Muhammad The Messenger of Allah [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

THE GREAT IMMIGRATION

The new faith found new grounds to stand firmly an.
Now the Prophet (s.a.w.) ordered his adherents to flee
Mecca, for the purpose of preserving their faith, and to
set out in the direction of Madinah.

Secretly, the groups of the migrants began to arrive in
the city of faith. In the heart of the night, they moved
towards Madinah, leaving behind them their property and
houses for the sake of Allah(45)

Fearing the consequences of the immigration, the Quraish
tried to prevent same of the faithful from going to
Madinah. In that, they achieved same success.

Then came the day when Allah allowed His Prophet
(s.a.w) to immigrate to the blessed land. That was a
consequence of a meeting held by the chiefs of the
Quraish at the hall of council to settle the matter of
the Prophet (s.a.w.) once and far all. There, conflicting
views were expressed. One said: Draw up new agreements
against him. Another proposed killing him. A third one
advised them to turn him out of Mecca.

A third proposal was brought forward which won the
consensus of the participants in the meeting. The
proposal was that a young men should be picked from every
clan of the Quraish, including Bani Hashim. They would be
charged with the task of killing the Prophet (s.a.w.)
with their swords. They would strike their blow together.
As no specific man could be identified as the murderer of
the Prophet (s.a.w.), his blood would he shed, and so
Bani Hashim would not seek vengeance.

Allah, the Mast High, revealed to His Messenger their
plot:

And when those who disbelieved devised plans
against you that they might confine you or slay you or
drive you away; and they devised plans and Allah too had
arranged a plan; and Allah is the best of planners.

Holy Qur'an (8:30)

The Quraish wanted to execute the plan at nightfall,
but Abu-Lahab proposed the break of dawn as mast
suitable. They posted guards around the house of the
Prophet (s.a.w.) so that he would not slip out of their
hands.

Ordering Ali (a.s.) to sleep in his bed and wrap him in
his cloak, the Prophet (s.a.w.) made his way among them
reciting the holy verse:

And We have made before them a barrier and a
barrier behind them, then We have covered them over so
that they do not see.

Holy Qur'an (36:9)

In a certain place, the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.)
met Abu Bakr bin Abi Quhafa(46), and, then, both of them
went into hiding in a cave on Mt. Thawr.

In the early morning, the young men raided the house and
swept into the Prophet's bedroom. Ali (a.s.) sprang to
his feet and asked them angrily, What do you
want?

Where is Muhammad? , they inquired.

Have you placed me as a watchman on him?
Ali retorted.

Haven't you threatened to expel him from your
city? He has left of his own will. (47)

They angrily turned to Abu-Lahab and beat him, saying,
You have been deceiving us all the night!
They set out for the surrounding mountains in search of
the Prophet (s.a.w.). Abu Karz, renowned for his skill in
tracking footprints through the desert led them,
following the tracks of the Prophet (s.a.w.), to the
cave. He could never have gone farther. He must
either have ascended to heaven or sunk into the
earth!',(48)

They examined the entrance to the cave. A spider had
spun its web on the whole mouth of the cave.
Muhammad could not have hidden here, they
thought and they departed.

The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) remained in the cave
three nights. When he was sure that the Quraish had given
up their pursuit, he set out for Madinah, accompanied by
a guide whom he had hired from Mecca.

After a few days they arrived at a place called Quba,
outside Madinah. There, he was received by Kulthum bin
al- Hadm, an old man from the clan of Amru bin Awf.(49)

During his stay there, the Prophet (s.a.w.), built the
mosque of Quba. He waited for Ali bin Abi-Talib, to whom
he had written earlier asking him to hand back the
articles that were entrusted to him to their owners and
then join him.

Acting upon the Prophet's orders, Ali (a.s.) bought
camels on which he carried Fatimah his mother, Fatimah
the daughter of the Prophet (s.a.w.), Fatimah daughter of
al-Zubair bin Abdul-Muttalib, and Fatimah the daughter of
Hamzah. Before leaving, he ordered the weak among the
faithful to immigrate to Madinah by night.(50)

When Ali's caravan reached Quba, the Prophet (s.a.w.)
embraced Ali (a.s.) and broke into tears in sympathy with
him. Ali was worn-out at the end of the tiresome journey.

Only two days after Ali's arrival at Quba the Prophet
(s.a.w.) mounted his camel on his way to Madinah. O
Messenger of Allah, the clan of Amru bin Awf,
gathering around him, said, Stay with us. We are
diligent and filled with fortitude. We will take up arms
and protect you..

Leave her, he pointed to his she-camel,
go her own way. She will decide.(51) The
helpers (Ansar) hurried towards him making a circle round
the camel. The Prophet (s.a.w.) insisted on making way
for his camel. At noon, of that day, a Friday, the
Prophet (s.a.w.) arrived at the residences of the clan of
Salim. They urged him to dismount there. The camel
stopped and sank to the ground. He dismounted and went
into their mosque, which they had built before the
Prophet's arrival, and lead them in prayer. He delivered
a sermon, the first one after his immigration. Then, once
again, proceeded, flanked by the crowds of the faithful.

In expression of their overwhelming happiness, the
women and children went up the roofs and cried loudly and
repeatedly Allahu-Akbar. The Prophet had
arrived in Madinah and the people hospitably and joyfully
received him.

The Prophet could hardly pass a house without their
people coming out and entreating him to stay with them,
O Messenger of Allah, come to power, mightiness and
wealth. In response, the Prophet (s.a.w.)
thankfully smiled at them pointing to his she-camel: Leave
her go her own way. She will decide. The camel
moved on, but, then, at a certain place she sank. It was
at the door of the house of Abu-Ayyub, Khalid bin Zaid
al-Ansari that she stopped and that was the spot where
the Prophet's mosque was then built.

The Prophet (s.a.w.) dismounted, and the wife of Abu
Ayyub hurried to the saddle and took it from the back of
the camel into her house. The Prophet (s.a.w.) was, by
now, the guest of Abu-Ayyub, may Allah be pleased with
him-. He remained there till the mosque was raised and a
circle of houses was built around it.