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Allah
the Almighty sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
to mankind at the time when it was most in need of His
message. The whole world was in the total darkness of
polytheism and ignorance. It was at this time that Allah
chose to send His servant Muhammad (peace and blessings be
upon him) to mankind.
The
Prophet of mercy (peace and blessings be upon him) came to
enjoin on people chastity, noble manners and
characteristics, firmness in faith, kindness to kith and
kin, good neighborliness, and abstention from injustice and
oppression. He (peace and blessings be upon him) enjoined
upon them to consult the Qur'an in all their affairs. He
(peace and blessings be upon him) enjoined earning from
lawful means and spending in virtuous ways and made
everybody equal with respect to the law of Allah. Allah
says:
[Say,
"My Lord has only forbidden immoralities — what is
apparent of them and what is concealed — and sin, and
oppression without right, and that you associate with
Allah that for which He has not sent down authority, and
that you say about Allah that which you do not know."]
(Al-A`raf 7:33)
When
the early Muslims responded to the call of the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him), they were being severely
persecuted by the disbelievers. The Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) was opposed by three sets of people:
the envious; the arrogant who knew the truth yet denied it;
and the misled, ignorant ones. These people exerted all
their efforts to stop the spread of Islam:
[They
want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths,
but Allah will perfect His light, although the
disbelievers dislike it.]
(As-Saff 61:8)
When
the torment became severe in Makkah and the idolaters wanted
to assassinate the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
be upon him), the angel Jibreel (peace be upon him) came to
him and said, "Allah has given you permission to
migrate to Madinah. Therefore, do not spend tonight in your
house, giving them (the idolaters) the chance to get to
you." While the idolaters were lying in wait outside
the house of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be
upon him) for him to come out — so that they could all
strike him at the same time — he (peace and blessings be
upon him) emerged from his house reciting the opening verses
of Surat Yasin and threw sand in their faces. Allah
prevented the idolaters from seeing him and made slumber
overtake them.
The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his
companion, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), hid in
the cave of Thawr for three days until the search for them
subsided. The Quraish searched for the Prophet in every nook
and cranny and followed his tracks until they were at the
very entrance of the cave where the Prophet was hiding in.
Abu Bakr then said, "If any of them looks down at their
feet, they will see us." The Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) replied, assuring him, "What do
you think about two companions, of whom Allah is the
third?" After three days, the two companions found a
guide and proceeded to Madinah.
While
the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was
on his way to Madinah during his migration, Suraqah ibn
Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who had not yet
embraced Islam at that time, pursued the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) in order to capture or kill him and
win the prize money that the Quraish had offered for the
Prophet's head. However, Allah Almighty intended that
Suraqah would change his mind and ask the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) to forgive him instead. This is the
story of how the Hijrah took place and it represented a
manifest victory for Islam and the Muslims in that Allah
rendered the disbelievers' plots fruitless. Allah says:
[If
you do not aid him [the Prophet] Allah has already aided
him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of
Makkah] as one of the two, when they [Muhammad and Abu
Bakr] were in the cave and he [Muhammad] said to his
companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with
us." And Allah sent down His tranquillity, upon him
and supported him with soldiers [angels] you did not see
and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest,
while the word of Allah – that is the highest. And Allah
is Exalted in Might and Wise.]
(At-Tawbah 9:40)
Dear
Muslims, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and
his companion Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him)
entered Madinah gloriously and honorably. He (peace and
blessings be upon him) then moved into a house, built his
mosque with quarters for his wives, and started upon a new
era full of blessings and victories based on divine support.
After this, the Hijrah from Makkah to Madinah became
compulsory on every Muslim, until the conquest of Makkah by
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
The
issue of Hijrah to Madinah was a miracle in itself, for the
city at that time had very meagre commerce, infrastructure,
and agricultural resources. In fact, living in the city was
financially restrictive even for its inhabitants. By any
human estimation, immigration to such a city, with all its
deficiencies, would cause immense economic and social
difficulties, but as Allah the Almighty would have it, the
reverse was the case for the Hijrah to Madinah.
This
Hijrah caused Madinah to achieve large number of benefits.
People now had the opportunity of meeting the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him), learning their religion from
him, emulating his noble character, preserving his Sunnah,
learning about his public and private life and everything
else about the religion of Islam. The Hijrah had a great
impact on Islam and the Muslims because Allah bestowed a lot
of His blessings on them.
Although
the Muslims faced some difficulties during the first days of
their immigration to Madinah, they were able to overcome
these difficulties through their strong belief, patience,
and perseverance. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) was full of love and compassion for the people in
general and their children in particular. After the initial
period of hardships, Allah bestowed good things in abundance
upon the people of Madinah in all areas of life.
We
have all missed out on the reward of making Hijrah to Allah
the Almighty and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon
him) during the prophetic era, but there is another type of
Hijrah which we can make and which will earn us immense
rewards. We must migrate from disobedience to obedience of
Allah; shun negligence in religious matters and migrate to
adherence; migrate from sins to submission to Allah; migrate
from laziness and false hopes to diligence, seriousness, and
striving in what pleases Allah; and migration of our hearts
from affinity to this mundane life to the love of the
hereafter. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
said, "The Muslim is one who does not harm other
Muslims with his hands or tongue and the muhajir (migrant)
is the one who shuns all that Allah has forbidden."
Allah says:
[Indeed,
those who have believed and those who have emigrated and
fought in the cause of Allah — those expect the mercy of
Allah. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.]
(Al-Baqarah 2:218)
In
the Prophet's Hijrah, there are admonitions and lessons for
every Muslim, especially of patience and perseverance.
Another lesson is that it was the will of Allah to make His
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) perform the Hijrah
with means that human beings are well accustomed to, such as
riding on a camel and hiring a guide. If Allah had wished,
He could have willed that his Prophet (peace and blessings
be upon him) did the Hijrah on Al-Buraq [a riding animal
that the Prophet rode when on his Night Journey to Jerusalem
and Paradise], but the will of Allah was that He wanted the
Muslims to emulate their Messenger (peace and blessings be
upon him) and to aid and assist their religion with whatever
means that Allah had facilitated for them. The greatest
obligation upon us all then, dear Muslims, is to aid and
assist the religion of Allah by practicing it and advising
each other and being patient upon that.
The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was
exposed to several assassination attempts, both before and
after his migration. In Makkah, Abu Jahl had attempted to
kill him before Allah sent the angel Jibreel (peace and
blessings be upon him) to prevent him from carrying out this
devilish act. At the Battle of Tabuk, an attempt was made on
his life by some of the hypocrites. Even in Madinah, an
attempt was made to kill him (peace and blessings be upon
him) by poisoning his food, but Allah saved him from all
these attempts. This was due to his embodying all forms of
worship totally for the sake of Allah and for his sincere
dependence on Him. Allah says:
[And
whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for
him.]
(At-Talaq 65:3)
Indeed,
the current predicament of the Muslims throughout the world
necessitates that we benefit from the lessons derived from
the Hijrah. We must realize that the situation of this
generation of Muslims cannot improve except by that which
improved the condition of our righteous predecessors:
sincere and correct belief, noble manners and characters,
absolute trust in Allah, patience, and perfection of acts of
worship in accordance with the sunnah.
May
Allah make us of those who listen to the truth and follow
it, and may He bless, guide, and forgive us all. Ameen.
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