Importance of Mecca and Medina to Islam

The cities of Mecca and Medina became better known than other much larger, more populous and wealthy settlements in ancient Arabia.

Islam | Mecca and Medina

Mecca Mosque today

Despite the strong connection between Mecca and the influential tribe of Quraysh, local stability was due to the preservation of the balance of power between two alliances, not necessarily tribal solidarity. Mecca became known as the place that housed the international caravan trade and, in this way, the Prophet Muhammad's ancestors gained much more prominence than they really deserve. That is, trade was fundamental to the city's survival, therefore, it was an important commercial center, but we cannot say that it was the largest in all of Arabia.

There is evidence that, before receiving the first revelation, Muhammad also worked in the commercial field. Commercial agreements were essential for a partnership between the Quraysh and the Thaqif tribe, dominant in Ta’if. The Quraysh Abu Sufyan and Ghaylan ibn Salama of Thaqif traded with the Persians and members of both tribes accompanied them. However, in addition to trade, the Quraysh also invested in agriculture, logically elsewhere due to the climatic conditions of Mecca. So, we can declare that the progress of the Quraysh happened even before the emergence of Islam.

Some reports help to confirm this information, as there is evidence that the Quraish worked in the agricultural area in Ta'if, a place where there were and still are conditions to produce most of Mecca's fruit demand, known as “bustan al-haram”, or orchard of the sacred territory of Mecca. The prosperous businessmen of the Quraysh tribe managed to cultivate large estates in Ta'if and many Bedouins, as well as other tribes, earned by transporting merchandise from Ta'if to Mecca.

An indication that this was a trade route is the report that Muhammad's companions attacked a caravan carrying wine, tanned skins and raisins on the route between Ta'if and Mecca.

Al Waht was the most famous and possibly the most extensive Quraysh estate, located in the vicinity of Ta’if. 'Amr ibn al-As, father of one of Muhammad's companions, owned these lands and even invested in planting thousands of vines on pieces of wood to support them. It is worth mentioning other members of the Quraysh tribe who owned properties in the vicinity of Ta'if: Abu Sufyan, 'Utba and Shayba, sons of Rabi'a ibn Abd Shams, the uncle of Muhammad al-Abbas and al-Walid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira (brother of the famous general Khalid ibn al-Walid).

Before Islam, the city of Medina was called Yathrib and was made up of several villages. Later, with Islam, this grouping received the name al-Madina (“the city” in Arabic). However, prior to the hijra (flight of Muhammad and his followers to Yathrib), political and military upheavals contributed to Muhammad's conquests, however, we cannot say for sure in what way. In Medina, there was also a large Jewish community, but it was quite dispersed, so that one part lived to the north, in Safila, and another was located to the south, in Aliya. Two Jewish tribes, Qurayza and Nadir, were concentrated in Aliya, while the Jewish tribe, Qaynuqa, was in Safila. The ancient Arab population of Medina was made up of members of the Balinese and other tribes, many of whom had converted to Judaism.

Some members of the Aws and Khazraj tribes, who settled in Medina during the rise of Islam, were named as "al-ansar", or "the helpers". It is important to mention that most of the members of these two tribes did not abandon their ancient belief which consisted of worshiping their idols. As soon as the helpers arrived and settled in Medina, they had a weak position among the Jewish tribes, but they gradually began to gain space in society, built fortresses and even planted date orchards. On the other hand, the helpers were also lampooned for their tolerance of Jews, especially regarding al-Fityawn, an Arab Jewish king of Zuhra who probably performed ius primae noctis [1] on Arab women.

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The helpers acknowledged their error in tolerating al-Fityawn, but also stated that with his death by a member of the Khazraj tribe, his abuses had ceased. From then on, the Jews had to turn to their former "clients". There are those who say that the historiography of the helpers should be treated with great care, because if 'Amr ibn al Itnaba achieved the position of king of Yathrib, it was precisely because of a setback that the Jews went through. Even with Islam on the rise, the Jewish Nadir and Qurayza tribes managed to regain their power through their victory in the Battle of Buath (615-617) against the strong Khazraj. At the gates of Islam, Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, a member of the Khazraj tribe, was about to receive his “king's crown”, but the arrival of Muhammad prevented this from happening:

“The Khazraj were superior to the Aws just before the advent of Islam and intended to crown Abd Allah ibn Ubayy. This coincided with the arrival of the Prophet and his royalty ceased to exist” (Lecker, 2011, p. 169).

Ibn Ubayy did not participate in the Battle of Buath, where his Khazraj tribe felt the bitter taste of defeat, even so he was a great leader in his tribe and through diplomacy he managed to recover old alliances, for example, with the Nadir tribe. When the Hijrah occurred, the Nadir and Qurayza tribes were the main forces of power in Medina, as they had fortresses and weapons.

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Quote:

[1] Also known as “the right to the first night” was the right that feudal lords would have to spend the first night of the wedding with the brides of their subjects, demand the payment of a fee or the provision of a service by the groom.

Available in: https://dizionario.internazionale.it/parola/ius-primae-noctis

Source:

LECKER, Michael. The New Cambridge History of Islam. Volume I. The Formation of the Islamic World Sixth to Eleventh Centuries. Pre-Islamic Arabia. Edited by Chase F. Robinson. Cambridge University Press, 2011.