['Aalim Network QR] Companions under the Tree

[Mustafa Rawji <mrawji@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>]

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|       In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful       |\
|  Greeting of Allah be upon Muhammad and the pure members of his House |\
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Salaamun alaykum,

	The reply to the following question was kindly provided by Mulla
Bashir Rahim. 

Wasalaam,

Mustafa Rawji
Moderator, 'Aalim Network

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QUESTION:

As-salaam-on alaykum

I am a Moslem shi'a and I have following question which I most appreciate
if you could help me to find a suitable answer for it: 
 
I heard that in a naration from Prophet Mohammad (SA) has promised heaven
(janna) to some of companions under a tree. Among these people were Omar,
Zobeyr, and some others who, we believe, acted against Imam Ali (SA). Is
this narration correct? 
 
Could you please elaborate on this narration whether it is Sahih or not?
and what was the occasion? and what is shi'a's point of view in this
regard? 
 

ANSWER:

Salaamun 'alaikum.

Please forgive me for the delay in responding to your above question.

The incident you refer to is known as "Bay'atul Ridhwan" (or more
correctly pronounced "Bayatur Ridhwan). 

In 6 A.H. towards the end of Shawwal, the Holy Prophet (SAWA) dreamt that
the Muslims were performing Hajj. The Quraish of Mecca, having lost
several major battles and minor skirmishes, had become the sworn enemies
of the Muslims. The Prophet invited the Muslims to join him for the
pilgrimage and made it widely known that the journey would be undertaken
in the month of Zil Qa'd. A party of 1,400 to 1,800 (the historian differ
on the actual number but give the minimum of 1,400) men and women set out
for Mecca. at Zul Hulayfah the pilgrims put on their ihrams. 

To avoid the detachment sent by the Meccans under Khalid ibne Walid, the
Holy Prophet took a route not normally used because of its rough terrain
and the inhospitable desert through which it passed. At a place called
Hudaibiyyah Prophet's camel knelt down and he decided to set camp there
and await developments. 

The Meccans sent many delegations to establish the Holy Prophet's motive
in undertaking the journey. The Prophet assured each of them that his
objective was to perform pilgrimage and no more. The Prophet sent his own
emissary to the nearby place where the chieftains of Mecca had gathered to
assure them of the object of the journey. He was maltreated. The Holy
Prophet decided to send Umar bin Khattab as his emissary to persuade the
Chiefs to allow the Muslims to perform pilgrimage but Umar wriggled his
way out and proposed Uthman bin Affan saying that he, Uthman, was closely
related to Abu Sufyan and stood a better chance of not being harassed. The
Meccan did not mistreat Uthman but prevented his return to the Holy
Prophet. 

Uncertainty and fear reigned the camp of the Holy Prophet. The Muslims
needed to find means to uplift their spirits and restore their self
confidence. 

The Holy Prophet sat under a tree (palm tree according to some historians
and acacia according to other) and asked the Muslims to give him their
bay'ah. This bay'ah is referred to as the bay'atul Rizwan. The Muslims
gave the pledge to the Holy Prophet. 

While with the limited library I have I could not find the hadith you
refer to, I do not believe that there is any need to supplement what the
Holy Qur'an has to say about this pledge in Chapter 48 (Suratul
Fath):Ayaah 4, 5, 6, 10 and 18. I would urge you to look at the entire
Chapter and pay close attention to the foregoing ayaah. In any case we can
not accept any hadith which contradicts the Holy Qur'an. 

Let us examine just two ayaah. 

Ayah 10: "Indeed those who swear allegiance to you do but swear allegiance
to Allah. The hand of Allah is above their hands, and so whosoever
violates his oath does so only to his own detriment, only to hurt his
self. Whoever fulfills his covenant with Allah, Allah will soon grant him
great recompense." 

Ayah 18: "Indeed Allah was well pleased with the believers when they
pledged their allegiance to you under the tree. Allah did know what was in
their hearts, and sent down tranquility on them and rewarded them with a
near victory." 

Uthman was released and the Meccans agreed to a peace treaty. The terms of
the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah, though of compelling interest, would be beyond
the scope of this response. Suffice it to say that in the short term it
seemed to have little benefit to the Muslims. They would have to go back
that year but might perform pilgrimage from the following year when the
residents of Mecca would vacate the city, and that there would truce for
ten years. 

Many sahaba who had given the bay'ah began to question the Holy Prophet's
wisdom in acceding to the pact. Umar wavered in his steadfastnsess to the
bay'ah by openly posing this question to the Holy Prophet: "Are you not a
true Messenger of Allah ?" He was beside himself with anger, and certainly
not tranquil, as he repeatedly shouted this question to various other
companions. 

The giving of the pledge under the tree was a solemn covenant with Allah
and the Holy Prophet. Jannah would be granted to those who honoured it,
and not to those who expressed doubt about the risalah of the Holy Prophet
and were on several occasions disobedient to the Holy Prophet. Neither
common sense nor equity could possibly lead us to any different
conclusion. Also please note that many of those who swore allegiance at
Hudaibiyyah are later declared Munafiq and condemned, in Suratul
Munafiqoon, to jahannam forever. 

If you require any further clarification please refer to the Alim Network
in the usual manner. 

[References: Taarikh-e-Tabari, Vol.2; Hayatul Quloob Vol:2; Ibne Ishaq's
Seerah, Martin Lings' Life of MUhammad and the Peshawar Nights]

May Allah forgive me if I have erred.  

With salaams and du'aas from an humble servant of Ahlul Bayt and their 
followers, and with a
request to be remembered by you in your prayers,

Bashir Rahim