Arrival In Yathrib
When the people of Yathrib heard that the Prophet (pbuh) had left Mecca
and was on his way to their city, they anxiously awaited his arrival. Each
morning they would go to the edge of the city to see if he were coming.
Finally, on Monday, September 27, in the year 622 A.D., someone saw
him in the distance and shouted to everyone, 'Here is Muhammad! (pbuh)
the Messenger of Allah has arrived!' All the Muslims went out to greet
him, shouting, “Allahu Akbar”! Allah is Great! Muhammad the
Messenger of Allah has arrived!' The women and children sang songs to
show how glad they were to see him. The Prophet (pbuh) entered the city
with his friend Abu Bakr. Most of The people there had not seen him
before and as they gathered around they did not know which of the two
was the Prophet (pbuh), until Abu Bakr got up to shield him with his
cloak from the burning sun. Yathrib would now be Called al-Medina,
which means, The City.
The Messenger of God (pbuh) stayed in Quba', which is a place at the
entrance of Medina, for three days. On the first Friday after his arrival the
Prophet led the congregation in prayer. After this many of the wealthiest
men invited him to come and live with them and share their riches. But he
refused and, pointing to his she-camel, Qaswa', said, 'Let her go her way',
because he knew that his camel was under Allah's command and would
guide him to the spot where he should stay. They let the camel go until
she finally knelt down beside a house belonging to the Bani an-Najjar, the
tribe to whom the Prophet's mother was related. This house was used as a
drying-place for dates and belonged to two young orphan boys named
Sahl and Suhayl. They offered to give it to the Prophet (pbuh) but he
insisted on paying them for it, and so their guardian, As‟ad the son of
Zurarah, who was present, made the necessary arrangements.
The Prophet (pbuh) ordered that a mosque and a place for him to live
be built on the site. All the Muslims worked together to finish it quicklyeven
the Prophet (pbuh) joined in. It was here that the Muslims would
pray and meet to make important decisions and plans. The building was
quite plain and simple. The floor was beaten earth and the roof of palm
leaves was held up by tree trunks. Two Stones marked the direction of
prayer. At first worshippers faced Jerusalem, but Soon after the direction
of prayer was changed towards the Ka‟bah in Mecca.
After the building of the mosque, the Prophet (pbuh) wanted to
strengthen the relationship between the people called the Muhajirah or
Emigrants, who had left Mecca with him, and the people of Medina, who
were known as the Ansar, or Helpers. Each man from Medinah took as
his brother a man from Mecca, sharing everything with him and treating
him as a member of his own family. This was the beginning of the
Islamic brotherhood. In the early days of Islam, the times for prayer were
not announced and So the Muslims would come to the mosque and wait
for the prayer so as not to miss it. The Prophet (pbuh) wondered how to
tell the people that it was time for prayers. He discussed it with his
friends, and at first two ideas were put forward; that of blowing a horn as
the Jews did, and that of using a wooden clapper like the Christians.
Then a man called „Abd Allah ibn Zayd came to the Prophet (pbuh)
and told him he had had a dream in which he had seen a man dressed all
in green, holding a wooden clapper. He had said to the man, 'Would you
sell me your clapper in order to call the people to prayer?' The man had
replied, 'A better way to call the people to prayer is to Say: "Allahu
Akbar, Allah is Most Great!" four times, followed by "I bear witness that
there is no divinity but Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah, Come to prayer, come to prayer, Come to salvation,
come to salvation. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar! There is no divinity but
Allah!"'
When the Prophet (pbuh) heard this, he said it was a true vision from
Allah. He sent for Bilal, who had a beautiful, strong voice, and ordered
him to call the people to prayer in just this way. Bilal did so and soon
after 'Umar came out of his house and told the Prophet (pbuh) that he had
seen exactly the same vision himself.
The Prophet (pbuh) replied, 'Allah be praised for that.' The adhan, or
call to prayer, which came to 'Abd Allah ibn Zayd in his dream and was
performed by Bilal on the instruction of the Prophet (pbuh), is the one we
still hear today being called from the minarets of mosques all over the
world.
When the people of Yathrib heard that the Prophet (pbuh) had left Mecca
and was on his way to their city, they anxiously awaited his arrival. Each
morning they would go to the edge of the city to see if he were coming.
Finally, on Monday, September 27, in the year 622 A.D., someone saw
him in the distance and shouted to everyone, 'Here is Muhammad! (pbuh)
the Messenger of Allah has arrived!' All the Muslims went out to greet
him, shouting, “Allahu Akbar”! Allah is Great! Muhammad the
Messenger of Allah has arrived!' The women and children sang songs to
show how glad they were to see him. The Prophet (pbuh) entered the city
with his friend Abu Bakr. Most of The people there had not seen him
before and as they gathered around they did not know which of the two
was the Prophet (pbuh), until Abu Bakr got up to shield him with his
cloak from the burning sun. Yathrib would now be Called al-Medina,
which means, The City.
The Messenger of God (pbuh) stayed in Quba', which is a place at the
entrance of Medina, for three days. On the first Friday after his arrival the
Prophet led the congregation in prayer. After this many of the wealthiest
men invited him to come and live with them and share their riches. But he
refused and, pointing to his she-camel, Qaswa', said, 'Let her go her way',
because he knew that his camel was under Allah's command and would
guide him to the spot where he should stay. They let the camel go until
she finally knelt down beside a house belonging to the Bani an-Najjar, the
tribe to whom the Prophet's mother was related. This house was used as a
drying-place for dates and belonged to two young orphan boys named
Sahl and Suhayl. They offered to give it to the Prophet (pbuh) but he
insisted on paying them for it, and so their guardian, As‟ad the son of
Zurarah, who was present, made the necessary arrangements.
The Prophet (pbuh) ordered that a mosque and a place for him to live
be built on the site. All the Muslims worked together to finish it quicklyeven
the Prophet (pbuh) joined in. It was here that the Muslims would
pray and meet to make important decisions and plans. The building was
quite plain and simple. The floor was beaten earth and the roof of palm
leaves was held up by tree trunks. Two Stones marked the direction of
prayer. At first worshippers faced Jerusalem, but Soon after the direction
of prayer was changed towards the Ka‟bah in Mecca.
After the building of the mosque, the Prophet (pbuh) wanted to
strengthen the relationship between the people called the Muhajirah or
Emigrants, who had left Mecca with him, and the people of Medina, who
were known as the Ansar, or Helpers. Each man from Medinah took as
his brother a man from Mecca, sharing everything with him and treating
him as a member of his own family. This was the beginning of the
Islamic brotherhood. In the early days of Islam, the times for prayer were
not announced and So the Muslims would come to the mosque and wait
for the prayer so as not to miss it. The Prophet (pbuh) wondered how to
tell the people that it was time for prayers. He discussed it with his
friends, and at first two ideas were put forward; that of blowing a horn as
the Jews did, and that of using a wooden clapper like the Christians.
Then a man called „Abd Allah ibn Zayd came to the Prophet (pbuh)
and told him he had had a dream in which he had seen a man dressed all
in green, holding a wooden clapper. He had said to the man, 'Would you
sell me your clapper in order to call the people to prayer?' The man had
replied, 'A better way to call the people to prayer is to Say: "Allahu
Akbar, Allah is Most Great!" four times, followed by "I bear witness that
there is no divinity but Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah, Come to prayer, come to prayer, Come to salvation,
come to salvation. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar! There is no divinity but
Allah!"'
When the Prophet (pbuh) heard this, he said it was a true vision from
Allah. He sent for Bilal, who had a beautiful, strong voice, and ordered
him to call the people to prayer in just this way. Bilal did so and soon
after 'Umar came out of his house and told the Prophet (pbuh) that he had
seen exactly the same vision himself.
The Prophet (pbuh) replied, 'Allah be praised for that.' The adhan, or
call to prayer, which came to 'Abd Allah ibn Zayd in his dream and was
performed by Bilal on the instruction of the Prophet (pbuh), is the one we
still hear today being called from the minarets of mosques all over the
world.
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