The Medina Charter (The Constitution of Medina)

Muḥammad ibn Isḥaq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār, or ibn Isḥaq (circa 704-767) was an Arab Muslim historian and hagiographer who collected oral traditions that formed the basis of the first biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. This biography is usually called Sīratu Rasūlu l-Lāh (Arabic: سيرة رسول الله‎ "Life of the Messenger of God"). Much of ibn Ishaq’s work has been lost, but one work that he translated was the Charter of Medina, also referred to at times as the Constitution of Medina. The Constitution was drafted by the prophet Muhammad, establishing a formal agreement between Muhammad and all of the significant tribes and families of Yathrib (later known as Medina), including Muslims, Jews, Christians and pagans. This constitution formed the basis of the future caliphate, which would spread across the Middle East, North Africa and even into parts of the Iberian Peninsula. The document was drawn up with the explicit concern of bringing to an end the bitter i..