Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 27 - The Hijrah - Emigration to Madinah - Yasir Qadhi | March 2012
Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 27 - The Hijrah - Emigration to Madinah - Yasir Qadhi | March 2012
The Prophet PBUH was one of the last, if not the last adult Muslim, to emigrate to Madinah. The only people left after him were some of the women and children, such as the family of Abu Bakr RA, Ali RA, etc.
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Migration to Madinah: Umar al-Khattab RA
Before we get on to the actual emigration of the Prophet PBUH, we will discuss Umar's RA Hijrah. Ali ibn Abi Talib narrated, "I don't know of anyone who did the Hijrah publicly except for Umar. He was the only one to do it publicly." Umar RA packed his bags, armed himself, wore his shields and arrows, dressed as a traveler, goes to the Ka'bah, does tawaf seven times, and then makes an announcement: "O people of Makkah! Whoever wishes that his mother loses him tonight, or that his children become orphans, or his wife a widow, then know that I am doing the Hijrah, and you can meet me outside of Makkah in such-and-such a valley." Of course no one took up Umar RA on that challenge. And this, again, shows us the status of Umar RA. It's a manifestation of the du'a of the Prophet PBUH, before Umar converts, to bless Islam with one of two Umars, "O Allah, bless Islam with the more beloved of the two Umars to You." (The other Umar being Abu Jahal, because his name was also Amr [عمرو], which is a type of umar [عمر].)
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Migration to Madinah: The Prophet PBUH & Abu Bakr RA
1. Preparations
We need to piece together the incident of the Hijrah of the Prophet PBUH from many different reports. As we mentioned many times, the seerah is not written down in one story, so just like in al-Isra wal-Mi'raj we don't know its exact order.
The first most authentic source is Aisha RA, narrating in Sahih al-Bukhari. She narrates her memories of the Hijrah as a young girl of around 6-7 years old. She said, "I don't remember any day except my parents were Muslims." So when she was born, Abu Bakr RA was already a Muslim. (Note: And she was the younger of the two. Her older sister was Asma bint Abu Bakr, who had a different mother, and her mother wasn't a Muslim, so Abu Bakr divorced Asma's mother, and married Aisha's mother.) Aisha continues, "And I don't remember any day except the Prophet PBUH would come visiting us in our house." So her earliest memory is everyday the Prophet PBUH would come visit them in their house, sometimes in the morning and sometimes evening. "And then," Aisha narrates, "When the Prophet PBUH was given the permission to migrate, and he told the Muslims to migrate, Abu Bakr prepared a camel to migrate. And he asked the Prophet PBUH for permission." Note every Muslim asked the Prophet PBUH for permission to leave first. "And when Abu Bakr asked for permission, the Prophet PBUH said, 'Wait. I hope Allah will give us permission.'" So Abu Bakr understood that the permission the Prophet PBUH was waiting for is permission for him to accompany the Prophet PBUH on the Hijrah. So he asked, "Are you hoping for my companionship? (i.e. Can I be with you?)" The Prophet PBUH said, "Yes. This is what I'm hoping for." (Note: This shows us that the Prophet PBUH never did anything except with the permission of Allah.)
So when Abu Bakr heard this, he prepared two camels instead of one. And what does it mean to prepare a camel? We all know that a camel is the ship of the desert; and that it's able to carry food and water on its back. But in order to do so, you need to feed the camel a special diet, cause it to drink extra water by giving salt, keep it locked up so it doesn't burn its fat, etc. So you prepare it for a few weeks and then the hump appears. Abu Bakr RA said he prepared the camels for 4 months. (Here Abu Bakr RA is rounding up, as it was most likely 3.5 months from when the Prophet PBUH told the Muslims to migrate to when he migrated.)
The Hijrah took place on Monday 26th Safar of the 13th year of the dawah, which is the 1st year of the Hijrah. (We ESTIMATE this date based on an authentic narration from Ibn Abbas in Sahih Muslim.)
Aisha continued, "In the hot time of the day (when it's too hot for anyone to be on the street), we saw a figure approaching. The figure had wrapped his turban around his head/face (we could not see him). Until we recognized from the distance that it is the Prophet PBUH, coming from a far away distance, and so we said, 'Wallahi, the only reason he must be coming, it's for something very grave to have occurred (i.e. emergency).' The Prophet PBUH asked for permission to come in, Abu Bakr granted it to him, and he PBUH said, 'Remove everybody from the room.' Abu Bakr said, 'They are but your family (i.e. Aisha and her sister.)'" (Side note: Of course Aisha RA had already been engaged to the Prophet PBUH. The nikah had been done, but the consummation had not yet occurred.) Aisha continued, "And the Prophet PBUH said, 'Allah has given me permission to emigrate.' So Abu Bakr asked, 'O Messenger of Allah, did Allah allow me to be your companion? I beg you, by my mother and father, did He?' And the Prophet PBUH said, 'Yes. The permission has been given for you to accompany me.'" [The following line is found in Ibn Ishaq] Aisha RA said, "I saw Abu Bakr cry. And I had never believed people could cry out of happiness until that day." Then Abu Bakr said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have prepared two camels, one of them is yours." (Subhan'Allah, note the Prophet PBUH didn't even have a camel.) The Prophet PBUH said, "Only if I pay you the price of the camel." He is not going to take it as a freebie. Why? This is of the perfection of his manners PBUH. Even if he is the Messenger of Allah, he doesn't take advantage of people. Also, he wanted the full reward of doing the Hijrah. (Because as we know, if you help somebody doing some good deed, what happens? You get a share.) So Abu Bakr was basically forced to take a sum from the Prophet PBUH to give that camel. And Asma, who is an adult, at least 10-15 years older than Aisha, had prepared the food and reserves for them, but in the panic of the moment, she bundled up all of the food when she didn't have anything to tie the bag with. So she took off her belt, tore it in half with her teeth, and used half of the belt for her own garment, and the other half for the bag. This is why she was called Dhat al-Nitaqayn (ذات النطاقين / She of the Two Belts) - this is her laqab. And Abu Bakr RA had at this point in time 5,000 dirhams (Ibn Ishaq narrates that when Abu Bakr accepted Islam [i.e. in the first year of the dawah], he was a wealthy man who had 40,000 dirhams. And he spent ~90% of his wealth for Islam, e.g. freeing slaves and helping the Prophet PBUH.)
And when he emigrated, he took the entire amount (5,000 dirhams) with him. When he did this, his father Abu Quhafa, who wasn't a Muslim at the time, and was a bitter, sharp-tongued, blind old man, came to Asma and mocked Abu Bakr for having abandoned the two 'little' girls without any money. "What type of father is this?! He has left you with no money?!" So Asma took the money jar (which wasn't actually a jar, but rather a sackcloth), and quickly picked up some pebbles and filled it with them. And she then wrapped it in some more cloth, and said to Abu Quhafa, "No, my grandfather! He has left us some money." And she gave him the bag that Abu Bakr kept for his money. So you know that this is a money bag. Remember Abu Quhafa is blind. So when he felt it a heavy amount, he said "Oh, okay. I'm mistaken. If this is what he has left for you, then there is nothing to blame." Even though, in reality, as Asma later narrates to others, "Abu Bakr didn't leave us a single penny." Abu Bakr RA wants every penny for the Prophet PBUH, and he expects somebody will give Asma and Aisha food and water, and he knows they are not going to starve to death in Makkah. Makkah is a city after all. Whereas him and the Prophet PBUH are going in the middle of the desert, and they don't know where they are going to need the money. So he took every last penny he had. (And of course, Allah SWT took care of Asma and Aisha, and eventually they made their way to Madinah.)
This is the version of Bukhari. And as always, Bukhari's versions are the most concise and least detailed. If we want the juicy details, we need to go to the other books. And the problem with the other books is, many times, they don't have authentic isnads. And as we said many times over and over again, these types of traditions, no problem in narrating them, but we should sift through that which we know is a fact versus that whose isnad might be slightly weak.
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2. The Night of the Hijrah
When we turn to Musnad Imam Ahmad, we have hadith that gives us a little bit more description about what happened on that particular night:
Ibn Abbas says Allah revealed in the Qur'an Surah al-Anfal verse 30 regarding the night of the Hijrah:
وَإِذْ يَمْكُرُ بِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِيُثْبِتُوكَ أَوْ يَقْتُلُوكَ أَوْ يُخْرِجُوكَ ۚ وَيَمْكُرُونَ وَيَمْكُرُ اللَّهُ ۖ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ
"And [remember, O Muhammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners." [8:30]
So what happened? The Quraysh came together in Dar al-Nadwa, in the middle of the night, holding a secret meeting. And representatives for all the tribes came except for the Banu Hashim, even Abu Lahab, because it would have been a conflict of interest. Why? Because they were planning to harm his own blood. No matter how much Abu Lahab would have liked it, he couldn't give the 'green light.' It was very crafty of them to leave Abu Lahab out. They also left out Mut'im ibn Adi. He is the one who is protecting the Prophet PBUH. So they figured out they can't invite him; nor Abu Lahab, as he simply cannot go against the custom of jahili tribalism and get his hands guilty with his own blood. Not that he loves the Prophet PBUH. But it's a matter of tribal honor and the customs of the time. If Abu Lahab let the Prophet PBUH die knowingly, it would have been a shame to him forever.
It's also said in a weak narration that an old man came knocking on the door in the secret meeting. He said, "I am a leader from Najd. It has reached me that you are having a meeting. Allow me to come (join), perhaps I can benefit you with my wisdom about what you are planning to do." (Note: Ibn Abbas said the old man was shaytan/Iblis.) When they came together, they said, "The Muslims have now migrated. And we are scared if we allow this man (the Prophet PBUH) to leave, they will become a political threat to Makkah." This meeting is held on the night before the Hijrah. Of course realize the timing of the Hijrah was because of this meeting: Because they plotted, Allah plotted [Qur'an, 8:30]. So they gave suggestions: First, "Let's imprison him in a house." Then Iblis said, "If you do this, his words would still reach his followers." Second, "Let's put him in exile." But Iblis said, "Sending him into exile is to send him back to his followers. It will strengthen them." Here is where Abu Jahal said, "You still haven't said the main point which everyone is thinking but no one has the guts to say: Let us just kill him." But realize it's a matter of law and honor for the jahili Arabs that you don't kill one of your own. This is something that's never been done before. For them it's a mark of humiliation. Their enemies would criticize them forever if they did this. So Abu Jahal said, "We'll do it in a way that nobody can get angry at any one tribe." This was the dastardly plot: He said, "Let every single tribe send one representative such that his (the Prophet's PBUH) blood is on everyone's swords, and no one knows who killed him. If we do this, no one tribe can be made fun of, and the Banu Hashim cannot wage war against all of us - they will have to accept the blood money." See, the Banu Hashim would have to wage war because it's about tribalism and gang mentality. It's about tribal honor. But this way, they can't fight all of the Quraysh, and this was Abu Jahal's plot. After Abu Jahal said this, Iblis stood up and said, "This is the right decision!"
So right then and there all the tribes picked one person and sent them all to the house of the Prophet PBUH. At the same time, Jibril AS came down to the Prophet PBUH and informed him, "You must make Hijrah now." The same evening the Prophet PBUH spoke to Abu Bakr, that's the same day they left.
Ibn Ishaq famously reports, without any isnad: As they surrounded the Prophet's PBUH house, the Prophet PBUH walked out of it reciting Surah Ya-Sin, and they were completely blinded to his presence. They couldn't see a thing. And Ibn Ishaq mentions that the Prophet PBUH threw dust on every one of them. It's said he was still living in the house of Khadija at the time. And Ali RA who was living with the Prophet PBUH since a young age, is a young man at this time, and he (Ali) was told to remain behind in the bed of the Prophet PBUH so if the Quraysh look, they will see a figure. But these details have no real isnad - they are only found in Ibn Ishaq.
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3. To Ghari Thawr
Now Abu Bakr RA had already prepared the two camels, and in the middle of the night, they both went to the Cave of Thawr (Ghari Thawr). It's very interesting because the cave is located in the exact opposite direction that Madinah is. Madinah is due north. Ghari Thawr is due south - exact opposite. You're literally turning your back to Madinah. It's a 2.5-3 hour walk from Makkah. The Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr had already devised a plan to go to this cave and stay there for three days and three nights in utmost secrecy. And after the three days and three nights, they would then meet with a guide who would take them to Madinah through a path that was unknown to the Quraysh. A path that only some of the Bedouins knew. Not the 'highway.' Rather a backroad. In fact they had to circle down to what is now Jeddah, and then make their way to Madinah from Jeddah.
And Abu Bakr RA had a plan how to undertake this journey - we are going to get to this in a while. But before we get there: It's reported by al-Tirmidhi in his Sunan that when the Prophet PBUH left Makkah and passed the final shops (souq) of Makkah in the middle of the night, he turned around to take one final look at Makkah (he wouldn't enter again for many years later), and he said to Makkah, "You are the most blessed land on earth and the most beloved to me. And were it not for the fact that my people have expelled me, I would not have left you." This is exactly the wordings that Waraqa ibn Nawfal told him almost 13.5 years ago. The exact same wordings. 13 years later the Prophet PBUH is saying the exact same phrase, as Waraqa knows reality and what has happened in the past with other prophets. Ibn Kathir says the Prophet PBUH also made a long, beautiful du'a where he basically asks Allah for protection, asks Him to make the journey easy for him, asks Him for His mercy, etc. This particular point is mentioned only in Ibn Kathir, and not found in earlier sources. Allah knows best.
Back to the story: Aisha RA says Abu Bakr RA planned to stay in the cave for three nights. And they made an arrangement with three people to do three chores:
1. The first was his son, Abdullah, who was a young, strong man, very intelligent, and very quick to understand things. (Tangent: Asma [أسماء] was Abu Bakr's oldest child, then it's Abdullah [عبد الله - who will die 1 year before Abu Bakr dies], then Aisha [عائشة], then Abd al-Rahman [عبد الرحمن], then Muhammad [محمد], and then his last daughter who was born after he died, Ummi Kulthum [أم كلثوم]. And in fact on his deathbed, Abu Bakr RA said to Aisha RA, "Take care of your two brothers and two sisters." And Aisha RA wondered, "What two sisters?" as at the time Ummi Kulthum had not been born. And Abu Bakr said, "I feel my wife is pregnant, and she will give birth to a daughter" - his wife was not visibly pregnant, but this was an intuition from Allah SWT. And indeed 8 months later this came true.) So Abu Bakr said to his oldest son, Abdullah, that: (i) every morning he should come out with some food and drink for the cave - because they are not going to leave the cave at all. So this is going to be their provision inside the cave. (ii) he should listen to the people of Makkah what they're doing, what they're talking about, and where the expeditions are being sent to find them. And every day he would do this - go to the marketplace and eavesdrop. Because he's a kid, no one paid attention to him, and he was very smart in how he did this.
2. The second person was Amir ibn Fuhayra (عامر بن فهيرة) who was a freed slave of Abu Bakr. His job was to take out his flock of sheep and make sure the footsteps of Abdullah ibn Abu Bakr are erased away.
3. The third man was Abdullah ibn Arqat/Urayqit (عبد الله بن أريقط) [both Arqat and Urayqit are mentioned; we don't know the exact name]. He wasn't from the Quraysh, he was from a far away Bedouin tribe. His job was to lead them to Madinah through a path that was unknown to the Quraysh (i.e. via what we now call Tariq al-Hijrah [طريق الهجرة]), avoiding the 'highway' at the time.
Now note they did have 'highways' back then i.e. a well-traveled road that had wells and even provisions for travelers who completely run out of everything (this would depend on the political and economic state of the people), there would be markings. So people know it's a well-traveled path and people take those path for safety, security, reliance, etc. The same reason why we take the major highways and not the backroads. But of course the Prophet PBUH couldn't go on this path. So they hired Abdullah ibn Urayqit to take them through a back path.
Abu Bakr RA narrates the details of the journey. (Note: The Cave of Thawr is a very small cave. Its entrance is more on the top, you have to wiggle your way into it. It's more like a crevice. Over time it's increased in size, so in our times it's like a small chamber. But back then it's said there was only space literally for two people.) When the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr were in the cave, one time they saw the Quraysh walking up and down the cave. Question arises: how did the Quraysh get there? Answer (found in al-Baladhuri, etc.): When the Quraysh figured out the Prophet PBUH had not gone on the usual roads, they hired an expert scout to figure out the traces of the camel from the house of Abu Bakr. And this scout managed to, despite all of the precautions, lead them to the base of the Cave of Thawr. "This is where I can trace it. From here it's a mountain, so I can't follow anymore." Although it's a bit iffy, this is the first lead/hint they've got, so all the big names come: Abu Jahal, al-Walid ibn al-Mughira, etc.
And this is where the famous incident occurred where Abu Bakr RA looks out and sees all of those big names, and he whispers to the Prophet PBUH, "لو نظر أحدهم إلى قدميه لأبصرنا (If they just look down at their feet now, they would see us.)" - since the entrance of the cave was at feet level i.e. below the ground. And the Prophet PBUH responded, "يا أبا بكر ما ظنك باثنين الله ثالثهما (O Abu Bakr, what do you think of two people; Allah is the third of them?)" And Allah made it so that they didn't check the cave.
We all know the famous stories of the spider, trees, pigeons, etc. That the spider made a web on the cave so as to appear no one has entered. Or the tree leaning down over the mouth of the entrance of the cave; or the two pigeons creating a nest on the cave. Out of these stories, even though it still has a slight weakness in it, the most authentic is the spider, as it is reported in Musnad Imam Ahmad. The other two have been reported in books from the third or fourth generation i.e. big missing links in the chain of narrators. While there's no issue narrating it, we don't know if it's fully true. (But of course, if Allah had willed it, then we don't have any problem affirming them.)
In any case, the Quraysh passed the cave and didn't realize they were in there. And on the third night, the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr RA met Abdullah ibn Urayqit as planned, and they journeyed to Madinah.
On the way to Madinah, a number of incidents occurred. Of these, two are clearly authentic: (1) The story of Suraqa ibn Malik; and (2) The story of Ummi Ma'bad.
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4. The Story of Suraqa ibn Malik
The first is the story of Suraqa ibn Malik (سراقة بن مالك). He was from the tribe of Ju'shum (not from the Quraysh) and he was the leader of the tribe. And the bounty of 100 camels had been placed on the Prophet PBUH, dead or alive. That is an immense amount of money. It's a treasure. And this story is narrated by Suraqa ibn Malik himself after he accepts Islam.
He says he was sitting with his fellow tribesmen. And the news comes that there is a search for three riders: The Prophet PBUH, Abu Bakr RA, and Abdullah ibn Urayqit. Suraqa ibn Malik said he was sitting and one of his people came back and said, "I saw three people in the distance and I am sure this must be the three the Quraysh are looking for." Suraqa ibn Malik got greedy, he wanted the 100 camels for himself, so immediately he lied and said, "Oh, that's not them. That's the party of so-and-so, they told me they are going on an expedition in that region (i.e. That's someone else, I know who they are.)" So everyone sat down.
Suraqa ibn Malik said, when they all forgot about the incident, he slipped away, rushed back home, got his war horse ready, put on his armor, and galloped as fast as he could to the three people. (Even though they were three, Suraqa had bows and arrows, and it said "dead or alive," so he thought he could just kill them without even coming close and get the 100 camels.)
Suraqa says when he saw them for the first time in the distance, all of a sudden his horse sunk into the ground and flipped him over—and it had never done this before. In another version he said he could see a smoke between him and the three riders. So he pulled out his azlam (أزلام - arrows similar to Ouija boards, tarot cards, etc. that they use to 'predict' the future - to ask the pagan gods what to do - i.e. a 'pagan salat al-istikhara' if you will), and he threw out his azlam onto the sand and the response he got was "do not proceed." But he ignored it and kept going, out of greed. The second time he got closer, the exact same thing happened. His horse flew him over, he took out his azlam and it said "do not proceed." But he continued anyway until they were within yelling distance. But the third time it happened again, this time even more violently. After this, he said, "I knew this was a force beyond me. I knew this was a man I could not reach. Beyond my taqah (طاقة / power)" and that, "I knew that the affair of this man (i.e. Islam) would spread."
And Suraqa narrates something interesting: "When I saw them, I saw one of the two always riding in an agitated state, constantly looking right and left, sometimes going behind, sometimes going to the front, etc." And indeed it's because Abu Bakr RA is so worried about the Prophet PBUH. And Suraqa said, "Whereas the other rider was riding so peacefully, not turning once left or right, reciting something (the Qur'an)."
After giving up the 100 camels bounty, he called out to them, "I am a safe person! I'm not going to harm you! Give me permission to come close!" So when he got permission to come forth, Suraqa says he asked the Prophet PBUH to give him protection, in writing. This is truly amazing: One minute he was hunting, the next minute he seeks protection. As he knew that the affair of the Prophet PBUH would spread everywhere. So he wanted protection when that happen. And the Prophet PBUH allowed Abdullah ibn Urayqit to write down protection for Suraqa ibn Malik. (Tangent: And much later on, on the Day of Hunayn [8 AH], when the Prophet PBUH conquered the other tribes outside Makkah, including Suraqa ibn Malik's tribe, Suraqa ibn Malik pulled out this amanah [protection]. The Prophet PBUH recognized him and gave him security, and Suraqa accepted Islam. Suraqa eventually became a well known sahabi, and migrated to Madinah.)
Further, Suraqa ibn Malik offered some food, but they refused. However Abu Bakr RA said, "Do one thing: don't tell anyone about us." And so Suraqa ibn Malik didn't tell anybody about them, and he let them go. (Jumping the gun: Later when the Prophet PBUH reached Madinah safe and sound, eventually Suraqa told everyone what happened, and when the news reached the Quraysh, Abu Jahal wrote a scathing poem addressed to Suraqa, "You are foolish! You let them go?!" etc. Then Suraqa wrote back poetry that, "Had you been there on that day and had seen what I had seen, you would not be saying what you are saying." - this narration is found in Ibn Ishaq.)
Ibn Abd al-Barr says when Suraqa ibn Malik turned to leave, the Prophet PBUH turned to him for the first time and said to him, "O Suraqa, how will you be the day that you put on the bracelets of Kisra?" There was only one Kisra in the world, but Suraqa ibn Malik was so shocked he asked, "Kisra, the son of Hormuz?!" (Note Kisra would wear very expensive gold, decorated bracelets, and jewelry, like the emperor in 300 movie. It was well known and everybody envied him for this.) Within 6-7 years after the Prophet's PBUH death, the Sassanid Empire collapsed in the Battle of al-Qadissiyah, and eventually Persepolis was conquered, and all of the treasures were gathered and sent to Umar RA, and the masjid was filled with treasures and gold. And Umar RA puts Suraqa ibn Malik on his own chair, he finds the bracelets of Kisra, and he puts them on the hand of Suraqa ibn Malik. And the entire congregation starts praising Allah, "Allahu'akbar!" Can you imagine? The bracelets of Kisra! This is the fulfillment of what the Prophet PBUH said. And it's narrated in the version of Ibn Abd al-Barr that they took Suraqa ibn Malik around Madinah with these bracelets. Umar RA said, "Alhamdulillah who has taken these bracelets away from Kisra the son of Hormuz, and given them to Suraqa, a Bedouin from Banu Mudlij." This is one of the many many miracles that are mentioned in the time of the Prophet PBUH.