Epic Immigration

The Epic Immigration (Hijrah)

Before Hijrah – immigration

The idolaters of Makkah deprived themselves of all benefit when they rejected the message and sat on the wayside,  threatening  the believers and wishing it were crooked. Even though their false propaganda which succeeded to prevent many tribes from entering Islam, the truth has eventually to prevail. Allah SWA ordained that a group should arise and rescue Islam from the environment which rejected it. This group was destined to provide the Islamic Dawa with land and stability after it had experienced isolation and homelessness and to enable it to blaze a trail through life when the huge obstacles had been removed from its path.

This change was made by the delegations of came from Yathrib – the old name of Madinah  – to Makkah during the pilgrimage season. The people of Yathrib held the distinction over the rest of the Arabs by being neighbours of the Jews and acquainted with the ideology of Tawheed.
When the pilgrimage season approached and the tribes of Yathrib arrived in Makkah, they saw the prophet Mohammed صلى الله عليه وسلم  inviting people to Allah SWA and their hearts were opened to him. The talk of Islam began to spread gradually in Yathrib, and although it wasn’t given a warm welcome, it was, nevertheless, not received with animosity as in Makkah. Scarcely three years had passed since the new helpers had heard of Islam. Then, they became its refuge and fortress.

The beginning of Hijrah

Muslims called each other from every corner to come to Yathrib. The Hijrah wasn’t only an escape from persecution and torture, it was in fact a movement to establish a new society in a safe country. It became the duty of all able Muslims to assist in the building of this new homeland and to put their utmost efforts into fortifying it and raising its status among the other nations.

The Hijrah wasn’t a mere transfer from a nearby town to a distant one. It was about leaving everything behind for Faith in Allah SWA, to whom belong the Heavens and the earth, and to whom belongs all the praise in this world and the Hereafter, and who is the Wise. It’s only believers who can bear harsh difficulties in the Hijrah. As for the noisy, confused cowards they are unable to withstand any of that, for they are of those about whom Allah SWA said :
وَلَوْ أَنَّا كَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَنِ اقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ أَوِ اخْرُجُوا مِن دِيَارِكُم مَّا فَعَلُوهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ مِّنْهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ فَعَلُوا مَا يُوعَظُونَ بِهِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ وَأَشَدَّ تَثْبِيتًا
If We had ordered them to sacrifice their lives or to leave their homes, very few of them would have done it: But if they had done what they were (actually) told, it would have been best for them, and would have gone farthest to strengthen their (faith);
( Quran Surah 4: Verse 66 )

As for those men who rallied around the prophet Mohammed صلى الله عليه وسلم  in Makkah, acquired the rays of guiding light from him and exhorted one another to the truth and perseverance, they hastened, travelling light, as soon as they were told to migrate to where they would strengthen Islam and be assured of its future.

-End of Part 1-

Written by Shaykh Hazem Hamed 

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