Muslim tribes – some pagans and Christians, but mostly Jews. This charter became a way of life for the citizens of Medina. A comparison is drawn below between the Charter of Medina and the US Constitution by using a few examples from the time of the Prophet Muhammad’s life:

Like I said before, I don't know where the Charter is or how anyone knows anything about it. But evidently it is known by Islamic historians, so... If you choose not to believe it exists, whatever floats your boat!
 
All this points to the Arabs as being open to a representative government of a republican style, if there are those who truly support the edicts of toleration between followers of Islam and those of Jewish (and Christian) faith under the conditions dictated. Mohammed had to lead disparate tribes of Arabs into battle, after all, so there had to have been some compromises made with those allies who wouldn't convert to his faith. It makes me wonder what happened to that spirit of tolerance.

It seems to me that repeated clashes with Western powers (the Eastern Romans, the Crusaders, etc) made Muslims grow increasingly militant, so that all non-believing monotheists -- irregardless of the proclamation that Allah is the God of Jewish and Christian faith, as well as of Islam -- were eventually condemned as infidels to be destroyed. Indeed, the militant forms of Islam so often affecting us today should be considered an extremist variant of the long-festering hostilities dating back to those historic conflicts. It doesn't change things, really. In my opinion, it is the militants of any religion who should be laying down their swords.
 
Capulet said:
It just comes up now? It has always been there, no one has bothered to look for it. I found out about it through my own skimming through Wikipedia. :lol:

Thanks for the sources. Unfortunately, they were all second-hand. I took the liberty of trailing the source, and it turns out that this charter was taken from a Muslim historian named Ibn Ishaq, who lived about 100 years after Muhammad, and who wrote about Islam's rise in Arabia, including a biography of Muhammad and some of the early battles. As he wrote this 100 years after the fact, there is immediately cause for suspicion. Also, his work did not actually survive. All we have are fragments that were requoted by later authors.

Ibn Ishaq seems to have been a kind of Arab Herodotus. His accounts are based on oral tradition, and not necessary on documentation, and on occasion, he supposedly wrote more than 1 account for the same event, concluding that "only Allah" knows which is correct.

The only thing that can be said for certain about the "Charter of Medina", if it was really written (as opposed to being an informal agreement), is that it made Muhammad the de facto leader of Medina (Yathrib) after his exile from Mecca.
 
While Ibn Ishaq was definitely not one of the most reliable biographers, we get all accounts of the Prophet (SWT)'s life from biographers who wrote after his death. The Charter isn't anything outrageous. I don't see why you're so intent on proving it never existed.

You're saying that the Charter just 'popped up.' Are you saying that it was made up to make Islam look better? 100 years after the Prophet's death? I don't think many people back then were looking for evidence of Muslim-Jewish cooperation.
 
I suppose you're going to pretend all those reports of Jews commonly going to the Ottoman Empires (and Cordoba before, and just about every other Arab sultanate while we're at it) because they were WELCOME there (as opposed to medieval Europe) are also second-hand and lies?
 
Oda Nobunaga said:
I suppose you're going to pretend all those reports of Jews commonly going to the Ottoman Empires (and Cordoba before, and just about every other Arab sultanate while we're at it) because they were WELCOME there (as opposed to medieval Europe) are also second-hand and lies?

No, that is a fact. However, it's one thing to retroactively invent a constitution that proclaims the things that are already in effect, and another to actually have it in the first place. I'm not saying the Charter didn't exist. I'm just wondering how much of what it was attributed to it was actually there. Antiquity is full of such retroactives.
 
Ok, fair enough (sorry if I came out harsh, it's just some people like to claims that Islam is solely a religion of intolerance and hatred, and, well - it gets on my nerves).

As for the exact matter of hand - I think "plausibility" is the best criteria to consider here. There's a great deal we do NOT have primary sources on for the past; we have to rely on what sounds likely to be true, and what does not. Yes, that means we have to alter our perception of history whenever new evidence come to light.

That's lucky for us, though. If we had time machines and were able to see exactly how history went down, there'd be no need for historians, and nothing much to discuss :).

Certainly, at a glance this constitution appears to conform to the general lines of the muslim philosophy until the last few centuries re the Muslims/People of the Book (Jews/Christians)/Polytheists distinction, lines of thought which (IIRC) are based directly on the Quran. If the principle in this charter are similar to those enunciated in the Quran (which IIRC they are, though I am operating only from summarization of the Muslim faith; I never had the time to read the Quran), then it is possible that Muhamad indeed wrote it.
 
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