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Name the major and minor steps that the Prophet (pbuh) took to establish Islam.

Conclusion

The sources show the Prophet establishing Islam in a clear order. He first preached quietly, then openly, starting with his own clan. For ten years he looked for protection among the tribes until the Ansar gave the 'Aqaba pledge to shelter and support him. When Quraysh plotted against him, he made the Hijrah. In Madinah he bound emigrants and Ansar together in brotherhood and alliance, and fighting was then permitted to those who had been wronged.

Ibn Hajar notes that the clan to be warned may mean all of Quraysh, so the warning was not limited to the closest relatives. He adds that the Prophet may have started with close kin and then widened the call, because he was sent to all people. C1

The verses call the believer to proclaim the truth without compromising. Ibn Kathir adds that the believer should not fear opponents, because Allah suffices against those who mock. Maarif-ul-Quran explains that starting with one's family works because relatives know a person's character, and a united, sincere household becomes a base for spreading the faith. T2T1

The Prophet told even his daughter that he could not save her from Allah. Every person must answer for their own faith, whatever their family ties. H2

Ibn Kathir says Allah could give victory without any fighting but wants His servants to strive their utmost. Ibn Hajar adds that Allah gives virtue to whom He wills, so Companions should not be ranked by our own guesswork. T5C4

Sources

Qur'an & Tafsir

Summary

The verses show the mission growing in stages. It moved from a quiet call to an open one beginning with his own clan. Then came the Hijrah (emigration) under persecution, a bond of loyalty between those who emigrated and those who sheltered them, and finally permission to fight back against those who had wronged them. Q2T2Q1Q4Q6Q5T5

Key points

  • Ibn Kathir reports Ibn Mas'ud saying the Prophet practised and preached Islam secretly until 15:94 ordered him to proclaim it openly, after which he and his Companions came into the open. Q2T2
  • The open call began with 26:214, "warn the nearest people of your clan," and the Hijrah followed when the disbelievers expelled him, with Abu Bakr as his companion in the cave. Q1Q4
  • In Madinah, the emigrants and the people who sheltered and helped them were made close allies of one another (8:72). Ibn Kathir says 22:39, revealed when they were driven out of Makkah, was the first verse to permit fighting. Q6Q5T5

References

  • Q1Ash-Shu'ara 26:214 · The Poets
  • Q2Al-Hijr 15:94 · The Rocky Tract
  • Q4At-Tawbah 9:40 · The Repentance
  • Q5Al-Hajj 22:39 · The Pilgrimage
  • Q6Al-Anfal 8:72 · The Spoils of War
  • T2Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 15:94
  • T5Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 22:39

Sunnah

Summary

Authentic hadith describe three steps. He called out to the clans of Quraysh by name, down to his own aunt and daughter. He took the 'Aqaba pledge from the Ansar (the Madinan Helpers). In Madinah he joined emigrants and Ansar in a bond of brotherhood. H3H7H11

Key points

  • After 26:214 was revealed, he told Quraysh, the Banu 'Abd Manaf, his aunt Safiya and his daughter Fatima to save themselves, because he could not save them from Allah's punishment (Sahih al-Bukhari). H3
  • 'Ubada ibn al-Samit, one of the naqibs (tribal representatives), describes a pledge not to worship anything besides Allah, steal, commit zina (unlawful sexual relations), kill unlawfully or rob one another. H7
  • Ibn 'Abbas reports that the brotherhood between emigrants and Ansar at first even made them heirs of each other. This was later cancelled, leaving a covenant of mutual help and advice. H11

References

  • H3Sahih al Bukhari 2753 · Wills and Testaments (Wasaayaa)
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih al-Bukhari)
  • H7Sahih al Bukhari 3893 · Merits of the Helpers in Madinah (Ansaar)
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih al-Bukhari)
  • H11Sahih al Bukhari 4580 · Prophetic Commentary on the Qur'an (Tafseer of the Prophet (pbuh))
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Hadith Commentaries

Summary

Ibn Hajar fills in the Makkan steps. For ten years the Prophet went to the tribes' camps at the pilgrim fairs asking who would shelter and support him. Then seventy men from Yathrib (Madinah) gave the 'Aqaba pledge, which in his words was "on refuge and support." He calls it the starting point of the support Islam received and the cause of the Hijrah. C6C4

Key points

  • Ibn Hajar cites Jabir (via Ahmad, with a hasan chain) on the pledge's terms: hearing and obeying in good times and bad, spending in hardship and ease, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and protecting the Prophet in Yathrib as they protected their own wives and children, in return for Paradise. C6
  • Ibn Hajar holds that the 'Aqaba pledge was about refuge and support, and that the moral pledge 'Ubada reports was a separate one given after the conquest of Makkah. He notes that Ibn Ishaq held both took place at 'Aqaba. C6
  • Ibn Hajar explains that Rafi' ibn Malik ranked 'Aqaba above Badr because it was where Islam's support began and what led to the Hijrah and to the readiness for every later campaign. C4

References

  • C4Fath al-Bari on Sahih al-Bukhari 3993 · Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, vol. 7 p. 311
  • C6Fath al-Bari on Sahih al-Bukhari 3891 (part 1 of 2) · Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, vol. 7 p. 221

Expert Opinions

Summary

Expert Opinions argue that within ten years in Madinah the Prophet built a complete structured society covering worship, marriage, trade, taxation, arbitration and governance. Expert Opinions also report that Hizb ut-Tahrir models its strategy on the Prophet's history in three stages. N1N3

Key points

  • Dr. Sohail Hanif argues that Islamic sacred law maps a whole communal system, so following the Prophet means living better as a community and not only as individuals. N1
  • Hizb ut-Tahrir's three stages are: building a secretive core group; interaction with society and seeking nusrah (backing from those who hold power); then taking government. Expert Opinions report this as the group's own reading. N3

References

  • N1Claim: Build Medina-Style Collective Leadership in the West · Muslims in the West
  • N3Claim: Hizb ut-Tahrir's Staged Caliphate Strategy · Sects & Groups

Was this a bottom up or top down approach?

Conclusion

The sources don't use the words "bottom-up" or "top-down." What they describe is both at once. The Prophet called individuals and his own kin directly, and the Madinan pledge bound ordinary men to faith and conduct (bottom-up). At the same time, for ten years he asked tribes for shelter and protection, and the 'Aqaba pledge was led by clan representatives who promised to protect him (seeking the backing of people with power). Expert Opinions read this history differently, so the sources don't settle which side was primary.

The verses tell the reader to start reform with family and those closest to them, where trust already exists. They also teach that real unity is a gift from Allah, not something wealth or influence can buy. Q1T1Q5

The Prophet gave the same warning to the powerful clans of Quraysh and to his own daughter. Each person had to answer for themselves before Allah, whatever their rank. H12

Ibn Hajar's account shows the Prophet patiently asking people for protection over ten years. He also shows that the protection he received came with a pledge to obey, to spend, and to enjoin good and forbid evil. Maarif-ul-Quran adds that a sound environment, starting with the household, is what makes good conduct last. C5T1

Build sincere faith in yourself and those closest to you, and also seek trustworthy people who can protect and carry the work. Neither replaces the other. T1C5

Sources

Qur'an & Tafsir

Summary

The Qur'an tells the Prophet to begin by warning his nearest kin. The tafsir explains this as building a core of people who trust one another. The Qur'an also says the unity of the Madinan believers was Allah's work. It could not have been bought from anyone in power. Q1T1Q5

Key points

  • Maarif-ul-Quran explains the wisdom of starting with the clan: relatives know each other's truthfulness, and once they back a cause they become a trusted 'small power' that carries the message to others. T1
  • Allah tells the Prophet that even spending everything on earth could not have united the believers' hearts; only Allah united them. Q5

References

  • Q1Ash-Shu'ara 26:214 · The Poets
  • Q5Al-Anfal 8:63 · The Spoils of War
  • T1Maarif-ul-Quran on 26:214

Sunnah

Summary

When the verse on warning his kin came down, the Prophet called out to every level of Quraysh, from whole clans down to his uncle, his aunt and his daughter. He told each of them that he could not avail them at all against Allah. The 'Aqaba pledge was taken both by clan representatives (naqibs) and by ordinary men. H12H9H10

Key points

  • 'Ubada ibn al-Samit, one of the naqibs (clan representatives), says the pledge bound them personally to worship Allah alone and to avoid theft, adultery and killing. H9
  • Jabir, then a young man, attended 'Aqaba with his two maternal uncles. So ordinary members of the community pledged alongside their leaders. H10

References

  • H9Sahih al Bukhari 3893 · Merits of the Helpers in Madinah (Ansaar)
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih al-Bukhari)
  • H10Sahih al Bukhari 3890 · Merits of the Helpers in Madinah (Ansaar)
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih al-Bukhari)
  • H12Sahih Muslim 504 · The Book of Faith
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih Muslim)

Hadith Commentaries

Summary

Ibn Hajar reports, from Jabir, that the Prophet spent ten years going to people's camps at the pilgrimage seasons in Mina and elsewhere. He asked: 'Who will shelter me, who will support me until I convey my Lord's message?' Then Allah sent people from Yathrib, and seventy men came to the 'Aqaba pledge. C5

Key points

  • Ibn Hajar says the 'Aqaba pledge was about al-iwa' wa al-nasr (giving shelter and protection). The Prophet asked them to protect him in Yathrib as they protected their own selves, wives and children. C5
  • In the same report, the pledge also covered obeying in hard times and easy times, spending in hardship and ease, and enjoining good and forbidding evil. This was a commitment by the whole community, not just a deal with a ruler. C5

References

  • C5Fath al-Bari on Sahih al-Bukhari 3891 (part 1 of 2) · Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, vol. 7 p. 221

Expert Opinions

Summary

Expert Opinions differ on this. Dr. Sohail Hanif reads Madina as a model for 'politics bottom up', built through community institutions. The Hizb ut-Tahrir texts described in Expert Opinions read the same history as stages that end in seeking nusrah (backing from power-holders) and taking government. N1N3N2

Key points

  • Hanif argues the Prophet built a complete, structured society in Madina within ten years. He says Western Muslims should organise communities from below rather than build separate political structures. N1
  • The Hizb ut-Tahrir text, as Expert Opinions summarise it, models three stages on the Prophet's history: a secretive core group, interaction with society while seeking nusrah, then taking government. It rejects reforming individuals one by one as a way to change society. N3N2

References

  • N1Claim: Build Medina-Style Collective Leadership in the West · Muslims in the West
  • N2Hizb ut-Tahrir's Three-Stage Plan for Islamic Statehood · Sects & Groups
  • N3Claim: Hizb ut-Tahrir's Staged Caliphate Strategy · Sects & Groups

Looking closer at the transfer of power, could it be regarded as a coup of Abdullah ibn Ubay Ibn Salool?

Conclusion

On the evidence here, the transfer of authority to the Prophet in Madinah does not fit the meaning of a coup. Expert Opinions define a coup as a sudden, unconstitutional seizure by armed forces. The sources instead describe a pledge given by the Madinans themselves, an entry Imam Malik called a conquest "by faith", and an Ibn Ubayy who stayed in the community, resentful but never forcibly removed. The sources here do not mention any plan to crown Ibn Ubayy, so they cannot confirm what position he lost.

The Qur'an says the hearts of Madinah's people were united by Allah, something all the wealth on earth could not have bought. It also says true honour belongs to Allah, His Messenger and the believers, not to those who claim status for themselves. Q5Q1

Even towards his most persistent opponent, the Prophet answered with generosity and repaid a past kindness, putting his own shirt on him at his burial. H2

Mufti Shafi says the real cause of the Madinan state was Allah's help, and its visible cause was the love and unity among the Muslims, who had been warring tribes (Aws and Khazraj). He adds that this unity cannot be hoped for alongside disobedience to Allah. He also explains that the hypocrites misjudged where honour lies out of ignorance. T5T1

Legitimate authority in the Prophet's model came through hearts won over and pledges freely given, and he answered his rivals with generosity rather than revenge. T3H2

Sources

Qur'an & Tafsir

Summary

The Qur'an records Ibn Ubayy's resentment. He boasted that the "more honourable" would drive the "meaner" out of Madinah, and the verse answers that honour belongs to Allah, His Messenger and the believers. The tafsir describes the Ansar's acceptance of the Prophet as willing, not forced. Q1T1T3

Key points

  • Mufti Shafi explains that Ibn Ubayy called himself and the people of Madinah "honourable" and the Prophet and the emigrants "meanest". He was trying to stir up the Ansar to expel the emigrants, which shows his grievance at losing standing. T1
  • Maarif-ul-Quran, citing al-Qurtubi, reports Imam Malik's view that every other city, Makkah included, was conquered by jihad, but Madinah "was conquered by means of iman (faith)". T3
  • The same tafsir says the Ansar received the destitute emigrants "with open arms" and made them equal partners in their property. T3

References

  • Q1Al-Munafiqun 63:8 · The Hypocrites
  • T1Maarif-ul-Quran on 63:8
  • T3Maarif-ul-Quran on 59:9

Sunnah

Summary

The authentic hadith show that the Prophet's authority in Madinah rested on the 'Aqaba pledge, given by the people of Madinah themselves. Ibn Ubayy was not removed by force. He lived on inside the community, and at his death the Prophet clothed him in his own shirt. H11H12H2

Key points

  • Jabir, his father and his maternal uncles were among the Madinans who gave the 'Aqaba pledge (Bukhari, sahih). Rafi' ibn Malik valued taking part in that pledge as highly as fighting at Badr. H11H12
  • After Ibn Ubayy was buried, the Prophet had him taken out of the grave, put some of his saliva on him and dressed him in his own shirt, at the request of Ibn Ubayy's son (Bukhari, sahih). H2

References

  • H2Sahih al Bukhari 1350 · Funerals (Al-Janaa'iz)
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih al-Bukhari)
  • H11Sahih al Bukhari 3891 · Merits of the Helpers in Madinah (Ansaar)
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih al-Bukhari)
  • H12Sahih al Bukhari 3993 · Military Expeditions led by the Prophet (pbuh) (Al-Maghaazi)
    Authenticity
    • Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Hadith Commentaries

Summary

Ibn Hajar explains that the shirt was a repayment. At Badr, Ibn Ubayy had given his own shirt to the captured al-'Abbas, the Prophet's uncle. Ibn Hajar also confirms that Ibn Ubayy was the one who took the leading part in the slander against 'A'isha. Both show him living on within the community, as a rival but not as a deposed ruler. C2C3

Key points

  • Ibn Hajar notes that the words "for that reason" may be Sufyan's own explanation added into the report, not part of the original narration. C2
  • Ibn Hajar says the reports from 'A'isha agree that "the one who took the greater share" of the slander (24:11) is Ibn Ubayy. C3

References

  • C2Fath al-Bari on Sahih al-Bukhari 1350 · Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, vol. 3 p. 214
  • C3Fath al-Bari on Sahih al-Bukhari 4749 (part 1 of 3) · Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, vol. 8 p. 450

Expert Opinions

Summary

Expert Opinions report Bassam Farhat's definition of a coup: a sudden, unconstitutional seizure of government by armed forces. Farhat sets this apart from seeking nusrah (backing from people with power), which he presents as the Prophet's fixed method. N4

Key points

  • Farhat argues that a coup seeks power for its own sake. He says Hizb ut-Tahrir seeks power only to implement Islamic ideas in society. N4
  • Farhat says that by 1965 Hizb ut-Tahrir had decided power must now be taken by force, which it calls a "Qaysariyya operation". He treats the means of taking power as a variable "style", separate from the fixed method. N4

References

  • N4Nusrah Not Coup: Farhat on Founding the State · Sects & Groups
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