The Mithaq al-Madina or the Constitution of Medina or the Charter of Medina (Arabic: وثيقة المدينة, romanized: Waṯīqat al-Madīna; or صحیفة المدينة, Ṣaḥīfat al-Madīna; also known as the "Umma Document"), is a constitution that governed the affairs of Medina which formed the basis of the First Islamic state, a multi-religious polity under the Prophet Muhammad's leadership. Composed of approximately 47 clauses, the constitution established a legal, economic and political framework for the diverse communities living in Medina, declaring all citizens as one community, and has been called as the world's first constitution to establish pluralism, religious freedom, and collective defense.
According to Robert Bertram Serjeant, the Constitution of Medina consisted of eight distinct documents, issued on several occasions over the first seven years or so of Muhammad's Medinan period. Many of the texts were recorded by Ibn Ishaq and Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam, though how they encountered the text is unclear. Although it does not fulfill any of the conditions of authenticity in the Islamic recording system (such as having a reliable chain of narrators up to the person who recorded it), it is widely accepted as authentic. It may have been preserved due to interest in its manner of administration. Many tribal groups are mentioned, including the Banu Najjar and Quraysh, as well as many tribal institutions, like vengeance, blood money, ransom, alliance, and clientage, and has striking resemblances with Surah 5 (Al-Ma'idah) of the Quran.
Historical sources
The Constitution is only known from excerpts in early Muslim sources, primarily the Al-Sīrah Al-Nabawiyyah of Ibn Hisham (early 800s CE), a recension of the Al-Sīrah Al-Nabawiyyah of Ibn Ishaq, though transmitted without a chain of narration, a crucial criterion for hadith scholars. Other important sources for the Constitution includes those of Sayyid al-Nas and the Kitab al-Amwal of Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam.
According to L. Ali Khan, scholars do not agree on whether the constitution was a single document or "a compilation of multiple agreements reached at different times". According to mid-20th century scholar, Robert Bertram Serjeant, the 'Constitution of Medina' consists of "eight distinct documents ... issued on various occasions over the first seven years or so of Muhammad's Medinan period". In its first recension, Serjeant hypothesizes that the text sanctioned the establishment of a confederation; in its second, it admonished the Aws and Khazraj to abide by their treaty; in its third, in conjunction with the proceeding verses, it encouraged of Muhammad's adherents to face the Meccan forces they eventually fought at Uhud. He also suggests that 3:101–104 of the Qur'an may refer to the constitution.
Genre and authenticity
The Constitution has been highly influential among contemporary Muslims, celebrated for its religious pluralism, unique character and the first "Constitution" and belief that God is its ultimate source. On the other hand, historians have variously characterized it as a "municipal charter” (Gemeindeordnung); or as a "unilateral proclamation" by Muhammad, whose "purpose was purely practical and administrative", rather than a treaty in the modern sense.
Most historians have accepted the authenticity of the Constitution of Medina. This is based on its inclusion of non-Muslims and its portrayal of the Quraysh as enemies of God, a view inconsistent with later Islamic periods. Other factors include the perceived archaic style of the text, its abundance of unexplained allusions that were considered to be likely understood only by contemporaries, and its apparent inclination towards tribal law over developed Islamic norms.
At least a few remain skeptical however, and some think that the Constitution existed but its wording or content is no longer accessible. In the case of some historians, skepticism is constrained to particular aspects of the Constitution as well as the context of its emergence; disagreements persist on whether the documents resulted from negotiated settlements or were merely unilateral edicts by Muhammad, the identity of participants (including uncertainty about the inclusion of the three major Jewish tribes of Medina—Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayza), the quantity of documents, the precise timing of its creation (or that of its constituent parts), and the appropriate approach to its translation, among other issues.
Dating
One 20th-century scholar, W. Montgomery Watt, suggested that the Constitution of Medina must have been written in the early Medinan period (i.e., in 622 CE or shortly thereafter), because if the document had been drafted any later, then it would have both had a positive attitude towards the Quraysh and given Muhammad a more prominent place. Malay scholars, Fadzilah Din and Mohamed Noh Abdul Jalil, as well as the noted Pakistani scholar, Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, cite the 622 CE drafting. Others, such as Hubert Grimme, suggested that it must have been drafted after the 624 CE Battle of Badr. Still others, such as Leone Caetani, suggested that the document was written before that battle.
Portions of the constitution are corroborated by multiple sound hadith reports. Its validity in its stated single form, however, has been called into question, as there is no single sound chain of authorities (isnad) supporting it. There are differences of opinion as well as to how many documents the constitution comprises—from one to eight. It is also unclear with which Jews this agreement was made, whether it was only with some of the smaller Jewish social units that had lost their tribal structure and affiliated with the Arabs, with the Judaized Arabs, or also included what later sources described as the three major Jewish clans in the city, namely Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayza, (who are not mentioned in the agreement).
This constitution gave the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who had just escaped persecution in Mecca, a leading role in the community of Medina. By dating this treaty at the outset of his arrival, it credited Muhammad with honor and power earlier than he would later gain, but more importantly, it gives the justification for Muhammad's subsequent attacks on the Jews as retaliation for their opposition to him. Another question raised about the constitution is that though it gives a list of Jewish tribes/clans of Medina involved, not among them are three famous in traditional Islamic history for being driven into exile (the Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir tribes) or "massacred and dumped into pits" (the Banu Qurayza tribe), after conspiring and rising up against Muhammad. There is a suggestion, however, that if this constitution really existed, it was probably created after the elimination of the three major Jewish clans in Medina by Muhammad and his troops. (see Also:Jewish tribes of Arabia)
Background
According to traditional Islamic belief, in Muhammad's last years in Mecca, a delegation from Medina from its twelve important clans invited him as a neutral outsider to serve as the chief arbitrator for the entire community. There had been fighting in Medina involving mainly its pagan and Jewish inhabitants for around 100 years before 620. The recurring slaughters and disagreements over the resulting claims, especially after the Battle of Bu'ath in which all the clans had been involved, made it obvious to them that the tribal conceptions of blood feud and an eye for an eye were no longer workable unless there was one man with the authority to adjudicate in disputed cases. The delegation from Medina pledged themselves and their fellow citizens to accept Muhammad into their community and to protect him physically as if he was one of them.
After emigration to Medina, Muhammad drafted the constitution, "establishing a kind of alliance or federation" of the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim emigrants from Mecca and specifying the rights and duties of all citizens and the relationship of the different communities in Medina, including that of the Muslim community to other communities: the Jews and the other "Peoples of the Book". According to chroniclers such as Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi (785-845 CE), the composition of the population of Medina at that time consisted of two supergroup local Arab tribes, the Aus and the Khazraj, with eight clans and 33 other smaller groups under them. Meanwhile, the Jewish tribes at least consisted of around 20 groups, with the most well-known tribes Qaynuqa, Nadhir, and Qurayza among them, (who are not mentioned in the agreement). The constitution also appointed Muhammad as the Chief Magistrate, making him as the foremost judicial authority responsible for resolving conflicts and overseeing judicial welfare in Medina. This later unified the diverse tribal groups, including the Jewish tribes, and ended long standing internecine tensions. In this role, prophet Muhammad exercised final decision making in dispute resolution, interpretation of law, and maintenance of public order.
Text
The following English translation is that of the Israeli writer Michael Lecker from 2004. It is based on the version of the document found in Ibn Hisham's recension of the Seerah of Ibn Ishaq, Abu Ubaid's Kitab-al-Amwal, and Ibn Kathir's al-Bidaya wa l-Nihaya. The translation was aimed at being clear, with clauses numbered in line with international standards for ease of future reference. There is general agreement on the authenticity of the text.