Al-Hijrah
The Breaking of All Connections with One's Home, for the Sake of Allah
Alone. After his companions had left for Yathrib, the Prophet (pbuh)
stayed in Mecca, waiting for permission from Allah to leave the city. Abu
Bakr and Ali stayed with him. There were also some Muslims whom
Quraysh had not allowed to leave. Abu Bakr kept asking the Prophet
(pbuh) to allow him to go to Yathrib, but the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)
kept saying, 'Do not be in a hurry; it might be that Allah will give you a
travelling companion.' The leaders of Quraysh assembled in the house of
their ancestor, Qusayy, as was customary when they had an important
decision to make. They had to find a way of getting rid of the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh), before he was able to join his friends in Yathrib. As
they were busy arguing, the Devil appeared at the door in the form of a
noble and handsome old man. When they saw this elderly gentleman
standing there, they asked him who he was. He said he was a Shaikh from
the mountains who had heard what they meant to do and thought he
might be able to help or advise them. They thought he looked like a wise
man, so they invited him in.
Each leader then started to put forward ideas about what should be
done, but none of them could agree about which was best, until AbuJahl
told them his plan. This was that each clan should provide a strong,
young warrior, each of whom would be given a sword. All the young
warriors would then wait outside the Prophet's house and together attack
him as he came out. In this way they would be rid of him but as the blame
for killing him would fall on all the clans, the Prophet's family would not
be able to seek revenge.
When he heard this, the Devil in the disguise of the old man, said,
'That man is right; in my opinion it is the only thing to do!' The leaders of
Quraysh then left to carry out their plan to murder the Prophet (pbuh).
“And when the unbelievers plot against thee, to confine thee, or kill
thee, or to drive thee out, they were plotting, But Allah was (also)
plotting; and Allah is the best of plotters”. (Qur'an 8.30)
Before the night fell, on which Muhammad (pbuh) was to be killed,
the Archangel Gabriel came to him and said, 'Do not sleep tonight in your
own bed.' The Prophet (pbuh) understood what was going to happen, so
he told „Ali to lie in his bed and wrap himself in the blanket that the
Prophet (pbuh) normally used, promising that no harm would befall
him.With the coming of darkness the young men of Quraysh had gathered
outside the Prophet's house, waiting for him to come out. After he had
made sure that 'Ali was safe, the Prophet (pbuh) left the house. At that
very moment Allah took away the sight of the warriors so that they could
not see the Prophet (pbuh), who took a handful of dust, sprinkled it on
their heads and recited these verses:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
“Ya Sin By the Wise Qur'an, Thou art truly among those sent On the
straight path; A Revelation of the All-mighty, the All-wise, That thou
may warn a people whose fathers were never warned, so they are
heedless. The Word has already proved true of most of them, yet they do
not believe. Lo! We have put on their necks collars of iron up to the chin,
so that they are made stiff-necked. and We have put before them a
barrier; and We have covered them so they do not see”.(Qur'an 36.1-9)
The young men waited the whole night and were furious when, in the
morning, they saw „Ali instead of the Prophet (pbuh) coming out of the
house. I They realised that their plan had failed completely. In the
meantime, the Prophet (pbuh) went to Abu Bakr's house and told him,
'Allah has told me that now is the time for us to leave Mecca.' 'Together?'
asked Abu Bakr. 'Together', the Prophet (pbuh) replied. Abu Bakr wept
for joy, because now he knew that the travelling companion he had been
promised was the Prophet (pbuh) himself.
Then he said,'O Messenger of Allah, these are the two camels which I
have kept ready for this.' And so, the two of them left for a cave in
Thawr, a mountain to the south of Mecca where they intended to hide.
When they were out of the city the Prophet (pbuh) looked back and
said, 'Of all Allah's earth, you are the dearest place to Allah and to me and
if my people had not driven me out I would never have left you.'
When Quraysh found out that the Prophet (pbuh) and his companion
had gone, they set out after them, searching in every direction. Three days
later they finally reached the cave where the Prophet (pbuh) and Abu
Bakr were hiding, but a strange and wonderful thing had happened. A
spider had woven its web right across the entrance to the cave and a dove
was nesting with her mate nearby. As the Meccans stood in front of the
cave, with only the spider's web separating them from the fugitives, Abu
Bakr began to fear for their safety. He whispered to the Prophet (pbuh),
they are very close. If one of them turns we will be seen.' But he was
comforted by the Prophet's reply: “What do you think of two who have
with them Allah as their third? 'Grieve not, for verily Allah is with us”.
(Qur'an 9.40) . After a few moments the search parry decided that no one
could have entered the cave recently, or the spider's web would not have
been complete and the dove would not have nested there, and so they left
without searching inside. Three days later the Prophet (pbuh) and Abu
Bakr thought it safe to leave the cave. Abu Bakr's son, 'Amir, had
arranged for three camels and a guide to help them continue their journey
to Yathrib. 'Amir would ride behind his father. The leaders of Quraysh,
meanwhile, returned to Mecca and offered a reward of one hundred
camels to whoever captured the Prophet (pbuh). Among those who went
in search of him was a famous warrior. He was, in fact, the only one to
catch up with him, but whenever he came close, his horse would suddenly
sink up to its knees in the sand. When this had happened three times, he
understood that the Prophet (pbuh) was protected by a power stronger
than anything he had known, and so he went back to Mecca. On arriving
there he warned everyone against continuing the search, relating what had
happened to him.
“If you do not help him, still Allah has helped him already, When the
unbelievers drove him forth, (he second of two, When the two were in the
Cave, when he said to his companion, "Grieve not; surely Allah is with
us." Then Allah caused His peace and Reassurance to descend upon him,
And helped him with hosts you cannot see, And He made the word of the
unbelievers the lowest; While Allah's word is the uppermost; Allah is Allmighty,
All-wise”. (Qur'an 9.40)
The Prophet's journey from Mecca is called the hijrah, or migration. It
was really the first step towards the spread of Islam throughout the entire
world, and Muslims begin their calendar from the year of the hijrah
The Breaking of All Connections with One's Home, for the Sake of Allah
Alone. After his companions had left for Yathrib, the Prophet (pbuh)
stayed in Mecca, waiting for permission from Allah to leave the city. Abu
Bakr and Ali stayed with him. There were also some Muslims whom
Quraysh had not allowed to leave. Abu Bakr kept asking the Prophet
(pbuh) to allow him to go to Yathrib, but the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)
kept saying, 'Do not be in a hurry; it might be that Allah will give you a
travelling companion.' The leaders of Quraysh assembled in the house of
their ancestor, Qusayy, as was customary when they had an important
decision to make. They had to find a way of getting rid of the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh), before he was able to join his friends in Yathrib. As
they were busy arguing, the Devil appeared at the door in the form of a
noble and handsome old man. When they saw this elderly gentleman
standing there, they asked him who he was. He said he was a Shaikh from
the mountains who had heard what they meant to do and thought he
might be able to help or advise them. They thought he looked like a wise
man, so they invited him in.
Each leader then started to put forward ideas about what should be
done, but none of them could agree about which was best, until AbuJahl
told them his plan. This was that each clan should provide a strong,
young warrior, each of whom would be given a sword. All the young
warriors would then wait outside the Prophet's house and together attack
him as he came out. In this way they would be rid of him but as the blame
for killing him would fall on all the clans, the Prophet's family would not
be able to seek revenge.
When he heard this, the Devil in the disguise of the old man, said,
'That man is right; in my opinion it is the only thing to do!' The leaders of
Quraysh then left to carry out their plan to murder the Prophet (pbuh).
“And when the unbelievers plot against thee, to confine thee, or kill
thee, or to drive thee out, they were plotting, But Allah was (also)
plotting; and Allah is the best of plotters”. (Qur'an 8.30)
Before the night fell, on which Muhammad (pbuh) was to be killed,
the Archangel Gabriel came to him and said, 'Do not sleep tonight in your
own bed.' The Prophet (pbuh) understood what was going to happen, so
he told „Ali to lie in his bed and wrap himself in the blanket that the
Prophet (pbuh) normally used, promising that no harm would befall
him.With the coming of darkness the young men of Quraysh had gathered
outside the Prophet's house, waiting for him to come out. After he had
made sure that 'Ali was safe, the Prophet (pbuh) left the house. At that
very moment Allah took away the sight of the warriors so that they could
not see the Prophet (pbuh), who took a handful of dust, sprinkled it on
their heads and recited these verses:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
“Ya Sin By the Wise Qur'an, Thou art truly among those sent On the
straight path; A Revelation of the All-mighty, the All-wise, That thou
may warn a people whose fathers were never warned, so they are
heedless. The Word has already proved true of most of them, yet they do
not believe. Lo! We have put on their necks collars of iron up to the chin,
so that they are made stiff-necked. and We have put before them a
barrier; and We have covered them so they do not see”.(Qur'an 36.1-9)
The young men waited the whole night and were furious when, in the
morning, they saw „Ali instead of the Prophet (pbuh) coming out of the
house. I They realised that their plan had failed completely. In the
meantime, the Prophet (pbuh) went to Abu Bakr's house and told him,
'Allah has told me that now is the time for us to leave Mecca.' 'Together?'
asked Abu Bakr. 'Together', the Prophet (pbuh) replied. Abu Bakr wept
for joy, because now he knew that the travelling companion he had been
promised was the Prophet (pbuh) himself.
Then he said,'O Messenger of Allah, these are the two camels which I
have kept ready for this.' And so, the two of them left for a cave in
Thawr, a mountain to the south of Mecca where they intended to hide.
When they were out of the city the Prophet (pbuh) looked back and
said, 'Of all Allah's earth, you are the dearest place to Allah and to me and
if my people had not driven me out I would never have left you.'
When Quraysh found out that the Prophet (pbuh) and his companion
had gone, they set out after them, searching in every direction. Three days
later they finally reached the cave where the Prophet (pbuh) and Abu
Bakr were hiding, but a strange and wonderful thing had happened. A
spider had woven its web right across the entrance to the cave and a dove
was nesting with her mate nearby. As the Meccans stood in front of the
cave, with only the spider's web separating them from the fugitives, Abu
Bakr began to fear for their safety. He whispered to the Prophet (pbuh),
they are very close. If one of them turns we will be seen.' But he was
comforted by the Prophet's reply: “What do you think of two who have
with them Allah as their third? 'Grieve not, for verily Allah is with us”.
(Qur'an 9.40) . After a few moments the search parry decided that no one
could have entered the cave recently, or the spider's web would not have
been complete and the dove would not have nested there, and so they left
without searching inside. Three days later the Prophet (pbuh) and Abu
Bakr thought it safe to leave the cave. Abu Bakr's son, 'Amir, had
arranged for three camels and a guide to help them continue their journey
to Yathrib. 'Amir would ride behind his father. The leaders of Quraysh,
meanwhile, returned to Mecca and offered a reward of one hundred
camels to whoever captured the Prophet (pbuh). Among those who went
in search of him was a famous warrior. He was, in fact, the only one to
catch up with him, but whenever he came close, his horse would suddenly
sink up to its knees in the sand. When this had happened three times, he
understood that the Prophet (pbuh) was protected by a power stronger
than anything he had known, and so he went back to Mecca. On arriving
there he warned everyone against continuing the search, relating what had
happened to him.
“If you do not help him, still Allah has helped him already, When the
unbelievers drove him forth, (he second of two, When the two were in the
Cave, when he said to his companion, "Grieve not; surely Allah is with
us." Then Allah caused His peace and Reassurance to descend upon him,
And helped him with hosts you cannot see, And He made the word of the
unbelievers the lowest; While Allah's word is the uppermost; Allah is Allmighty,
All-wise”. (Qur'an 9.40)
The Prophet's journey from Mecca is called the hijrah, or migration. It
was really the first step towards the spread of Islam throughout the entire
world, and Muslims begin their calendar from the year of the hijrah
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