My reading fell a bit behind over the Eid period as my time was consumed by consuming food and spending time with the extended family. As with any family gathering the topics discussed were varied and wide-ranging but most predictably we ended up talking politics. Local, regional and international politics were all covered and many views were shared - some amusing, others confusing and some others worrying!
When I eventually did get back to my reading of Martin Lings' biography of Muhammad (pbuh) the story was dealing with that most critical time period of the Hijrah (the Migration). This was the time in which life for the Muslims in Makkah had become very uncomfortable and had begun to emigrate from Makkah to Madinah (then known as Yathrib) where the message of Islam had found a friendly ear. The Quraysh had grown so frustrated and angry that they were prepared to break with tradition and misuse their laws and regulations and plan an assassination attempt on the Prophet's (pbuh) life! The attempt failed due to miraculous events and the Prophet (pbuh) was able to safely make his way to Madinah though the journey was not without difficulty.
The groundwork for integrating the Muslims into the Madinah community had started many months previously with a companion called Musab doing missionary work in the city and spreading the message of Islam so by the time the Prophet (pbuh) arrived he had strong support from the two main tribes of Madinah - the Aws and the Khazraj. For the longest time these two tribes had been equally powerful and co-existing but not always as friends. Bloodshed was common and despite attempts at forging long lasting peace trouble always seemed to break out - often at the instigation of third parties who profited from their disunity.
The chiefs at the time recognised this and had begun to put plans into place to set up an equivalent of a king over both tribes. One man was a shoo-in for this job - Abdullah ibn Ubayy. Wealthy, powerful and influential - he had the support of both tribes and was willing to take on the responsibility of kingship. Unfortunately for him however, his expected rise to the top of society coincided with the arrival of the Prophet (pbuh) who upon entering Madinah was immediately raised to the position of leader and the top order of society was suddenly quite different to only a short time ago.
The Prophet (pbuh) took on his new role but didn't change the existing civil structures of Madinite society. The people were accustomed to a particular order - they had their tribal chiefs and clan chiefs and were content with their society. So rather than fundamentally tinkering with society the prophet SAW added to it. He took on his role as leader by taking a new position above the tribal chiefs. Power and influence still flowed exactly as before except now there was an additional level. Tribal chiefs were still important and had great influence amongst their tribes but, in modern terms, now reported to the Prophet (pbuh) rather than being a law unto themselves. Taken as a whole this mean that for the most part people could recognise the new leader and understood his role. For the everyday Madinah man little had changed and he could continue his life as before.
That's not to say everyone was happy. Unsurprisingly, Abdullah ibn Ubayy wasn't too impressed with the new situation but he hadn't gotten to his status by being a total fool. He still had access to the wealthy and powerful and decided to play it cool with Islam and not get involved. The Prophet (pbuh) had been made aware of Abdullah ibn Ubayy's particular situation and recognised that Abdullah ibn Ubayy's influence could be greatly beneficial to Islam's cause if it were channelled in the right direction. So rather than ostracise and sideline him he made special efforts to bring him on-side. Again - using the existing power structures to help society progress rather than making aggressive changes. His efforts were not immediately successful but he persisted. As time wore on and Abdullah ibn Ubayy's influence began to diminish due to his non-Muslim status he did eventually respond to the Prophet's (pbuh) overtures and convert to Islam (by word at least if not by heart).
There's lessons to be learnt from how the Prophet (pbuh) went about integrating into his new community. He didn't come in and turn everything upside down and establish an entirely new system. By working with the existing society system and simply adding to it he was able to keep most of the populace in step with his goals. His position was recognisable and his authority undeniable because he had the approval of those that the everyday man recognised as people of authority. He'd made efforts to win the agreement of the existing chiefs - which in itself was not done overnight but with time, care and planning. All in all it was a masterstroke of political leadership and one that any student of politics can learn from.
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