7. The Road to Madinah

7.1 Al-Ansār Set Off to their Appointment with Rasūlullāhﷺ

So we have now covered Bay‘atul ‘Aqabah Al-Ūlā – the First Pledge of Allegiance of Al-‘Aqabah, the terms of which was called The Pledge of Allegiance of the Women. Mus‘ab Ibn ‘Umair has done outstanding work in spreading the Message, and by the time the next Hajj season arrived, the narrator of the Hadīth says, “There was no house in Madīnah that did not have a Muslim in it,” because of the effort of Mus‘ab Bin ‘Umair. So now the appointment to meet Rasūlullāhﷺ in Pilgrimage was approaching, so over 70 of the Muslims went with the Pilgrims of their people. So the delegation that came out of Madīnah included Muslims and Non-Muslims, and the Muslims had a secret appointment with Muhammadﷺ, but they went out with the group that was leaving from Madīnah. So there were over 70 men who were Muslim and two women.

7.1.1 Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr Prays towards Jerusalem

Ka’b Ibn Mālik  narrates the following story, he says “We were among the Pilgrims of our people, some were Muslim and some were Non-Muslim, and our leader and elder was Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr, he was the leader among the Muslims. Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr came to us, a group of Muslims, and he said, ‘I have an Idea and I want to get your opinion; I do not feel comfortable turning my back towards this building in Prayer.’” He was referring to Al-Ka’bah. What was the Qiblah of the Muslims at that time? Praying to Al-Aqsā, Jerusalem. So the people who are in Madīnah, they are facing Jerusalem, while their backs are towards Makkah. So Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr is saying, “I do not feel comfortable doing that, and I wanted to seek your advice on whether I should pray towards Al- Ka’bah.” Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “We responded by saying, ‘Rasūlullāhﷺ is praying towards Jerusalem and we do not want to contradict him.’” Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr said, “I am going to pray towards Al-Ka’bah,” and from that day on, he started praying towards Al-Ka’bah. Now the delegation made it to Makkah. Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr  said to Ka’b Ibn Mālik, “My nephew, let us go after the Messenger of Allāh and ask him about what I have been doing on this journey. The disapproval I have seen in you has somewhat disturbed me.” Let us go and ask Rasūlullāhﷺ if what I did was right or wrong. Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “We asked a man from Makkah, ‘Where is Rasūlullāhﷺ ?’ So the young man said ‘Do you know him? Have you seen him before?’” Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “No, we do not know him.” The man responded by saying. “Do you know Al-‘Abbās Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib, his uncle?” They said, “Yes, we used to see him in Madīnah on business trips.” Al-‘Abbās Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib used to frequent Madīnah doing business, so they knew him. The man said, “Muhammadﷺ is the man sitting next to Al-‘Abbās in the mosque, you will find him there.”

So Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “I went with my uncle Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr, we into the mosque and we found Al-‘Abbās Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib and we came and greeted them. Muhammadﷺ said, ‘O Uncle Abul Fadl, do you know who these two men are?’” The elder son of ‘Abbās, his name is Al-Fadl, and it was the tradition of the Arabs to give a name to the father; the father of so and so, the eldest son. So Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Abul Fadl, do you know these two men?” Al-‘Abbās said, “Yes, this is Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr, the leader of his people, and this is Ka’b Ibn Mālik.” Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “I swear by Allāh, I will never forget the next statement that Rasūlullāhﷺ made.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Do you mean the poet?” Ka’b Ibn Mālik was a poet, so when Al -‘Abbās Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib introduced Ka’b Ibn Mālik to Muhammadﷺ and said this is Ka’b Ibn Mālik, Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Is he the poet?” Ka’b Ibn Mālik says, “I can never forget that statement in my whole life.” Why was it such a big deal to Ka’b Ibn Mālik? Because it shows that Rasūlullāhﷺ has heard of him. And Ka’b Ibn Mālik was so proud and happy that Rasūlullāhﷺ, his leader, the man who he meets for the first time and has been waiting for this moment to meet him, has heard of him, he might have even heard some of his works. So he was so proud and happy that Rasūlullāhﷺ has already heard of him. Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Ash-Shā‘ir? –Is he the poet?” Al-‘Abbās said, “Yes.” Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr said, “O Messenger of Allāh, I have come on this journey having been given guidance to Islām by Allāh. I had the idea of not facing my back to this building, so I prayed towards it. My friends opposed me in this, causing me concern. What do you think?” Muhammadﷺ said, “You already had a Qiblah, a direction for Prayer, and you should have kept it.” You should have remained praying towards the Qiblah that you know. Since then, Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr changed the direction. Now, with Rasūlullāhﷺ , because at the time Rasūlullāhﷺ was in Makkah, he was not turning his back towards Al-Ka’bah, he was facing Al-Ka’bah but in the direction of Jerusalem. But the people of Madīnah [such as] Al- Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr, did not like that, and Subhān’Allāh, when Rasūlullāhﷺ made Hijrah, Rasūlullāh was feeling the same feeling.

7.1.2 Al-Ansār Secretly Gather in Al-‘Aqabah

Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “We then left to the Pilgrimage having made an agreement to meet the Messenger of Allāhﷺ at Al-‘Aqabah in the middle of the Tashrīq period.” So they made an appointment to meet at a specific time. Ka’b Ibn Mālik says, “We kept this as a secret; none of our people knew about it,” all of the Non-Muslims in our group knew nothing about our meeting with Rasūlullāhﷺ, it was secret, “except Abū Jābir – ‘Abdullāh Bin Harām, he was one of our leaders and seniors. We went up to him and we told him, ‘Abū Jābir, you are one of our noble leaders, and we would like you to give up your practices, otherwise one day you would end up as fuel for Hellfire’” Abū Jābir did accept Islām, so they told him about the private meeting, and he was one of the people who attended the meeting with them. In fact, he became one of the leaders who were appointed by Rasūlullāhﷺ within this group. It was the time for the appointment, it was late at night. Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “We were going towards Al-‘Aqabah in ones or twos.” They did not want to attract attention of the people; if you have a group of 70 going to meet Rasūlullāhﷺ , it would turn the attention of others, so they were going in ones and twos until they all gathered in Al-‘Aqabah, and they were all there, and then Rasūlullāhﷺ showed up.

7.1.3 Al-‘Abbās Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib – The Only Non-Muslim in the Gathering

Rasūlullāhﷺ was the only Muslim from Makkah to show up at that meeting, and he had one person with him, and that was the only Non-Muslim to attend the meeting, and who was that person? Al-‘Abbās Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib, the uncle of Rasūlullāhﷺ. And Al-‘Abbās Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib was the first person to speak, he said,

“Muhammad holds with us a position of which you are aware. We protect him from our people who think about him as we do. He is respected among his people and safe in his own town, but he is determined to join up with you. If you think you will keep trust with him in the invitation you have given to him, and will protect him from his opponents, then it is up to you to accept your responsibilities, but if you think you might deliver him over and abandon him after he has joined you, then leave him right now, he does have respect and protection among his own people and in his town.”

Al-‘Abbās Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib wanted to make sure that this is a commitment from the side of Al- Ansār. Al-‘Abbās is saying that we are going to take care of Muhammadﷺ, we are protecting him, however he is

insisting on us; now, are you going to protect him when he leaves to you or not?

How come Al-‘Abbās Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib was there? Why was he present even though he was a Non-Muslim? What is the reason he was there? Al-‘Abbās Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib was the uncle of Rasūlullāhﷺ, and even though he was a Non-Muslim, but he was one of the senior members of the clan of Banū Hāshim, and even though he was a Non-Muslim, but he was taking special interest in following and monitoring the activities of Rasūlullāhﷺ, and he was one of the people who were offering Rasūlullāh protection in Makkah after Abū Tālib passed away, and he wanted to make sure that his nephew will be safe when he leaves Makkah, and that is why Rasūlullāhﷺ allowed him and included him in this meeting, because even though he was a Non-Muslim, but this is, again, an issue that relates to the tribe of Banū Hāshim; Muhammadﷺ remains as a member of this clan, and his clan have interest in his safety and security. So Al-‘Abbās Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib attended as a representative of Banū Hāshim to make sure that their son is well protected. Now, you might say, ‘Well, if Al-‘Abbās was offering protection, how come it is different than the time of Abū Tālib?’ Well the difference is that Abū Tālib had respect and power and authority over his people that none of his brothers had. So the ability of Al-‘Abbās Bin ‘Abdul Muttalib to defend Muhammadﷺ was obviously less than the ability of Abū Tālib because of the seniority of Abū Tālib; Al-‘Abbās was young, nevertheless, they still managed to protect him for that period, and they viewed it as a responsibility on them.

7.1.4 Bay‘atul ‘Aqabah Ath-Thāniyah – Al-Ansār Pledge Second Allegiance

When Al -‘Abbās finished his statement, Al-Ansār said, “We have heard what you had to say. Now, O Messenger of Allāh, ask us what you want. Go ahead and speak to us about what you want from us, and take for yourself and for your Lord whatever you want.” Rasūlullāhﷺ stood up and said, “I ask you to pledge that you will defend me as you do your women and children.” So now this is an upgrade, a step higher, than the earlier agreement in Al -Bay‘atul ‘Aqabah Al-Ūlā. Over there, it is for them to become Muslim, so they pledge allegiance on becoming Muslim, but now there is an additional term that was added to the contract, and that is offering Muhammadﷺ with protection, and it is a defensive protection. He also told them in a different narration,

“You must pledge to hear and obey, at times of both action and inaction. To give, whether times are hard or easy. And to advocate goodness and prohibit evil. You must speak out for Allāh and not fear any blame for supporting Allāh. You must help and defend me if I come to you in the same way you help and defend yourselves, your wives and your children.”

Notice here the clarity in the Message of Rasūlullāhﷺ; I am not coming to you just for you to protect me, but I am to be your leader; you listen to me and you obey me. And then he said, ‘And you fear no one but Allāh.’ I cannot make this move if you have any fear in your hearts; you have to be willing to commit themselves for this mission.

Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr stood up and he wanted to give Rasūlullāhﷺ Bay‘ah, and he said, “O Messenger of Allāh, I swear it; we are warriors from father to son over many generations.” When Rasūlullāhﷺ said I want you to protect me like you protect your women and children, Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr said, ‘O Messenger of Allāh, we are warriors, we have inherited this from generation to generation.’ And this is another thing Allāh  prepared Al-Khazraj with, that they were fighters, they were strong, and they had this reputation in Arabia. And while Al-Barā’ Bin Ma’rūr was speaking, Abul Haitham stood up and he interrupted, and he said, “O Messenger of Allāh, we have certain ties to others (referring to the Jews), and if we break these, we are concerned that if God gives you victory, you might return to your people and abandon us.” Abul Haitham is saying that this commitment means that we might get into conflicts with people whom we have agreements with, so in case you win, are you going to stay with us or are you going to leave us? You see, we are willing to enter into this agreement for our whole life, but are you going to stay with us or are you going to leave us? Rasūlullāhﷺ responded after smiling, he said, “If your blood be sought, our blood shall be sought. And your destruction is mine as well. I am of you, and you are of me. I will battle those who battle you and make peace with those whom you make peace.” And Rasūlullāhﷺ kept to his agreement; when Makkah was opened, the hometown of Rasūlullāhﷺ, he left it and he went back with the people of Al-Ansār to Madīnah and he remained there until he died. Rasūlullāhﷺ stayed with the people of Al-Ansār until the last moment.

In another narration, there is another interruption; when the Ansār started extending their hands to pledge allegiance to Rasūlullāhﷺ, As‘ad Bin Zurārah, the early Muslim among them, stood up and interrupted and said, “Slowly now.” He is telling his people, ‘Take it easy, slow down.’ “We only hurried here because we know that he is the Messenger of Allāh. Bringing him out now however, would be a provocation to all the Arabs, and would cause you to lose your elite, and would box you in with swords raised against you. If you are able to withstand that, then adopt him, and it will be up to Allāh to reward you, but if you are people who have great fear for yourselves, then leave him and make that fact plain; that course would be more forgivable in Al lāh’s sight.” He said, ‘Do you realise what agreement we are entering in? If we take Rasūlullāhﷺ with us, that means that we are going against the whole world, and we will be boxed in with swords surrounding us! We might lose our elites, we might spend our money, we might be killed. Now, we either stand up and commit, otherwise if you have any fear in your hearts, pull out now when it is not too late.’ They pushed As‘ad Bin Zurārah away and said, “We will give pledge of allegiance.” They said, “Keep away from us! We will not renegade on this pledge, we will never deny it!” Allāhu Akbar! Look at the commitment of Al-Ansār and the courage that they had.

7.1.5 ‘This is Such a Profitable Deal! We Will Never Give Up!’

Now, when Rasūlullāhﷺ asked them to protect him, they asked, “What will we get in exchange?” We are going to offer you protection even if we lose our lives and our wealth; what are you going to give us? This is not a one-sided agreement; we are offering you help, what will you give us in exchange? What did Rasūlullāhﷺ say? He responded by telling them one word, “Al-Jannah – Paradise.” Nothing else. I am not going to give you kingdom, I am not promising you wealth, I am not going to give you a few cabinet seats or ministries in my government, I am not going to promise you succession after me; all what I can promise you is Jannah. And what was their response? They said, “Rabihal Bay’! Lā Niqīlu Walā Nastaqīl –This is such a profitable deal! We will never give up.” They said what is better than Jannah? Allāhu Akbar, compare this with Baiharah Bin Farās who said, “I am going to take this young man and eat the Arabs with him.” And then he asked Rasūlullāhﷺ, “If Allāh gives you victory, will you then transfer power to us?” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “No, that is up to Allāh.” He said, “We do not want to have anything [to do] with you.” Al-Ansār said, “That is a good deal.” That is actually the best deal – Jannah.

7.1.6 Quraish Learn of Secret Meeting

Somehow the news reached to Quraish. You know, it is not easy to conceal a meeting of 70 plus people in the crowd of Al-Hajj. In one narration it states that it was Shaitān who announced it to the people of Quraish, but regardless of how it happened, the news reached to the people of Quraish. They investigated the matter further and it led them to the right direction, it led them to Al-Ansār. So next day early in the morning, a group of leaders from Quraish went and visited the campgrounds of Al-Aws Wal-Khazraj. They went to them and said, “We have heard that you have met with Muhammadﷺ and that you have offered to take him with you and give him protection. Now, listen people of Yathrib, you are the last people on the face of the earth whom we want to have a fight with.” Because Quraish knew that Al-Aws Wal-Khazraj are not an easy opponent, these are fighters, truly as it was said [that] we have inherited the skills of war generation through generation, so the people of Quraish were saying, “We do not want to have a fight with you. So what have you done? Did you really meet with Muhammadﷺ?” The Muslims among Al-Aws Wal-Khazraj remained silent, and the Non-Believers started speaking, they said, “That never happened, we never met with Muhammadﷺ,” and they were speaking the truth, they had no idea of this secret meeting that happened, because only the Muslims knew about it, and they kept on refuting that and said, “We never met Muhammadﷺ, we had nothing to do with him, we did not see him.”

Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “We the Muslims were staring at each other silently, and we did not speak.” The people of Quraish were becoming convinced. Now, Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “I wanted to change the topic, I wanted to change the subject, so there was Al- Hārith Bin Hishām, one of the leaders of Quraish who was present, and he was wearing some brand new sandals.” Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “I told Abū Jābir, who is one of our seniors, ‘O Abū Jābir, being one of our leaders, you cannot even afford to wear new sandals like this young man of Quraish?’” What is wrong with you? You are one of our leaders and you are wearing these old shoes, while this young man of Quraish is wearing these brand new sandals? Now, this young man of Quraish was quite upset by that statement; what are you talking about, my shoes? Why are you so impressed by my shoes? So he took them off and thre w them at K’ab Ibn Mālik. Abū Jābir said, “Take it easy Ka’b Ibn Mālik, you have made the young man angry. Give him back his sandals.” Ka’b Ibn Mālik said, “No, I will not give them back to him. Hādhā Fa’lun Hasan, Sa’aslubuhū –This is a good omen, Iam going to take off from him spoils of war.” And that was the end of the meeting. This meeting between Rasūlullāhﷺ and Al-Ansār, we can fairly say that it is the most important meeting that Rasūlullāhﷺ had so far, it was a turning point in Islām. Finally now Rasūlullāhﷺ has a solid base to start spreading the Message from with protection, and free them to go out and propagate the Message of Allāh . This is Bay‘atul ‘Aqabah Ath-Thāniyah.

7.1.7 Lessons

Do Not Procrastinate :  Number One: Ka’b Ibn Mālik states, “When we left Madīnah, Qad Sallaynā Wa Faqihnā –we had already learned our Prayers and understood our religion.” This happened before Rasūlullāhﷺ made Hijrah. So for those brothers and sisters who are delaying their learning until somehow they can travel overseas and go and study with the Shuyūkh, or get admission to an Islāmic college, you are just finding excuses for yourself; you need to study and learn now. Ka’b Ibn Mālik said we already learned our Prayers and we understood our religion even though Rasūlullāhﷺ was not there yet. It is true that they had a teacher with them, Mus‘ab Bin ‘Umair, but this statement has a message in it, that we were ready, we were learning. Do not put off your learning; study Islām, spend time to learn the Religion of Allāh, try to get the best out of the situation. If you have a Sheikh to teach you, that is the best. You do not have a Sheikh? Find someone who is more learned than you. Cannot find that? Take a book and study, but do not give it up, do not put it off, because you might never get the time when you are free to do it. And procrastination is not an excuse. On the Day of Judgement, Ibn Al-Qayyim says, if you go through the Āyāt of Qur’ān, you will find that the majority of the screaming of the people of Hellfire in Qur’ān is because of their procrastination, because they delayed. The verses that narrate their sayings in Qur’ān, ‘O Allāh take us back to this world so that we can believe! O Allāh take us back to this world so that we can give! O Allāh take us back!’ [But] it is too late. So do not put it off.

Islām is a Religion of Sacrifice :  Number Two: When Rasūlullāhﷺ told the Ansār his terms of the agreement, and they asked, “What are we getting in exchange?” Rasūlullāh told them, “Jannah.” Dear brothers and sisters, in our Islāmic work, we should be working for the sake of Jannah, to please Allāh ; that should be our objective. Not to get fame, not to make money, not for the socialising aspect of it; we should purify our intentions every time consistently and make sure that we are doing everything for the sake of Allāh. This Religion needs sacrifice, and if you are waiting for an exchange, if you are waiting for a payback in this world, you might not get it. This is a religion that demands you to give it everything, because you are getting in exchange Jannah, which is more valuable than anything that you could give. Rasūlullāhﷺ says [that] what Allāh is offering you is very expensive, what Allāh is offering you is Jannah. We need to pay the price.

We Need to Be Prepared and Ready : Number Three: Rasūlullāhﷺ was very clear in what he was asking others in conveying the Message. Rasūlullāhﷺ made it very clear to the Ansār that what you are getting into is risky, what you are getting into is a struggle. Rasūlullāhﷺ did not promise them wealth, did not promise them power; Rasūlullāhﷺ told them that you need to protect me, you might be attacked. So we need to prepare ourselves as Muslims and realise that this is not an easy walk, it is not a walk in the park. To establish the Religion of Allāh, it is a struggle and it demands a lot of sacrifice, and we need to prepare ourselves for that. And ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, “Ikhshawshanū, Fa’innan Ni’mah Lā Tad’hum –Roughen up, because bounties might not continue forever.” Easy life might not go on for good, so we need to be prepared and ready.

This is an Organised Religion : Number Four: After the second pledge of Al-‘Aqabah – remember, again, [that] Rasūlullāhﷺ met with 70 plus, and there were some others maybe who were Muslim who did not come – Rasūlullāhﷺ, immediately after taking the pledge of allegiance, asked them to appoint 12 Nuqabā’ – 12 leaders. So he divided them into smaller groups and appointed on them leaders. This shows you that this is an organised religion, and now since there is a group living away from the organisation structure of Rasūlullāhﷺ, Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted them to have their own organisation structure. So he immediately divided the 70 into groups and appointed 12 leaders among them, and these are the Nuqabā’ who will report back to Rasūlullāh and whom he will give them instructions. So this is also another lesson to learn, that we need to be organised in a manageable fashion.

7.2 Beginning of Hijrah to Al-Madīnah

7.2.1 Rasūlullāhﷺ Dreams about Hijrah to Madīnah

Rasūlullāh, may the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him, said in Muslim Imām Ahmad, “I was shown the land of your Hijrah. It is a land with a lot of palm trees between two volcanic rocky tracks.” Al-Harrah is a rocky volcanic track. So this was the beginning of the Hijrah to Al-Madīnah. Rasūlullāhﷺ says in another Hadīth narrated in Al-Bukhārī, “I have seen in my dream that I am migrating from Makkah to a land rich with palm trees. I initially thought that it is Yamāmah or Hajar, but then it turned out to be Yathrib.” Yathrib is the old name of Madīnah which was changed by Rasūlullāhﷺ , and Rasūlullāhﷺ banned the use of the name Yathrib, in fact Rasūlullāhﷺ says that if anyone says Yathrib, they should make Istighfār. Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to change the identity of this city; Yathrib had a history of rivalry and warfare, and Rasūlullāhﷺ now is giving it a new identity; it is Madīnah, Madīnat Rasūlullāh. What does Madīnah mean? [It means] it is the town of Rasūlullāhﷺ.

7.2.2 The Hijrah of Umm Salamah

Umm Salamah narrates this Hadīth, she says, “We came back from Al-Habashah, and my husband wanted to go again to Al-Habashah, but then he heard that Madīnah is the new land of Hijrah and that there are some Muslims there, so he decided to take his family and go to Madīnah.” And that was one year before Al-‘Aqabah, so he was one of the earliest to go. So she says, “He mounted me on a camel and he placed my son on my lap and we were ready to leave Makkah, but then my family came to me and said, ‘We are not going to allow you to go with your husband, we are not going to allow him to take you with him to that foreign land.’ So they pulled me away from my husband.” When Banū Al-Asad, the family of Abū Salamah, saw that, they came in and said, “Well, we are not going to allow you to take the child,” so they took the child with them. So now you have Abū Salamah [who] is separated from Umm Salamah, and they are both separated from their son. The family of Umm Salamah took Umm Salamah, the family of Abū Salamah took Salamah the child, and now the three were separated. So Abū Salamah ended up making Hijrah alone, while Umm Salamah and Salamah were separated in Makkah. Umm Salamah said, “I would go out of my home every day to the valley and sit on a rock and cry for hours, and I would do that on a daily basis, and that continued for about a year.” Imagine this woman, [a] mother, missing her husband, missing her child; she said I would go out everyday in the morning and just cry. [She continues,] “So then one of Banū Al- Mughīrah, my relatives, saw the condition I was in – (this was her uncle) – and said to my family, “Are you not having any mercy and sympathy on this woman? Allow her to go and join her husband.” So they finally agreed and they told Umm Salamah, “You are free to leave.” When the family of the husband knew [of] this, they gave her her son and they said, “Now you can join your husband.” So Umm Salamah picked up her child Salamah and she headed to Madīnah. Now she was alone, had no one with her; she mounted on a camel with her son and left towards Madīnah, travelling alone.

When she reached to At-Tan‘īm, which is not far away from Makkah; a few kilometres outside of Al-Makkah, she met with ‘Uthmān Bin Talhah. When he saw her he said, “Daughter of Abū Umayyah, where are you heading?” She said, “I am going to Madīnah.” He told her, “Are you having anyone accompany you?” She said, “No, I am alone.” He said, “Well, I will accompany you, it is not appropriate to leave you alone in this travel.” ‘Uthmān Ibn Talhah was a Mushrik, he was a Non-Believer, but he saw this woman, felt sympathy for her, and wanted to help her out, and he was guarding her and protecting her on this journey between Makkah and Madīnah. Umm Salamah  says, “And I swear, I was never in the company of any Arab more honourable than him.

When we made a stop, he would make my camel kneel, and then he would move away until I would have dismounted. And then he would come back and take the camel and tie it. And then he would leave and go and sleep under a tree, far away from me. Next day in the morning, he would bring my camel, prepare the saddle, and then he would call me to come and mount, and he would leave, and when I was on the camel, he would come back. And then he would guide me through this trip. He continued doing that until we reached to the outskirts of Madīnah and we saw Qubā’ in the distance. He pointed to Qubā’ and said, ‘See that village over there? That is where your husband is.’ And he said, ‘Now you are on your own.’” Umm Salamah comments and says, “I know of no other family in Islām who suffered like that of Abū Salamah, and I swear I never had a more honourable companion than ‘Uthmān Bin Talhah.” She was impressed by [‘Uthmān], she says ‘Uthmān Bin Talhah had so much nobility because keep in mind the animosity between the Muslims and Non-Muslims, so for ‘Uthmān Ibn Talhah to go out of his way and to accompany a woman who is leaving Makkah, and that is supposed to be a no-no, you are not supposed to leave Makkah for Madīnah, he went out of his way and supported her and helped her in this honourable fashion, she liked that and she appreciated it. ‘Uthmān Ibn Talhah would later on become Muslim, after most of the prominent members of his family were killed in the Battle of Uhud. But later on he did become Muslim, him and Khālid Ibn Al-Walīd and ‘Amr Ibn Al -‘Aas at the same time. Also, ‘Uthmān Ibn Talhah is from the family which were the Keepers of the Keys to Al-Ka’bah, and Rasūlullāh kept the keys with them and the keys are still with them today; the family of Banū ‘Abd Ad-Dār, they are the ones who hold the keys to Al-Ka’bah until this day and time.

7.2.3 The Hijrah of ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb

The next story is the story of ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb. ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb  says, “When we decided to make Hijrah to Madīnah, I agreed with ‘Ayyāsh Bin Abī Rabī‘ah and Hishām Bin Al-‘Aas to accompany [them] and to go together to Madīnah. We set an appointed time to meet at Suruf (this is an area outside of Makkah). We said if morning comes and any of us is missing, that means the person is detained and we should just go ahead and migrate.” Morning came and Hishām Bin Al-‘Aas did not show up, so ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb and ‘Ayyāsh Bin Abī Rabī‘ah were on their own. They reached to Madīnah, and this was before the Hijrah of Rasūlullāhﷺ; Rasūlullāhﷺ was the last one to migrate. They reached to Madīnah. Abū Jahl was the half- brother of ‘Ayyāsh Bin Abī Rabī‘ah, so Abū Jahl and his brother Al-Hārith Bin Hishām went all the way to Madīnah to bring back ‘Ayyāsh Bin Abī Rabī‘ah. They went to Al-Madīnah and they told ‘Ayyāsh, “Your mother has made an oath that she will not comb her hair and she will not take shadow until you come back.” So she will remain in the heat under the sun of Makkah and she will not comb her hair until you come back. The exact statement was, “Your mother has warned that she will not allow a comb to touch her hair until she sees you, nor will she shelter from the sun.”

‘Umar Ibn Al -Khattāb was listening. ‘Umar Ibn Al- Khattāb told ‘Ayyāsh Bin Abī Rabī‘ah, “These people want to deceive you, they want to entice you and take you back, it is a trick. And regarding the oath of your mother, when her hair is filled with lice, she will comb, and when she feels the severe heat of Makkah, she will take shelter. So forget about it and do not go with them.” ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb says about himself, “Lastu Bil Khibb Wal Khibb Ikhdā’nī – Iam not a man who tricks others, neither do Iallow anyone to trick me.” ‘Umar Ibn Al- Khattāb told ‘Ayyāsh Bin Abī Rabī‘ah, ‘Do not go with them.’ ‘Ayyāsh Ibn Abī Rabī‘ah was now feeling sorry for his mother and ‘Umar was not able to convince him. ‘Ayyāsh Ibn Abī Rabī‘ah decided that he was going to go with them. ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb told him, “Well, if you insist, then at least take this camel of mine with you. This is a fast and strong camel, if you ever feel suspicious, run away.” So ‘Ayyāsh Ibn Abī Rabī‘ah, Abū Jahl and Al -Hārith Bin Hishām are now on their way back to Makkah, [and] everyone had their own camel. Abū Jahl started complaining about his camel, “What a horrible camel, it is too difficult, it is slow.” And then he asked ‘Ayyāsh Ibn Abī Rabī‘ah, “Can you please switch camels just for a while? This camel of mine is causing me trouble.” ‘Ayyāsh Ibn Abī Rabī‘ah, being the nice man he is, agreed. So they now stopped the camels and they had the camels kneel down. As soon as the camel of ‘Ayyāsh reached the ground, both men attacked him and tied him up. And they dragged him into Makkah and they enticed him and he apostatised. And the same thing happened to Hishām Ibn Al-‘Aas, the third partner who was detained in Makkah.

‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, “We used to say among ourselves, the Muslims, that whoever stayed behind, and foot in, and was enticed by the Non-Believers, Allāh  will never forgive them; that was the understanding we had, and that was also the understanding going around among the ones who stayed behind.” They felt that they had lost hope; that is it, you have apostatised, there is no way Allāh can forgive your sins. And that was their common understanding for a while, until Rasūlullāhﷺ made Hijrah to Al-Madīnah and received the Revelation [where] Allāh  says: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful. And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped. And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord before the punishment comes upon you suddenly while you do not perceive. Az-Zumar: 53-55

 ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb wrote this verse and he sent it to Hishām Ibn Al-‘Aas; Hishām Ibn Al-‘Aas was the one who was detained in Makkah. Hishām Bin Al-‘Aas said, “I received that verse and I would go up to Tuwā and I would read it and re -read it, and I would read it again and again and again. And for a few days I would go out in this area and just keep on reading that verse, trying to understand why ‘Umar sent it to me, what is the meaning of this verse, until I understood that this verse was revealed talking about us, and saying that no matter what you do, Allāh can still forgive you if you seek forgiveness, no matter what happened, even if you stayed behind, even if you were enticed by the Non-Believers; you still have a chance, you should not give up.” Hishām Ibn Al-‘Aas said, “I asked Allāh for forgiveness, mounted my camel, and went towards Al-Madīnah.”

7.2.4 Lessons

Two lessons to learn from this:

The Forgiveness of Allāh :  Number One: The forgiveness of Allāh. Allāh is All-Forgiving. No matter what you do, never give up; ask Allāh to forgive you. The greatest sin which is Shirk, if a person repents from it and goes back to Allāh, Allāh will forgive it. But one needs to ask Allāh for forgiveness before the punishment comes, because Allāh  says: And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped. Az-Zumar: 54

Youneed to do it before it is too late.

Beware of the Non-Believers :  Second Lesson: Beware of the Non-Believers. Beware, be careful. ‘Ayyāsh Ibn Abī Rabī‘ah trusted Abū Jahl; how can he trust such a person? Do not let the sweet words and the nice-talk of the enemies of Allāh sway you. Some of us are naïve; they hear a good comment here and there, they hear a nice statement that is coming from this politician or that, and they fall in their trap. Beware. Somebody who has a long record of fighting Islām, their record should speak for them. So we should not be tricked. ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb; this plot of Abū Jahl did not pass on him; he knew – he knew – and he told ‘Ayyāsh Bin Abī Rabī‘ah, ‘Do not believe them, they are lying. And your mother, when her head gets filled with lice, she will have to comb it. And no one will survive in the heat of Makkah; that is an oath that she will have to break.’ So we should be careful. And Allāh  says: Wallāhu A’lamu Bi A’dā’ikum –And Allāh is most knowing of your enemies. An-Nisā’: 45

 And He has told us who our enemies are; we should not fall in their trap, we should be careful, and we should beware.

MADĪNAN PERIOD STAGE ONE

7.3 Introduction to Al-Hijrah

7.3.1 Qur’ān and Seerah

Inshā’Allāhu Ta‘ālā, we will start with the Hijrah of Rasulullahﷺ. I have already covered the life of Rasūlullāhﷺ in Makkah, so Inshā’Allāh Ta‘ālā in these sessions we will talk about the early stage of Madīnah, and we will start with Al-Hijrah, but before that, just a word on Seerah. The books of Seerah are concerned with what usually historians are concerned with, and that is history of politics and the history of the military engagements. When it comes to the Akhlāq of Rasūlullāhﷺ, you would find those in the books of Hadīth. If you are interested in the Shamā’il of Rasūlullāh, which are issues relating to his character, you would find those in books of Shamā’il, however the books of Seerah usually cover the political and military aspects of the life of Rasūlullāhﷺ, and that is why many of our scholars called Seerah Maghāzī – Maghāzī means battles. However, we will try to bring in the verses of Qur’ān that relate to the events that were happening in the time of Rasūlullāhﷺ, because Qur’ān would comment on events that happened in the time of Rasūlullāhﷺ. Sometimes the Āyāt of Qur’ān would precede an event, sometimes the Āyāt of Qur’ān would come concurrent with an event, and sometimes the Āyāt of Qur’ān would come to comment on an event. So for example, you have Ghazwatul Anfāl [which] was revealed talking about the Battle of Badr and what happened therein. [In] the Battle of Uhud, you have the end of the Sūrah of Āl ‘Imrān which relates the story of Uhud. Sūrah Al-Hashr talks about the battle of Banū Nadīr. You have the Sūrah of Al-Munāfiqūn and Sūrah An-Nūr [talking about the Battle of Banū Mustaliq]. And you have Sūrah Al-Ahzāb relating to what happened in the Battle of the Trench. So we will try to bring in these verses that relate to these events in Seerah.

7.3.2 High Status of Hijrah in Islām

We will start with the Hijrah of Rasūlullāhﷺ. Allāh  revealed Āyāt in Makkah talking about Al-Hijrah, Allāh  says: Say, “O My servants who have believed, fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world is good, and the earth of Allāh is spacious. Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account.” Az-Zumar: 10

SoAllāh  in this Āyah says: Wa Ardullāhi Wāsi‘ah –And the earth of Allāh is spacious,meaning that if you are suffering oppression in Makkah, then you can move somewhere else where you will be able to apply and live the Religion of Allāh . Mujāhid, who is one of Al-Mufassirūn, one of the Imāms of Tafsīr, he says commenting about this Āyah, “Fa Hājirū Fīhā Wa Jāhidū Wa’tazilul Awthār – Make Hijrah in the land, and fight in the path of Allāh , and stay away from idol-worshipping.” And ‘Atā’, one of the early scholars of this Ummah, he says, “Idhā Du‘ītum Ilā Ma’siyatin, Fahrubū! – If you are invited to do a sin, then run away!” So we should run away from sins. And these two quotes are in the Tafsīr of Ibn Kathīr. Allāh  also says: And those who emigrated for [the cause of] Allāh after they had been wronged – We will surely settle them in this world in a good place; but the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if only they could know. [They are] those who endured patiently and upon their Lord relied. An-Nahl: 41-42

Sonotice here, Allāh  is promising the ones who make Hijrah for His sake, the ones who have been oppressed, Allāh promises them that He will settle them in this world in a good place.

So what does this mean? What does it mean when Allāh  says: We willsurely settle them in this world in a good place? Some of the scholars of Tafsīr said [that] if we look at Al-Muhājirūn, the ones who moved out of Makkah and went to Madīnah, later on every one of them became an Amīr of a state or a leader of an army.

So Allāh gave them a better status in this world than what they had in Makkah – that is in this world. And in Ākhirah Allāh says: But the reward of the Hereafter is greater. So ‘Umar Ibn Al- Khattāb, when he became Khalīfah and he would give money or gifts to the Muhājirūn, he would tell them, “This is a gift from Allāh for you in this world, but what Allāh has reserved for you in the Hereafter is even greater.” And the scholars say, “Whoever leaves something for the sake of Allāh, Allāh will give him something better.” And Allāh says: Then, indeed your Lord, to those who emigrated after they had been compelled [to renounce their religion] and thereafter fought [for the cause of Allāh ] and were patient – indeed, your Lord, after that, is Forgiving and Merciful. An-Nahl: 110

So Hijrah has a very high status in Islām.

7.3.3 Sacrifice of Al-Muhājirūn and Hospitality of Al-Ansār

These Muhājirūn; have you ever asked yourself the question, where did they stay when they moved from Makkah to Madīnah? Did they check into hotels? Or did they stay in refugee camps? No, they stayed in the houses of Al-Ansār. And that is why we call them Ansār; that is why we call them the ones who gave victory to Islām. Ansār means they gave support; they gave victory to the Religion of Allāh. Their houses were open for Al-Muhājirūn. Even though they were very modest houses, for example, Al -Hassan Al-Basrī says, “I entered into the rooms of Rasūlullāhﷺ and I could touch the ceiling with my own hand.” And every wife of Rasūlullāhﷺ had a room, [and] that was it; just one room. They did not have a kitchen, a living room, a balcony, bedrooms, basement; every wife of Rasūlullāh just had one room. Now, when Rasūlullāhﷺ would pray in the room of ‘Ā’ishah, he would have to touch her, so she would have to move her feet away so that he can make Sujūd; it was that small.

So for example, in the house of Khabīb Ibn Isāf, Talhah Bin Ubaydillāh, his mother and Suhaib, that is where they stayed. Hamzah stayed in the house of Sa’d Bin Zurārah. Sa’d Bin Khaythamah; all of the bachelors would stay in his house so they called it the House of Bachelors. ‘Ubaydah Bin Hārith and his mother, At-Tufail Bin Hairth, Tulail Bin ‘Amr, Al-Husain Bin Al-Hārith; all of them stayed in the house of ‘Abdullāh Bin Salamah. So one thing we can learn is that being generous and being supportive of Muslims is one of the signs of Īmān, and it was one of the signs of Al-Ansār .

7.3.4 Comparison between Hijrah to Madīnah and Hijrah of Habashah

One comparison between the Hijrah to Madīnah and the Hijrah of Habashah – because there were two Hijrah; there was the first Hijrah to Al-Habashah and then there was the second Hijrah to Madīnah – so what is the difference between the two? Well, when it comes to the Hijrah to Al-Habashah, they went there to flee persecution but they did not become part of the society in Abyssinia, they were not really part of the society; they were secluded, therefore their ability to change the society was hindered. They were like refugees in Abyssinia, and that is why when they left Abyssinia, they did not leave a strong Islāmic impression behind. However, the Hijrah to Madīnah was a Hijrah to establish the Islāmic community, so there is a big difference between the two.

7.3.5 Virtues of Madīnah

Rasūlullāhﷺ Makes Du‘ā’ for Al-Madīnah:  Rasūlullāhﷺ asked Allāh to make them love Madīnah, so he said, “Allāhumma Habbib Ilainal-Madīnah Ka Hubbinā Makkah Aw Ashadd – O Allāh! Make us love Madīnah like we love Makkah or more.” Rasūlullāh made Du‘ā’ that Allāh  gives Al-Madīnah Barakah, “Allāhummaj‘al Bil Madīnah Di’fī Mā Ja‘alta Bi Makkah Minal Barakah – OAllāh! Double the Barakah, double the blessings of Madīnah, compared to what You have given Makkah.” Because who is the one who made Du‘ā’ to Allāh  to bless Makkah? It was Ibrāhīm . So Rasūlullāhﷺ is asking Allāh  to double that blessing when it comes to Madīnah, and this was narrated in Al-Bukhārī.

Special Blessing of Dying in Madīnah :  There is a special blessing of dying in Madīnah. Rasūlullāhﷺ says, “Whoever is able to die in Madīnah then let it be so, because I will intercedefor you on the Day of Judgement.” And this Hadīth is in Musnad Al-Imām Ahmad. You know, ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb , when he became Khalīfah, he wanted to die in Madīnah and he also wanted to die as a Shahīd; he wanted them both. So he would make a Du‘ā’ to Allāh saying. “O Allāh, I want to die as a martyr in the Town of Your Prophet.” So his daughter Hafsah would tell him, “O my father, how can you become a Shahīd in Madīnah when it is safe?” Madīnah is the capital of the Muslim Empire; if you want to die as a Shahīd you need to go to ‘Irāq, you need to go to Syria; not in Madīnah. ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb would say, “If Allāh wants something to happen, He will make it happen.” So not only did ‘Umar die as a Shahīd in Madīnah, he died as a Shahīd in the Mosque of Rasūlullāhﷺ and in Salāh.

Madīnah is the Refuge of Īmān :  Madīnah is also the refuge of Īmān. Rasūlullāhﷺ says in Bukhārī, “ Innal Īmāna Laya’rizu Ilal Madīnati Kamā Ta’rizul Hayyatu Ilā Juhrihā –Īmān seeks refuge in Madīnah (or goes back to Madīnah) like a snake would go back to its hole.”

Madīnah Cleanses Itself from the Impure :  Madīnah cleanses itself from the impure or the unclean. Rasūlullāhﷺ says in Muslim, “In the name of whom my soul is in His Hands, nobody leaves Madīnah because he does not want it anymore except that Allāh will replace him with someone better than him.” And then Rasūlullāhﷺ says that Madīnah cleanses itself from the people who are impure or the people who are evil. And Rasūlullāhﷺ says, “The Day of Judgement will not occur until Madīnah drives out all of the evil people in it like the fire would drive out the impurities of iron.”

Allāh Protects Madīnah :  Allāh  protects Madīnah. Rasūlullāhﷺ says, “Whoever plots against the people of Madīnah, Allāh will make him dissolve like salt dissolves in water.” And this Hadīth is in Bukhārī.

Madīnah is Sacred :  Al- Madīnah is also sacred, so Rasūlullāhﷺ says you are not allowed to cut down trees in Madīnah, you are not allowed to hunt in Madīnah, you are not allowed to carry weapons in Madīnah, because of its sanctity. So these are some of the blessings of the Madīnah of Rasūlullāhﷺ.

7.3.6 The Plots of Quraish

Before Rasūlullāhﷺ decided to make Hijrah, the people of Makkah plotted against him; they came together and they started discussing how to deal with the Islāmic problem. Some of them suggested that we should throw Muhammadﷺ in jail; the response was, “No, do not do that, this is not a good idea because if you throw him in jail his followers will come and take him out, they are going to revolt against us.” So the second suggestion came in and that was to exile him, drive him out of Madīnah. So they said, “No, that is not a good idea because his talk is very sweet, so he is going to deceive other people to believe in him and then they are going to come back to you again.” So the third suggestion was that of obviously who else other than Abū Jahl, he said, “We should kill him, and the way to do that is to appoint a strong man from every clan, give him a sharp sword, and then have them all strike Muhammad at once so that his blood will disperse among the different clans of Makkah so that the family of Rasūlullāhﷺ would not be able to seek revenge, and then they will ask for blood-money and we will be happy to pay it to them.” They said “This is the suggestion that we adopt.”

And Allāh  says: And [remember, O Muhammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you (which is to throw you in jail) or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allāh plans. And Allāh is the best of planners. Al-Anfāl: 30

Sothey planned to execute Muhammadﷺ, they wanted to assassinate him, but Allāh  would protect him. Allāh  told Muhammadﷺ to recite the following Du‘ā’, and this is an Āyah in Sūrah Al-Isrā’: And say, “My Lord, cause me to enter a sound entrance and to exit a sound exit and grant me from Yourself a supporting authority.” Al-Isrā’: 80

Soto cause me to enter a sound entrance is to cause me to go to Madīnah, and to exit a sound exit is to leave Makkah, and grant me from Yourself a supporting authority, because Allāh  is teaching Muhammad that this Religion is supported by authority. Rasūlullāhﷺ says that Allāh  sometimes could support this Religion through authority in ways that Qur’ān cannot support the Religion, and that is why Khilāfah was a very important concept to the Muslims, in fact, the Sahābah met to decide the issue of Khilāfah before they buried Rasūlullāhﷺ, as we mentioned in the story of Abū Bakr As-Siddīq .

7.3.7 Rasūlullāhﷺ Prepares for Hijrah

Rasūlullāhﷺ set out to prepare for Hijrah. ‘Ā’ishah  said, “One day at mid-noon in the house of Abū Bakr we saw a man approaching us and he was masked, he covered his face.” So Abū Bakr As- Siddīq saw that it was Muhammadﷺ. He said, “Muhammadﷺ would not come at this time except if it was something important,” because it was at noon and people usually sleep at noon. So Rasūlullāhﷺ came in and he said, “O Abū Bakr, have everyone in your house leave.” Abū Bakr As-Siddīq  said, “The only ones who are in my house are your family O Rasūlullāh.” Meaning my family is like yours; you can trust speaking in the presence of my family because they are like your own family. So Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “I was given permission to leave and to make Hijrah to Madīnah.” Abū Bakr As-Siddīq  said, “O Messenger of Allāh! Can I be your Companion?” Rasūlullāhﷺ said. “Yes.” Abū Bakr As- Siddīq  started to weep! ‘Ā’ishah  said, “I have never seen someone weeping because of pleasure, because of joy, like my father that day.”

Now, I just want to stop right here and say, this was not [an] entertaining journey; Abū Bakr knew very well that he is risking his life by being the Companion of Rasūlullāhﷺ on Hijrah, so how come he is crying [out] of joy when he knows that he is putting his life on the line? Brothers and sisters, this shows you the level of sacrifice Abū Bakr As-Siddīq  is willing to go to, and it shows you that he is so happy to sacrifice for Rasūlullāhﷺ! His heart is not trembling, he is not afraid; he is crying because of joy when he knows that he could be killed. But this shows you the love that he had for Rasūlullāhﷺ.

7.3.8 Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr  Set Off for Hijrah

Rasūlullāhﷺ appointed ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib to sleep on his bed, and this is another sacrifice, because ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib was also risking his life, but these were the Sahābah of Rasūlullāhﷺ, this is how far they were willing to go. Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr left Makkah, and Rasūlullāhﷺ loved Makkah so much, so he looked back and he said, “Wallāhi, Innaki La-Khayru Ardillāhi Wa Ahabbu Ardillāhi Ilallāh. Walawlā Annī Ukhrijtu Minki Mā Kharajt. –In the name of Allāh, you are the most beloved land to Allāh. And if it was not that I was driven out from you, I would not have left.” I would not leave Makkah if I had the choice, but he was driven out of it.

The journey started, and Abū Bakr As-Siddīq  for some time would walk ahead of Rasūlullāh, and then for some time he would walk behind Rasūlullāh. So the Messenger of Allāh noticed that and then he asked Abū Bakr, “How come sometimes you walk in front of me and sometimes you walk behind me?” Abū Bakr As- Siddīq  said, “When I remember that somebody could ambush you from in front of us, I walk ahead of you, and then I remember that somebody could be pursuing us, so I walk behind you.” Then Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “O Abū Bakr, would you rather have harm happen to you or to me?” Abū Bakr As-Siddīq  said, “O Messenger of Allāh, I would rather have it happen to me and not to you.” And then they reached to the cave, so Abū Bakr As-Siddīq  went in to check the cave to make sure that there is no snakes, there is no scorpions, there is no ambush, and then he told Rasūlullāhﷺ to come in.

When they were in the cave, the Kuffār of Quraish succeeded in following their tracks until they reached to the mouth of the cave. Abū Bakr As-Siddīq  told Rasūlullāhﷺ, “Yā Rasūlullāh – O Messenger of Allāh, if one of them would stare right under their feet, they would see us.” They were right there at the mouth of the cave. Rasūlullāhﷺ, with all confidence, he said, “Yā Abā Bakr – O Abū Bakr, what do you think about two men if Allāh is their third? Mā Zannuka Bithnayn Allāhu Thālithuhumā? – Abū Bakr, how would you regard the safety of two people who had Allāh as their third Companion?” You know what stopped them from entering the cave? It was a web of a spider. Allāh  says about the web of the spider, “Inna

Awhanal Buyūti Labaytul ‘Ankabūti – And indeed, the weakest of homes is the home of the spider.” Al-‘Ankabūt: 41

With one finger you could tear down the whole web. So this feeble weak web was the soldier of Allāh that stopped the Disbelievers from entering into the cave, and this shows us that Allāh  can choose sometimes the weakest of His creation to be His soldier. This story of the web of the spider is an agreeable narration, it is Hasan. Allāh  says – [and] Allāh  revealed this Āyah later on; this Āyah is in Sūrah At-Tawbah, it is a few years after the Hijrah, and Allāh  is speaking to the Sahābah and telling them: – If you do not aid the Prophet – Allāh has already aided him… At-Tawbah: 40

 Youknow, that day when Abū Bakr was the only Companion of Rasūlullāhﷺ and the Kuffār were surrounding the cave, none of you were around and Allāh did not need you to support His Prophet, so Allāh is telling the Sahābah: If you will not aid him, Allāh certainly aided him when those who disbelieved expelled him, he being the second of the two, when they were both in the cave, when he said to his Companion: – (Sonotice here that Allāh is calling Abū Bakr as the Companion of Rasūlullāh; that is an honour to Abū Bakr As- Siddīq , Li-Sāhibihī -His Companion) –Grieve not, surely Allāh is with us. So Allāhsent down His tranquillity upon him and strengthened him with hosts which you did not see, –(one of these hosts/soldiers is the spider) – and made lowest the word of those who disbelieved; and the word of Allāh, that is the highest; and Allāh is Mighty, Wise. At-Tawbah: 40

Sothe [hosts or] soldiers of Allāh referred to in this Āyah are the angels; these are the unseen soldiers, but then you also have the spider which was a seen soldier. Now, they stayed in the cave for three days. During these three days, ‘Abdullāh, the son of Abū Bakr, would spend a day in Makkah listening to conversations, eavesdropping, to see what they were saying about Muhammadﷺ and Abū Bakr. And then he would go at night and spend it with Rasūlullāh and Abū Bakr in the cave. And he would have ‘Āmir Bin Fuhairah, the servant of Abū Bakr, follow him with his sheep. So this had a double purpose; the sheep would provide milk to the Prophet and Abū Bakr, and the sheep would also cover the tracks of ‘Abdullāh and ‘Āmir so that no one would know where they went, and this carried on for three days. And then the guide showed up, who was ‘Abdullāh Bin ‘Uraiqat; he was a Mushrik – a Disbeliever, but because he had an alliance with people of Quraish, Rasūlullāhﷺ hired him to be their guide, so he was the one who would take them through a different route than the usual one that people [would] usually take when they travelled from Makkah to Madīnah. They set on the trip to Madīnah; they did not follow the regular route but they followed the coastline until they reached to Madīnah.

7.3.9 Quraish Set Bounty on Muhammadﷺ and Abū Bakr

The people of Quraish set a bounty on Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr – one hundred camels each, dead or alive. And they were sending out their messengers to convey the news to the Bedouins of the desert, the experts of the routes of the desert, telling them that if you bring us Muhammadﷺ dead or alive, or Abū Bakr, we will give you a hundred camels each.

Surāqah Bin Mālik was the head of one of these Bedouin tribes, he said, “I was sitting in a gathering of my people when a man showed up and said, ‘I saw two men in the horizon and I think that these are the two men that Quraish are looking for.’” Surāqah said, “I told him, ‘No, these two men were just here a while ago and they just left.’” He said, “I told them that to deceive them, but I felt that those men were Muhammadﷺ and Abū Bakr, but I just told him that because I wanted to get the camels for myself.” So Surāqah said, “I stayed in the gathering for a while so that they would not be suspicious, and then I left. I went to my house and I told my servant to go and prepare my horse, the saddle and all, and to hide it behind a hill. And then I left from the back door and I was carrying my spear and my spear was dragging on the ground.” Why? Because spears were long, so he did not want anybody to see it so he was dragging it. And then he said, “I mounted my horse and I went to the direction that that man saw the two men. And it was as I thought; the two men were Muhammadﷺ and Abū Bakr.”

So now you only have a few metres between Surāqah becoming a millionaire – one hundred camels each; he was right there. Surāqah says “Abū Bakr was looking back while Muhammadﷺ was reciting Qur’ān and he never looked back.” Rasūlullāhﷺ was confident that Allāh will give him victory, while Abū Bakr was very concerned, not for himself but concerned for the safety of Muhammadﷺ, so he was staring back while Muhammadﷺ was reciting Qur’ān. Abū Bakr told Rasūlullāhﷺ that there is somebody pursuing us. Rasūlullāhﷺ made a Du‘ā’ and the horse of Surāqah sank in the sand and Surāqah fell off its back. Surāqah said, “So I cast lots,” you know, they had all of these superstitious beliefs, “I cast lots; should I follow them or should I not follow them? The lots told me that I should not follow them, but I insisted on following them.” His greed drove him further, so what is the point of casting the lots if you are going to disobey them anyway? He followed them another time and the same thing happened; he fell off his horse, and he said, “This never happened to me, I never fell off my horse.” The third time it happened to him, he said, “A cloud of dust exploded in my face from in front of my horse, so I knew that Allāh is supporting this man. So I rushed towards him asking him to grant me peace!” Surāqah, who was pursuing Muhammadﷺ, now became the pursued. Surāqah, who thought that he could kill Muhammadﷺ, is now worried for his own safety and he is asking Muhammadﷺ to grant him peace.

So Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “I grant you peace.” Surāqah told him, “Write that down for me on a piece of paper!” I want to make sure of it! Write it down for me. So Rasūlullāhﷺ told ‘Āmir Bin Fuhairah to write down a document stating that Rasūlullāhﷺ is granting Surāqah Bin Mālik peace. Surāqah sticks this piece of cloth or whatever in his pocket and years pass by, and Subhān’Allāh, eight or nine years later he was arrested when Rasūlullāhﷺ was laying siege to At-Tā’if, and when they were going to kill him, he pulled that document out and he told them, “This is a document from Rasūlullāhﷺ granting me peace.” That document saved his life. Now, Surāqah went back and he told the people of Quraish that you are not going to find Muhammadﷺ, forget about it, because Rasūlullāhﷺ told him to weaken anybody who is trying to pursue us; drive them away from us. So Surāqah, who was trying to arrest them, now is their guard; Surāqah became a bodyguard for Muhammadﷺ.

7.3.10 Umm Ma’bad Gives Best Description Ever of Rasūlullāhﷺ

Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr visited a tent. In front of this tent was an old woman, her name was Umm Ma’bad. This was a very generous woman; anybody who would pass by she would feed them. When Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr got there, she did not provide them with anything, so Rasūlullāhﷺ asked her if she had anything to spare, she said, “If I had anything, you would not have to ask.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ saw in the corner of her tent a very weak goat and he asked her, “What is the problem with that goat?” She said, “That goat is too weak to go out with the rest of the flock to feed.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ asked, “Is there any milk in her?” She said, “She is weaker than that!” Rasūlullāhﷺ asked, “Will you allow me to milk her?” She said, “Go ahead.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ goes to milk that goat and he asks for a big container; not a cup [but] a big container. And then he touches the goat and he starts milking it, and milk is flowing out until it fills the container and all of this foam [is] on top of the milk. And then he gives it to Umm Ma’bad first, so she drinks, and then he gives it to Abū Bakr and ‘Āmir and ‘Abdulah Bin ‘Uraiqat, and they all drink and he is the last to drink and he said, “The servant of the people is the last to drink,” so he was the last to drink. And then he left and there was still a lot of milk in that container. So the husband of Umm Ma’bad comes back with his flock of sheep and he sees this milk and he says, “Umm Ma’bad, where did this milk come from?!” She said, “A blessed man visited us and he was the one who milked the she-goat.” He asked her to describe this man to her; Umm Ma’bad gave a description of Rasūlullāhﷺ that remains until this day as one of the best descriptions ever given about Rasūlullāhﷺ even though she only met him once, and I will read to you her description of Rasūlullāhﷺ, she said:

“I saw him to be a man of evident splendour; fine in figure, his face handsome. Slim in form. His head not too small. Elegant and good-looking. His eyes large and black. His eyelids long. His voice deep. Very intelligent. His brows high and arched. His hair in plaits. His neck long and his beard thick. He gave an impression of dignity when silent, and of high intelligence when he talked. His words were impressive, and he was decisive; not trivial, not trite. His ideas like pearls moving on their string. He seemed the most splendid and fine-looking man from a distance, and the very best of all from close by. Medium in height, the eye not finding him too tall nor too short. A tree branch as it were between two others, but he was the finest looking of the three, the best proportioned. He was the centre of his Companions’ attention; when he spoke, they listened well, and if he ordered, they hurried to obey. A man well-helped, well-served, never sullen, never refuted.”

Her husband said, “This man must be Muhammad, the one whom Quraish are pursuing. If I meet him, I will pledge allegiance to him and become Muslim.” Now, by the way, Umm Ma’bad did pledge allegiance to Rasūlullāhﷺ and she became Muslim.

7.4 Lessons from Hijrah

The Concept of Hijrah :  Number One: The concept of Hijrah. There are two types of Hijrah; there is figurative Hijrah and there is the literal Hijrah.

Figurative Hijrah: The figurative Hijrah is as was mentioned in a Hadīth of Rasūlullāhﷺ in An-Nasā’ī, “An Tahjura Mā Kariha Rabbuka ‘Azza Wa Jall – Hijrah is to leave what Allāh  dislikes.” So this is a figurative Hijrah, it is to emigrate from the state of sin to the state of obeying Allāh . And Allāh says in Qur’ān, “War-Rujza Fahjur – And uncleanliness avoid.” Al-Muddaththir: 5 Stay away from impurities; make Hijrah from impurities, from idol-worshipping, from evil. And this type of Hijrah is mandatory on everyone; all of us have to leave the state of sin to the state of obedience.

Literal Hijrah : Then we have the literal Hijrah, and that is to move from one land to another; you move from the land of evil to the land of good. Examples of that are the Hijrah of Rasūlullāhﷺ and the Sahābah, or the Hijrah of the man from the Children of Israel who killed a hundred people and then he went to consult a scholar, so the scholar told him, “Allāh will accept your repentance, but you have to move from this town because it is a town of evil and go to that other town, because you will find therein people who will support you in worshipping Allāh .”

Benefits of Hijrah :  [Second Lesson:] Benefits of Hijrah. Hijrah can cause an economic boom. Granada for example, the Muslim Granada, the last Islāmic State in Andalusia; when the Christian North, the Spaniards, started taking over, conquering Islāmic land, the Muslims would leave and they would settle in Southern Spain in Granada – Gharnātah. So there was a population boom; it reached to over two million, but these are men who came in with their skills, with their abilities as merchants, their abilities as farmers, so Granada flourished and it became the wealthiest state in all of Europe. What caused that? A major part was due to the Hijrah of the Muslims from Northern Spain to the Southern Spain. The same thing for example happened in the US, happened in for example Holland, earlier, a few centuries before, when all of the Calvinists – the Protestants, moved from some parts of Europe to Holland. So Hijrah brings the talents of people together, and a small village could turn into a huge city because of Hijrah. You have all of the minds coming together. For example, now you have an immigration of Muslim minds going to the Western world, so the Muslim land is deprived from their abilities while they are flooding towards the West, and the fruit of their knowledge is given in Western countries while their Muslim lands are deprived of that.

Hijrah Represents Manifestation of Conflict between Good and Evil :  [Third Lesson:] Hijrah represents the manifestation of the conflict between good and evil. If we go back to the first days of Da’wah, when Rasūlullāh was for the first time exposed to Revelation and he just knew that he had become a Prophet, he came down from the cave and he was very terrified and worried, so he went to his wife Khadījah  and he told her to wrap him in a garment – that is when the verses of Yā Ayyuhal Muzzammil and Yā Ayyuhal Muddaththir were revealed. So Khadījah  told Muhammadﷺ, “Why do we not go to my uncle and consult him?” Waraqah Bin Naufal was a wise old man who was literate and he studied the early scriptures, and he read the books of the Jewish and the Christian faith, so he was a knowledgeable man relatively speaking in the environment of Arabia. So they went to Waraqah Bin Naufal and they talked to him and Waraqah asked Muhammadﷺ, “O Nephew, what do you see?” So Waraqah is asking Muhammadﷺ what do you see. Rasūlullāhﷺ explained to him what happened. Waraqah Bin Naufal said, “This was the angel Jibrīl who used to come down to Mūsā; how I wish I were a young man again. I hope I am still alive when your people exile you.”

Now, this last statement was a shock to Muhammadﷺ; my people will exile me, how woul d that happen? You need to keep in mind that Muhammadﷺ was the most beloved man in Quraish, so what would cause them to drive him out of Makkah? Plus, in the tribal society, the tribe is everything and the tribe does not forsake any of its members, so how could it happen that Quraish, the noble tribe of Arabia, would drive out one of its members? So Rasūlullāhﷺ asked Waraqah, “Are they going to exile me?!” Waraqah replied, “Yes. No one has ever received what you have without being treated as an enemy. If I am alive when your time comes, I will give you every help.” So Waraqah Bin Naufal is speaking about a reality of the history of the Da’wah. When a person comes up with the truth of Islām, this is what happens; people split into two camps. Allāh  says about the People of Thamūd: And We had certainly sent to Thamūd their brother Sālih, [saying], “Worship Allāh,” and at once they were two parties conflicting. An-Naml: 45

SoSālih, who was at the similar position to Muhammadﷺ; very respected by his people, but when he started preaching truth to them, when he started preaching Islām, when he started preaching the Oneness of Allāh , they split into two conflicting camps, and that is why Qur’ān is called Al-Furqān; Furqān is the Criterion, it separates between good and evil, it splits the society into two, and the Battle of Badr is also called Furqān for the same reason. Thirteen years later, what Waraqah Bin Naufal predicted did happen. Allāh says: And thus have We made for every Prophet an enemy from among the criminals. But sufficient is your Lord as a guide and a helper. Al-Furqān: 31

Soevery Prophet has enemies –that is the Sunnah, the way, of Allāh . So that is the second lesson.

Elaborate Planning :  The Fourth Lesson: We can notice from the Hijrah of Rasūlullāhﷺ the elaborate planning that went into it.

Number One: Rasūlullāhﷺ visits Abū Bakr at noon. At noon time people are in a siesta; because of the heat of Arabia people do not venture out of their houses. Rasūlullāhﷺ was out at that time so that nobody would notice him, and in case somebody did notice him, he was masked; he covered his face.

Number Two: Rasūlullāhﷺ, when he came into the house of Abū Bakr, he asked him to clear his house – “Akhrij Man ‘Indak Yā Abā Bakr.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to keep it as a secret.

Number Three: He had ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib sleep on his bed.

Number Four: The camels were already ready and prepared.

Number Five: They left under the cover of darkness and from a backdoor.

Number Six: They hired a guide.

Number Seven: Madīnah is north of Makkah while Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr headed south; to deceive the Disbelievers.

Number Eight: They went into hiding for three days in the cave.

Number Nine: ‘Abdullāh Ibn Abū Bakr As-Siddīq  would come to them with information; he would gather information during the day and come and present it to them at night.

Number Ten: ‘Āmir Bin Fuhairah brings them food.

So you could see that a lot of planning went into the Hijrah of Rasūlullāhﷺ, and this is how we should conduct our Islāmic work; we should not just say, ‘Māshā’Allāh, Allāh will take care of everything and Allāh will give us Barakah, just do what you can do.’ I wish that we would do what we can do, but sometimes what this means is you do not have to do a lot. Just do what you can do does not mean that you do not have to do a lot. While Rasūlullāhﷺ went to extreme lengths to ensure that he does his best in the planning for Hijrah when Allāh  had already promised him with protection; he is the Messenger of Allāh, Allāh will take care of him, Allāh will support him, Allāh will honour him, so he does not have to do all of this, but he did it to teach us that as a Muslim you have to do your best, you have to do your best, and this is Ihsān.

The Role of Women :  The Fifth Lesson from the Hijrah of Rasūlullāhﷺ: The role of women. And we will try to bring up the role of women in fighting, the role of women in Madīnah, the role of women in Hijrah, because our sisters need to see their role models.

‘Ā’ishah’s  Valuable Narrations :  [Number One:] How did we hear about the whole story of Hijrah? Who was the narrator of this story of Hijrah, whether it is in Sahīh Al-Bukhārī or Sahīh Al- Muslim? It was ‘Ā’ishah . The whole story of Hijrah was preserved by ‘Ā’ishah .

Asmā’ Bint Abī Bakr Suffers :  [Number Two:] Asmā’ Bint Abī Bakr, the sister of ‘Ā’ishah, she tore her griddle to put food into it to send it to Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr. She suffered because of Hijrah; Abū Jahl and some men from Quraish came knocking on the door of Abū Bakr after they left, and Asmā’ opened the door so Abū Jahl asked her, “Where is your father?” She said, “I do not know where my father is.” So he slapped her on her face so hard; that was a suffering she took for the sake of Allāh  to protect Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr. She did not go screaming and yelling and hollering, ‘Oh yes yes! My father left for Hijrah!’ just because of one slap; she was patient and she stayed quiet. And you can notice here that she lied, she said, ‘I do not know where my father is,’ and it is allowed to lie in such a situation because it is for the protection of a Muslim – Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr As-Siddīq . So she suffered because of Hijrah.

She was patient, she had Tawakkul on Allāh. The father of Abū Bakr, her grandfather, he was already a blind man. He came in and he said, “I see that my son has caused you two sufferings; [number] one, by him leaving, and number two, by him not leaving you behind any money.” So Asmā’, she was very creative, she went and filled a sack with some rocks and put it in the hands of her grandfather and said, “No, look, he left us a lot of money.” The grandfather said, “Well, it is good that he did so.” She did

that to keep him calm. So she was very content, she was very patient, and she had Tawakkul on Allāh.

In addition to ‘Ā’ishah and Asmā’ being women, we can also say that they are members of the family of Abū Bakr, so we could also use these same examples to show the sacrifice that the entire family of Abū Bakr went into for the sake of Hijrah.

Choose your Companions Well :  Number Six, another lesson from Hijrah: You need to choose your companions well. Who did Rasūlullāhﷺ choose to join him in Hijrah? It was Abū Bakr As-Siddīq  , it was the best choice that Rasūlullāhﷺ could make. Abū Bakr As-Siddīq , first of all, he loved Muhammadﷺ, he loved him, and this love was not lip service, it was real. Abū Bakr As-Siddīq cried when he knew that he would be with Muhammadﷺ on Hijrah, and he was so happy that he was going to be joining Muhammadﷺ; this shows you his love. He used his entire family to serve Rasūlullāh in this journey, he had a high sense of security, he was a very wise man. He was willing to sacrifice his life for Muhammadﷺ as we already talked about last night, when he went into the cave and when he was walking in front of Rasūlullāhﷺ and then walking behind him.

By the way, this incident was narrated to us by ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb. When ‘Umar was Khalīfah, he heard that some people were gathering and they were discussing who was better; Abū Bakr or ‘Umar, so ‘Umar rushed towards them and he said, “One day in the life of Abū Bakr is better than the entire family of ‘Umar.” And he narrated to them this story, he said, “That day in the life of Abū Bakr, the day of Hijrah, that single day is better not only than ‘Umar and the entire life of ‘Umar, but better than the entire family of ‘Umar for all of their lives.” And that shows you the recognition that the Sahābah had of the high status of Abū Bakr As-Siddīq .

Balancing between Secret and Public Da’wah :  [Number Seven], the next lesson from Hijrah: A lot of what Rasūlullāhﷺ was doing at this stage was secret; he was doing it in secret to preserve Islām

and Muslims, but then there needs to be a balance between secrecy and Da’wah. Da’wah by nature is a public outward act, so how do you balance between giving Da’wah and at the same time protecting your organisation and protecting Islām and Muslims? We find that, for example, in Hijrah, we have examples of both.

Examples of Secrecy :  Ibn Is’hāq says, “And as I have been told, no one knew of the departure of the Messenger of Allāh except ‘Alï Bin Abī Tālib and Abū Bakr and his family.” These were the only people who knew about the Hijrah of Rasūlullāhﷺ, so it shows that Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to keep it secret. And for example, when Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr were travelling and they would meet some people, Anas Ibn Mālik would say that Abū Bakr was a known man while Rasūlullāhﷺ was not known in terms of knowing people outside of Makkah, because Abū Bakr was a man who travelled a lot, he did business, so he knew a lot of people in all of these villages and towns because of his travelling, while Rasūlullāhﷺ did not travel outside of Makkah in the time of Da’wah except to At-Tā’if; the rest of the time he spent it giving Da’wah inside Makkah itself, he never ventured out of Makkah, so people outside of Makkah did not really know him; they knew about him, but they never really saw him

So Anas Ibn Mālik said that people would come and meet Abū Bakr and talk to him. Now, they would ask Abū Bakr after they would greet him and ask him how is he doing, they would ask him, “Who is this man with you?” Abū Bakr would say, “This man is a guide, he is showing me the path.” This man is a guide and he is showing me the path. Now, what these people would understand is that he is a guide guiding him in the desert, but what Abū Bakr really meant was that this man is guiding me towards Allāh, but he put it in this statement to protect the identity of Rasūlullāhﷺ, he did not want to tell them that this is Muhammadﷺ, because now you have a hundred camels, there was a bounty on Rasūlullāhﷺ, so he wanted to protect his identity, and the way he did it was by making this statement, so you can see that Abū Bakr was not lying, but they were understanding something different than what he meant, this is what is called Tawriyah. So you can see this secrecy part.

Now, when it comes to Da’wah, the identity would need to be exposed for Da’wah, so when Rasūlullāhﷺ met with Buraidah Al-Aslamī, he did tell him that I am Muhammadﷺ and he did give him Da’wah and Buraidah became Muslim, and he joined Rasūlullāhﷺ in 16 out of his 19 battles, and he was a head of his people. Rasūlullāhﷺ also met with two thieves and he gave them Da’wah and they became Muslim. Rasūlullāhﷺ asked them, “What is your name?” They said “Our name is Al-Muhānān.” Al-Muhānān means the dishonoured ones. The people used to call them the dishonoured ones, so Rasūlullāhﷺ told them, “No, you are the honoured ones.”

Another example of Da’wah; Rasūlullāhﷺ met with a shepherd, so he asked him, “Can you give us some milk?” The shepherd said, “None of my goats have milk at the moment.” Rasūlullāhﷺ chose one of them and asked, “Would you allow me to milk it?” The shepherd said, “Go ahead,” and Rasūlullāhﷺ did milk it and a lot of milk started flowing out. And then he gave the shepherd to drink first and then he and Abū Bakr drank, so the shepherd asked Muhammadﷺ, “For heaven’s sake! Who are you? I never saw the like of you.” Rasūlullāhﷺ responded, “Do you think you could keep it secret if I told you?” So the man said, “Yes.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “I am Muhammad, the Messenger of Allāh.” The shepherd said, “You mean you are the one Quraish say claims to be a Sabian?” Sabian was a degrading accusation that the people of Quraish would level towards the Muslims; they would call them As- Sābi’ūn rather than call them Muslim. Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Yes, they do say that.” The man said, “Well, I bear witness that you bring the truth and only a Prophet could do as you have, I am your follower now.” Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “You cannot be that right now; come and join us when you hear I have declared myself openly.” Rasūlullāhﷺ does not mean that you cannot follow me in terms of becoming Muslim, he means you cannot join me now, but he did accept his Islām, but he could not join the Islāmic Jamā‘ah at the moment and follow Rasūlullāhﷺ because Rasūlullāhﷺ was still at that secretive stage.

So you can see here the balance between giving Da’wah and protecting the identity of Rasūlullāhﷺ in being secret. Rasūlullāhﷺ did declare his identity to people whom he thought would be respondent to the Da’wah, but he did not give Da’wah to every single person he met in Hijrah, because all of those people Abū Bakr would meet and Abū Bakr would tell them, “This is a guide,” Rasūlullāhﷺ did not give them Da’wah, he did not invite them to Islām. So it shows you that there is a balance between the two.

The Dā‘iyah Needs to Be Financially Independent :  Finally, [Number Eight:] the Dā‘iyah needs to be financially independent. When Rasūlullāhﷺ told Abū Bakr that I have been given permission to make Hijrah and Abū Bakr told him I will join you and be your Companion, Abū Bakr told Muhammadﷺ, “Here are two camels for Hijrah.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Bith-Thaman – I am going to take the camels and pay for it.” Notice here Rasūlullāhﷺ saying that he is going to pay for that camel. So it is important for the Dā‘iyah to be financially independent, because what happens is that when a scholar is on the government payroll, there is a conflict of interest when that scholar is giving a Fatwā on any issue that relates to the government. When the government is feeding the scholar, the scholar will be hesitant to criticise the government, and there is a clear conflict of interest in any Fatwā that relates to politics or relates to issues that upset the government, and that is why, for example, we hear issues such as scholars giving Fatwā that it is allowed to have interest banks; banks that deal with the interest system rather than Islāmic banks. This is, for example, a Fatwā that was forced upon a scholar or a scholar said it to please the government – that is just an example. So it is important for Du‘āh – scholars and preachers who invite to Islām, to be financially independent.

Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr  Travel at Peak of Summer : Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr were travelling in the desert at the peak of the summer season; it was very hot. Ibn Is’hāq says, “Then he – the guide – took them down the valley and so to Qubā’ to the Banī ‘Amr Bin ‘Awf. It was now Monday 12th Rabī’ Al-Awwal, and the heat was extreme, the sun almost having reached its zenith.” So it was in the middle of summer, very hot, when Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr As-Siddīq  made Hijrah.

Al-Ansār’s Keen Anticipation of Meeting Rasūlullāhﷺ : The Ansār would go out of Madīnah every day in the morning in anticipation of meeting Rasūlullāhﷺ and greeting him, but when the heat would become too extreme, they would go indoors. So one day they went early in the morning waiting for Rasūlullāhﷺ; when he did not show up they went back in. There was a Jew who was climbing on one of their high buildings and he saw Muhammadﷺ and Abū Bakr approaching, they were dressed in white. The reason why they were dressed in brand new white clothes was because Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr met with Az-Zubair Bin Al-‘Awwām who was coming back from a business trip to Syria and he just brought with him some new clothes, so he gave Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr gifts, and these were the clothes that they put on when they went into Madīnah. So this Jew saw Muhammadﷺ and Abū Bakr approaching, so he called [out from] the top of his voice, he said, “O Arabs! Here is your man, he has arrived!” So the Ansār rushed towards their weapons and marched out to meet Rasūlullāhﷺ. You might be wondering how come they went [out] putting their weapons on; the reason could be that this was the tradition that when you met someone or you greeted them, you would go out carrying your weapons, and this is still a tradition in some tribal societies that when they would meet an important guest they would take their rifles with them to greet that guest. The other reason could be that the Bay‘ah that the Ansār gave to Rasūlullāhﷺ was a Bay‘ah of protection; they were offering him protection, so they were carrying their weapons with them to show him that here we are ready and prepared to serve you and [to] protect you.

Rasūlullāhﷺ Builds First Masjid in Islām – Masjid of Qubā’ :  So Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr arrived and people started greeting them. Now, they arrived at the outskirts of Madīnah which was Qubā’, and Rasūlullāhﷺ stayed there in Qubā’ for 14 days, and that was when he built the Masjid of Qubā’, the first Masjid in Islām. This Masjid is special; if you make Wudū’ at your home and you go to Masjid Qubā’ and pray two Rak‘ah, it counts as if you have made ‘Umrah. That is a special virtue to praying in the Masjid of Qubā’.

Rasūlullāhﷺ stayed in a house called the House of Bachelors, because all of the men in there were bachelors; [it was] the house of Sa’d Bin Haithamah. Rasūlullāhﷺ stayed there because all of the guests were coming in and out of the house, so he did not want to stay with a family and burden them with all of these people who were coming to meet him, so he stayed in this bachelors’ house. And while he was there, Rasūlullāhﷺ sent messengers to Madīnah asking them permission to come in. So they sent him a large delegation, and they came and met Rasūlullāhﷺ and said, “Udkhulā Āminaini Mutā‘ain – Come in, and you are safe and you will be obeyed.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ is not coming to Madīnah as a guest, he is coming to lead the people of Madīnah. And they came and told him, “You will be obeyed,” and Allāh  says: Wamā Arsalnā Min Rasūlin Illā Liyutā‘ah Bi’idhnillāh – And We did not send any Messenger except tobe obeyed by permission of Allāh. An-Nisā’: 64

Sothe people should follow the Messengers of Allāh. Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr  Arrive in Madīnah

The Celebration of Al-Ansār :  Now Rasūlullāhﷺ goes into Madīnah. It was an amazing day. It was a huge celebration. People came out to greet him; the men came out armed, the Abyssinians were dancing with their spears, women were standing on rooftops, children were flooding the streets; everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of Rasūlullāhﷺ. Anas Ibn Mālik says, “The Messenger of Allāh did come, and his Companion. They were among the townspeople. Even the old people came out to greet them, climbing on top of houses and shouting, ‘Which one is he?!’” Anas Ibn Mālik says, “We never saw such a sight before.” People were coming out, everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of Rasūlullāhﷺ, people were happy that Rasūlullāhﷺ had arrived. Anas Ibn Mālik  said, “I witnessed the day he entered among us and I witnessed the day he died, and I never saw two days as those.” I never saw two days like that in my life. Anas Ibn Mālik says in another narration, “I witnessed two days; one day was the brightest and best day in my life, and that was the day Rasūlullāhﷺ and Abū Bakr came into Madīnah. The other day was the darkest day and the worst day in my life, and that was the day in which Rasūlullāhﷺ passed away. And I have witnessed both of them.” So dear brothers and sisters, the best day Madīnah has ever witnessed was the day in which Rasūlullāhﷺ came in, and the worst day Madīnah has ever witnessed was the day Rasūlullāhﷺ left them.

Rasūlullāhﷺ Stays in the House of Abū Ayyūb : Rasūlullāhﷺ was offered to stay in every house in Madīnah; all of them were welcoming him, but Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to stay with Banū Najjār because Banū Najjār were his relatives. You see, Hāshim married a woman from Banū Najjār, Banū Najjār were from Al-Khazraj, therefore ‘Abdul Muttalib, his maternal uncles, were from Madīnah, from Banū Najjār. So Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “I want to stay with Banū Najjār.” And then he asked Banū Najjār, “Which house of Banū Najjār is closest to me?” So Abū Ayyūb Al-Ansārī said, “My house.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ stayed at the house of Abū Ayyūb. Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to stay in the lower level while Abū Ayyūb was trying to convince him to stay in the upper level; it was a two storey house. The reason why Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to stay in the lower level was because people were visiting him, so he wanted to make it easy and stay in the lower level. Finally, Abū Ayyūb agreed.

Generosity of Al-Ansār :  Abū Ayyūb says, “We had a container filled with water that fell, so we were afraid that water would drip on Rasūlullāhﷺ, so we used our blanket – and me and my wife only had that blanket – we used it to soak up the water and we had to sleep without that blanket.” This is the generosity that the Sahābah  were offering to Rasūlullāhﷺ. His only blanket; he used it to soak up water just so that a few drops of water would not drip on Rasūlullāh and Abū Bakr As-Siddīq .

Another example of the generosity of people in Madīnah; Zayd Ibn Thābit  says, “The first gift made to the Messenger of Allāh after he took up residence in the home of Abū Ayyūb was brought to him by myself. It was a big wooden bowl filled with bread, crumbled up with milk and butter. I told him that my mother had sent him the bowl, he commented, ‘May Allāh bless her.’ Then he called over his Companions and they ate. Then a wooden bowl came from Sa’d Ibn ‘Ubādah, it was bread mixed with meat gravy.” Zayd Bin Thābit then says, “Not an evening went by without there being at the door of the Messenger of Allāh three or four people who would come one after the other carrying food. He remained there in the home of Abū Ayyūb for seven months.” So you can just imagine the scene of people coming in, everyone carrying a plate to Rasūlullāhﷺ. These were poor people, but they were giving up their food for Rasūlullāhﷺ.

Rasūlullāhﷺ Loved Al-Ansār and they Loved him :  People loved Rasūlullāhﷺ. Young girls went in the streets and they were singing, they were saying, “We are girls of the Banū Najjār, how wonderful if Muhammad were our neighbour.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Allāh knows that my heart loves you all.” Allāh knows that my heart loves you all. So Rasūlullāhﷺ loved them and they loved him. Allāh  has chosen the people of Ansār to be the Ansār of Rasūlullāhﷺ, they loved him very much and he also loved them a lot. Towards the end of his life he said, “If it was not for Hijrah, I would consider myself to be a member of Al-Ansār.”

7.5 The Situation in Madīnah

The Tribes in Madīnah :  What was the situation of Madīnah like when Rasūlullāhﷺ moved in there? There were five tribes living in Madīnah; three of them were Jewish and two of them were Arab. The three Jewish tribes were Banū Qaynuqā’, Banū Nadīr and Banū Qurayzah. Banū Qaynuqā’ lived in the centre of Madīnah, the marketplace, and they were in the business of jewellery. They used to live in the outskirts of Madīnah in forts, but they were driven out in a war between them and other Jews, so they ended up settling in the middle of Madīnah, in the centre of the town. Banū Nadīr and Banū Qaynuqā’ lived in the outskirts of Madīnah, and they were living in forts, they had about 59 fortresses in which they lived in. Their fighting force was about 2,000; these were the men of fighting age, about 2,000. The Arab tribes were Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj, and their fighting force was about 4,000, and they lived inside Madīnah; one tribe lived in the North and the other tribe lived in the South. So Madīnah was not really a city in terms of all houses being connected, but it was a collection of small villages that formed Madīnah. So you would have living quarters for the Jews and living quarters for the Arabs, and each Jewish tribe was separate and the two Arab tribes were also separate.

Livelihood of People in Madīnah :  The livelihood of the people in Madīnah was based on agriculture, it was fertile, and they had palm groves. The farmer would need money throughout the year until harvest time would come, so the Jewish tribes would lend the Arabs money and they would charge them interest for it – usury, and this caused some conflict and some bitter feelings between the Arabs and the Jews of Madīnah. This is briefly the situation that existed prior to the advent of Islām.

People of Madīnah were Disunited :  Now, when Islām came in, now you had Muslims, you had Pagan [idol] worshippers and you had Jews, so you had different faiths and different ethnic groups inside Madīnah, and Rasūlullāhﷺ had to be very careful in dealing with these complications in Madīnah. Do not think that it was very easy and everybody just became Muslim and everybody loved Rasūlullāh and it was very easy to rule over Madīnah; it was very difficult. You had people among the Arabs who were not happy that Rasūlullāhﷺ was there, you also had the Jewish tribes who were not happy that Rasūlullāh was there, and then among the Arabs you had Muslims and Non-Muslims, so it was a complicated situation. To give you an example of this complication, Rasūlullāhﷺ was riding on his donkey and he went towards a gathering that included Arabs, Muslim and Non-Muslim, and also Jews. So Rasūlullāhﷺ went to that gathering, and when his donkey arrived, obviously it caused some dust, and ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ who later became the head of the Munāfiqīn, he said, “Keep your dust away from us!” Rasūlullāhﷺ did not respond back to him, Rasūlullāhﷺ started preaching Islām to them; he gave them a talk about Islām. When he finished, ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ said, “Do not come and bother us in our meetings with your talk. Stay home, and whoever comes to visit you, then tell them your stories.” ‘Abdullāh Ibn Rawāhah, who was a Muslim, he said, “No! We want him to come to our meetings and talk to us,” and then people started shouting and war was almost going to break out, and Rasūlullāhﷺ had to calm them down. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ went to the house of Sa’d Ibn ‘Ubādah and said, “O Sa’d, did you not see what ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ did?!” Sa’d asked him what happened, and when Rasūlullāhﷺ told him. Sa’d responded back by saying, “O Rasūlullāh, ‘Abdullāh Ibn Ubaÿ was a man whom his people were almost going to appoint him king over them when you arrived, so he sees that you have stripped him of his kingdom.” You have stripped him of that post. So Sa’d was telling Rasūlullāhﷺ that it is understandable that he is against you because he was going to be appointed by Al-Khazraj to be king over them. So this was the situation that Rasūlullāh was dealing with.