The "Constitution of Medina": Muḥammad’s First Legal Document

This document, known in Orientalist jargon as the “Constitution of Medina,” is accepted, even by iconoclasts of the field, as an original document going back to the Prophet Muhammad. Yet, for some reason, it has not received its fair share of scholarly attention. This book is an attempt to remedy this situation, and includes the two known versions of the “Constitution,” founded on many sources. This is followed by introductory chapters dealing with the Muslim and Jewish groups that participated in the document. Finally, there is a translation and a detailed commentary on the clauses. In this book, the author argues that most of the Jewish tribes of Medina, including the large ones, did not participate in the “Constitution”; the main tribes had more rudimentary, non-belligerency treaties with Muhammad. In addition, the assumption that the “Constitution” declared each Jewish group as an umma or community rests on a faulty reading: In fact the participating Jews received a guarantee of security (amana). This monograph will enrich the resources available for the study of Muhammad’s concepts and policies shortly after his arrival at Medina. "The present monograph offers an edited version and interpretation of the earliest and most important document from the time of Muḥammad. The document is often referred to as the 'Constitution of Medina'. Although this is a misnomer, it appears at the title of this monograph because it is widespread. The document is referred to throughout this study by the neutral Arabic term 'Kitāb'. Detailed attention has been dedicated to the Kitāb by Muḥammad Hamīdullāh, who often employed political science terminology. ... he described the Kitāb as 'the earliest written constitution, promulgated by a sovereign for his own statal conduct, both in internal and foreign affairs.' It preceded the Magna Carta by several centuries; its second clause, according to Hamīdullāh, is the 'declaration of independence, be that against the pagan Mecca, Byzantine empire, Iran or any other state in the world'."--Page 1