026 - The Early Emigration to Madinah

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Recap

Recall we began to discuss the preparation for the Hijrah and the two types of Covenants (Bay'ahs) that took place between the Prophet PBUH and the people of Yathrib. The main difference between the first and the second covenant was that the first was a Women's Covenant —based on religious commitment only— and the second was a commitment of protection and war as well as religious. Notice also that the second covenant mentions a defensive protection, not an offensive attack. (Therefore, as we will mention in episode 37, when the Battle of Badr took place, the Prophet PBUH had to basically ask the Ansar, "Are you agreeing [to launch an offensive attack with us against the Quraysh]? Is this fine with you?" — because the second covenant was about defense.)

And right before they gave their oath, for one last time, As'ad ibn Zurarah said, "O people, don't be hasty! We have traveled all this way knowing he is the Messenger of Allah PBUH, but realize this covenant is not like the first one — if you say yes, you will lose children, make women widows, etc. If you are ready to do this, take this oath, or otherwise, excuse yourself now!"—clearly, As'ad is thinking about the future. And when he said this, the people said, "You have spoken enough. Get your hand off the hand of the Prophet PBUH and let us give our bay'ah."

All the while Abbas was standing there displeased, "I don't know any of these people. They are all youngsters." And he was thinking in terms of Jahiliyyah, that there were no elders there. "Why would these youngsters do anything for you?!"—Abbas could not see why the Aws and the Khazraj would be loyal to the Prophet PBUH, and this was what Abbas was worried about. But of course, Allah had already chosen them for the big mission that was to come.

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Shaytan's Cry

In Ibn Hisham, it's narrated that while the oath was going on, they heard a loud voice in the Valley of Mina. The voice cried out, "O people sleeping in the tents (i.e., the hujjaj)! Do you not know that a group of rebels / blameworthy people have gathered together with the Sabi' (صابئ) to wage war against you?!" (Note here a "Sabi'" for the jahili Arabs meant someone who has left the religion of their forefathers [i.e., paganism] and become a monotheist [see episode 18].)

(Footnote: In the Quran, however, the term Sabi'un [صابئون] means something different. Who are the Sabi'un according to the Quran [5:69]? A group that goes back even before Christianity, so much so that they claim to have a book from Sheeth AS [the son of Adam AS]. And they still exist in our times. Very small quantity; roughly 30,000 people. They don't eat pork, have to do ghusl after janaba, etc. — so they clearly have some type of shariah. They come from the land that is the cradle of civilization that has all the religions, subcultures, and sects of the world, which is Iraq. In our times, they are called al-Mandaiyun [المندائيون] or Mandaeans, and they are all Iraqis.)

So a voice cried out in the middle of the night saying, "They are waging war against you under the Sabi' (the Prophet PBUH)." And the Prophet PBUH said, "This is Azab ibn Uzayb (عزب ابن عزيب), the leader of the shayatin of Aqaba. I swear by Allah, O enemy of Allah, I will deal with you."

Typically, shayatin operate in the realm of the ghayb. But this particular shaytan was so affected by the impending transformation and growth of Islam that it could not contain its anxiety any longer, it cried out to the human realm, addressing the people in the tents. And subhan'Allah, the Prophet PBUH knew the name of the shaytan and knew he was the leader.

And we learn from this incident (and other sources) that shayatin typically live in abandoned valleys and places that people don't frequent.

The Ansar, when they heard the cry, said, "Ya Rasulullah! Should we not launch an attack now? If they will fight us, shouldn't we preempt the attack? We are 70 strong, we all have our swords, and they are unarmed." But the Prophet PBUH said, "I have not been commanded to do this," — meaning, 'This is not my methodology to just go kill people like this.'

So the meeting wrapped up quickly, the bay'ah was finished, and the Ansar went back to their tents silently just as they had come.

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The rumors have spread. So the next morning, a delegation from the Quraysh was sent to each camp and they asked, "Do you know of any meeting that took place with this man Muhammad? Did anybody from your tribe meet him?" And when they went to the tents of the Khazraj and asked this, the Muslims of the Khazraj remained silent, and the pagans of them swore by Allah that they had not met with the Prophet PBUH. As Muslims, we are not allowed to lie — so the Muslims of the Khazraj didn't say anything, and basically, they went in behind the oath of the pagans. So the matter was resolved.

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Tangent: Blessings of the Ansar

The incident of the bay'ah clearly shows that the Ansar are developing their Iman. Not only are they the ones who say, "For how long will we let the Prophet PBUH beg tribes for protection? Why don't we adopt him?" but they are the ones who volunteer, "Why don't we launch an offensive attack?" They are so eager to protect the Prophet PBUH. Therefore, when the Battle of Badr took place [episode 37], which was offensive and not defensive, they all volunteered, and none of them held back. Even though the letter of the law was only defensive.

One of the most beautiful blessings of the Ansar is, after the Conquest of Makkah, when the Prophet PBUH gave many of the leaders of the Quraysh and Thaqif large amounts of money [episode 83] —so much so an entire valley full of sheep to one of them— and the Ansar felt, "We are the ones that fought and did all the hardship and yet they get the bulk of the booty?" what did the Prophet PBUH say? He called a meeting just for the Ansar. None of the Muhajirun. (Side note: The fact that the murmuring only happened amongst the Ansar, and not the Muhajirun, shows that the level of the Muhajirun is higher than the Ansar.) The Prophet PBUH made sure there were no Muhajirs in the tent, and he PBUH gave a beautiful and loving speech to the Ansar: "Were it not for the Hijrah, I would have been a man of the Ansar. And if the Ansar went in one direction and all of mankind went in another, I would go in the direction of the Ansar." And then he said, "O people of the Ansar, are you not happy that these people go back with the sheep and dirham and dinar, and you go back with the Messenger of Allah?" Amazing. And of course, at this, they all broke down crying, and they were satisfied.

And the Prophet PBUH said (mentioned in Bukhari), "Loving the Ansar is a part of Iman."

And in another hadith, "Hating the Ansar is a sign of hypocrisy."

Therefore, we must love not only all the sahaba, but the Muhajirun and the Ansar in particular.

In another hadith, he PBUH said, "O Allah, forgive the Ansar and their children."

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Lessons From the Incident of the Bay'ah

1. One of the most important lessons is the element of being genuine and sincere at every opportunity presented to you. The Prophet PBUH was not expecting victory to come from just six people sitting in the middle without a tent, yet he planted the seed and it became the entire Islamic republic.

2. Also, look at how the Prophet PBUH built up the Ansar: Firstly, he talks to them and then they think about it; and some of them perhaps converted; and they come back the next year with the first batch of 12 actual converts; and the Prophet PBUH then sends them back with Mus'ab, and in one year, Islam spreads to at least one household in each subtribe throughout Madinah; and the next year, more than 75 convert, and they invite the Prophet PBUH to come to their city.

3. Also notice the wonderful ways of Allah. Here's the point: When Allah is on your side, everything will always work out for you. Firstly, look at the Battles of Bu'ath. Aisha RA said, "These were a gift Allah gave to the Prophet PBUH." And it was being given when the Prophet PBUH didn't even realize he needed one. When Abu Talib was alive the wars in Madinah were going on. It was not even relevant at the time, but look at what it led to. Also, notice the irony of the Jews who felt themselves superior to the then-pagans of Yathrib. They kept on boasting over them, "We are better than you! We have a Book! We have prophets! We have a civilization! You have nothing! And our prophet has promised us that one prophet is going to come; and when he comes, he will be the conqueror! And we will kill all of you!" For decades, this is being instilled in the Aws and the Khazraj. And as we said in episode 24, this 'dawah' will flip against the very people who are giving it. The very Jews who are saying this will end up rejecting that prophet they were waiting to come and the Message of Islam. Whereas the Ansar, they had been told that a prophet was coming, that he would preach the Message of One God, etc., so as soon as they met the Prophet PBUH, they believed in him. Look at the ways of Allah. Simply amazing! Also, notice how the Iman grows in the Ansar. Again, it's important to point out that they were the ones who offered to sponsor the Prophet PBUH, "Come to our city." The Prophet PBUH did not impose himself on the people of Madinah. They were the ones who wanted the Prophet PBUH to be their ruler. Initially, they were not the majority; but as the people converted, they became the majority.

4. Notice also, out of eagerness, the Ansar said, "Let us just get rid of these people now. Why don't we just launch an offensive while they are asleep in their tents?" — it would have been a bloody massacre — it's the middle of the night, the last day of hajj, and the enemy is unarmed — but what did the Prophet PBUH say? 'This is not our religion [to just go kill people like this].' "This is not what I have been commanded to do." 'Our religion is not about war and bloodshed and killing. That is not what Allah told me to do.' Again and again, we find the clear Message of Islam: It's not about violence and bloodshed. Even in such a situation when the Quraysh have done what they have done, the Prophet PBUH still says, "This is not what I have been commanded to do."

5. Also notice the beauty of the preparations of the Prophet PBUH: This meeting is taking place in the middle of the night on the last night of hajj; the next morning is the end of hajj and everyone is so dead tired and is fast asleep for the journey ahead — so the meeting takes place when the people least suspect it. He also stationed people —Ali, Abu Bakr, et al.— as lookouts to make sure no one was coming. Notice he is the Prophet of Allah [PBUH] and he knows Allah will protect him — yet he is planning a logistical, sensible plan. If this is the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, how about us? We must also have a vision and a realistic, pragmatic plan taking into account the situation of our times.

6. Notice as well, clearly, there is a clear participation of women even in these matters. The Prophet PBUH didn't say, "Keep your women in the tents; don't bring them." The women came and he took their oath. So women clearly have a role to play. And as we mentioned in the previous episode, this second covenant was not the Covenant of Women. It was a covenant of war. Still, those two women gave a promise of protection just like the men did. And indeed, these two lived up to their roles: (i) Asma bint Amr, and (ii) Nusaybah bint Ka'b:

(i) Asma bint Amr (أسماء بنت عمرو) — Sadly, just like the majority of the sahaba, we don't have any detail about her. All that we know is that she was the cousin of Mu'adh ibn Jabal (معاذ بن جبل) RA.

(ii) Nusaybah bint Ka'b (نسيبة بنت كعب) — She participated in the Battle of Uhud [later in 3 AH - episodes 46~50], and was severely wounded in the battle (over 12 wounds). She also witnessed the Oath of Ridwan [in 6 AH - episode 65]. And her son became a general under Khalid ibn al-Walid, and he was martyred in front of her eyes by Musaylimah the Liar in the Battle of Ridda [11-12 AH]. And in her 60s, she participated in the wars against the Romans [the Battle of Yarmouk, 15 AH], and her hand was cut off. She lived up to her oath to the Prophet PBUH. Subhan'Allah.

7. We can see the desperation of shaytan. Generally, he is hidden; yet now, he becomes so overcome with anger, jealousy, and hatred that he is calling out to the people to do something — because he cannot do anything. Allah says in the Quran:

إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا

"Indeed, shaytan is an enemy to you; so take him as an enemy" [35:6].

8. We are already sensing a change in Islam. It is ironic what Abbas said: "These are new faces"—and he meant it in a negative way, but it is actually very true: they are indeed new faces. The new phase of Islam is beginning. From the time of humiliation and weakness, overnight, the Muslims transformed into a state of power and izzah, which will continue to grow and grow.

9. There is a very important point to mention that has a clear ramification in our modern era. When we look at the seerah, we find the Prophet PBUH utilizing different tactics, methodologies, and visions, for different circumstances. We first had the early closed, private dawah of Makkah. We then had the open non-confrontational dawah in Makkah. We then had the political asylum emigration to Abyssinia. We then have the political state emigration to Madinah (which will happen now). And in the Madinan phase, we will have times of peace and times of war with the people of Makkah — sometimes all-out hostility & war (e.g., the Battle of Ahzab), sometimes peace treaties (e.g., the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah).

So the question arises: Are all of these phases equally legitimate for us to apply in our times based on our circumstances? Or is it that the early phases were all just building up to the final phase in Madinah and thus the only legitimate phase to apply in our time is the final phase that the Prophet PBUH died upon?

This is a classic controversy. It goes back to the earliest scholars. A small minority of them, e.g., Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (d. 456 AH), said, "All of the earlier phases cannot be used. We must go with the last phase, which is all-out offensive war" — and Ibn Hazm was writing at a time of the beginning of the political decline of Andalus, so there was a level of desperation. However, this is a minority opinion. The majority of scholars have always understood that other phases were *not* abrogated — there is no reason to consider them to be abrogated. And therefore, our religion has given us many options politically.

Some groups only have one vision for the whole ummah, whatever that might be. E.g., the Ikhwan, Jamaat-e-Islami, Hizb al-Tahrir, etc. — they have one unified vision for the entire ummah. But this is not very wise. It is not academic, and reality does not work that way. Every group of people needs to look at their own situation. What is happening in Pakistan is not what is happening in Egypt. What is happening in Egypt is not what is happening in Tunisia and Algeria. What is happening in Algeria and other Muslim lands is not what is happening in America. Even in Western countries, what is happening in France is not what is happening in America. If you study the political climates of every country, you will find so many scenarios and circumstances unique to every country. So with respect to all the groups, the scholars of each locality need to study the seerah afresh and anew; they need to study it in light of their circumstances. The seerah will always be a source of inspiration, a source of model, a source of looking at how to live our lives — so we should always go back to the seerah and find that which is the most suitable for our time and place. One of the models that is closest to the model of Muslims in the West is the model of the Muslims in Abyssinia. Of course, we will never get a 100% hand-fitting glove; but we have an overall model. E.g., they had no political ambition to conquer Abyssinia. Their goal was to worship Allah SWT in peace. They had no political ambitions to challenge the authority of the status quo. They had their business to worship Allah in peace; and the political system is what it is. This is a basic premise we as UK or American Muslims can use. As for other lands, let the scholars of those lands look and deal with their own situation. There is no question that the perfect vision is that of Madinah — but all other phases are equally acceptable. We have options to choose from, and that is the beauty of the seerah.

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And thus, the Second Bay'ah was completed. The Ansar returned home even more excited waiting for the Prophet PBUH to come to their city of Yathrib, which would later be called the Madinatu Rasulillah PBUH.

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The Land the Muslims Shall Migrate to

After the Covenant of Aqaba, the Prophet PBUH made an announcement to the Muslims, "Allah has shown me the land you shall emigrate to. [I saw it in a dream.] It is a land of date palms between two volcanic plains." And indeed, Madinah is in the middle of two volcanoes on either side, and has date palms. According to one narration, the Prophet PBUH announced it, but he did not specifically know what city it was; so he speculated, "I have been shown it, and I think it is such-and-such" — and then a few days later, it was made clear, he said, "Allah has told me it is Yathrib."

In one version, he said, "I thought it might be Khaybar, but it is in fact Yathrib." In another version, he said, "I thought it might be [...and he mentioned a land in Yemen]." — Because there are only a few places in the Arabian Peninsula that have date palms in a large amount. Khaybar and that place in Yemen are among the candidates, but both don't have volcanic mounts around them. Only Madinah has both of these signs. So in a later hadith, the Prophet PBUH said, "Allah has told me it is [in fact] Yathrib."

So he gave the Muslims permission to emigrate. So the Muslims began emigrating by ones and twos, secretly. None of them did so in public except for one or two exceptions as we will come to. The reason they emigrate secretly is of course because the Quraysh would not be willing to allow them to emigrate.

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Migration to Madinah: The Family of Abu Salama

It is said the first person to emigrate was Abu Salama ibn Abd al-Asad (أبو سلمة بن عبد الأسد), the husband of Ummi Salama (who was to become the wife of the Prophet PBUH later on).

(Backgrounds of Abu Salama: Abu Salama was a man who was a free nobleman, but was not a Qureshi, and he moved to Makkah to live with his wife, Ummi Salama, who was a Qureshi. He and his wife both moved to Abyssinia during the first emigration, and when the 'satanic verses' incident happened, they came back to Makkah and decided to stay.)

Abu Salama gathered his belongings, put his wife and his one son on his camel, and he made his way out. He was the first to emigrate and didn't know how the Quraysh would react, so he didn't do it secretly. (And it is said that the following incident that took place is the reason why people started migrating secretly.) Everybody in Makkah knew he was about to leave. The news spreads amongst the people, so when he leaves, the Quraysh come and confront him with their weapons. And they said, "O Abu Salama, where do you think you are going?" He said, "I am a free man [so I can go wherever I want]; I am leaving for Yathrib." They said, "As for you, yes, we have no right over you. But as for your wife, she is ours. And we won't let you take her or her son, as he is our son" — not that they have any interest in Ummi Salama or her son; it is just pure zulm (ظلم - oppression). So they forced him to leave his wife and child and expelled him. Everything is taken from him including his wife and son. When Abu Salama's tribe found out that he had been treated this way, their Jahiliyyah got the better of them, and they marched to the Quraysh and said, "As for the lady, she is yours; but this boy is ours!" And they tried to take the boy, but the Quraysh held on to him, so it became a tug of war with a two-year-old until his hand was dislocated! And Ummi Salama cried out, "Let them take the boy!" This is all just Jahiliyyah; not that either party cares about the boy — it is just the issue of arrogance.

So Abu Salama's tribe took the baby, Ummi Salama is left with the Quraysh, and Abu Salama goes to Madinah alone. And Ummi Salama narrates this story herself: "For more than 16 months, I would go to al-Bat'ha (البطحاء) (the farthest place outside of Makkah that is still within view of the city), crying every day, not able to do anything" — because that is where her child and her husband have gone. And she continues, "Until finally, some of my cousins had sympathy for me, and they begged the elders of the Banu Makhzum to let me go."

So she went to the tribe of her husband, and by this time, the tempers had calmed down, so they gave back the boy, so she took the boy, and walked into the desert, and set out for Madinah, putting her trust in Allah, "I need to get to Madinah somehow." And she says by the time she reached Tan'im (تنعيم) (where Masjid Ayesha is in our times), she met Uthman ibn Talha (عثمان بن طلحة) (not a Muslim at this time) — and he sees her all alone in a dangerous place, he asks her, "What are you doing?" She says, "I am going to my husband, Abu Salama, in Yathrib." He says, "You are all alone?" She says, "I have no one." So Uthman says, "Wallahi, this will not be. I will take you (to your husband in Yathrib)."

Ummi Salama, when she was narrating this story to the sahaba, said, "I don't think there is any more noble gentleman amongst all of the Arabs than Uthman ibn Talha. He walked on foot [and let us ride his camel] the entire way, from Makkah to Madinah. And he didn't say a word to me. And when it was time to stop, he would tell the camel to come down, and he would go forward and turn his back on me (to protect my modesty — because I am a woman). When I would get down, he would put me under the tree to let me sleep, and he would sleep by the camel. And then in the morning, I would get back on the camel. And we proceeded this way, until finally, I could see the houses of Yathrib, and he said, 'Your husband is over there,' and he let me go on the camel." This is Uthman ibn Talha. Not even a Muslim at this time. Would we have done even a fraction of this? From Makkah to Madinah, *walking*? This was at least a 2-week journey, one way. And on the way back, he didn't even have a camel.

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Tangent: Blessings of Uthman ibn Talha

No doubt, Allah will reward him. No doubt. And who is this man? Allah gave him the honor of being the very last batch of converts before the Conquest of Makkah [8 AH - see episode 72]. He, Amr ibn al-As, and Khalid ibn al-Walid would do Hijrah right before the Conquest of Makkah. And converting before the Conquest is a big honor, as this is a sign of a genuine conversion to Islam. Indeed, Allah says:

لَا يَسْتَوِي مِنكُم مَّنْ أَنفَقَ مِن قَبْلِ الْفَتْحِ وَقَاتَلَ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ أَعْظَمُ دَرَجَةً مِّنَ الَّذِينَ أَنفَقُوا مِن بَعْدُ وَقَاتَلُوا

"Those of you who donated and fought before the victory (i.e., the Conquest of Makkah) are unparalleled. They are far greater in rank than those who donated and fought afterwards" [Quran, 57:10]. And then in the Conquest of Makkah, when Makkah was conquered, the Prophet PBUH handed out the big prizes of the Ka'bah, that is (i) the siqaya (سقاية - the right to give water to the pilgrims), and (ii) the right to the key of the Ka'bah. Abbas was given the siqaya, and he wanted the key as well, but at this, Allah revealed:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تُؤَدُّوا الْأَمَانَاتِ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهَا

"Indeed, Allah commands you to return trusts to their rightful owners" [Quran, 4:58]. So the Prophet PBUH gave the key to Ali ibn Abi Talib and said, "Go give this to Uthman ibn Talha, and it shall be with him and his descendants until the Day of Judgment. And anybody who tries to take it from him will be a zalim (ظالم - transgressor)." So Ali went and gave it to Uthman ibn Talha. Uthman said, "I thought you guys (the Banu Hashim) were getting it"—because the news spread that Abbas wanted it. Ali said, "Allah revealed in the Quran this about you"—that basically they had to give the key to Uthman.

Can you believe that for the last 14½ centuries, the key has been amongst his descendants? To this day, the keeper of the keys of the Ka'bah is from the descendants of Uthman ibn Talha. Subhan'Allah. This shows that if you do good, Allah will reward you. Uthman ibn Talha showed respect and honor, and who was it to? Ummi Salama, the future wife of the Prophet PBUH.

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Migration to Madinah: Suhayb al-Rumi

There are many other stories as well. Of the famous stories is the story of Suhayb al-Rumi (صهيب الرومي), the only sahabi who spoke fluent Latin.

(Backgrounds of Suhayb al-Rumi: He was not a Roman. He was originally from a northern Arabian tribe. But he was conquered in the days of Jahiliyyah, and sold into slavery to the Romans. So he grew up amongst the Romans. It's also said he had a ruddy complexion, so this gave him the laqab "Suhayb al-Rumi [Suhayb the Roman]." It is even said that he spoke Arabic with an accent. So he is ethnically Arab, but his culture was Roman. One of his masters sold him back eventually to an Arab, and he ended up in the house of Abdullah ibn Jud'an, a distant relative of Aisha RA. Suhayb then worked his way to freedom, and became a businessman. He was clearly intelligent. [See also: episode 14.] And Suhayb's closest friend was Ammar ibn Yasir; and they both accepted Islam together — both among the early converts.)

So Suhayb decided to leave as well for Yathrib. He tried to be secret, but eventually, news spread, since Makkah was a small town and everybody was watching everybody, and if you were going to leave, you had to pack your stuff, have a certain mount, a lot of baggage for the food, water, etc., so it was not easy to be surreptitious. So the Quraysh heard about this, they surrounded him on the outskirts, and tried to stop him. Suhayb took out his bow and arrow and said, "O people of Quraysh, I have 40 arrows in my quiver. And I swear by Allah that none of you will get to me until I have used all 40. And then when you get to me, here is my sword. And I swear by Allah, nobody will be able to get me until I get to him first." And as they were wondering what to do, Suhayb said, "What if I were to tell you where I hid all of my wealth?" — in those days, there was no bank account you could transfer money to; so you had to hide your wealth somewhere. So Suhayb said, "What if I tell you where all of my wealth is? Will you let me go?" They said, "Okay, deal."

So Suhayb told them everything. So he literally arrived in Madinah with just the clothes on his back. After having won his freedom, after having become a mini-businessman, and after having a decent amount of wealth, he literally arrived in Madinah to start completely from scratch. And as soon as the Prophet PBUH saw him, he smiled and said, "Allah has revealed in the Quran about you, O Suhayb!"

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْرِي نَفْسَهُ ابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاتِ اللَّهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ رَءُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ

"There are those who sell themselves (sell everything) for the sake of Allah. And Allah is kind to [His] servants" [Quran, 2:207].

And the Prophet PBUH said, "O Abu Yahya (أبو يحيى) (Suhayb's nickname), your transaction has been successful! Your transaction has been successful!" Without Suhayb telling him, the Prophet PBUH knew what had happened. Of course, it was Jibril who told him what Suhayb had done.

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Migration to Madinah: Umar ibn al-Khattab, Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi'ah, and Hisham ibn al-As

When Umar RA decided to emigrate, he chose as his companions for the journey two other sahaba, and they are Hisham ibn al-As (هشام بن العاص) (the brother of Amr ibn al-As) and Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi'ah (عياش بن أبي ربيعة). The deal was that they planned to meet up on such-and-such a day at a certain valley outside of Makkah, and when dawn breaks, whoever is there will go, and whoever is not there will be assumed was stopped by circumstances.

At the appointed time, Hisham did not show up, so Ayyash and Umar migrated to Madinah without him. And they made it to Madinah.

Some days later, Abu Jahal and his brother, who were both half-brothers of Ayyash, traveled all the way to Madinah and said to Ayyash, "O Ayyash, don't you know what you have done? Do you know the state of our mother after you have left? She cannot eat or drink; she has made a promise to Allah that she will sit in the sun with no shade until she sees you. And she has made her hair completely full of lice. She is on the verge of death," etc. — it is emotional blackmail. So Ayyash decided to go back with his brothers to Makkah. At this, Umar RA said, "They are tricking you! If she is hungry, she can eat food; if she has lice, she can shave her hair off. You don't have to go back and do that for her." But Ayyash insisted and said, "No, I will be a good son. Let me go back to my mother and sort her affairs out, and then come back. I also have some money to collect as well now that everything is secure here." Umar RA said, "If it is money, wallahi, I will give you all that you want. Don't go! If it is your mother, she will deal with herself." But Abu Jahal kept on insisting, so Ayyash's heart melted and decided to go back. Umar RA still knew they were tricking him, so he pulled Ayyash aside and told him, "Look, if you are going to go, take my camel. For my camel is faster and stronger than theirs. And if you find any treachery, ride back immediately to Madinah." So Umar RA is bending over backward just to help out Ayyash.

Ayyash goes back with them. And eventually, as the road goes on, they start chit-chatting, opening up, laughing and joking. When Ayyash started getting comfortable, Abu Jahal said, "Oh, looks like my camel is weary and tired. Why don't we just ride on yours, because it is stronger. Let me ride on your camel and let mine take a break." So Ayyash made his camel sit down to let Abu Jahal ride — and as soon as he did this, they jumped on him, tied him up, made him a prisoner, took him back to Makkah in this state, and marched him all around town saying, "This is how we treat our fools!" The Prophet PBUH was still in Makkah at this time, and he saw this.

Further, Ayyash discovered that Hisham (the one they were supposed to meet to migrate together) was also being held prisoner. And he got thrown into the dungeon with Hisham — the Quraysh set up a prison in Makkah special for these two.

Flash forward: Later, when the Prophet PBUH migrated, he made du'a qunut (قنوت) for them and all the oppressed in Makkah: "O Allah, save Ayyash, save Hisham, save the mustad'afin (مستضعفين - the vulnerable), and send your Punishment upon the Quraysh." And he PBUH kept on asking the Muslims, "Who will volunteer to save Ayyash? Who will volunteer to save Hisham?" To go and save them meant walking into the lion's den, so understandably, nobody was eager to undertake the task. However, finally, al-Walid ibn al-Walid (الوليد بن الوليد), the older brother of Khalid ibn al-Walid, volunteered. He said, "I will do it, O Messenger of Allah!" And so, he traveled to Makkah, entered it in the middle of the night, and Allah AWJ blessed him to find out where the dungeon was, and he broke into it, cut the bonds of Ayyash and Hisham, rescued both of them, and brought them back to Madinah. Subhan'Allah.

[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, October 2023]