Democracy and the Madinah Charter
According to Muslim scholars, the earliest recorded constitution is the Madinah (Medina) Charter. Created by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) the Charter governed the rights and relationships of the citizens — Muslim, Jews, and other Arab tribal communities of Medina. At the time, Madinah was at war with its neighbors. Thus, it created a political union to defend Madinah from its enemies. The Charter included many clauses that governed actions during war. For instance, the 3rd clause states: “In case of war with anybody they will redeem their prisoners with kindness and justice common among Believers.” (From the translation of A. Guillaume, “The Life of Muhammad,” Oxford University Press)
Dr. Muqtedar Khan, an esteemed colleague and friend, wrote: “After Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH) migrated from Mecca to Yathrib in 622 CE, he established the first Islamic state. For ten years Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH) was not only the leader of the emerging Muslim Ummah in Arabia but also the political head of Medina. As the leader of Medina, Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH) exercised jurisdiction over Muslims as well as non-Muslims within the city. The legitimacy of his rule over Medina was based on his status as the Prophet (PBUH) of Islam as well as on the basis of the compact of Medina.” How democratic! The ruler can only govern with the explicit written consent of all he would govern. How totally unlike the dictatorships and monarchies in many Islamic countries today.
Also known as Dustur al-Madinah or Al-Madinah Sahifah, it was essentially the constitution for Madinah, based on Islamic law, to establish an Islamic state that allowed people of different races, religion, or ethnicity to live together peacefully. Muslims and non- Muslims of Madinah were equal citizens of this first Islamic state, with identical rights and duties and equal protection under the law.
What did it contain? First, it declared that the Prophet was the head of state to govern Madinah and resolve any dispute among the citizens. The Charter consisted of 47 clauses, half (23 clauses) governing the relationship between Muslims, while half ( 24 clauses) governed the relations of Muslims with non-Muslims.
Khan values the charter or the Compact of Medina, as he calls it, for two purposes. First, the Madinah Charter is an excellent example of a social contract, an agreement among the governed and the state. The citizens’ rights are protected by the state but they are obligated to follow the rules laid down to protect the entire community or society. Thus, they agree to surrender their individual sovereignty to ensure the well-being of society.
Second, it served as the first constitution governing the Islamic state although he does note that the compact of Medina by itself cannot serve as a modern constitution. Khan writes, “It would be quite inadequate since it is a historically specific document and quite limited in its scope. However it can serve as a guiding principle to be emulated rather than a manual to be duplicated.”
Khan further explains that the Prophet’s rule was accepted by virtue of the fact that the compact that was signed by the different Muslim groups and the Jews, noting that the Jews “were constitutional partners in the making of the first Islamic state.”
Perhaps we can reclaim what the term jihad really means: the internal as well as external efforts to be a good Muslim. And not what Western media has defined it to be — war against nonMuslims.