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When
the persecution of the people of Makkah against the Muslims grew
intense, Allah commanded them to emigrate so that they could
establish the religion of Allah in a land where they could worship
Him.
Allah
chose Madinah as the land of Hijrah (emigration for the sake of
Allah). The Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, saw in a
dream that he was immigrating to that city. It was narrated from
Abu Musa that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“I saw in a dream that I was emigrating from Makkah to a land in
which there are date palms, and I thought that it was Al-Yamamah
or Hajar, but it turned out to be Madinah, Yathrib.” (Al-Bukhari
and Muslim)
Al-Bukhari
also narrated on the authority of `A'ishah that the Prophet, peace
and blessings be upon him, said to the Muslims: “I have been
shown the land to which you will immigrate: it has palm trees
between two lava fields, two stony tracts.” So, some people
immigrated to Madinah, and most of those people who had previously
immigrated to the land of Ethiopia, returned to Madinah.
Commenting
on this hadith, Al-Hafiz wrote: "The harrah (stony tract) is
land whose stones are black. This dream was different from the
dream mentioned above in the hadith of Abu Musa in which the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was not sure where that
land was. Ibn At-Teen said: The Prophet, peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him, was shown the land of immigration in a way that
could apply to Madinah and to other places; then he was shown the
feature that is unique to Madinah so it became clear which land
that was.”
With
regard to the first Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings
be upon him, to emigrate, Al-Bara', may Allah be pleased with him,
said: "The first ones who came to us of the Companions of the
Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, were Mus`ab ibn
`Umayr and Ibn Umm Maktum. They started to teach us the Qur’an.
Then `Ammar, Bilal, and Sa`d came, then `Umar ibn Al-Khattab came
with twenty others. Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon
him, came, and I never saw the people of Madinah rejoice more than
that. They rejoiced so much that I saw the girls and boys saying,
‘This is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon
him), he has come’” (Al-Bukhari).
The
following hadith sums up many of the events of the Prophet’s
emigration: It was narrated on the authority of `A'ishah that he
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to the Muslims:
“In a dream I have been shown your place of immigration, a land
of date palm trees, between two lava fields, the two stony
tracts.” So, some people immigrated to Madinah, and most of
those people who had previously immigrated to the land of Ethiopia
returned to Madinah. Abu Bakr also prepared to leave for Madinah,
but the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said
to him, “Wait for a while, because I hope that I will be allowed
to emigrate also.” Abu Bakr said, “Do you indeed expect this?
May my father be sacrificed for you!” The Prophet said,
"Yes." So Abu Bakr stayed behind for the sake of the
Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, so
that he could accompany him. He fed two she-camels he owned for
four months.
One
day, while we [`A’ishah is still narrating] were sitting in Abu
Bakr's house at noon, someone said to Abu Bakr, "This is the
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with his head covered,
coming at a time at which he never used to visit us before."
Abu Bakr said, "May my father and mother be sacrificed for
him. By Allah, he has not come at this hour except for something
important." So the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,
came and asked permission to enter, and he was admitted. When he
entered, he said to Abu Bakr. "Tell everyone who is present
with you to go away." Abu Bakr replied, "There is no one
here but you’re my family.
May
my father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah!" The
Prophet said, "I have been given permission to
emigrate." Abu Bakr said, "Shall I accompany you?"
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
"Yes." Abu Bakr said, "O Messenger of Allah, may my
father be sacrificed for you, take one of these two she-camels of
mine." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) replied, "(I will accept it) with payment."
So we prepared the baggage quickly and put some journey food in a
leather bag for them. Asma’, the daughter of Abu Bakr, cut a
piece from her waist belt and tied the mouth of the leather bag
with it, and for that reason she was named Dhat Un-Nitaqain, the
Owner of Two Belts.
Then
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and Abu
Bakr reached a cave on the mountain of Thawr and stayed there for
three nights. `Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr, who was an intelligent and
wise youth, stayed (with them) overnight. He would leave them
before daybreak so that in the morning he would be with the
Quraysh, as if he had spent the night in Makkah. He would keep in
mind any plot made against them, and when it became dark he would
(go and) inform them of it. `Amir ibn Fuhayrah, the freed slave of
Abu Bakr, used to bring the milch sheep (of his master, Abu Bakr)
to them a little while after nightfall. So they always had fresh
milk at night, the milk of their sheep. `Amir ibn Fuhayrah would
then take the flock away when it was still dark (before daybreak).
He did the same on each of those three nights. The Messenger of
Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and Abu Bakr had
hired a man from the tribe of Banu Ad-Dayl from the family of Banu
`Abd ibn `Adiyy as an expert guide, … he was of the religion of
the polytheists of the Quraysh, but the Prophet and Abu Bakr
trusted him and gave him their two she-camels and made an
appointment with him for him to bring their two she-camels to the
cave of the mountain of Thawr in the morning after three nights
had passed. And (when they set out),`Amir ibn Fuhayrah and the
guide went along with them and the guide led them along the coast.
Ibn
Shihab said: `Abdur-Rahman ibn Malik Al-Mudliji, who was the
nephew of Suraqah ibn Malik, told me that his father informed him
that he heard Suraqah saying: The messengers of the Quraysh came
to us declaring that they had assigned for the persons who would
kill or arrest the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon
him, and Abu Bakr, a reward equal to their blood-money. While I
was sitting in one of the gatherings of my tribe, a man from them
came to us and stood while we were sitting, and said, “O
Suraqah! I have just seen some people far away on the shore, and I
think they are Muhammad and his companion.” Suraqah added: I
realized that it must have been them. But I said, “No, it is not
them, but you must have seen so-and-so, and so-and-so whom we saw
setting out.” I stayed in the gathering for a while and then got
up and left for my home. I ordered my slave-girl to get my horse,
which was behind a hillock, and keep it ready for me.
Then
I took my spear and left by the back door of my house dragging the
lower end of the spear on the ground and keeping it low. Then I
reached my horse, mounted it and made it gallop. When I approached
them (i.e., Muhammad and Abu Bakr), my horse stumbled and I fell
down from it. Then I stood up, got hold of my quiver and took out
the divining arrows and drew lots as to whether I should harm them
or not, and the lot which I disliked came out. But I remounted my
horse and let it gallop, giving no importance to the divining
arrows. When I heard the recitation of the Qur’an by the
Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, who was not
looking around although Abu Bakr kept doing that, suddenly the
forelegs of my horse sank into the ground up to the knees, and I
fell down from it. Then I rebuked it and it got up but it could
hardly lift its forelegs from the ground, and when it stood up
straight again, its forelegs caused dust to rise up in the sky
like smoke. Then again I drew lots with the divining arrows, and
the lot which I disliked came out. So I called to them to let them
know they were safe. They stopped, and I remounted my horse and
went to them. When I saw how I had been hampered from harming
them, it came to my mind that the cause of the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings be upon him, would become victorious. So I
said to him, "Your people have assigned a reward equal to the
blood-money for your capture." Then I told them all the plans
the people of Makkah had made concerning them. Then I offered them
some journey food and goods but they refused to take anything and
did not ask for anything, but the Prophet, peace and blessings be
upon him, said, "Do not tell others about us." Then I
requested him to write for me a guarantee of security. He ordered
`Amir bin Fuhayrah to write it for me on a piece of animal skin,
then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went
on his way.
When
the Muslims of Madinah heard that the Messenger of Allah, peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him, had departed Makkah and was
heading towards them, they started going to the harrah (stony
tract formed of lava) every morning. They would wait for him till
the heat of the noon forced them to return. One day, after waiting
for a long while, they returned home, and when they went into
their houses, a Jew climbed up onto the roof of one of the forts
of his people to look for something, and he saw the Messenger of
Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and his companions dressed
in white clothes, as if they were emerging out of a desert mirage.
The
Jew could not help shouting at the top of his voice, "O
Arabs! Here is your great man whom you have been waiting
for!" So all the Muslims rushed to pick up their weapons and
went to meet the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon
him, on the lava field. The Prophet turned to the right and
alighted in the land of Banu `Amr ibn `Awf. This was on a Monday
in the month of Rabi` Awwal. Abu Bakr stood receiving the people
while the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sat
and kept silent. Some of the Ansar (Helpers) who came and had not
seen the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him before, began greeting Abu Bakr, but when the sunshine fell on
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and Abu
Bakr came forward and shaded him with his cloak, only then did the
people recognize the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be
upon him.
The
Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, stayed with
Banu `Amr ibn `Awf for ten nights and established the mosque that
was founded on piety, the Mosque of Quba'. The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings be upon him, prayed in it and then mounted his
she-camel and moved on, accompanied by the people till his
she-camel knelt down at the place where the Mosque of the Prophet
now stands in Madinah. Some Muslims used to pray there in those
days, and that place was a yard for drying dates belonging to
Suhail and Sahl, two orphan boys who were under the guardianship
of As`ad ibn Zurarah. When his she-camel knelt down, the Messenger
of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "This place,
Allah willing, will be our place." The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then called the two boys
and told them to name a price for that yard so that he might take
it as a mosque. The two boys said, "No, but we will give it
as a gift, O Messenger of Allah!" The Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings be upon him, refused to take it as a gift and
insisted on buying it from them.
The
Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, built a mosque there. He
himself helped in the construction. He started carrying unburned
bricks for its building and while doing so, he would say,
"This load is better than the load of Khaybar, for it is more
pious in the sight of Allah and purer and better rewardable."
He was also saying, "O Allah! The actual reward is the reward
in the Hereafter, so bestow Your Mercy on the Ansar and the
Muhajirun (Immigrants)."
This
is a summary of the events of the Hijrah. Whoever wants to know
more may consult references such as Al-Bidaayah wan-Nihayah
by Ibn Kathir.
Excerpted
with slight modification from www.islam-qa.com
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