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The Constitution of Medina, also known as the Charter of Medina, was drafted by the Prophet Muhammad with the various tribes of Yathrib (Medina) in 622. The document was drawn up with the explicit concern of bringing to an end the bitter inter tribal fighting between the clans of the Aws (Aus)and Khazraj tribes within Medina. To this effect it instituted a number of rights and responsibilities for the Muslim, Jewish, and pagan communities of Medina bringing them within the fold of one community-the Ummah.

The precise dating of the Constitution of Medina remains debated but most scholars agree it was written shortly after the hijra (622). It effectively established the first Islamic state, yet this political entity was not governed by Islamic Law (sharia) but rather established tribal customs. The Constitution ensured the security of the community, guaranteed religious freedoms, established Medina as a haram or sacred place (barring all violence and weapons), addressed the security of women, normalized tribal relations within Medina, established a tax system for supporting the community in time of conflict, established parameters for exogenous political alliances, created a system for granting protection of individuals, instituted a judicial system for resolving disputes, and regulated the paying of blood-wite (the payment between families or tribes for the slaying of an individual in lieu of lex talionis).

Sources

Scholars do not possess the original document but rather a number of versions can be found in early Muslim sources. The most widely read version of the Constitution is found in the pages of Ibn Ishaq's Sirah Rasul Allah (see wikisource), while alternative copies are located in Sayyid al-Nas and Abu ‘Ubayd's Kitab al-Amwal. Most scholars accept the authenticity of the document, however, a number of controversial issue still remain in regards to its interpretation and significance. There are questions as to whether the document can be considered a constitution primarily due to the absence of proof of consent by all parties affected by the constitution. The debate centres on whether it was a unilateral declaration of principles by Muhammad or a multilateral agreement negotiated by tribal representatives. Another significant issue is whether the constitution transmitted in the sources is one coherent document or a collection of agreements amended together over a period of time. However, without the original document these issues can not be resolved and will continue to haunt the interpretation of the Constitution.

Important points

The most important points with respect to the geographically close Arab tribes, Muslim and Jewish, in the immediate area of Medina:

1. The Jews will profess their religion, and the Muslims theirs.
2. The Jews shall be responsible for their expenditure, and the Muslims for theirs.
3. If attacked by a third party, each shall come to the assistance of the other.
4. Each party shall hold counsel with the other. Mutual relation shall be founded on righteousness; sin is totally excluded.
5. Neither shall commit sins to the prejudice of the other.
6. The wronged party shall be aided.
7. The Jews shall contribute to the cost of war so long as they are fighting alongside the believers.
8. Medina shall remain sacred and inviolable for all that join this treaty. Should any disagreement arise between the signatories to this treaty, then Muhammad shall settle the dispute.
9. The signatories to this treaty shall boycott Quraish commercially; they shall also abstain from extending any support to them.
10. Each shall contribute to defending Medina, in case of a foreign attack, in its respective area.
11. This treaty shall not hinder either party from seeking their lawful retaliation.

Analysis

One of the constitutions more interesting aspect was the inclusion of the Jewish tribes in the Ummah, the Jewish tribes were "one community with the believers," but they "have their religion and the Muslims have theirs." Legal Scholar L. Ali Khan says the Constitution of Medina was a social contract derived from a treaty and not from any fictional state of nature or from behind the Rawlsian veil of ignorance. The contract was built upon the concept of one community of diverse tribes living under the sovereignty of One God.See The Medina Constitution also instituted peaceful methods of dispute resolution among diverse groups living as one people but without assimilating into one religion, language, or culture. Some modern scholars believe that it was not a treaty in the modern sense, but a unilateral proclamation by Muhammad.Welch in Encyclopedia of Islam states: "The constitution reveals his Muhammad's great diplomatic skills, for it allows the ideal that he cherished of an umma (community) based clearly on a religious outlook to sink temporarily into the background and is shaped essentially by practical considerations."

References

1. Watt. Muhammad at Medina and R. B. Serjeant "The Constitution of Medina." Islamic Quarterly 8 (1964) p.4.
2. Jonathan Berkey, The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800, Cambridge University Press, p.64
3. Ramadan, Hisham M. (2006). Understanding Islamic Law: From Classical to Contemporary. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 0-7591-0990-7.
4. Lewis, Bernard (2002). The Arabs in History. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0-19-280310-7.
5. Welch, Encyclopedia of Islam, Muhammad article

See also

• Muhammad in Medina
• Banu Qurayza
• Banu Qaynuqa
• Banu Nadir

Further reading

• Karsh, Efraim (2006). Islamic Imperialism : A History. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10603-3.

External links

• http://www.balagh.net/english/ahl_bayt/the_message/27.htm
• The Constitution of Medina in Undertanding Islamic Law: From Classical to Contemprary (2006)

• Islam
• Jews and Judaism in Saudi Arabia
• Defunct constitutions