027 - The Hijrah - Emigration to Madinah

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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, et al.

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Migration to Madinah: Umar al-Khattab RA

Before we get to the actual story of the 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, went to the Ka'bah, did tawaf seven times, and then made an announcement: "O people of Makkah! Whoever wishes that his mother lose him tonight, or that his children become orphans, or his wife a widow, then know that I am performing the Hijrah, and you can meet me outside of Makkah in such-and-such a valley."

And 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 for al-Isra wal-Mi'raj, we don't know its exact order and need to piece together the puzzle.

The first most authentic story comes from Aisha RA, reported in Sahih al-Bukhari. She narrated 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..." (Side note 1: So when Aisha was born, Abu Bakr RA was already a Muslim.) (Side note 2: And Aisha 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 continued: "...And I don't remember any day except the Prophet PBUH would come to visit us in our house. And 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. And when he asked for permission, the Prophet PBUH said, 'Wait. I hope Allah will give us permission.'" And Abu Bakr understood that the permission the Prophet PBUH was waiting for was 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 am hoping for." (Side note 3: And this, again, shows us the Prophet PBUH never did anything major except with the permission of Allah SWT.)

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 its 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. And Abu Bakr RA said he prepared the camels for 4 months. (Here, Abu Bakr RA is rounding up. It was most likely 3½ months from when the Prophet PBUH told the Muslims to migrate to when he himself migrated.)

The Hijrah took place on Monday 26th Safar of the 13th year of the dawah (which then obviously became 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 was the Prophet PBUH, coming from a faraway 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. And when Abu Bakr granted it to him, 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: "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?' 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." The Prophet PBUH said, "Only if I pay you the price of the camel" — the Prophet PBUH 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. So Abu Bakr was basically forced to take a sum from the Prophet PBUH to give that camel.

And Asma, who was an adult, at least 10-15 years older than Aisha, had prepared the food and reserves for them — she bundled up all of the food in a bag. But she didn't have anything to tie the bag with. So in the panic of the moment, 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. And this is why she was called Dhat al-Nitaqayn (ذات النطاقين - She of the Two Belts) — this is her laqab.

Abu Bakr RA had at this point in time 5,000 dirhams. (Side note: 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 then he spent ~90% of his wealth for Islam, e.g., for freeing slaves and helping the Prophet PBUH.) And when he emigrated, he took the entire amount with him (5,000 dirhams). 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?!" At this, 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, 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 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 narrated to others, "Our father didn't leave us a single penny." Abu Bakr RA wanted every penny for the Prophet PBUH, and he expected somebody would give Asma and Aisha food and water, as he knew they were not going to starve to death in Makkah. Makkah is a city after all. Whereas he 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 ahadith that give us a little bit more description about what happened on that particular night:

Ibn Abbas says Allah revealed in the Quran Surah al-Anfal (سورة الأنفال) 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 was not invited, 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 — 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 was very crafty of the Quraysh 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 could not invite him.

It's also said in a weak narration that an old man came knocking on the door in the secret meeting, and said, "I am a leader from Najd (نجد). 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" — and it is noteworthy that 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." (Note: Of course, it's worth noting that the timing of the Hijrah was Allah's direct response to this meeting. Meaning because the Quraysh plotted [to kill the Prophet PBUH], Allah plotted [against their plot, and told the Prophet PBUH to make Hijrah on that particular night]. "They plotted, and Allah plotted" [Quran, 8:30].) So they gave suggestions: First, they said, "Let's imprison him in a house." Iblis responded, "If you do this, his words would still reach his followers." Second, "Let's put him in exile." Iblis said, "Sending him into exile is to send him back to his followers. It will strengthen them." And here is, as we know, 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 we need to realize that it's a matter of law and honor for the jahili Arabs that you simply don't kill one of your own. This is something that has never been done before. For them, it is a mark of humiliation. Their enemies would criticize them forever if they did this. So Abu Jahal said, "We will do it (kill Muhammad) in a way that nobody can get angry at any one tribe" — and this is his 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 — so they will have to accept the blood money." When 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 from their tribe 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 was the same day he left.

And Ibn Ishaq famously reports without any isnad: As they surrounded the Prophet's PBUH house, the Prophet PBUH walked out of the house reciting Surah Ya-Sin (سورة يس): "...And [We] have placed a barrier before them and a barrier behind them and covered them [all] up, so they fail to see" [Quran, 36:8-9] — and the assassins were completely blinded to the Prophet's PBUH 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 the Prophet PBUH 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 and is a young man at this time, was told to remain behind in the bed of the Prophet PBUH so that if the Quraysh looked in, they would see a figure lying on the bed. (Note: There is nothing wrong with affirming these stories — but again, realize these details have no real isnad, and they are only found in Ibn Ishaq.)

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3. To Ghari Thawr

Abu Bakr RA had already prepared the two camels; and in the middle of the night, he and the Prophet PBUH went to the Ghari Thawr (غار ثور - Cave of Thawr). It's very interesting because the cave is located in the exact opposite direction that Madinah is. Madinah is due north, and Ghari Thawr is due south. Exact opposite. You are literally turning your back to Madinah and walking away to get to Ghari Thawr. And it's a 2½-3 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 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 for 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 (souqs) of Makkah in the middle of the night, he turned around to take one final look at Makkah (which 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 (قومي أخرجوني), I would not have left you." It is worth noting that this is exactly the wordings that Waraqa ibn Nawfal told him almost 13½ years ago: "I wish I were a young man to help you the day that your people will expel you (يخرجك قومك)" [see episode 10]. The exact same wordings. 13 years later, the Prophet PBUH is saying the exact same phrase. 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 he and the Prophet PBUH made an arrangement with three people to do three chores:

1. The first was his son, Abdullah (عبد الله), who was a young, strong man, very intelligent, and very quick to understand things. 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 the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr 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 and what they are talking about and where they are sending their expeditions to find the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr. So every day, Abdullah would do this — he would go to the marketplace and eavesdrop. And because he was a kid, no one paid attention to him, and he was very smart in how he did this. (Tangent: Asma [أسما] was Abu Bakr's oldest child, then Abdullah [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. 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 to pass.)

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 Abi Bakr were erased away.

3. The third man was Abdullah ibn Arqat/Urayqit (عبد الله بن أريقط) [both Arqat and Urayqit are mentioned in the reports; we don't know the exact name]. He was not from the Quraysh; he was from a faraway Bedouin tribe. His job was to lead the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr 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, the Arabs 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 (but of course, this would depend on the political and economic state of the people). There would be markings. So people would know it is a well-traveled path and they would take those paths for safety, security, and reliance. The same reasons why we take the major highways and not the backroads. But of course, the Prophet PBUH couldn't go on these highways because the Quraysh were hunting him. So he hired Abdullah ibn Urayqit to take him and Abu Bakr through a back path.

In Bukhari and Muslim, Anas ibn Malik says that Abu Bakr RA narrated to them the details of the journey. (Note: The Cave of Thawr is a very small cave. Its entrance is more on the top, and you have to wiggle your way into it. It's more like a crevice. Over time, it has 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? The answer is found in al-Baladhuri's (البلاذري) book and other sources: When the Quraysh figured out that 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. But from here, it's a mountain, so I can't follow anymore." Although it was a bit iffy, this was the first lead/hint that they had got, so all the big names came: Abu Jahal, al-Walid ibn al-Mughira, et al.

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 foot 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 the Quraysh didn't check the cave.

We all know the famous stories of the spider, trees, pigeons, etc. — that the spider spun a web on the cave to make it appear as though no one had entered it; or the tree leaning down over the mouth of the entrance of the cave; or the two pigeons creating a nest on the cave — but do note that out of these stories, even though it still has a slight weakness in it, the most authentic story is the story of 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., there are big missing links in the chain of narrators. While there is no issue narrating them, we don't know if they are 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 ibn Ju'shum (سراقة بن مالك بن جعشم). He was the leader of the Banu Mudlij (بنو مدلج) (not from the Quraysh). The Quraysh had placed a bounty of 100 camels 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.

And Suraqa ibn Malik narrated that 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 cloud of smoke between him and the three riders. So he pulled out his azlam (أزلام - arrows similar to Ouija boards, tarot cards, etc., that the jahili Arabs used 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 out of greed, he ignored it and kept going. 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, and this time even more violently. After this, he gave up the 100 camel bounty — as he narrated, "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: he says, "When I saw them, I saw one of the two (Abu Bakr) always riding in an agitated state, constantly looking right and left, sometimes going behind, sometimes going to the front." And indeed, it's because Abu Bakr RA is so worried about the Prophet PBUH. And Suraqa said, "Whereas the other rider (the Prophet PBUH) was riding so peacefully, not turning once left or right, reciting something (the Quran)."

After giving up the 100 camel bounty, Suraqa called out to them, "I am a safe person! I'm not going to harm you! Give me permission to come close!" And when he got permission to come forth, 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. Why is he seeking protection? Because he knew that the affair of the Prophet PBUH would spread everywhere. So he wanted protection for when that happened. 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 tribes outside Makkah, including Suraqa ibn Malik's tribe, Suraqa ibn Malik pulled out this amanah [protection]. And the Prophet PBUH recognized him and gave him security, and Suraqa accepted Islam. Suraqa eventually migrated to Madinah and became a well-known sahabi.)

Further, Suraqa ibn Malik offered some food, but they refused. However, Abu Bakr RA said, "Do one thing: do not 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 had reached Madinah safe and sound, eventually, Suraqa told everyone what had 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?!" And 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 is 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.

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Q&A

Abdullah ibn Urayqit — no proof whether he was a Muslim or not.

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