The Three stages of establishing an Islamic Government There...

The Three stages of establishing an Islamic Government There were three stages to the task of organizing the affairs of the Muslim community. Stage one was building the foundation of the government. This duty was carried out by doing the things that I discussed. Stage two was protecting this government. Naturally a nascent and growing system which makes powerful leaders feel endangered if they know what it is to have certain enemies.

If the Holy Prophet (S) could not have wisely protected this auspicious system against the enemy, it would have been destroyed and all his efforts would have been futile. Therefore, he had to protect it. Stage three was building the structure. Building the foundation was not enough. It was the first step. These three stages were done in parallel with one another. Primarily, building the foundation was important. Even in building the foundation, he took the enemies into consideration.

After building the foundation, protection began. In building the foundation, individual and social structures were taken into consideration and this continued to be done even after this. The Holy Prophet (S) realized that five main enemies were threatening this nascent society. The first enemy was a minor and insignificant one. However, it must not have been ignored. It was possible that it would cause a big danger. This enemy was the semi- barbarous tribes around Medina.

There were semi-barbarous tribes who lived 60, 90, 120 kilometers away from Medina. All their life was centered around waging wars, shedding blood, plundering, killing and stealing from one another. If the Holy Prophet (S) wanted to create a healthy, safe and peaceful social structure in Medina, he had to take these tribes into consideration, and he did so. He signed a treaty with the ones that enjoyed a trace of guidance and salvation.

In the beginning, he did not tell them that they should definitely become Muslims. They were pagans and unbelievers. But he signed a treaty with them so that they would not carry out any attacks. The Holy Prophet (S) completely honored his pledges and promises. I will speak about this point later on. Some of these tribes were vicious and unreliable. The Holy Prophet (S) cured them of their wrong behavior and he himself established contact with them.

As you have heard, the Holy Prophet (S) used to send twenty, fifty people to different tribes and they tried to establish contact with these tribes.