THE HISTORY OF HILFUL FUDUL
Mecca was the home of the Quraysh, the most honorable tribe of the Arabs, and stood ahead of other Arab cities through its thriving trade. It was also considered more sacred as it hosted the Kaaba. Each year, many people visited Mecca for trade and pilgrimage to the Kaaba, strengthening its power and prosperity. During the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah), murders frequently occurred among the Arabs, and never-ending blood feuds led to the extinction of entire generations. The Fijar War had just ended; blood had been shed among the tribes, and fierce battles had taken place. This only deepened the hostility between the Arabs. Even the smallest disagreements could spark wars between families and tribes, resulting in endless cycles of vengeance. In such turmoil, Mecca was not a safe place for foreign merchants. There was no security for life or property, nor any sense of justice or law. The goods of foreigners were being plundered, and they had no means to reclaim their rights. The weak and powerless were subjected to all kinds of oppression and had no way to resist.
As a natural consequence of these endless bloody wars, some Arab tribes made pacts (hilf) among themselves to protect life, property, and honor, to put an end to the ongoing conflicts, and to establish certain social and political regulations among the tribes. In other words, after continuous wars, forming such alliances became inevitable. To become stronger against enemies and at least establish a solid defense, small and weak tribes would unite to form alliances as a single tribe. Due to the domination and exploitation of weaker tribes by stronger ones, many small tribes joined with larger, more powerful ones, thereby sharing their rights and responsibilities. Furthermore, several different tribes created pacts to act together in case of any attack or injustice against them. Thus, a system based on mutual protection, assistance, and support among tribes was established. In this way, intertribal solidarity emerged — tribes supported one another, and some came under the protection and authority of stronger tribes.
One of the alliances made among the Arab tribes for the reasons mentioned above was the Hilf al-Fudul Pact. This agreement was established 33 years before the Hijra (according to some reports, 18 or 28 years before), following the Fijar Wars. There are various narrations regarding the events that led to the formation of the Hilf al-Fudul organization. Below, we will mention only one of these accounts.
ChatGPT: During Dhul-Qa'dah, one of the four sacred months in which fighting was forbidden, a merchant from the Zubayd tribe of Yemen came to Mecca to sell his goods. ‘As ibn Wa’il from the Sahm tribe bought the goods but neither paid for them nor returned the merchandise. Left helpless, the merchant went to the Banu Sahm tribe — the buyer’s own tribe — to seek help. However, instead of assisting him, they insulted him. Every door he knocked on in search of justice was slammed in his face. Desperate, the man finally approached the Quraysh, one of Mecca’s most prominent tribes, but they too refused to help him.
Realizing that this was not the way to reclaim his goods, the merchant noticed that the Quraysh were gathered near the Kaaba for a meeting. He then climbed Mount Abu Qubays, a hill overlooking the Kaaba and central to Mecca’s public life, and loudly recited a poem expressing his grievance and the injustice he had suffered:
يَا آلَ فِهْرٍ لِمَظْلُومٍ بِضَاعَتُهُ * بِبَطْنِ مَكَّةَ نَائِي الدَّارِ وَالنَّفَر
ِ وَمُحْرِمٍ أَشْعَثٍ لَمْ يَقْضِ عُمْرَتَهُ * يَا لَلرِّجَالِ وَبَيْنَ الْحِجْرِ وَالْحَجَرِ
ِنَّ الْحَرَامَ لِمَنْ ما ثثت كَرَامَتُهُ وَلََا حَرَامَ لِثَوْبِ الْفَاجِرِ الْغُدَرِ
“O tribe of Fihr! Come to the aid of an oppressed man who has lost his trade goods in the heart of Mecca — far from his home and tribe — while in a state of ihram, bareheaded, and unable to complete his ‘umrah! O tribe of Fihr! Is it fitting to dwell under the protection of the Banu Sahm between the dwelling of Ishmael and the Black Stone — or to turn away while a pilgrim’s property is taken and he is left destitute?”1 This poem awakened dormant consciences. At that moment, one of those gathered around the Kaaba stood up and tried to help the oppressed man, encouraging others to do the same. That man was Zubayr b. Abd al-Muttalib, the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad. With Zubayr’s intervention, the Quraysh took the incident more seriously. Leading figures from the descendants of Fihr — Hashim, Muttalib, Zuhrah, Taym, and Harith — met in Dār al-Nadwa, the place where Mecca was governed, to find a solution. They discussed the matter among themselves. The Mutayyibīn said, “By God, if we take part in this, we will anger the Ahlaf.” The Ahlaf replied, “By God, if we speak of this, we will anger the Mutayyibīn.” Then the Quraysh decided: “Let us form the Hilf al-Fudul without the Mutayyibīn and the Ahlaf.” To plan what they would do, they arranged a meeting at the house of Abdullah ibn Jud‘an al-Taymi, who was considered one of Mecca’s wealthiest, most respected, and oldest men from the Taym clan. The Banu Hashim, Banu Asad, Banu Zuhrah, and Banu Taym tribes attended. The Prophet Muhammad, then in his twenties, attended this meeting alongside his uncles. They then agreed among themselves to aid those—whether Meccan or foreign visitors to Mecca—who had suffered injustice, and to strive until the oppressed recovered their rights from the oppressor. Three respected men from the Jurhum tribe — Fadl ibn Fadala, Fadl ibn Wada‘a, and Fadl ibn Harith — had earlier made a similar agreement to help victims of oppression, protect the rights of the weak, and uphold justice. That earlier pact by men named Fadl so closely resembled the agreement made at Abdullah ibn Jud‘an’s house that, to honor its memory, the new pact was called “Hilf al-Fudul” — the Pact of the Fadls, the Pact of the Virtuous, the Oath of the Righteous. The Pact of the Virtuous attracted great attention in Mecca. It is even famous that Utbah ibn Rabi‘ah, Abu Sufyan’s father-in-law, was deeply saddened for having been unable to join; he reportedly said, “Had they told me to abandon my family and cut off my lineage to join this assembly, I would have done it.”
The main points of the pact and the oath that were made are as follows:
It is reported that after this pact was made, those who participated drank the sacred water used to wash the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad) as a symbol of their oath.3 What makes Hilf al-Fudul significant is not only that it was founded to secure justice against injustices in Mecca, but also that Prophet Muḥammad declared—after his mission had come to him—that he would still join Hilf al-Fudul if it were convened today. Yes, one of those present when the oath was taken was Muḥammad, who had not yet received prophethood. He was still in his twenties and the youngest among them. His compassion, mercy, virtue, and nobility led him to support the effort to eliminate such oppression. Indeed, after his prophethood he expressed his pleasure at having been part of that assembly and said: “I was present at the oath made in the house of Abdullah ibn Jud‘an with my uncles; to my mind that oath is dearer than owning red-haired camels! Even now, in the age of Islam, if I were called to it I would respond.”14 ChatGPT: He said. Let us conclude this topic with a few verses composed by Zubayr ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, the one who took the first step toward the Hilf al-Fudul agreement: “The virtuous men made a pact in the heart of Mecca that no tyrant would be allowed to dwell therein. What they agreed upon and pledged was that both the resident and the pilgrim would be safe from oppression.”5
The Activities and Conclusion of Hilf al-Fudul
Hilf al-Fudul began its activities in line with the apparent reason for its founding. Its first action was to recover the money owed to the merchant from Zubayd, taken unjustly by ʿAs ibn Waʾil. However, this was not the only act carried out by the organization. The tribes that took part in this pact consistently stood against all forms of injustice and oppression. During the Age of Happiness (the era of the Prophet), on several occasions when injustices occurred, Hilf al-Fudul intervened to ensure that rights were restored to their rightful owners, thereby preventing acts of tyranny.
Hilf al-Fudul must have left such a deep impression on society that even during the Umayyad period it continued to be invoked as a reference for justice and the protection of rights. Both Muʿawiya and his governor in Medina, Walid ibn ʿUtbah, were reminded of Hilf al-Fudul during disputes with Imam Husayn, particularly when injustices were attempted against him. The mention of Hilf al-Fudul in these events shows that its spirit — defending the oppressed and upholding justice — remained a moral standard long after its founding.6 Even the mere mention of its name was enough to deter injustice and prevent acts of oppression.
This organization, whose influence grew day by day, made a highly significant contribution to establishing a secure commercial environment in Mecca. No new members were admitted to Hilf al-Fudul. After the era of the Four Caliphs, its remaining members gradually passed away. With the establishment of the Islamic state in Medina, formal institutions were founded to ensure justice and security. Over time, as its members died, the organization eventually lost its activity and ceased to function.
1 Ibn Kathir, al-Bidāyah vol. 2, p. 356
2 Ibn Hisham, al-Sīrat al-Nabawiyya, Beirut 1992, p. 103; Ibn Sa'd, Tabakāt al-Kubrā, Dāru al-Qutub, Beirut 1990,
s. 103; Muhammad Hamidullah, “Hılfu'l-Fudûl”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi, vol. 18, İstanbul 1998,
s. 31-32; Asım Köksal, History of Islam, Şamil, Istanbul 1987, p. 134.
3 Isfahani, Egani, XVII/290.
4 Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya, vol. 2, p. 295; Ibn Hishām, ‘Abd al-Malik, al-Sīrat al-Nabawiyya, (I-IV), ed. Mustafa Sekka et al. Beirut, 1992, I, 111; Ibn Sa'd, Muhammad, al-Taba'at al-Kubrā, I, 129; Ibn Habīb, Muhammad b. Habīb al-Baghdādī, Kitab al-Munammak fī Ahbari Quraysh, ed. Khurshid Ahmad Farouk, Beirut, 1985, p. 53; al-Bayhaqi, Abū Bakr Ahmad b. Husayn, Delā'il al-Nubūwwa wa Marifat al-Ahwali sahib al-Sharī'a, I-VII, ed. by Abdulmuti’, Kalajī, Beirut, 1985, VI, 596; al-Suḥaylī, Abu'l-Qāsim ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. ‘Abdillāh, al-Rawdu'a. ‘Abdillāh, al-Rawdu'l-Unuf fī Tafsīri Sīrat al-Nabawiyyi li Ibn Hishām, I-II, ed. Abdurraûf Sa'd, Egypt, 1971, I, 158; Ibn al-Jawzî, Abu'l-Faraj Abdurrahman, al-Wafa bi Ahwali al-Mustafa, I-II, ed. Mustafa 'Abdu'l-Wahid, Egypt, 1922, I, 137; Abu'l-Faraj al-Isfahani, Kitab al-Aghanī, XVII, 211-212-215; Ibn al-Asir, ('Izzuddīn Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali), al-Kāmil fī al-Tarīh, I-XIII, ed. C. J. Tornberg, Leiden, 1853-1867, II, 41.
5 Suhayli, I/157; Ibn Kathir, I-II/697 Ibn al-Asir narrates that this poem was sung by 'Amr b. 'Awf for the contract of the Fadls of Jurhume. Kamil, I/473; Eser, p. 321
6 Ibn Hisham, I/111; Isfahani, Egani, XVII/295, 297-298; Ibn al-Asir, Kamil, I/474; Ibn Kathir, I-II/698; Eser, p. 323. In time, it lost its effectiveness with the deaths of its members.
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