04. Madinah Munawwarah ki taraf hijrat [The Story of the Prophet’s Migration to Al-Madinah]

The Story of the Prophet’s Migration to Al-Madinah

Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)  was in Makkah and he was commanded to make the migration when it was revealed to him:

قُلْ رَبِّ أَدْخِلْنِي مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ وَأَخْرِجْنِي مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍ وَاجْعَلْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ سُلْطَانًا نَصِيرًا ‏‏

“And say (O Muhammad(ﷺ) ): My Lord! Let my entry (to the city of Al-Madinah) be good, and (likewise) my exit (from the city of Makkah) be good.” [Al-Isra’ 17:80] (60)

And there is no doubt that this migration would not have taken place but for this blessed pledge of allegiance between the Prophet(ﷺ)  and the people of Al-Madinah. And the Messenger(ﷺ)  ordered his Companions(رضي الله عنهم) to perform the Hijrah (migration) to Al-Madinah and to meet up with their brothers from among the Ansar, and he said:

“Verily, Allah has made for you brothers and a home in which you will be safe.”

So, they went out, having been sent forth and Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)  remained in Makkah, awaiting permission from his Lord to leave Makkah. And when Quraish saw the continuing migration of the Muslims, they realized that the Companions of the Prophet(ﷺ)  had found a place of protection and had reached a home, so they were watchful for the departure of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)  and they met together in Dar An-Nadwah[61] in order to deliberate on their course of action in the matter of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) . Some of them said: “Let us remove him from our midst,” while others said: “No, let us incarcerate him and he will not eat until he dies.” Abu Jahl may Allah’s curse be upon him – said: “By Allah, I will suggest an opinion to you which, after hearing it, you will accept no other.” They said: “And what is it?” He said: “Let us choose a strong young man from every tribe as an agent and then let each young man among them be given a sharp sword, then let each man deal him one blow. And if they kill him, his blood money will be shared by the tribes; and I do not think that this tribe from Banu Hashim has the power to make war against the whole of Quraish, so if they see that, they will accept compensation and we will be relieved and we will have put a stop to the harm he is causing.”

[60: At-Tirmidhi (3139) and Ahmad (1/223).]

[61: Dar An-Nadwah: The Meeting Place.]

Then Jibril (Gabriel)(علیہ السلام) came to the Prophet(ﷺ)  and ordered him not to sleep in his bed and informed him of the plot of his people; so, Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)  did not sleep in his house that night and Allah permitted him at that time to leave. So, Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)  invited ‘Ali bin Abi Talib(رضي الله عنه) and ordered him to sleep in his bed and to cover himself with a green cloak belonging to him, which he did. Then Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)  went out to the people and they were standing at his door and he had a handful of dust which he cast over their heads, and Allah prevented them from seeing His Prophet, Muhammad(ﷺ)  and he was reciting:

 يسٓ  وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ ِ إلى قوله   فَأَغْشَيْنَهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ

Ya-Sin. By the Qur’ân, full of wisdom (i.e., full of laws, evidences, and proofs). Truly, you (O Muhammadﷺ )are one of the Messengers, on the Straight Path (i.e., on Allah’s religion of Islamic Monotheism). (This is a Revelation) sent down by the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful, in order that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are heedless. Indeed the Word (of punishment) has proved true against most of them, so they will not believe. Verily, We have put on their necks iron collars reaching to the chins, so that their heads are raised up. And We have put a barrier before them, and a barrier behind them, and We have covered them up, so that they cannot see.” [Ya-Sin 36:1-9]

And among those who remained with the Prophet ﷺ in Makkah was Abu Bakr 

As-Siddiqرضي الله عنه, who had sought permission from the Prophet ﷺ to migrate, but Allah’s Messengerﷺ said:

“Do not be hasty; it may be that Allah will provide for you a companion.”

Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه hoped that Allah’s Messengerﷺ meant himself, so he prepared two mounts and kept them at his home, feeding them in preparation for this event.

It was not the practice of the Prophetﷺ to come to the house of Abu Bakr 

As-Siddiq رضي الله عنهexcept at two times, either the morning or the evening. Then came the day when Allah gave

His Messenger (ﷺ) permission to migrate and to depart from Makkah and his people, so Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)came to the house of Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه), he said: “Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) has come at this hour only because something important has happened.” When he entered, Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) stepped back from his bed and Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) sat down. There was no one present with Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) except ‘Aishah and her sister, 

Asma(رضی اللہ عنہا)’. Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) said:

“Let those with you leave my presence.”

Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) replied: “O Messenger of Allah! They are only my two daughters. What is it, may my mother and father be ransomed for you?” He said:

“Allâh has ordered me to leave and migrate.”

Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) asked: “Companionship, O Messenger of Allah?” He(ﷺ) replied:

“Companionship.”

‘Aishah(رضی اللہ عنہا) said: “And by Allah, I never witnessed anyone before crying for joy until I saw Abu Bakr crying for joy on that day.”

✿The Departure

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) hired ‘Abdullah bin Uraiqit, who was a polytheist, to guide them on the road and they pursued in on their mounts, which were with him and he had been caring for, in preparation for their departure. And no one knew of the departure of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) except ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq and the family of Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه)

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and his Companion(رضي الله عنهم)departed, then they headed for a cave in Mount Thawr, which is a mountain lying behind Makkah, and they entered it and Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) ordered his son, ‘Abdullah to listen to what the people were saying about them during the day and then to come to them in the evening with news of what had transpired that day. And he ordered Amir bin Fuhairah, his slave, to graze his sheep during the day and then to bring them to rest near them in the evening at the cave. So, ‘Abdullah bin Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) spent his day among Quraish. listening to their counsels and what they were saying regarding Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) and Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) and in the evening, he would come to them and give them the news. And’Amir bin Fuhairah was tending the flocks of the people of Makkah and in the evening, he would rest the sheep of Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) near to them and they would milk them and slaughter one. When ‘Abdullah bin Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) would left to return to Makkah, ‘Amir bin Fuhairah would follow him with his sheep and wipe out his tracks thereby. Then when three nights had passed and the people no longer spoke of them, their companion whom they had hired came to them with their two camels and a camel for himself and Asma’ bint Abu Bakr (رضی اللہ عنہا)came to them with their food, but she forgot to put a strap on it and when they were about to leave, she went to tie the food, but she found that there was no strap for it, so she untied her waistband and made it into a strap (tearing it into two parts) and then she tied it with that; this is why she is known as ‘Owner of the Two Waistbands’.

When the polytheists noticed that Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) and his Companion were missing, they began to search for them, declaring that they would pay a reward of a hundred camels for whoever returned them and they followed their tracks until they became confused. The person who followed the tracks for Quraish was Suraqah bin Malik and he and his companions climbed the mountain in which they were hidden and they passed in front of the mouth of the cave and their feet were at the entrance of the cave, but they did not see them, because they were protected by Allah. Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) said to Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ): “If one of them were to look at his feet, he would see us beneath his feet.” He(ﷺ) replied:

يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ، مَا ظَنُّكَ بِاثْنَيْنِ اللَّهُ ثَالِتُهُمَا “

“O Abu Bakr! What do you think of two the third of whom is Allah?[62]

And when the people of Al-Madinah heard that Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) had departed from Makkah, they awaited their

arrival and they used to go out after the morning prayer and wait for them and they would not go in until they were overcome by the heat of the midday sun, then when there no longer remained any shade, they would go in. Then on the day on which Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) approached Al-Madinah, they sat as they used to sit every day until no shade remained and then they entered their houses and Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) arrived when they had entered their houses and the first who saw him was a man from among the Jews and he had observed what they had been doing, how they waited for the arrival of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) among them, so he shouted at the top of his voice: “O sons of Qailah![63] Your fortune bas arrived!”

So, they went out to Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) who was in the shade of a date-palm tree and with him was Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) and he was of a similar age to the Prophet (ﷺ) and most of them had not seen Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) before that. The people crowded around him and they did not know him from Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) until the shade disappeared from Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) , so Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) stood up and shaded him with his upper garment, after which they knew him.[64]

[62: Al-Bukhari (4663) and Muslim (2381).]

[63: By this he meant the Ansar, for Quilah was a woman from among their ancestors.]

[64: Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah(4/486)]

The Muslims rushed to get their weapons (to protect him) and they met Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) at the rocky area and he turned right with them until he stopped with them at the dwellings of Banu ‘Amr bin ‘Awf in Quba’ and he stayed in the house of Kulthum bin Al-Hadm. And it was said that he stopped in the shade of a date-palm tree, then moved from there to the house of Kulthum, an ally of Banu ‘Amr bin ‘Awf.

He(ﷺ) arrived on Monday, the 12th of Rabi’ul-Awwal in the thirteenth year of his Prophethood and he stayed in Quba’ for fourteen nights, as recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, from

 Anas(رضي الله عنه) During these days[65] when he stayed with Banu ‘Amr bin ‘Awf, he built Quba’ Mosque. And not far from Quba’ the time for Friday prayer came, so Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)descended at the dwellings of Banu Salim bin ‘Awf in the middle of a valley known as Ranuna’ and with him were a number of Muslims and he built in that place a mosque which was known henceforth as Al-Jumu’ah Mosque.

[65:It will be shown that he performed the first Friday prayer where the Jumu’ah Mosque was built, that is, when he left Quba’ and headed for Al- Madinah, which proves that he did not complete this period in Quba’, in fact, he remained less than a week before he prayed the first Friday prayer after leaving it-and Allah knows better. (See the note of Shaikh Al-Mubarakpuri under the heading: “The Friday Mosque”.)]

✿ The Arrival in the Center of Al-Madinah

When Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) wished to leave Quba’ for the center of Al-Madinah, he sent word to his maternal uncles from the tribe of Banu An-Najjar and they came wearing their swords and Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) proceeded, and he was following Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه), and Banu An-Najjar were around him along with a mass of Muslims, some of them riding and some of them walking, surrounding him on all sides, on his right, on his left and behind him. And Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) did not pass by any of their houses without them inviting him to stop with them, but he said: “Leave it (i.e., his camel), for it is commanded (by Allah). So, Al-Qaswa the she-camel of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)-wandered until it came to the place of Banu Malik bin An-Najjar and there it sat at the site of the Prophet’s Mosque and the Prophet(ﷺ) descended beside the house of Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari.

The people of Al-Madinah celebrated greatly his arrival

among them. Al-Bara'(رضي الله عنه) said: “I had not seen the people of Al-Madinah celebrate anything as they celebrated the arrival of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ).   [66]

Also narrated by Al-Bara(رضي الله عنه)’, on the authority of Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) in the Hadith of the Hijrah, that he said: “We arrived in Al- Madinah at night and they argued regarding with which of them Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) would stay, but he said: ‘I will stay with Banu An-Najjar, the maternal uncles of ‘Abdul Muttalib, out of respect for them. And the men and women climbed onto the roofs of the houses and the children and servants were scattered in the streets, calling: ‘O Muhammad! O Messenger of Allah! O Muhammad! O Messenger of Allah![67] And the day on which Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) arrived in Al-Madinah is a day which will live in the history of Al-Madinah. The city had seen nothing like it before and it will never see its like again.

It is reported in the Hadith of Anas(رضي الله عنه) that he said: “I never saw a brighter day than the day on which Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) and Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) entered Al-Madinah.”[68]

Then Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) ordered that the Prophet’s Mosque be built and we shall relate the story of its building and from what it was built and where it was built and something about its history in the following pages.

[66:Al-Bukhari (3925).]

[67: (Muslim (2009).]

[68: Ahmad.]

REFERENCE:

Book: “History of Madina Munawwarah”

Prepared by a group of Scholars  under the supervision of  Shaikh Safir ur Rahman Mubarak puri. (Darussalam)