The work of Mus’ab ibn 'Umair ﵁ in Madinah had borne fruits that no one had dared to dream of. In less than a year, this lone envoy of the Prophet ﷺ had spread the message of Islam to the majority of the houses in the city. Tribal chiefs who had fought each other for generations now sat side by side in prayer. Where the First Pledge of 'Aqabah had brought together twelve men, there now stood more than seventy believers ready to seal a covenant that would change the course of history. No diplomatic negotiation, no trade agreement, no tribal alliance. This was something the Arabs had never experienced: a pledge of faith, protection and sacrifice, sealed in the dead of night.
The Journey to Mina
It was the thirteenth year of Prophethood. The persecution in Makkah had taken its toll, but from Madinah came a stream of hope. Mus’ab ﵁ had sent word: the people were ready.
Jabir ibn 'Abdullah ﵁ later recounted the departure from Madinah:
We, the Muslims of Madinah, said to one another: “How long will we let the Prophet ﷺ be driven into the mountains of Makkah? How long will we let him live there in fear?”
With those words, seventy-three men and two women set out for Makkah, mingled among the larger caravan of pilgrims on their way to the Hajj. They kept their true intention strictly secret. To the outside world, they were ordinary pilgrims from Yathrib. No one was to know that they were on their way to a meeting that would determine the fate of the entire Arab world.
Among them were two remarkable women. Nusaybah bint Ka’b ﵂ was a woman whose courage would later become legendary at the Battle of Uhud, where she was wounded while shielding the Prophet ﷺ with her own body. The second was Asma’ bint 'Amr ﵂. That these two women participated in a military pledge says everything about the nature of this community. This was not a men’s pact. This was a covenant of believers.
The Nocturnal Meeting
Ka’b ibn Malik al-Ansari ﵁, one of the seventy-three who took the pledge, later described how the meeting went:
We left Madinah and when we arrived, we made an appointment with the Prophet ﷺ at Al-'Aqabah during the days of Tashriq. We kept this secret from the polytheists who came with us.
On the agreed night, they slept in their camp with their travel companions, as if nothing unusual was happening. When a third of the night had passed and the darkness was at its deepest, they began to leave their sleeping places one by one. They moved in pairs, quietly, like shadows between the tents. Every footstep had to be soundless. Every whisper could mean betrayal.
The meeting place was a narrow mountain pass at Al-'Aqabah, near Mina. One by one the Muslims from Madinah arrived, until all seventy-three men and two women were gathered in the narrow gorge. The tension was palpable. What they had come to do was not merely to make a promise. It was a declaration of war against the most powerful tribe of Arabia.
The Speech of Al-'Abbas
The Prophet ﷺ did not come alone. Beside him walked his uncle Al-'Abbas ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib ﵁, a man who had not yet embraced Islam but whose love for his nephew was unwavering. Al-'Abbas spoke first. His words were not those of a believer, but of a protector who knew the reality of tribal wars.
Al-'Abbas ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib ﵁: O people of the Khazraj. You know what position Muhammad ﷺ holds among us. We have protected him against his own people. He lives in honour and safety among his own people. But he insists on joining you. If you can fulfil what you promise him and can protect him against his opponents, then bear that responsibility. But if you think you will hand him over and abandon him after he has come to you, then leave him now, for he is safe where he is.
The words of Al-'Abbas were clear and sobering. He spoke not of faith or paradise. He spoke of blood and consequences. Offering protection to Muhammad ﷺ meant war with the Quraysh. And war with the Quraysh meant war with all of Arabia.
The Terms of the Pledge
After the words of Al-'Abbas, the Ansar addressed the Prophet ﷺ himself. He ﷺ began by reciting the Quran and calling them to Allah ﷻ. Then he laid down the terms.
The Ansar: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, speak. On what terms shall we take the pledge?
The Prophet ﷺ: Pledge that you will listen and obey, both in activity and in rest. That you will spend for the cause of Islam, both in poverty and in wealth. That you will command the good and forbid the evil. That you will speak for the cause of Allah ﷻ without fearing the blame of any blamer. And that you will support me and protect me when I come to you, in the same way as you protect yourselves, your wives and your children. If you fulfil these terms, then Paradise shall be yours.
The Prophet ﷺ did not ask for hospitality or a temporary haven. He asked for total commitment. To listen and obey, in good times and in bad. To spend for the cause, even when you yourself have nothing. To speak for the truth, even when it could cost you everything. In contrast to the First Pledge of 'Aqabah, which had been a peaceful promise, this was a pledge of war. 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit ﵁ later called it precisely that: the Pledge of War.
The Blood Oath
Al-Bara’ ibn Ma’rur ﵁ was the first to step forward. He grasped the hand of the Prophet ﷺ and spoke.
Al-Bara’ ibn Ma’rur ﵁: Yes! By the One who sent you with the truth, we will protect you against that which we protect our wives and children from. Accept our pledge, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ. By Allah, we are people of war and people of arms. We have inherited these qualities, one noble generation from another.
Before Al-Bara’ ﵁ had finished speaking, Abul-Haytham ibn al-Tayyihan ﵁ interrupted him. Not out of rudeness, but out of honesty. There was something that needed to be said before the pledge became final.
Abul-Haytham ibn al-Tayyihan ﵁: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, there are relations between us and the Jews of Madinah and we are about to sever them by following you. If we do this, and when Allah ﷻ grants you victory, will you then return to your own people and leave us?
It was a question of painful honesty. The Jewish tribes of Madinah were powerful allies. Severing those bonds for a fugitive from Makkah was an enormous risk.
The Prophet ﷺ smiled and gave an answer that removed all doubt.
The Prophet ﷺ: Blood is blood, and destruction is destruction. I am of you and you are of me. I will wage war against those you wage war against and I will make peace with those you make peace with.
With these words, the Prophet ﷺ bound his fate irrevocably to that of the Ansar. No temporary alliance, no conditional pact, no diplomatic compromise. Blood is blood. His enemies were their enemies. Their struggle was his struggle.
The Twelve Naqibs
After the pledge was taken, the Prophet ﷺ gave a final instruction.
The Prophet ﷺ: Choose from among yourselves twelve representatives, who will be responsible for their people.
The Ansar chose nine leaders from the Khazraj and three from the Aws, twelve naqibs in total. Each of them would bear the responsibility for his own clan, as a guarantor before the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ compared their role to that of the disciples of 'Isa ﵇ who served as guarantors for their people.
The Discovery
No sooner had the pledge been taken than a shout was heard from the direction of the Quraysh camp. Someone called out loudly that a conspiracy was underway. The Prophet ﷺ acted immediately.
The Prophet ﷺ: Return to your camp. Now.
The Ansar obeyed and disappeared as quickly as they had come, back into the darkness. The following morning, the leaders of the Quraysh appeared at the Madinese delegation. They were furious and demanded answers. But the non-Muslims from Madinah who had come along as pilgrims truly knew nothing. Their surprise and denial were genuine, and the Quraysh could prove nothing.
Yet the Quraysh remained suspicious. They sensed that an alliance had been forged that threatened their power. And they were right. As the Ansar departed for Madinah, the clock was ticking. The Hijrah was now merely a matter of time.
The Significance of this Night
What happened that night in the mountain pass of Al-'Aqabah was more than a treaty between tribes. It was the moment at which Islam for the first time received a home. For thirteen years the Prophet ﷺ had preached in Makkah, for thirteen years he had been persecuted and boycotted. But until that night, the Muslim community had no land, no army, no state.
After the Second Pledge of 'Aqabah, it had all of that. A city that opened its gates. Tribes that were willing to fight and die. Leaders who stuck their necks out in full awareness of the consequences. Everything that would follow, the Hijrah, the community in Madinah, the battles, the eventual return to Makkah, it all flowed forth from that one nocturnal meeting where seventy-three men and two women placed their hand in the hand of the Prophet ﷺ and swore to protect him with their lives.