Last week, we mentioned the tortures of the sahaba, especially those who were not of the Quraysh. They were not protected by the society of Makkah.
Torture to the Prophet PBUH
What happened with the Prophet PBUH himself? Did he undergo any physical torture, pain, and suffering? There is no question he had plenty of emotional torture from the opposition, but how about physically?
Even though the Qureshi Muslims had protection, they were not completely unharmed. We have a number of reports in which the Prophet PBUH was physically harmed. The Prophet PBUH sometimes was protected by Allah SWT, but sometimes —in Allah's Divine wisdom— he was not protected.
Instances where the Prophet PBUH underwent persecution include:
1. Abu Jahal was boasting to his peers and swore by al-Lat and al-Uzza that the next time he sees the Prophet PBUH, he will put his foot on his neck when he's in sajdah and throw sand onto him. The Prophet PBUH was one of the few Muslims who would pray publicly in front of the Ka'bah. Abu Hurairah narrated: The Prophet PBUH came that day and he started praying. And when he went into sajdah, Abu Jahal came forward to try to put his foot on his neck. But before he got to the Prophet PBUH, he (Abu Jahal) started walking backward and started pushing with his hands away. The people asked him (Abu Jahal) when he returned, "What happened?" Abu Jahal said he saw between him and the Prophet PBUH a pit of fire, and there were wings hovering above it. The Prophet PBUH told his Companions later: The fire (seen by Abu Jahal) was brought by the angels; had Abu Jahal taken one step closer, the angels would have shredded him to bits.
Instances where the Prophet PBUH underwent persecution include:
1. Abu Jahal was boasting to his peers and swore by al-Lat and al-Uzza that the next time he sees the Prophet PBUH, he will put his foot on his neck when he's in sajdah and throw sand onto him. The Prophet PBUH was one of the few Muslims who would pray publicly in front of the Ka'bah. Abu Hurairah narrated: The Prophet PBUH came that day and he started praying. And when he went into sajdah, Abu Jahal came forward to try to put his foot on his neck. But before he got to the Prophet PBUH, he (Abu Jahal) started walking backward and started pushing with his hands away. The people asked him (Abu Jahal) when he returned, "What happened?" Abu Jahal said he saw between him and the Prophet PBUH a pit of fire, and there were wings hovering above it. The Prophet PBUH told his Companions later: The fire (seen by Abu Jahal) was brought by the angels; had Abu Jahal taken one step closer, the angels would have shredded him to bits.
And because of this incident, Allah SWT revealed the conclusion of Surah al-Alaq:
In this instance, Abu Jahal was unsuccessful.
2. Narrated in Bukhari — Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As (عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص) was asked by Urwah ibn al-Zubayr about what was the worst that he saw happen to the Prophet PBUH. He says once, when the Prophet PBUH was praying by the Ka'bah, Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt (1 of the top 5 enemies of Islam, who stooped to lowly tactics, arguably even worse than Abu Jahal) came from behind, took off his thobe/garment, and he threw it around the neck of the Prophet PBUH, and began to choke him. The Prophet PBUH was struggling, but the people did not intervene. Until finally, Abu Bakr was told, "Your companion is being tortured," and he rushed to the Ka'bah and attacked Uqba. And he said to him:
In this instance, Allah AWJ willed that Abu Bakr saved the Prophet PBUH.
3. Emotional harm. Ibn Mas'ud narrates in Sahih Muslim[1]: "Once, the Prophet PBUH was praying at the Ka'bah; and Abu Jahal and his peers were sitting around. Abu Jahal said, referring to the camel that had been slaughtered the previous day, 'Who will bring the entrails of the camel and throw it on the back of Muhammad when he is praying to his Lord?' The worst of them, Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt, goes to the dead carcass, pulls out the entrails of the camel, and when the Prophet PBUH goes into sajdah, Uqba dumped all the intestine, entrails, etc., on the Prophet PBUH. [The weight of it was so heavy that the Prophet PBUH could not lift himself up!] The people began to laugh so hard that some of them had to fall onto their sides, and others were hitting themselves; and I was standing at the distance looking, but I didn't have mun'ah (منعة - protection) (i.e., there was nobody that would have supported me, i.e., I had no way to help). The Prophet PBUH remained in sajdah until someone went to tell Fatima, his daughter, that, 'You need to help your father.' She was a young girl (around 8 years old), and she began crying and running toward the Prophet PBUH, and she helped him get the entrails off of his back. When the Prophet PBUH finished his prayer, he faced them, raised his voice, and made du'a against them by name. When the Quraysh saw him in this fashion, they became quiet, and their faces turned pale out of fear. The Prophet PBUH mentioned each of their names three times. The people mentioned in the du'a were:
كَلَّآ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَيَطْغَىٰٓ
أَن رَّءَاهُ ٱسْتَغْنَىٰٓ
إِنَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ ٱلرُّجْعَىٰٓ
أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يَنْهَىٰ
عَبْدًا إِذَا صَلَّىٰ
أَرَأَيْتَ إِن كَانَ عَلَى الْهُدَىٰ
أَوْ أَمَرَ بِالتَّقْوَىٰ
أَرَأَيْتَ إِن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ
أَلَمْ يَعْلَم بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَرَىٰ
كَلَّا لَئِن لَّمْ يَنتَهِ لَنَسْفَعًا بِالنَّاصِيَةِ
نَاصِيَةٍ كَاذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍ
فَلْيَدْعُ نَادِيَهُ
سَنَدْعُ الزَّبَانِيَةَ
كَلَّا لَا تُطِعْهُ وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِب
"Most certainly, one exceeds all bounds once they think they are self-sufficient. [But] surely to your Lord is the return [of all]. Have you seen the man who prevents a servant [of Ours] from praying? What if this [servant] is [rightly] guided, or encourages righteousness? What if that [man] persists in denial and turns away? Does he not know that Allah sees [all]? But no! If he does not desist, We will certainly drag him by the forelock — a lying, sinful forelock. So let him call his associates. We will call the wardens of Hell. Again, no! Never obey him [O Prophet]! Rather, [continue to] prostrate and draw near [to Allah]" [Quran, 96:6-19].In this instance, Abu Jahal was unsuccessful.
2. Narrated in Bukhari — Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As (عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص) was asked by Urwah ibn al-Zubayr about what was the worst that he saw happen to the Prophet PBUH. He says once, when the Prophet PBUH was praying by the Ka'bah, Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt (1 of the top 5 enemies of Islam, who stooped to lowly tactics, arguably even worse than Abu Jahal) came from behind, took off his thobe/garment, and he threw it around the neck of the Prophet PBUH, and began to choke him. The Prophet PBUH was struggling, but the people did not intervene. Until finally, Abu Bakr was told, "Your companion is being tortured," and he rushed to the Ka'bah and attacked Uqba. And he said to him:
أتقتلون رجلا أن يقول ربي الله
"Are you going to kill a person just because he says, 'My Lord is Allah'?!"In this instance, Allah AWJ willed that Abu Bakr saved the Prophet PBUH.
3. Emotional harm. Ibn Mas'ud narrates in Sahih Muslim[1]: "Once, the Prophet PBUH was praying at the Ka'bah; and Abu Jahal and his peers were sitting around. Abu Jahal said, referring to the camel that had been slaughtered the previous day, 'Who will bring the entrails of the camel and throw it on the back of Muhammad when he is praying to his Lord?' The worst of them, Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt, goes to the dead carcass, pulls out the entrails of the camel, and when the Prophet PBUH goes into sajdah, Uqba dumped all the intestine, entrails, etc., on the Prophet PBUH. [The weight of it was so heavy that the Prophet PBUH could not lift himself up!] The people began to laugh so hard that some of them had to fall onto their sides, and others were hitting themselves; and I was standing at the distance looking, but I didn't have mun'ah (منعة - protection) (i.e., there was nobody that would have supported me, i.e., I had no way to help). The Prophet PBUH remained in sajdah until someone went to tell Fatima, his daughter, that, 'You need to help your father.' She was a young girl (around 8 years old), and she began crying and running toward the Prophet PBUH, and she helped him get the entrails off of his back. When the Prophet PBUH finished his prayer, he faced them, raised his voice, and made du'a against them by name. When the Quraysh saw him in this fashion, they became quiet, and their faces turned pale out of fear. The Prophet PBUH mentioned each of their names three times. The people mentioned in the du'a were:
i. Abu Jahal ibn Hisham (أبو جهل بن هشام)
ii. Utbah ibn Rabi'ah (عتبة بن ربيعة)
iii. Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah (شيبة بن ربيعة)
iv. Walid ibn Uqba (الوليد بن عقبة)
v. Umayyah ibn Khalaf (أمية بن خلف)
vi. Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt (عقبة بن أبي معيط)
vii. (Ibn Mas'ud mentioned one more name, but the narrator of the hadith forgot his name)."
Ibn Mas'ud further said, "I swear by the One who sent Muhammad PBUH with the Truth, that I myself saw every one of these seven *dead* in the Battle of Badr. I saw their bodies dragged into the well and thrown into the Well of Badr"—Allah took care of all of them in the very first engagement in Islam [see episodes 36-42].
4. Assassination plots were being conjured up of the Prophet PBUH. These began in the 8-9th year of the dawah. Ibn Ishaq narrated a lady neighbor told Fatima about the Quraysh's assassination plan. The Prophet PBUH was told by Fatima, and he said, "Fear not. Allah AWJ will take care of me. Bring me water." And he PBUH did wudu, made du'a to Allah SWT, and he walked into the Ka'bah area. The people were armed and ready to kill him; but not one of them could move — they all became paralyzed and could not stand up. The Prophet PBUH took some sand, threw it at their faces while they were sitting, and said, "May these faces be cursed." And in this narration as well, the sahabi who narrated says, "Every one of these was of those who were killed in the Battle of Badr."
ii. Utbah ibn Rabi'ah (عتبة بن ربيعة)
iii. Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah (شيبة بن ربيعة)
iv. Walid ibn Uqba (الوليد بن عقبة)
v. Umayyah ibn Khalaf (أمية بن خلف)
vi. Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt (عقبة بن أبي معيط)
vii. (Ibn Mas'ud mentioned one more name, but the narrator of the hadith forgot his name)."
Ibn Mas'ud further said, "I swear by the One who sent Muhammad PBUH with the Truth, that I myself saw every one of these seven *dead* in the Battle of Badr. I saw their bodies dragged into the well and thrown into the Well of Badr"—Allah took care of all of them in the very first engagement in Islam [see episodes 36-42].
4. Assassination plots were being conjured up of the Prophet PBUH. These began in the 8-9th year of the dawah. Ibn Ishaq narrated a lady neighbor told Fatima about the Quraysh's assassination plan. The Prophet PBUH was told by Fatima, and he said, "Fear not. Allah AWJ will take care of me. Bring me water." And he PBUH did wudu, made du'a to Allah SWT, and he walked into the Ka'bah area. The people were armed and ready to kill him; but not one of them could move — they all became paralyzed and could not stand up. The Prophet PBUH took some sand, threw it at their faces while they were sitting, and said, "May these faces be cursed." And in this narration as well, the sahabi who narrated says, "Every one of these was of those who were killed in the Battle of Badr."
And there are many more incidents as well.
Questions that come to people's minds: If Allah loves the prophets and the believers, why were they tested in this fashion and manner? What is the wisdom in such hardship? Why not just protect the believers and give them immediate victory? What is the purpose of the greatest man on earth being tortured?
There are many reasons:
1. Allah is reminding them —and through them, reminding us— that He did not create us to live a comfortable life in this world. There is a purpose for Allah creating us, and that purpose is the Next world [see Quran, 67:2]. We live in this world to earn Allah's mercy that will get us to Paradise. We have to do something to gain that mercy from Allah. No doubt, Paradise is too precious to be earned by a lifetime of good — no matter what you do, it's too much to be earned — but Allah will magnify the small [good] that you do, and that will then give you Allah's blessings, and that will then give you Paradise.
Allah tests mankind to see those who are pure, firmly believe in Him, worthy of being blessed in the akhira, vs. those who are not. Allah SWT says in Surah al-Ankabut (سورة العنكبوت):
And in Surah al-Baqarah:
2. We learn that the blessings of Allah are earned through trial and struggle.
3. Through these struggles, the sahaba clearly demonstrated their superiority over us. It's not just a Speech of Allah that, "Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him" [Quran, 9:100]; it's not just a speech of the Prophet PBUH that, "My sahaba are the best of all generations"—you see it in what the sahaba did and how they lived their lives.
4. They were tested so that we can have real examples —shining lights of guidance— such that when we face trial and tribulation, we can take comfort/find solace/find role models. And subhan'Allah, there is no society that has undergone the type of persecution that the early Muslims of Makkah did. And therefore, every persecution that takes place, we can find some type of comfort when we look at what happened to the early sahaba.
When the number of the sahaba reached around 20-30, the Prophet PBUH realized he needed a place to congregate. And it had to be a secret place, as a lot of the Muslims were secret Muslims — they hadn't informed their relatives and friends; especially some of the slaves who had converted, they hadn't told their masters. And there was no "mosque" yet at this stage. (Masjid Quba [مسجد قباء] was the first mosque in Islam, built much later on [in the Madani phase — see episode 31].) So the Prophet PBUH decided to choose the house of al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam (الأرقم بن أبي الأرقم) to congregate. So Dar al-Arqam (دار الأرقم) became the place where the sahaba would meet. When did this happen? We estimate it was around the middle of the 3rd, or the beginning of the 4th, year of the dawah. So this happened a few months after the dawah went public. Recall after 3 years, the dawah went public, and that's when the persecution began [see episode 12] — so the Prophet PBUH shortly after this chose a meeting place.
Question: Why the house of al-Arqam? What is the wisdom behind choosing the house of al-Arqam? The books of seerah do not mention this, so we need to study who is al-Arqam, where his house was — and then we try to derive some wisdoms:
1. Al-Arqam was a nobleman from the tribe of Banu Makhzum (the tribe of Abu Jahal). So automatically, no one would suspect that a Makhzumi would help a Hashimi, because there was a huge rivalry between them. So the Prophet PBUH chose someone from a rival tribe.
2. Al-Arqam was of the first 10 people to accept Islam. So he can be completely trusted.
3. According to one report, al-Arqam was a young man who inherited this property from his father. And this adds to the disguise — nobody would think an 18/19-year-old would risk it all to help the Prophet PBUH.
4. According to another report, he did not announce his Islam — so this was an added cover of secrecy.
5. The house of al-Arqam was located behind the Mountain of Safa. And this mountain was in the center of Makkah. And why would you want a secret meeting place smack in the middle of Makkah, right under the Quraysh's noses? Traffic. Everybody had to go to the Ka'bah area every single day, so getting to that area, people walking to and fro was the most natural thing in the world. And so when they walked in, people would think they were walking into the Haram. When they walked out, people would think they were walking out of the Haram. It was a location where it would be very easy to explain why you are walking to and from that direction. (And they probably ensured they went to the Haram for a while as well so that no suspicions were raised.)
6. His house must have been large. Because we had at least 40 people congregating in it. So this clearly means the house of al-Arqam must have been large.
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Why Were the Believers Tested?
Questions that come to people's minds: If Allah loves the prophets and the believers, why were they tested in this fashion and manner? What is the wisdom in such hardship? Why not just protect the believers and give them immediate victory? What is the purpose of the greatest man on earth being tortured?
There are many reasons:
1. Allah is reminding them —and through them, reminding us— that He did not create us to live a comfortable life in this world. There is a purpose for Allah creating us, and that purpose is the Next world [see Quran, 67:2]. We live in this world to earn Allah's mercy that will get us to Paradise. We have to do something to gain that mercy from Allah. No doubt, Paradise is too precious to be earned by a lifetime of good — no matter what you do, it's too much to be earned — but Allah will magnify the small [good] that you do, and that will then give you Allah's blessings, and that will then give you Paradise.
Allah tests mankind to see those who are pure, firmly believe in Him, worthy of being blessed in the akhira, vs. those who are not. Allah SWT says in Surah al-Ankabut (سورة العنكبوت):
أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ
وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۖ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ
"Do people think once they say, 'We believe,' that they will be left without being put to the test? We certainly tested those before them. And [in this way] Allah will clearly distinguish between those who are truthful and those who are liars" [Quran, 29:2-3].And in Surah al-Baqarah:
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِن قَبْلِكُم ۖ مَّسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ
"Do you think you will be admitted into Paradise without being tested like those before you? They were afflicted with suffering and adversity and were so [violently] shaken that [even] the Messenger and the believers with him cried out, 'When will Allah's help come?' Indeed, Allah's help is [always] near" [Quran, 2:214].2. We learn that the blessings of Allah are earned through trial and struggle.
إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا
"Surely, with difficulty comes ease" [Quran, 94:6]. We learn this from the incident of Khabbab, when he came complaining to the Prophet PBUH (rightfully so, as he was tortured with fire), "O Messenger of Allah, for how long are we going to suffer like this?" and the Prophet PBUH said, "Indeed, the people before you were tortured worse than you, with hot iron combs that would strip his flesh, with a saw or knife that would cut him in half, and still that would not turn them away from the worship of Allah. Verily, I swear to you by the One who has sent me, Allah will perfect this matter (religion) to such an extent that [you will see a day when] a Muslim shepherdess takes her flock from Sana'a to Hadhramaut and she will fear none but Allah, or a wolf attacking her sheep. (Meaning there will be so much peace and security that she won't have to worry about anybody attacking her flock.) But you are being hasty"—Allah SWT will fulfill His promise, but there will be trials in the beginning. (Note: Persecutions that the Prophet PBUH described in this hadith happened to the Christians under the [pagan] Roman rule. Emperor Nero would use the Christians as light bulbs — he would douse the Christians with petrol, and light them as light bulbs. They were persecuted very severely, *yet* they did not swerve away from the worship of God/Allah.) Allah is going to give you victory, but you need to be patient. Even the prophets of Allah were not handed the blessings on a silver platter. They needed to struggle to earn it.3. Through these struggles, the sahaba clearly demonstrated their superiority over us. It's not just a Speech of Allah that, "Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him" [Quran, 9:100]; it's not just a speech of the Prophet PBUH that, "My sahaba are the best of all generations"—you see it in what the sahaba did and how they lived their lives.
4. They were tested so that we can have real examples —shining lights of guidance— such that when we face trial and tribulation, we can take comfort/find solace/find role models. And subhan'Allah, there is no society that has undergone the type of persecution that the early Muslims of Makkah did. And therefore, every persecution that takes place, we can find some type of comfort when we look at what happened to the early sahaba.
______________
The House of al-Arqam
When the number of the sahaba reached around 20-30, the Prophet PBUH realized he needed a place to congregate. And it had to be a secret place, as a lot of the Muslims were secret Muslims — they hadn't informed their relatives and friends; especially some of the slaves who had converted, they hadn't told their masters. And there was no "mosque" yet at this stage. (Masjid Quba [مسجد قباء] was the first mosque in Islam, built much later on [in the Madani phase — see episode 31].) So the Prophet PBUH decided to choose the house of al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam (الأرقم بن أبي الأرقم) to congregate. So Dar al-Arqam (دار الأرقم) became the place where the sahaba would meet. When did this happen? We estimate it was around the middle of the 3rd, or the beginning of the 4th, year of the dawah. So this happened a few months after the dawah went public. Recall after 3 years, the dawah went public, and that's when the persecution began [see episode 12] — so the Prophet PBUH shortly after this chose a meeting place.
Question: Why the house of al-Arqam? What is the wisdom behind choosing the house of al-Arqam? The books of seerah do not mention this, so we need to study who is al-Arqam, where his house was — and then we try to derive some wisdoms:
1. Al-Arqam was a nobleman from the tribe of Banu Makhzum (the tribe of Abu Jahal). So automatically, no one would suspect that a Makhzumi would help a Hashimi, because there was a huge rivalry between them. So the Prophet PBUH chose someone from a rival tribe.
2. Al-Arqam was of the first 10 people to accept Islam. So he can be completely trusted.
3. According to one report, al-Arqam was a young man who inherited this property from his father. And this adds to the disguise — nobody would think an 18/19-year-old would risk it all to help the Prophet PBUH.
4. According to another report, he did not announce his Islam — so this was an added cover of secrecy.
5. The house of al-Arqam was located behind the Mountain of Safa. And this mountain was in the center of Makkah. And why would you want a secret meeting place smack in the middle of Makkah, right under the Quraysh's noses? Traffic. Everybody had to go to the Ka'bah area every single day, so getting to that area, people walking to and fro was the most natural thing in the world. And so when they walked in, people would think they were walking into the Haram. When they walked out, people would think they were walking out of the Haram. It was a location where it would be very easy to explain why you are walking to and from that direction. (And they probably ensured they went to the Haram for a while as well so that no suspicions were raised.)
6. His house must have been large. Because we had at least 40 people congregating in it. So this clearly means the house of al-Arqam must have been large.
Dar al-Arqam is where Ammar ibn Yasir accepted Islam, Suhayb al-Rumi accepted Islam, Umar accepted Islam where Khabbab brought Umar after Umar repented and changed his mind about trying to kill the Prophet PBUH. When Khabbab brought Umar, al-Arqam said, "Who have you brought? How can you bring Umar al-Khattab? Have you lost your mind?!" But Khabbab explained, so Umar was let in, and he accepted Islam [will be discussed in episode 18]. This was the central station for the Muslims.
The next major incident is the first emigration to Abyssinia. When these tactics of open intimidation, torture, and humiliation continued, the Prophet PBUH suggested to the sahaba, "This land has become too constricted for you — so for those of you who want to, why don't you emigrate to the neighboring land of Abyssinia? For there is a Christian king there, who is a just king. He shall allow you to worship without interference." And this was announced in Rajab in the 5th year of the dawah.
Recall the dawah went public in the 3rd year. And this announcement was made less than 1½ years later — so we can imagine all of the torture we talked about, they all happened in this 1½ years. And it got so difficult that the Prophet PBUH is now allowing the sahaba to emigrate.
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The First Emigration to Abyssinia
The next major incident is the first emigration to Abyssinia. When these tactics of open intimidation, torture, and humiliation continued, the Prophet PBUH suggested to the sahaba, "This land has become too constricted for you — so for those of you who want to, why don't you emigrate to the neighboring land of Abyssinia? For there is a Christian king there, who is a just king. He shall allow you to worship without interference." And this was announced in Rajab in the 5th year of the dawah.
Recall the dawah went public in the 3rd year. And this announcement was made less than 1½ years later — so we can imagine all of the torture we talked about, they all happened in this 1½ years. And it got so difficult that the Prophet PBUH is now allowing the sahaba to emigrate.
The world has changed immensely from 1400 years ago, so most of us will never understand the hardship involved with emigrating from one land to another, as most of us have lived in multiple cities in our lives. But in jahili Makkah, uprooting yourself was completely unheard of — as a Qureshi, you *had* to be linked to Makkah because of the concept of tribalism. If you go anywhere else, you have no honor or protection because there is no law or government or civilization. You become a second/third-class citizen. And this is even within Arabia — so imagine going to a foreign land. On top of that, there is no bank transfer; your property is your property — and you can't sell it because you can't tell anyone that you are leaving. (When they performed Hijrah to Madinah [episode 26], the sahaba suffered immense financial loss. Even the rich of them, e.g., Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf. Because they couldn't take their money with them. It was too dangerous to carry your gold and silver with you.) And so, when you are making hijrah, you are entering into a strange world with no honor or protection, and you are at the mercy of those around you. To make matters worse, it's a land in Africa where the people don't even speak Arabic. The culture is completely different. So this underscores how difficult Makkah was for them to prefer going to Abyssinia over staying in Makkah.
When the Prophet PBUH gave this command, 15 people migrated in total — 11 men and 4 women. Among them were Uthman ibn Affan and his wife Ruqayyah the daughter of the Prophet PBUH. And he was followed by Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Uthman ibn Maz'un (عثمان بن مظعون), Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Mus'ab ibn Umayr (مصعب بن عمير), Abu Salama (أبو سلمة) and his wife Ummi Salama, and a number of other sahaba.
It's unclear whether they all secretly emigrated or whether it was known. Some reports seem to indicate they left secretly — they made their way to Juddah (now Jeddah), and then took a ship to Abyssinia. But other reports seem to suggest the news reached the Quraysh — and if this is true, there is nothing strange about this, as at this time, there was no reason for the Quraysh to stop them. And there is one report in the Mu'jam of al-Tabarani (book of hadith) which suggests that the news was public. The story involves one of the four couples who migrated, namely Amir ibn Rabi'ah (عامر بن ربيعة) and his wife Layla (ليلى). It is narrated that Layla was packing her bags and loading the camel. And Umar ibn al-Khattab, who's not yet a Muslim at the time, passes by and sees that they're traveling; so he asks, "Where are you traveling to?" (as it was not the season of Rihlat al-Shita'i wa al-Sayf [Winter and Summer Trip[2]].) Traveling was a massive deal for them — it's not a normal thing. Layla said, "This is all because of you and your terrorizing/persecution of us just because we want to worship Allah. Because of you we have to go somewhere else and find a land where we can worship Allah in." At this, instead of getting angry, Umar showed compassion and said, "Has the matter reached that level? May Allah be with you." And he walks on his way. Layla is completely flabbergasted — so when her husband comes home, she tells him about this, that Umar showed compassion. But her husband snorted in contempt and said, "Do you really think he will be merciful to us and accept Islam? The donkeys of his father's house will embrace Islam before he does."
(Subhan'Allah, this incident shows us Umar had an outer hardness, but inside, he was very compassionate and soft. Indeed, when he hit his own sister [episode 18], what happened when she held her ground? We will see.) (And indeed, the sahaba never expected him to accept Islam. And this shows we should never condemn people to Hell. Allah guides whomever He wills.)
Ummi Salama narrated in the first person, in Bukhari: "We began to live in a good land with good neighbors. And we were safe with regards to our religion and did not fear any persecution."
When the Prophet PBUH gave this command, 15 people migrated in total — 11 men and 4 women. Among them were Uthman ibn Affan and his wife Ruqayyah the daughter of the Prophet PBUH. And he was followed by Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Uthman ibn Maz'un (عثمان بن مظعون), Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Mus'ab ibn Umayr (مصعب بن عمير), Abu Salama (أبو سلمة) and his wife Ummi Salama, and a number of other sahaba.
It's unclear whether they all secretly emigrated or whether it was known. Some reports seem to indicate they left secretly — they made their way to Juddah (now Jeddah), and then took a ship to Abyssinia. But other reports seem to suggest the news reached the Quraysh — and if this is true, there is nothing strange about this, as at this time, there was no reason for the Quraysh to stop them. And there is one report in the Mu'jam of al-Tabarani (book of hadith) which suggests that the news was public. The story involves one of the four couples who migrated, namely Amir ibn Rabi'ah (عامر بن ربيعة) and his wife Layla (ليلى). It is narrated that Layla was packing her bags and loading the camel. And Umar ibn al-Khattab, who's not yet a Muslim at the time, passes by and sees that they're traveling; so he asks, "Where are you traveling to?" (as it was not the season of Rihlat al-Shita'i wa al-Sayf [Winter and Summer Trip[2]].) Traveling was a massive deal for them — it's not a normal thing. Layla said, "This is all because of you and your terrorizing/persecution of us just because we want to worship Allah. Because of you we have to go somewhere else and find a land where we can worship Allah in." At this, instead of getting angry, Umar showed compassion and said, "Has the matter reached that level? May Allah be with you." And he walks on his way. Layla is completely flabbergasted — so when her husband comes home, she tells him about this, that Umar showed compassion. But her husband snorted in contempt and said, "Do you really think he will be merciful to us and accept Islam? The donkeys of his father's house will embrace Islam before he does."
(Subhan'Allah, this incident shows us Umar had an outer hardness, but inside, he was very compassionate and soft. Indeed, when he hit his own sister [episode 18], what happened when she held her ground? We will see.) (And indeed, the sahaba never expected him to accept Islam. And this shows we should never condemn people to Hell. Allah guides whomever He wills.)
Ummi Salama narrated in the first person, in Bukhari: "We began to live in a good land with good neighbors. And we were safe with regards to our religion and did not fear any persecution."
Now, a number of points to note here. Notice everyone who migrated were all high-status Qureshi people. Why couldn't the lower-status emigrate? Because they were slaves. So they didn't have the political luxury to emigrate. So the people who needed to emigrate the most, like Bilal, Khabbab, Ibn Mas'ud, and Ammar, they couldn't do so. Whereas the more elite Muslims, like Uthman ibn Affan —who, later in the seerah, was the one the Muslims sent for Hudaybiyyah because everyone knew the Quraysh would never hurt him as they loved him so much[3]— they could, so they took advantage of the opportunity and emigrated. And this shows us, a person does have to take care of himself [see Quran, 5:105] — the elites were not as persecuted as the rest, but they had an opportunity to have less persecution, so they availed themselves of the opportunity. There's no point in them remaining and being persecuted. And there is nothing un-Islamic about this. Even though there were people who needed to emigrate worse than them, you make the best of a bad situation. There is a maxim in fiqh: you have to choose akhaff al-dararayn (أخف الضررين - the lesser of the two evils). So if you cannot save everybody, that does not mean everybody has to suffer.
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Benefits We Derive From Muslims' Migration to Abyssinia
We learn that not all of the lands of the non-Muslims are the same. Some of the lands of the non-Muslims are peaceful and could be inhabited to worship Allah in peace; and others are hostile. Makkah and Abyssinia are not the same. There are lands where freedom is guaranteed, and there are lands where people are persecuted. So in our religion, we have a clear-cut political notion that there are certain lands we are allowed to or in fact should live in, provided we can worship Allah in that land. And if we have this freedom, we should remain law-abiding citizens of that land. The model of the Abyssinian Muslims is a model Muslims living in the Western world should benefit from, even as we know no two things are exactly the same. But overall, there is a model. And the model is: you live as a minority in a majority non-Muslim land, and you obey the laws of the land, and you understand that you are citizens under the government of the land, and you don't intend to overthrow the constitution or the government. The Abyssinian Muslims did not plot and plan to overthrow the Najashi — they just lived, worshiped, and participated in the community without any problems.
Also notice, the Prophet PBUH described the Najashi of Abyssinia (the Emperor of Abyssinia), named As'hama ibn Abjar (أصحمة بن أبجر), as a *just* king. Why? Because he did not persecute his subjects nor did he interfere in their religion — allowing people freedom in worship is considered a just act. Now, is it possible that a Christian can be praised for allowing the freedom of worship, yet our shariah does not allow the same? No. So even in an Islamic land that some of our youngsters envision where an ideal Islamic government actually exists, that government should not have the right to ban other religions. It is un-Islamic to infringe on the freedom of worship of others. And historically speaking, we have always had non-Muslim minorities living in Muslim lands. Always. This is proven by the fact that 10% of Egypt is still Coptic Christian — showing they have this freedom. No doubt, the laws were slightly different, but in essence, the government cannot *ban* a religion. Scholars have differed on whether this only applies to the People of the Book. But the correct opinion is that it applies to *any* religion. What is the evidence for this? Even though, yes, the Prophet PBUH only said "Jews and Christians," but when the Muslims conquered Persia where the majority of the people were Zoroastrians (i.e., not the People of the Book), by unanimous consensus, the Muslims extended this ruling meant for the People of the Book, to them. Thus the correct opinion, as mentioned by Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, is that this applies to any religion — even to paganism. No doubt, there are different laws for them —e.g., they cannot proselytize to their faith— but we do not ban them from practicing their religion. They have the right to worship in their centers of worship, and do in their localities as they please — this is something that the Islamic shariah guarantees.
This shows us the perception that many non-Muslims (and even some of our overzealous Muslim brothers) have of our religion is incorrect.
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Wisdoms Why Abyssinia Was Chosen
The wisdoms of choosing Abyssinia as the safety net were as follows:
1. The king of Abyssinia was a just king that allowed freedom of worship.
2. Abyssinia was familiar to the Quraysh and Muslims due to the trade that happened between them. It wasn't as if the Prophet PBUH said to go to China, i.e., somewhere the Muslims had never heard of.
3. Its easy passage. The journey to Juddah only took 1½ days, not too far; and from there, it was a ship to Abyssinia which took 5-7 hours. So within two days, you could be in Abyssinia. Much closer than even Yemen or Rome.
4. They are Christians, not pagans. Christians are much closer to Muslims. In fact, Allah says:
وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقْرَبَهُم مَّوَدَّةً لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّا نَصَارَىٰ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ مِنْهُمْ قِسِّيسِينَ وَرُهْبَانًا وَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ
"And you will find the nearest of them in affection to the Believers (Muslims) those who say, 'We are Christians.' That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant" [Quran, 5:82]. And it's also said —a theory— that the Najashi was following a version of Christianity that wasn't the Trinitarian version:
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The Version of Christianity the Najashi Was Following
[Unlike the Christian view of the death of Isa (Jesus), Muslims believe he was raised to heaven without being put on the cross, and Allah created a resemblance to appear exactly like Jesus who was crucified instead of Jesus; and Jesus ascended bodily to heaven, there to remain until his Second Coming in the End days.]
And when Jesus was raised, his followers were immersed in a huge confusion, "What happened? Where is he?" And within a generation, the question became, "Who is he? What was he?"
- One group, the true disciples of Jesus like Barnabas, said he was a prophet, a messiah, a noble person who obeyed the law of Musa (Moses). (i.e., they believed as we Muslims believe.)
- Another person came along by the name of Paul who never met Jesus, and he taught a version of Christianity that was a different version. That you have to believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that Jesus came to abrogate the law of Moses and Abraham. (This is why Christians in our times don't have a law even though Jesus himself was circumcised, didn't eat pork, lived the life of a Jew, etc.)
And this controversy continued for 300 years.
One group of Christians remained firm. Modern-day scholars call them Messianic Jews (i.e., they believed Jesus to be the messiah). These were the real Muslims.
Another group was the Pauline Christians, and they said Jesus was a son of God who came to abrogate the law of Moses. And eventually, the Trinity was added to this belief, even though Paul never preached it. (Note: You'll never find the Trinity in the Old Testament. And even in the New Testament, you won't find any reference except with great difficulty. And you'll *never* find it in the words of Jesus Christ.)
To make a long story short, Constantine, the Emperor of the Roman Empire, called a huge council in Nicaea. He invites all the bishops of the Christian world. And you have opposing factions; some who say there is one God, etc. And Constantine makes a decree — the Nicene Creed. This creed says there are three that rule in heaven, but these three are not actual three — they are One. Basically 3=1.
The main opponent of the Nicene Creed was a man by the name of Arius. He did not agree with the Trinity. And following the council, Constantine expressed his determination to have Arius executed. Arius fled for his life and he fled down south. Possibly to parts of Africa (this is theory now) — that he fled down while the Nicene Creed was spreading down through the Roman Empire.
Slowly but surely, the pre-Nicene Creed versions of Christianity[4] began to disappear.
But there are legends that some pockets of true Christianity survived — and we should believe these 'legends' because they are mentioned in hadiths: Recall the story of Salman al-Farisi [see episode 4]; his teacher said, "I don't know of anybody left upon my religion except so-and-so. Go to him!" And so Salman goes and goes, until finally when he meets his last teacher, the last teacher said, "I don't know anybody left upon *our version* of Christianity." And that version of Christianity was true Islam.
Thus there is a theory that the Najashi was influenced by Arius's understanding of Christianity. And that's why when Islam came to him, he instantly said, "Verily, this (Quran) and what Jesus brought (Gospel) has come from the same source of light." He instantaneously recognized it. And we know for a fact that Arius's influence was in that part of Africa. Perhaps some of those influences remained, and therefore the Najashi was influenced by that.
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan, Faizan & Br. Syed Haq]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, May 2023]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, May 2023]
