Hilf Al-Fudul - Formation

Formation

In response a meeting was hosted at the house of Abdullah ibn Ja'dan. At the meeting, various chiefs and members of tribes pledged to:

• respect the principles of justice, and
• collectively intervene in conflicts to establish justice.

To make the pact imperative and sacred, the members went into the Ka'aba and poured water into the receptacle so it flowed on the black stone. Thereupon each man drank from it. Then they raised their right hands above their heads to show they would stand together in this endeavor. The pact was written and placed inside the Ka'aba, the place where the participants believed it would be under the protection of God.

Among the members who agreed to the terms of the pact was the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Later on, after proclaiming Islam, Muhammad still acknowledged the validity of the pact, ignoring the fact that most of the members were non-Muslim. Abu Bakr is also said to have agreed to this pact. This presumption is based on the fact that Abdullah ibn Ja'dan, whose house was the venue for this pledge, was Abu Bakr's fellow clansman. Amongst the clans, Banu Hashim, Zuhra and Taim participated in its formation. Neither the Banu Nawfal, nor the powerful Banu Umayya took part in it.

That pact also marked the beginning of some notion of justice in Mecca, which would be later repeated by Muhammad when he would preach Islam. Another aspect of the pact was that it would open up the Meccan market to Yeminite merchants, who were hitherto excluded. Nevertheless, the pact was considered "superficial and that which has no primary significance." It is said that some Quraysh went as far as excluding the participants from their rank.