The Salient Features of This Charter Include

The Charter of Madina
The Medina Charter, written and promulgated by Prophet Muhammad for the multi-religious
ten thousand-strong citizens of the city-state of Medina in 622 A.D is truly a remarkable
political-constitutional document. The claim made by Professor M. Hamidullah that it was the
first written constitution (FN1) in the world is not without basis. Aristotle's Constitution of
Athens (FN2), written on papyrus, discovered by an American missionary in Egypt in 1890
and published in 1891, was not a constitution. It was an account of the constitution of the
citystate of Athens. Other legal writings on the conduct of ancient societies have been found, but
none can be described as a constitution. The Medina Charter is the first, and in this it preceded
the American Constitution of 1787, considered by Western authorities as "a landmark
document of the Western world. the oldest written national constitution in operation" (FN3)by
more than a thousand years! It also preceded the English feudal bill of rights, the Magna Carter
of 1215, by almost six centuries!
Not only is the Madina Charter important in the sense that it is the first written constitution; it
is also modern in the sense that it was promulgated for a plural society, giving equal rights to
every citizen as well as giving them a say in governmental matters, as we shall see.
Considering all these, it is amazing that those Muslim leaders and writers who talk and write
about the Islamic state seldom refer to this important seminal political document of Islam.
It is to be remembered that Muhammad had become a prophet, reciting God's revelations to

his fellow-Meccans, for twelve years before he and his followers migrated to Yathrib, two
hundred and ten miles to the north of Mecca. There was going to be another ten years to his
mission before he completed the delivery of the Divine message to the Arabs and to mankind
in God's final scripture, the Quran. So this Medina Charter was provisional in the sense that it
could not contain all the provisions of statecraft contained in the Quran. Yathrib was later to
known as "The City of the Prophet " or simply Medina. The reason for the migration was the
growing opposition of the Quraisy aristocracy to his teachings and the receptive attitude
shown by some Yathrib pilgrims to Mecca at this time.
The whole text of the Charter has been reproduced, word for word, by Ibn Ishaq and Abu
Ubaid in their respective books from the original preserved by Ibn Abi Khithamah. (FN4)
The Charter consists of 47 clauses, but due to different numbering, Prof. Hamidullah counts it
to be 52 (FN5). Clauses 1, 2 and 39 state the formation of a sovereign nation-state with a
common citizenship, consisting of various communities, principally Muslim Arabs from
Mecca (the Muhajirin or Immigrants), Muslim Arabs from Yathrib (the Ansar or Helpers),
other monotheists form Yathrib (i.e. the Jews) and others who must be at that time still
pagans. These constitute a unified citizenry (Arabic term, ummah), having equal rights and
responsibilities, as distinct from other peoples.
The salient features of this charter include:

 All parties included in the charter, i.e. Muslims, people of the book (Jews and Christians)
and pagans, had freedom to practice their religion
 All citizens of the state had equal rights and responsibilities and were protected against
excess and oppression
 A system of financial aid was developed within each tribe and between tribes.
Communal funds were set up which were used in times of financial need such as to pay
ransom or blood-money
 In the event of a war or hostile attack from outsiders on one tribe, all tribes of Madinah
(signatories of the charter) were required to come to the aid of the defending tribe
 In the event of a dispute among the signatories, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was the final
authority for settling the dispute
 The Quraysh of Makkah were to be boycotted commercially by all signatories and
nobody was to extend any support to them

The Salient Features of This Charter Include

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The Charter of Madina

It is to be remembered that Muhammad had become a prophet, reciting God's revelations to

The salient features of this charter include:

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