Lesson94 Immigration to Al-Madinah

1. Lesson94Immigration to Al-Madinah

2. [30] The Hijrah of Allah’s Messenger (SAWS) and his companion Abu-Bakr As-Siddîq (R.A.)

3. When disbelievers of Quraysh knew that Allah's Prophet (SAWS) had gathered followers and supporters from other tribes,

4. and when they saw the immigration of his companions towards those supporters who pledged their allegiance to defend him to the death,

5. their leaders and chiefs gathered in Dar An-Nadwah, a house built by Qusayy ibn Kilâb, where they used to meet when important matters faced them.

6. They gathered to discuss what to do with the Prophet (SAWS).

7. One of them said, "Let us chain him up in prison until he dies." Another said "Expel him and exile him from our land."

8. Oneof their chiefs said, " Neither are good ideas, because if we imprison him, the news will spread, and his companions will come and rescue him; and if we exile him,

9. we could not ensure that he may win the hearts of those to whom he resorts by his sweet words and good speech.

10. They may follow him and he will come back to you with them." The tyrant Abu-Jahl said, "I say that we choose a strong young man from each tribe;

11. then those young men would strike him as if they were one man, so that his blood will be scattered among all tribes, and Banu Manaf cannot fight all tribes."

12. They liked this idea, and they all agreed and appointed the young men and fixed the night on which they would carry out this mission.

13. But Allah informed His Prophet (SAWS) of what his enemies intend to do, and gave him permission to emigrate to Yathreb (Al-Madînah).

14. So he went to Abu-Bakr (RA), told him the news and Abu-Bakr was permitted to accompany him. They agreed to prepare the two camels which Abu-Bakr had arranged for this trip.

15. They chose a guide to lead them to the shortest route, and they appointed the same night which Quraysh had chosen.

16. On that night, the Prophet (SAWS) asked his cousin `Ali ibn Abu-Tâlib to sleep in his bed and to use his cover so that no one would know that the Prophet had left his home.

17. Then he went out, while the Qurayshi men were gathering at his door, and he was reading Sûrah (Yâ-Sîn).

18. The moment he approached them he was reading: "...We enveloped them, so they do not behold (the Truth)."

19. (TMQ, Yâ-Sîn: 9) He repeated it several times until Allah made them fall asleep, so they lost their perception and could neither see nor feel him.

20. He went to Abu-Bakr's house and they went out together through an opening in the rear of the house.

21. They went southward out of Makkah, towards Mount Thawr and entered its cave.

22. The Qurayshi men waited for the Prophet (SAWS) to come out until the morning.

23. When Quraysh discovered that their young men were surrounding `Ali ibn Abu-Tâlib and not Muhammad (SAWS), their tempers flared up and they were confused.

24. They then sent their men to pursue him and to search in all directions.

25. They promised a reward of one hundred camels to the one who could bring him back, so trackers went after the Prophet (SAWS) and Abu-Bakr.

26. Some of them reached the small cave so that, if any of them had paid a little attention, he would have seen who was there.

27. Abu-Bakr (RA.) was very sad, thinking that they would find them, but the Prophet (SAWS) said, “Grieve not; surely Allah is with us." (TMQ, At-Tawbah: 40)

28. Yet, Allah diverted their sight and awareness from them so that they did not see inside the cave.

29. On the contrary, their evil leader Umayyah ibn Khalaf assured them that they could not have been hiding there because of a spider web and nesting pigeons at its entrance.

30. The Prophet (SAWS) and his companion stayed in the cave for three nights until Quraysh stopped searching for them.

31. `Abdullâh ibn Abu-Bakr used to spend the night with them and go to Quraysh in the morning so he could listen to their reports about the Prophet and his companion, then return to them each night with what he had heard.

32. Asmâ' bint Abu-Bakr brought them food each night.

33. `Abdullâh ibn Abu-Bakr commanded his slave to graze the cattle leading up to and around the cave to erase his and Asmâ's footprints.

34. On the morning of the third night spent in the cave, which was the first Monday of Rabî` Al-Awwal in the year of Hijrah,

35. `Âmir ibn Fuhayrah (Abu-Bakr's servant) brought them two riding camels, together with `Abdullâh ibn Urayqit whom they hired to guide them.

36. This was 53 years after the birth of the Prophet (SAWS) and 13 years after his Prophethood. They rode, and Abu-Bakr asked `Âmir ibn Fuhayrah to follow and serve them.

37. The guide led them south of Makkah, then north along the seashore.

38. While they were on their way, Surâqah ibn Mâlik Al-Mudlajy followed them after he had heard somebody saying in one of Quraysh's assemblies,

39. "I have seen some figures along the seashore, and I think they were Muhammad and his companions."

40. When he approached them, his horse stumbled and he fell down. He got up and rode again until he heard the Prophet reciting the Qur'an.

41. The Prophet (SAWS) was not turning around, while Abu-Bakr was repeatedly turning round to survey.

42. The feet of Surâqah’s horse sank into the sand and he fell down again.

43. The horse could not get up until Surâqah asked the Prophet (SAWS) for help, especially when he saw the dust rising from the ground under the horse's hooves.

44. So he was very frightened and asked for help.

45. The Prophet (SAWS) and his companions stopped and he came and offered supplies to them, but they did not accept any.

46. Instead they said, "Keep the matter secret." He asked them for a letter of protection, so Abu-Bakr wrote it according to the Prophet's (SAWS) instructions,

47. and Surâqah went back from where he came, keeping the secret. Surâqah told Abu-Jahl about it later.

48. Surâqah embraced Islam on the day of the Conquest of Makkah and he was a very good Muslim.

49. The Prophet (SAWS) and his companion continued their trip until they reached Qubâ', on the outskirts Al-Madînah, on Monday, the 12th of the month of Rabî` Al-Awwal.

50. The Prophet stayed at Banu `Âmr ibn `Awf and Abu-Bakr stayed at As-Sunh (a suburb of Al-Madînah) at Khârijah ibn Zayd.