The Charter of Madinah

When the Prophet ﷺ made the Hijrah to Madinah, the city was inhabited by several distinct groups. The Aws and Khazraj together became known as the Ansar. The Jewish inhabitants were divided into three groups, and finally there were the new migrants from Makkah: the Muhajirun. This charter was most likely drafted in the first year of the Hijrah, shortly after the arrival of the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah. The Prophet ﷺ decided to draw up a document, a kind of constitution or charter, in which the rights and duties of every group were described. The Jews were also included in this, because the Prophet ﷺ had an agreement with them: they would be allowed to live in peace and safety under the new Islamic state, on the condition that they would help protect the Muslims from external threats. In the same way, the Muslims would intervene if the Jews were attacked by an external enemy.

What exactly was written in this charter? What specific provisions did it contain? Let us first set out a number of key points before we look at the articles of the charter itself.

To understand the charter, it is important to consider the revolutionary concept it introduced: the ummah as a political covenant that included all inhabitants of Madinah, regardless of their religion.

The Ummah Covenant

Since the modern era, the world has grown accustomed to the concept of nationalism: a collective identity and bond based on a shared language, culture, history, and religion. These shared elements, it is held, determine how people relate to one another in society. In Islam, and for Muslims, this bond works differently, especially because nationalism is a new and Western idea. So how does the concept of the ummah fit in?

The term ummah has multiple definitions, but to keep it simple we will use two overarching ones:

Religious definition: the ummah as a group of people who share the same creed
Political definition: the ummah as a group or community, such as a society

The first definition speaks of Muslims as an ummah, or the Jews as an ummah, or the Christians as an ummah. The second definition is broader, because it can apply to a society in which, for example, the Muslims and Jews of Madinah form one ummah together.

The difference from nationalism is that the bond based on the ummah is not rooted in culture, ethnicity, or language. It is an ideological bond based on the order of Islam. This breaks down all barriers between Muslims with regard to their unique cultural or tribal backgrounds. A person’s color, ethnicity, or language forms no basis whatsoever for the bond between Muslims. This was a unique concept in that era, and it made the drafting of the charter a crowning achievement in establishing the bond of brotherhood among the Muslims in Madinah. The bond on the basis of Islam does not mean, however, that non-Muslims are excluded from it. As we will see, the “Jews of Yathrib” also formed part of the ummah, in the political sense. Non-Muslims were not excluded from citizenship in the Islamic society.

The Borders Were Established

In addition to defining the ummah, the borders of Madinah were established. This meant it was forbidden to cut down trees or kill birds within Madinah, let alone harm the prosperity or lives of its people. Madinah was the territory of the new state. The Prophet ﷺ sent his Companions ﵁ out to mark the borders of Madinah in all directions using markers and flags. From the west and the east, Madinah extended up to, but not including, the rocky terrain on both sides. The northern border lay at Mount Thawr and the southern border at Mount 'Aiyr.

Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ Have the Final Word

In matters of dispute in all affairs, reference must be made to Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ. This confirms that Madinah would be governed according to the Sharia and that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the leader of the new state. This also meant that the Jews of Madinah were bound by this arrangement. The nuance, of course, is that this did not apply to all matters, but specifically to matters between them and the Muslims. If there was a dispute between the Jews on one side and the Muslims on the other, everyone agreed that the Prophet ﷺ would judge in the matter. When it came to disputes among the Jews themselves, they were free to judge according to the Torah, and their rabbis would rule between the two parties. If they wished, they had the option to ask the Prophet ﷺ for his opinion. The Prophet ﷺ would then, depending on the matter, either judge between them or refer them back to their rabbis.