Islam & the Modern World · Islam as a Working System

Muhammad ﷺ was a statesman as well as a prophet

In short

1.The Constitution of Medina is preserved in Ibn Ishaq and treated by historians as authentic in substance.
2.It bound Muslims, Jewish tribes and others into one community with mutual defence obligations.
3.The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah shows a willingness to accept unfavourable terms for peace.

The claim being examined

Prophets are imagined as purely spiritual figures with no experience of governing.

The Islamic position

The Prophet, peace be upon him, led a city, wrote a constitution, judged disputes, made treaties and organised welfare — so Islam's social teaching comes with a worked example.

Analysis

The historical claim is well supported. The document known as the Constitution of Medina (sahifah) is preserved in Ibn Ishaq's Sira as transmitted by Ibn Hisham; historians including Montgomery Watt in Muhammad at Medina (1956) and, from a sceptical direction, Patricia Crone have treated it as one of the earliest and most likely authentic documents of the period, in part because its terms do not reflect later Muslim concerns. Its contents are notable: it constitutes the parties as one ummah distinct from others, grants the Jewish tribes their religion, sets mutual defence obligations and refers disputes to God and the Prophet. The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari 2731-2732, shows the Prophet, peace be upon him, accepting terms his own Companions found humiliating in order to secure a truce, and the Qur'an calls it a clear victory (Q 48:1). Add to this the administration of zakat collection, the appointment of judges and governors, and treaty-making with surrounding tribes. Be careful not to project a modern nation-state or a constitutional democracy onto seventh-century Medina; the honest claim is that the founder of Islam actually governed, so Islamic social teaching is tested rather than theoretical.

From the Qur'an

إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُّبِينًا

Indeed We have granted you a clear victory.

وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُم بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَن تَحْكُمُوا بِالْعَدْلِ

And when you judge between people, judge with justice.

From the Sunnah

The narration of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and its terms.

Sources

Ibn Ishaq / Ibn Hisham, al-Sira al-Nabawiyya · W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Medina (1956) · Ibn Hisham, al-Sira al-Nabawiyya; Sahih al-Bukhari 2731-2732

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