A Center of Trust and Security

After a long separation, the Messenger of Allah was back in Medina once again. It was the beginning of a brand-new period in Medina. People travelled to Medina in groups, coming to visit our Prophet, accepting the religion of Islam and becoming honored with the blessing of faith. Medina, a city which had been torn apart by war until recently, had surpassed its previous state in only a matter of nine years. It was now a center which distributed trust and security to the rest of the world. Throughout the years following the emigration to Medina, Allah had glorified the religion of Islam. Everything else besides the true religion was now deemed lowly and worthless. However, there were some groups who were not pleased with these positive developments. One of them happened to be among the most powerful empires of the time, the Byzantine. Ever since the Battle of Muta, the Byzantine King Heraclius had been having the intention to invade the Arabian Peninsula in order to put an end to the spread of Islam. With the support of the Christian Arabs and certain other tribes, Heraclius had gathered a great army and was prepared to confront Medina. As soon as our Prophet grew aware of the situation, he ordered his Companions to prepare for battle. During the preparations, the respected Companions of our Prophet showed great selflessness as they sacrificed whatever they possessed, in the way of Allah. The Islam army came all the way to Tabuk, but the Byzantine were nowhere to be seen. Fearing that he would lose his throne, the King Heraclius had retreated. Thus, the strength and durability of the Byzantine had fallen, and the news spread throughout the land. After consultation among each other, the Messenger of Allah and his respected Companions decided to depart from Tabuk. They headed back to Medina all together.

Together with our Prophet’s return from Tabuk came the acceleration of the groups of people flocking into Medina. Medina was now hosting a new group of guests almost every single day. The success of the Muslims in very important turning points, such as the Conquest of Mecca and the battles of Hunayn and Tabuk, had paved the way for people’s hearts to open up to Islam. In only a year, Medina hosted nearly three hundred fifty different groups, each consisting of a different number of people. Most of them returned to their own tribes after becoming Muslim. The excitement of those returning home after being honored with Islam was matchless. They were practically running back to their homes to introduce Islam to their own family and close ones. The people of Thaqif had stood against our Prophet during the siege of Ta’if in the eighth year of the Hijra. In the ninth year of the Hijra, following the expedition to Tabuk, the same people sent a group from among them to become Muslim.

As more and more people came to Medina, the Messenger of Allah sent some of his Companions to different places in order to teach people about Islam, at the same time. These individuals invited the people there to Islam, taught them the essentials of the religion and also represented the beauty of Islam through their lifestyles.