Medina under the Prophet (peace be upon him), 622

The starting point

Medina, then called Yathrib, had no single ruler. Its Arab clans had fought each other for years, and Jewish groups lived alongside them. The Muslims who came from Mecca (the Muhajirun) had left their homes and property behind (Britannica).

Day one

A written pact, often called the Constitution of Medina. It runs to roughly 47 clauses. The parties were the Muhajirun, the eight Ansar clans of Medina, Jewish groups and others in the city.

• One community: all signers form one political unit (umma), distinct from other peoples.
• Defence: all signers help if an outside force attacks. Each group pays its own costs, and no one makes a separate peace.
• Justice: each clan pays its blood money as a group and ransoms its own prisoners. Disputes go to God and the Prophet (peace be upon him).
• Territory: the valley of Yathrib is declared a sanctuary (haram) for the signers.
• Minorities: Jews who join get equal rights and protection from oppression.

What was new

Loyalty moved from the clan to one community bound by a written text. The clans were not abolished. They kept their own internal duties, such as blood money, inside a shared frame.

The treasury

There was no permanent treasury yet. Money was shared out as soon as it came in. The last recorded receipt in his lifetime, 800,000 dirhams from Bahrain, was shared out in one sitting. A standing treasury came later, under Umar (Bayt al-mal).

What scholars note

The text survives only in later works, by Ibn Hishām and Abū ʿUbayd. Scholars disagree on whether it was one document or up to eight, and on its exact date (Constitution of Medina).

What it shows for Somalia

Somalis also know life between clans, with xeer and blood money (mag) agreed between groups. Medina shows those duties can sit inside one written agreement that makes everyone one people, without anyone giving up who they are.