Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Today I want to speak with you about one of the most important topics in Islamic history and in the lives of Muslims around the world: the establishment of Medina as a society, as a community, as a state.

When we look at the world today, we see countless problems, countless injustices, social inequalities, corruption, political instability, economic crisis, and wars. In the eighth century CE, at the time when the Prophet Muhammad came to Medina, similar conditions existed. There were many tribes, many conflicts, many disputes, and many other problems that afflicted that society. History shows us the importance of why these problems persisted for so long. Instead of a society based on truth, instead of a society where the wealthy helped the poor with compassion, instead of a society where people, nations, lived together in cohesion, harmony, mutual respect, understanding, and justice—such a society did not exist.

The Foundation of a New Society

When we speak of Medina—and this is very important—we speak of history, of the establishment of a model, of a civilization that the Prophet Muhammad built until his death, and it gave such results. In just ten years, one example, one model of a society was created and established that inspired and continues to inspire Muslims all over the world. So why was an Islamic state established? Because it was based on Islam, on the faith. The foundation of that society was not based on politics, not on military power, not on economics. We see that this society was based on faith. And it was a pure faith, a sincere faith, a faith that brought fear and respect of God, and transformation of the human being. And when these principles were implemented correctly, then the people needed to place these principles not just in their hearts, but in their lives. This is tawhid—the declaration of the oneness of God, and so on and so forth.

So the first important thing is: our connection to God. This connection determines and directs our relationships with others and with ourselves. If our connection to God is sound and correct, then our human interactions will be clean, pure, and just. The establishment of the Islamic state from the very first generation onwards was built on these foundations. From one perspective, they had keys—each one had a key, a responsibility. From another perspective, they did not have a key, they did not have a responsibility concerning private matters. In that context, they did not interfere in spiritual matters. It was presented this way: The Prophet said that in Medina, whoever shows respect to the citizens, respects them, does not harm them, does not steal from them, respects their honor and dignity, respects them in other matters—such a person is truly a believer.

The Pact of Medina

As the Prophet Muhammad gave us a tremendous gift and honor, he established Medina as the best city, above Mecca, above other cities and so forth. The second important thing, the second layer, was the Pact of Medina (al-Sahifah). This constitution, from Medina, from the city of Yathrib, from all the institutions, from all the clans, and so forth—the Prophet Muhammad implemented both the first and second layers. And between the Muhajirun (the emigrants) and the Ansar (the helpers), the Prophet established a bond. So the key point here is clear. Between the Muhajirun and the Ansar, whom the Prophet truly loves, in the radio, in the sources, in the histories, he mentions these two groups. About the Pact of Medina, wherever we look, the Prophet Muhammad did not establish Medina as what is called the Constitution of Medina without reason. This is one of the first written constitutions in human history. For the Muslims, for the Jews, and for all other religions that existed in Medina, there were rules, there were laws established.

Here is one crucial point: we have the right to ask ourselves: on one side there are one hundred wealthy people, and on the other side there are one hundred poor people and prophets. In Islam, against the falsehood of the wealthy person being superior to the poor person, or the opposite, the rich being against the poor—we have a social truth. And whoever gives us the poor, the needy, the deficiency of the community, we support. So one answer that society gave was: how much better were they, how much clearer was their spirituality, etc. How much pain was there, how much hardship in our lives, how much did everything go poorly and badly. So we see that the Prophet with peace and blessings upon him established in Medina the values of guarantees and tolerance.

Rights and Responsibilities in Medina

In Medina, whether one was a citizen or a resident, in Medina, whether private or not, they had absolute rights, their own rights. They had rights, they had protections, they had responsibilities, and they were ready. And nothing would happen, and the Prophet with peace and blessings upon him did not force anyone to enter Islam. Rather, on the contrary—we see the truth in the Qur'an when one of the people said: "We have been given a society." How have we been given a society? What we know, we know. The sources often teach us this. Historically, in Islam, in our faith, in our revelation, we can see that this society was absolutely not a society based on nationalism or tribalism. It was something else. But it was a society based on principles. Principles that the people held. Principles of sincerity, principles of the fear of God, spirituality, social solidarity, human brotherhood, Islamic brotherhood, and so on and so forth.

So this is what the sources tell us—some sources that were proclaimed in one year, in another year, and thus the sources of the Prophet Muhammad with peace and blessings upon him were like this. And in that time, it cannot be denied that there were those who doubted, who were hypocrites among the Muslims, and especially among the Jews, the other groups, and there were many corruptions, many acts of nepotism, many falsehoods, many social pathologies that appeared among Muslims and so forth. But all of this must be a lesson for us, must be a warning for us—that this is not a direct departure from the Prophet Muhammad with peace and blessings upon him. On the contrary, and everything that the Prophet Muhammad with peace and blessings upon him taught us is the foundation and the truth.