The Constitution of Medina (دستور المدينة, Dustūr al-Madīna), also known as the Umma Document,^[1] is a document dealing with tribal affairs during the Islamic prophet Muhammad's time in Medina^[2] and formed the basis of a multi-religious Islamic state in Medina.^[3][4][5][6] The name "Constitution of Medina" is generally considered imprecise because the text did not establish a state.^[7] The document has been termed as such by modern historians, whereas the source texts simply describe it as a document (kitāb, ṣaḥīfah).^[8] The Constitution of Medina has striking resemblances with Surah 5 (Al-Ma'idah) of the Quran.^[9]

The content of the document is based on its version as is found in the Biography of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq (d. 150 AH/767 CE) and later by Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam (d. 224 AH/838 CE) in his Kitab al-Amwal.^[1] How Ibn Ishaq obtained this document is unclear, as no chain of transmission^[10] or explanation of his encounter with it is offered.^[11] Nevertheless, scholars from both the Western and Islamic worlds widely accept the authenticity of the text.^[10]

Background

According to traditional Islamic belief, in Muhammad's last years in Mecca, a delegation from Medina from its twelve important clans invited him as a neutral outsider to serve as the chief arbitrator for the entire community.^[12][13] There had been fighting in Medina involving mainly its pagan and Jewish inhabitants for around 100 years before 620. The recurring slaughters and disagreements over the resulting claims, especially after the Battle of Bu'ath in which all the clans had been involved, made it obvious to them that the tribal conceptions of blood feud and an eye for an eye were no longer workable unless there was one man with the authority to adjudicate in disputed cases.^[12] The delegation from Medina pledged themselves and their fellow citizens to accept Muhammad into their community and to protect him physically as if he was one of them.^[4]

After emigration to Medina, Muhammad drafted the constitution, "establishing a kind of alliance or federation" of the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim emigrants from Mecca and specifying the rights and duties of all citizens and the relationship of the different communities in Medina, including that of the Muslim community to other communities: the Jews and the other "Peoples of the Book".^[12] According to chroniclers such as Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi (785-845 CE), the composition of the population of Medina at that time consisted of two supergroup local Arab tribes, the Aus and the Khazraj, with eight clans and 33 other smaller groups under them.^{[citation needed]} Meanwhile, the Jewish tribes at least consisted of around 20 groups, with the most well-known tribes Qaynuqa, Nadhir, and Qurayza among them,^[14] (who are not mentioned in the agreement).

Text

The following English translation is that of Michael Lecker from 2004.^[15] It is based on the version of the document found in Ibn Hisham's recension of the Seerah of Ibn Ishaq, Abu Ubaid's Kitab-al-Amwal, and Ibn Kathir's al-Bidayah-wan-Nihaya.^[16] The translation was aimed at being clear, with clauses numbered in line with international standards for ease of future reference.^[15] There is general agreement on the authenticity of the text.^[17][18]

(1) This is a prescript of Muhammad, the Prophet and Messenger of God (to operate) between the faithful and the followers of Islam ("Muslims") from among the Quraish and the people of Madina and those who may be under them, may join them and take part in wars in their company.

(2) They shall constitute a separate political unit (Ummat) as distinguished from all the people (of the world).

(3) The emigrants from the Quraish shall be (responsible) for own their ward; and shall pay their blood money in mutual collaboration and shall secure the release of their own prisoners by paying their ransom from themselves so that the mutual dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.

(4) And Banu ‘Awf shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood money in mutual collaboration, and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom from themselves so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.

(5) And Banu Al-Harith-ibn-Khazraj shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom from themselves, so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.

(6) And Banu Sa‘ida shall be responsible for their own ward, and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom from themselves, so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.

(7) And Banu Jusham shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.

(8) And Banu an-Najjar shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.

(9) And Banu ‘Amr-ibn-‘Awf shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom, so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.

(10) And Banu-al-Nabit shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.

(11) And Banu-al-Aws shall be responsible for their own ward and shall pay their blood-money in mutual collaboration and every group shall secure the release of its own prisoners by paying their ransom, so that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.

(12) (a) And the believers shall not leave any one, hard-pressed with debts, without affording him some relief, in order that the dealings between the believers be in accordance with the principles of goodness and justice.
(b) Also no believer shall enter into a contract of clientage with one who is already in such a contract with another believer.

(13) And the hands of pious believers shall be raised against every such person as rises in rebellion or attempts to acquire anything by force or is guilty of any sin or excess or attempts to spread mischief among the believers ; their hands shall be raised all together against such a person, even if he be a son to any one of them.

(14) A Believer will not kill a Believer [in retaliation] for a non-Believer and will not aid a non-Believer against a Believer.

(15) The protection (dhimmah) of Allah is one, the least of them [i.e., the Believers] is entitled to grant protection (yujīr) that is binding for all of them. The Believers are each other’s allies (mawālī) to the exclusion of other people.

(16) And that those who will obey us among the Jews, will have help and equality. Neither shall they be oppressed nor will any help be given against them.

(17) And the peace of the believers shall be one. If there be any war in the way of God, no believer shall be under any peace (with the enemy) apart from other believers, unless it (this peace) be the same and equally binding on all.

(18) And all those detachments that will fight on our side will be relieved by turns.

(19) And the believers as a body shall take blood vengeance in the way of God.

(20) (a) And undoubtedly pious believers are the best and in the rightest course.
(b) And that no associator (non-Muslim subject) shall give any protection to the life and property of a Quraishite, nor shall he come in the way of any believer in this matter.

(21) And if any one intentionally murders a believer, and it is proved, he shall be killed in retaliation, unless the heir of the murdered person be satisfied with blood-money. And all believers shall actually stand for this ordinance and nothing else shall be proper for them to do.

(22) And it shall not be lawful for any one, who has agreed to carry out the provisions laid down in this code and has affixed his faith in God and the Day of Judgment, to give help or protection to any murderer, and if he gives any help or protection to such a person, God‟s curse and wrath shall be on him on the Day of Resurrection, and no money or compensation shall be accepted from such a person.

(23) And that whenever you differ about anything, refer it to God and to Muhammad

(24) And the Jews shall share with the believers the expenses of war so long as they fight in conjunction,

(25) And the Jews of Banu ‘Awf shall be considered as one community (Ummat) along with the believers—for the Jews their religion, and for the Muslims theirs, be one client or patron. But whoever does wrong or commits treachery brings evil only on himself and his household.

(26) And the Jews of Banu-an-Najjar shall have the same rights as the Jews of Banu ‘Awf.

(27) And the Jews of Banu-al-Harith shall have the same rights as the Jews of Banu ‘Awf.

(28) And the Jews of Banu Sa‘ida shall have the same rights as the Jews of Banu ‘Awf

(29) And the Jews of Banu Jusham shall have the same rights as the Jews of Banu ‘Awf.

(30) And the Jews of Banu al-Aws shall have the same rights as the Jews of Banu ‘Awf.

(31) And the Jews of Banu Tha‘laba shall have the same rights as the Jews of Banu ‘Awf. But whoever does wrong or commits treachery brings evil only on himself and his household.

(32) And Jafna, who are a branch of the Tha’laba tribe, shall have the same rights as the mother tribes.

(33) And Banu-ash-Shutaiba shall have the same rights as the Jews of Banu ‘Awf; and they shall be faithful to, and not violators of, treaty.

(34) And the mawlas (clients) of Tha'laba shall have the same rights as those of the original members of it.

(35) And the sub-branches of the Jewish tribes shall have the same rights as the mother tribes.

(36) (a) And that none of them shall go out to fight as a soldier of the Muslim army, without the per-mission of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم).
(b) And no obstruction shall be placed in the way of any one‟s retaliation for beating or injuries; and whoever sheds blood brings it upon himself and his household, except he who has been wronged, and Allah demands the most righteous fulfillment of this [treaty].

(37) (a) And the Jews shall bear the burden of their expenses and the Muslims theirs.
(b) And if any one fights against the people of this code, their (i.e., of the Jews and Muslims) mutual help shall come into operation, and there shall be friendly counsel and sincere behaviour between them; and faithfulness and no breach of covenant.

(38) And the Jews shall be bearing their own expenses so long as they shall be fighting in conjunction with the believers.

(39) And the Valley of Yathrib (Madina) shall be a Haram (sacred place) for the people of this code.

(40) The clients (mawla) shall have the same treatment as the original persons (i.e., persons accepting clientage). He shall neither be harmed nor shall he himself break the covenant.

(41) And no refuge shall be given to any one without the permission of the people of the place (i.e., the refugee shall have no right of giving refuge to others).

(42) And that if any murder or quarrel takes place among the people of this code, from which any trouble may be feared, it shall be referred to God and God‟s Messenger, Muhammad; and God will be with him who will be most particular about what is written in this code and act on it most faithfully.

(43) The Quraish shall be given no protection nor shall they who help them.

(44) And they (i.e., Jews and Muslims) shall have each other's help in the event of any force invading Yathrib.

(45) (a) And if they (i.e., the Jews) are invited to any peace, they also shall offer peace and shall be a party to it; and if they invite the believers to some such affairs, it shall be their (Muslims) duty as well to reciprocate the dealings, excepting that any one makes a religious war.
(b) On every group shall rest the responsibility of (repulsing) the enemy from the place which faces its part of the city.

(46) And the Jews of the tribe of al-Aws, clients as well as original members, shall have the same rights as the people of this code: and shall behave sincerely and faithfully towards the latter, not perpetrating any breach of covenant. As one shall sow so shall he reap. And God is with him who will most sincerely and faithfully carry out the provisions of this code.

(47) And this prescript shall not be of any avail to any oppressor or breaker of covenant. And one shall have security whether one goes out to a campaign or remains in Madina, or else it will be an oppression and breach of covenant. And God is the Protector of him who performs the obligations with faithfulness and care, as also His Messenger Muhammad.^[19]

Historical sources

The Constitution is only known from excerpts in early Muslim sources, primarily the Al-Sīrah Al-Nabawiyyah of Ibn Hisham (early 800s CE), a recension of the Al-Sīrah Al-Nabawiyyah of Ibn Ishaq, though transmitted without a chain of narration, a crucial criterion for hadith scholars.^[20] Other important sources for the Constitution includes those of Sayyid al-Nas and Abu ‘Ubayd's Kitab al-Amwal.

According to L. Ali Khan, scholars do not agree on whether the constitution was a single document or "a compilation of multiple agreements reached at different times".^[21] According to mid-20th century scholar, Robert Bertram Serjeant, the 'Constitution of Medina' consists of "eight distinct documents ... issued on various occasions over the first seven years or so of Muhammad's Medinan period".^[22] In its first recension, Serjeant hypothesizes that the text sanctioned the establishment of a confederation; in its second, it admonished the Aws and Khazraj to abide by their treaty; in its third, in conjunction with the proceeding verses, it encouraged of Muhammad's adherents to face the Meccan forces they eventually fought at Uhud. He also suggests that 3:101–104 of the Qur'an may refer to the constitution.^[23]

Genre and authenticity

The Constitution has been highly influential among contemporary Muslims,^[24] celebrated for its religious pluralism,^[21] unique character and the first "Constitution"^[25] and belief that God is its ultimate source.^{[Note 1]} On the other hand, historians have variously characterized it as a "municipal charter” (Gemeindeordnung); or as a "unilateral proclamation" by Muhammad, whose "purpose was purely practical and administrative", rather than a treaty in the modern sense.^{[Note 2]}

Most historians have accepted the authenticity of the Constitution of Medina.^{[28][17][18][27][29][Note 3]} This is based on its inclusion of non-Muslims and its portrayal of the Quraysh (from whom all caliphs originated) as enemies of God, a view inconsistent with later Islamic periods. Other factors include the perceived archaic style of the text, its abundance of unexplained allusions that were considered to be likely understood only by contemporaries, and its apparent inclination towards tribal law over developed Islamic norms.^[10]

At least a few remain skeptical however, including Robert Hoyland,^[31] and some others think that the Constitution existed but its wording or content is no longer accessible.^{[17][32][33][34]} In the case of some historians, skepticism is constrained to particular aspects of the Constitution as well as the context of its emergence; disagreements persist on whether the documents resulted from negotiated settlements or were merely unilateral edicts by Muhammad, the identity of participants (including uncertainty about the inclusion of the three major Jewish tribes of Medina—Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayza),^[35] the quantity of documents, the precise timing of its creation (or that of its constituent parts), and the appropriate approach to its translation, among other issues.^[10]

Dating

One 20th-century scholar, W. Montgomery Watt, suggested that the Constitution of Medina must have been written in the early Medinan period (i.e., in 622 CE or shortly thereafter), because if the document had been drafted any later, then it would have both had a positive attitude towards the Quraysh and given Muhammad a more prominent place. Malay scholars, Fadzilah Din and Mohamed Noh Abdul Jalil, as well as the noted Pakistani scholar, Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri,^[36] cite the 622 CE drafting.^[37] Others, such as Hubert Grimme, suggested that it must have been drafted after the 624 CE Battle of Badr. Still others, such as Leone Caetani, suggested that the document was written before that battle.^[38]

Portions of the constitution are corroborated by multiple sound hadith reports. Its validity in its stated single form, however, has been called into question, as there is no single sound chain of authorities (isnad) supporting it.^[24][39][20] There are differences of opinion as well as to how many documents the constitution comprises—from one to eight. It is also unclear with which Jews this agreement was made, whether it was only with some of the smaller Jewish social units that had lost their tribal structure and affiliated with the Arabs, with the Judaized Arabs, or also included what later sources described as the three major Jewish clans in the city, namely Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayza,^[20] (who are not mentioned in the agreement).

This constitution gave the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who had just escaped persecution in Mecca, a leading role in the community of Medina. By dating this treaty at the outset of his arrival, it credited Muhammad with honor and power earlier than he would later gain, but more importantly, it gives the justification for Muhammad's subsequent attacks on the Jews as retaliation for their opposition to him.^[40] There is a suggestion, however, that if this constitution really existed, it was probably created after the elimination of the three major Jewish clans in Medina by Muhammad and his troops.^[41]

Another question raised about the constitution is that though it gives a list of Jewish tribes/clans of Medina involved, not among them are three famous in traditional Islamic history for being driven into exile (the Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir tribes) or "massacred and dumped into pits" (the Banu Qurayza tribe),^[42] after conspiring and rising up against Muhammad.

Relationships between signatories

Relationship with Jewish tribes

One of the constitution's more interesting aspects was the inclusion of the Jewish tribes in the ummah because although the Jewish tribes were "one community with the believers", they also "have their religion and the Muslims have theirs".^[43]

L. Ali Khan says that it was a social contract derived from a treaty and not from any fictional state of nature or from behind the Rawlsian veil of ignorance. It was built upon the concept of one community of diverse tribes living under the sovereignty of one God.^[21]

It also instituted peaceful methods of dispute resolution among diverse groups living as one people but without assimilating into one religion, language or culture.^[44] Welch in Encyclopedia of Islam states: "The constitution reveals Muhammad's great diplomatic skills, for it allows the ideal that he cherished of an ummah (community) based clearly on a religious outlook to sink temporarily into the background and is shaped essentially by practical considerations."^[4]

Relationship between Believers

Another important feature of the Constitution of Medina is the redefinition of ties between "Believers" (as they are described in the document). It sets faith relationships above blood-ties and emphasizes individual responsibility.^[45] Tribal identities are still important to refer to different groups, but the "main binding tie" for the newly created ummah is religion.^[46] That contrasts with the norms of pre-Islamic Arabia, which was a thoroughly tribal society, but Serjeant postulates the existence of earlier theocratic communities.^[6] According to Denny, "Watt has likened the Ummah as it is described in the document to a tribe, but with the important difference that it was to be based on religion and not on kinship".^[46] That is an important event in the development of the small group of Muslims in Medina to the larger Muslim community and empire.^[6]

See also

• Early reforms under Islam
• Al-Risalah al-Huquq
• Ashtiname of Muhammad
• Islam and secularism
• List of expeditions of Muhammad
• Marrakesh Declaration
• Muhammad in Medina
• Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry
• Ummah

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

• Ahmad, Barakat (1979). Muhammad and the Jews. Vikas Publishing House.
• Arjomand, Said Amir (25 October 2022). Messianism and Sociopolitical Revolution in Medieval Islam. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-38759-1.
• Caetani, Leone (1905). Annali dell'Islam. Vol. I. Milan: Hoepli.
• Cook, M. A. (1983). Muhammad. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192876058.
• Donner, Fred M. (2010-09-01). Muhammad and the Believers: At the Origins of Islam. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-50375-5.
• Firestone, Reuven (1999). Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-535219-1.
• Goudarzi, Mohsen (2024). "Mecca's Cult and Medina's Constitution in the Qurʾān: A New Reading of al-Māʾidah". Der Islam. 10 (1): 25–73.
• Holland, Tom (2012). In the Shadow of the Sword: The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World. Abacus. ISBN 978-0-349-12235-9.
• Humphreys, R. Stephen (1991). Islamic History: A Framework for Inquiry – Revised Edition. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-00856-1.
• Khatab, Sayed; Bouma, Gary D. (2007). Democracy in Islam. London: Routledge. ISBN 9780415425742.
• Lecker, Michael (2004). The "Constitution of Medina": Muḥammad's First Legal Document. Darwin Press.
• Mubarakpuri, Safiur Rahman (1996). Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum. Riyadh: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam.
• Rodinson, Maxime (2002) [1960]. Muhammad. Tauris Parke Paperbacks. ISBN 978-1-56584-752-1.
• Rubin, Uri (19 April 2022). The Life of Muhammad. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-88676-5.
• Schaller, Günter (1985). Die "Gemeindeordnung von Medina" – Darstellung eines politischen Instruments. Ein Beitrag zur gegenwärtigen. Fundamentalismus-Diskussion im Islam. Augsburg, Univ.-Diss (in German).
• Serjeant, R. B. (1964). "The Constitution of Medina". Islamic Quarterly. 8: 3–16.
• Serjeant, R. B. (1978). "Sunnah Jāmi'ah, pacts with the Yathrib Jews, and the Tahrīm of Yathrib: analysis and translation of the documents comprised in the so-called 'Constitution of Medina'". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 41 (1): 1–42. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00057761. S2CID 161485671.
• Stillman, Norman (1979). The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0-8276-0198-0.
• Suermann, Harald. (2005). "Die Konstitution von Medina. Erinnerung an ein anderes Modell des Zusammenlebens". Collectanea Christiana Orientalia. 2: 225–244. doi:10.21071/cco.v2i.693. hdl:10396/4090. [1] Archived 2020-11-28 at the Wayback Machine
• Watt, William Montgomery (1956). Muhammad at Medina. Clarendon Press.
• Watt, William Montgomery (1961). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-881078-0. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
• Wellhausen, Julius (1889). Skizzen und Vorabeiten. Vol. IV. Berlin: Reimer.
• Wensinck, Arendt Jan (1908). Muhammad and the Jews of Medina. Leiden.

Further reading

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Medina Charter

• Full text with alternate translations
• The Constitution of Medina