THE VANGUARD OF MIGRATION (in the Cause of Allâh)
After the endorsement of the Second ‘Aqabah Pledge and the establishment of a petite Muslim state in
a vast desert surging with disbelief and ignorance — the most serious gain in terms of Islam —, the
Prophet (Peace be upon him) gave his leave for the Muslims to migrate to Madinah, the nascent Muslim
state.
Migration to Madinah, in terms of personal interests, was no more than material waste and sacrifice of
wealth, all in return for personal safety only. Even here, the migrant could not expect full security; he
was liable to be robbed or even killed either at the beginning or end of his departure. The future was
foggy, pregnant with various unpredictable sorts of sorrows and crises.
Bearing all this in mind, the Muslims began to migrate, while the polytheists spared no effort in
hindering and debarring them, knowing beforehand that such a move implied unimaginable threats and
unthinkable destructive dangers to their whole society:
1.The first one to migrate was Abu Salamah, a year before the Great ‘Aqabah Pledge. When he had
made up his mind to leave Makkah, his in-laws, in a desperate attempt to raise obstacles,
detained his wife and snatched his son and dislocated his hand. Umm Salamah, after the
departure of her husband and the loss of her son spent a year by herself weeping and lamenting.
A relative of hers eventually had pity on her and exhorted the others to release her son and let
her join her husband. She then set out on a journey of 500 kilometres with no help whatsoever.
At a spot called At-Tan‘im, ‘Uthman bin Talhah came across her and offered to give her a ride to
Madinah. She, along with her son, joined Abu Salamah in the village of Quba’, a suburb of
Madinah.
2.Another instance of the atrocities of the polytheist Makkans, as regards migration, is Suhaib. This
man expressed his wish to migrate and of course this was a source of indignation to the
disbelievers. They began to insult him claiming that he had come into Makkah as a worthless
tramp, but their town was gracious enough and thanks to them he managed to make a lot of
money and become wealthy. They gave orders that he would not leave. Seeing this, he offered
to give away all his wealth to them. They eventually agreed to release him on that condition. The
Prophet heard this story and commented on it saying:
l
“Suhaib is the winner, after all.”
3.Then, there was the story of ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab, ‘Ayyash bin Abi Rabi‘a and Hisham bin Al-‘Asi,
who agreed to meet at a certain place one morning in order to leave for Madinah; ‘Umar and
‘
Ayyash came but Hisham was detained by the Makkans.
Shortly afterwards Abu Jahl, and his brother Al-Harith came to Madinah to see their third brother
‘
Ayyash. They cunningly tried to touch the most sensitive area in man, i.e. his relation with his mother.
They addressed him claiming that his mother had sworn she would never comb her hair, nor shade
herself off the sun unless she had seen him. ‘Ayyash took pity on his mother, but ‘Umar was intelligent
enough to understand that they wanted to entice ‘Ayyash away from Islam so he cautioned him against
their tricks, and added “your mother would comb her hair if lice pestered her, and would shade herself
off if the sun of Makkah got too hot for her.” These words notwithstanding, ‘Ayyash was determined to
go and see his mother, so ‘Umar gave him his manageable docile camel advising him to stick to its back
because it would provide rescue for him if he perceived anything suspicious on their part. The party of
three then set forth towards Makkah. As soon as they covered part of the distance, Abu Jahl complained
about his camel and requested ‘Ayyash to allow him to ride behind him on his camel. When they knelt
down to the level of the ground, the two polytheists fell upon ‘Ayyash and tied him. They rode on into
Makkah shouting at people to follow their example with respect to ‘fools’
These are just three self-explanatory models of the Makkans’ reaction towards anyone intending to
migrate. Nevertheless, the believers still managed to escape in successive groups and so rapidly that within two months of the Second ‘Aqabah Pledge, entire quarters of Makkah were deserted. Almost all
the followers of Muhammad had migrated to their new abode, except Abu Bakr, ‘Ali, the Prophet (Peace
be upon him) himself, and those helpless noble souls who had been detained in confinement or were
unable to escape. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) , together with Abu Bakr and ‘Ali, had made all the
necessary preparations for migration but was waiting for leave from his Lord.
It is noteworthy that most of the Mwho had migrated to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), came back to Madinah to
join the rest of the Muslims there.
The situation was no doubt critical in Makkah but Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was not at all
perturbed. Abu Bakr was, however, urging the Prophet to depart from that town. He was also eagerly
waiting for an opportunity to accompany Muhammad (Peace be upon him) on this eventful journey. But
the Prophet told him that the time had not yet come; the Lord had not given him the command to
migrate. In anticipation of the Command of Allâh, Abu Bakr had made preparations for the journey. He
had purchased two swift camels and had fed them properly for four months so that they could
successively stand the ordeals of the long desert journey.
IN AN
-NADWAH (COUNCIL) HOUSE THE PARLIAMENT OF QURAISH
The polytheists were paralysed by the carefully planned and speedy movement of Muhammad’s
followers towards their new abode in Madinah. They were caught in unprecedented anxiety and got
deeply worried over their whole pagan and economic entity. They already experienced Muhammad
(Peace be upon him) as an influential leader; and his followers as determined, decent and always ready
to sacrifice all they had for the sake of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him). Al-Aws and AlKhazraj
tribes,the would-be-hosts of the Makkan Muslims, were also known in Arabia for their might and power
in war, and judicious and sensible approach in peace.They were also averse to rancour and prejudice
for the themselveshadhadbitterdays of intertribal warfare.Madinah,itself,the prospective headquarters
of the ever-growing Islamic Call, enjoyed the most serious strategic position.It commanded the commercial routes leading to Makkah whose people used to dealing about a quarter of a million gold dinar-worth commodities every year. Security of the caravan routes was crucial for the perpetuity of prosperous
economic life.All those factors borne in mind,the polytheists felt they were in the grip a serious threat.
They, therefore, began to seek the most effective method that could avert this imminent danger.
They convened a meeting on Thursday, 26th Safar, the year fourteen of Prophethood/ 12th September 622A.D., i.e. two and a half months after the Great‘Aqabah Pledge.On that day,“the Parliament of Makkah”
held the most serious meeting ever, with one item on the agenda: How to take effective measures with a view to stopping that tidal wave. Delegates representing all the Quraish site tribes attended the meeting, the most
significant of whom were:
1.Abu Jahl bin Hisham, from Bani Makhzum;
2.Jubair bin Mut‘im, Tuaima bin ‘Adi, and Al-Harith bin ‘Amir representing Bani Naufal bin ‘Abd
Munaf;
3.Rabi‘a’s two sons Shaibah and ‘Utbah besides Abu Sufyan bin Harb from Bani ‘Abd Shams bin
‘
Abd Munaf;
4.An-Nadr bin Al-Harith (who had besmeared the Prophet (Peace be upon him) with animal
entrails) to speak for Bani ‘Abd Ad-Dar;
5.Abul Bukhtary bin Hisham, Zama‘a bin Al-Aswad and Hakeem bin Hizam to represent Bani Asad
bin ‘Abd Al‘
Uzza;
6.Al-Hajjaj’s two sons Nabih and Munbih from Bani Sahm;
7.Omaiyah bin Khalaf from Bani Jumah.
On their way to An-Nadwah House, Iblis (Satan) in the guise of a vulnerable elderly man standing at the
door interrupted their talk and introduced himself as a man from Najd curious enough to attend the
meeting, listen to the debate and wish them success to reach a sound opinion. He was readily admitted
in.
There was a lengthy debate and several proposals were put forward. Expulsion from Makkah was proposed and debated in turn but finally turned down on grounds that his sweet and heart-touching
words could entice the other Arabs to attack them in their own city. Imprisonment for life was also
debated but also refused for fear that his followers might increase in number, overpower them and
release him by force. At this point, the arch-criminal of Makkah, Abu Jahl bin Hisham suggested that
they assassinate him. But assassination by one man would have exposed him and his family to the
vengeance of blood. The difficulty was at last solved by Abu Jahl himself, who suggested that a band of
young men, one from each tribe, should strike Muhammad simultaneously with their swords so that the
blood-money would be spread over them all and therefore could not be exacted, and his people would
seek a mind-based recourse for settlement. The sinful proposal was unanimously accepted, and the
representatives broke up the meeting and went back home with full determination for immediate
implementation.
After the endorsement of the Second ‘Aqabah Pledge and the establishment of a petite Muslim state in
a vast desert surging with disbelief and ignorance — the most serious gain in terms of Islam —, the
Prophet (Peace be upon him) gave his leave for the Muslims to migrate to Madinah, the nascent Muslim
state.
Migration to Madinah, in terms of personal interests, was no more than material waste and sacrifice of
wealth, all in return for personal safety only. Even here, the migrant could not expect full security; he
was liable to be robbed or even killed either at the beginning or end of his departure. The future was
foggy, pregnant with various unpredictable sorts of sorrows and crises.
Bearing all this in mind, the Muslims began to migrate, while the polytheists spared no effort in
hindering and debarring them, knowing beforehand that such a move implied unimaginable threats and
unthinkable destructive dangers to their whole society:
1.The first one to migrate was Abu Salamah, a year before the Great ‘Aqabah Pledge. When he had
made up his mind to leave Makkah, his in-laws, in a desperate attempt to raise obstacles,
detained his wife and snatched his son and dislocated his hand. Umm Salamah, after the
departure of her husband and the loss of her son spent a year by herself weeping and lamenting.
A relative of hers eventually had pity on her and exhorted the others to release her son and let
her join her husband. She then set out on a journey of 500 kilometres with no help whatsoever.
At a spot called At-Tan‘im, ‘Uthman bin Talhah came across her and offered to give her a ride to
Madinah. She, along with her son, joined Abu Salamah in the village of Quba’, a suburb of
Madinah.
2.Another instance of the atrocities of the polytheist Makkans, as regards migration, is Suhaib. This
man expressed his wish to migrate and of course this was a source of indignation to the
disbelievers. They began to insult him claiming that he had come into Makkah as a worthless
tramp, but their town was gracious enough and thanks to them he managed to make a lot of
money and become wealthy. They gave orders that he would not leave. Seeing this, he offered
to give away all his wealth to them. They eventually agreed to release him on that condition. The
Prophet heard this story and commented on it saying:
l
“Suhaib is the winner, after all.”
3.Then, there was the story of ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab, ‘Ayyash bin Abi Rabi‘a and Hisham bin Al-‘Asi,
who agreed to meet at a certain place one morning in order to leave for Madinah; ‘Umar and
‘
Ayyash came but Hisham was detained by the Makkans.
Shortly afterwards Abu Jahl, and his brother Al-Harith came to Madinah to see their third brother
‘
Ayyash. They cunningly tried to touch the most sensitive area in man, i.e. his relation with his mother.
They addressed him claiming that his mother had sworn she would never comb her hair, nor shade
herself off the sun unless she had seen him. ‘Ayyash took pity on his mother, but ‘Umar was intelligent
enough to understand that they wanted to entice ‘Ayyash away from Islam so he cautioned him against
their tricks, and added “your mother would comb her hair if lice pestered her, and would shade herself
off if the sun of Makkah got too hot for her.” These words notwithstanding, ‘Ayyash was determined to
go and see his mother, so ‘Umar gave him his manageable docile camel advising him to stick to its back
because it would provide rescue for him if he perceived anything suspicious on their part. The party of
three then set forth towards Makkah. As soon as they covered part of the distance, Abu Jahl complained
about his camel and requested ‘Ayyash to allow him to ride behind him on his camel. When they knelt
down to the level of the ground, the two polytheists fell upon ‘Ayyash and tied him. They rode on into
Makkah shouting at people to follow their example with respect to ‘fools’
These are just three self-explanatory models of the Makkans’ reaction towards anyone intending to
migrate. Nevertheless, the believers still managed to escape in successive groups and so rapidly that within two months of the Second ‘Aqabah Pledge, entire quarters of Makkah were deserted. Almost all
the followers of Muhammad had migrated to their new abode, except Abu Bakr, ‘Ali, the Prophet (Peace
be upon him) himself, and those helpless noble souls who had been detained in confinement or were
unable to escape. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) , together with Abu Bakr and ‘Ali, had made all the
necessary preparations for migration but was waiting for leave from his Lord.
It is noteworthy that most of the Mwho had migrated to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), came back to Madinah to
join the rest of the Muslims there.
The situation was no doubt critical in Makkah but Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was not at all
perturbed. Abu Bakr was, however, urging the Prophet to depart from that town. He was also eagerly
waiting for an opportunity to accompany Muhammad (Peace be upon him) on this eventful journey. But
the Prophet told him that the time had not yet come; the Lord had not given him the command to
migrate. In anticipation of the Command of Allâh, Abu Bakr had made preparations for the journey. He
had purchased two swift camels and had fed them properly for four months so that they could
successively stand the ordeals of the long desert journey.
IN AN
-NADWAH (COUNCIL) HOUSE THE PARLIAMENT OF QURAISH
The polytheists were paralysed by the carefully planned and speedy movement of Muhammad’s
followers towards their new abode in Madinah. They were caught in unprecedented anxiety and got
deeply worried over their whole pagan and economic entity. They already experienced Muhammad
(Peace be upon him) as an influential leader; and his followers as determined, decent and always ready
to sacrifice all they had for the sake of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him). Al-Aws and AlKhazraj
tribes,the would-be-hosts of the Makkan Muslims, were also known in Arabia for their might and power
in war, and judicious and sensible approach in peace.They were also averse to rancour and prejudice
for the themselveshadhadbitterdays of intertribal warfare.Madinah,itself,the prospective headquarters
of the ever-growing Islamic Call, enjoyed the most serious strategic position.It commanded the commercial routes leading to Makkah whose people used to dealing about a quarter of a million gold dinar-worth commodities every year. Security of the caravan routes was crucial for the perpetuity of prosperous
economic life.All those factors borne in mind,the polytheists felt they were in the grip a serious threat.
They, therefore, began to seek the most effective method that could avert this imminent danger.
They convened a meeting on Thursday, 26th Safar, the year fourteen of Prophethood/ 12th September 622A.D., i.e. two and a half months after the Great‘Aqabah Pledge.On that day,“the Parliament of Makkah”
held the most serious meeting ever, with one item on the agenda: How to take effective measures with a view to stopping that tidal wave. Delegates representing all the Quraish site tribes attended the meeting, the most
significant of whom were:
1.Abu Jahl bin Hisham, from Bani Makhzum;
2.Jubair bin Mut‘im, Tuaima bin ‘Adi, and Al-Harith bin ‘Amir representing Bani Naufal bin ‘Abd
Munaf;
3.Rabi‘a’s two sons Shaibah and ‘Utbah besides Abu Sufyan bin Harb from Bani ‘Abd Shams bin
‘
Abd Munaf;
4.An-Nadr bin Al-Harith (who had besmeared the Prophet (Peace be upon him) with animal
entrails) to speak for Bani ‘Abd Ad-Dar;
5.Abul Bukhtary bin Hisham, Zama‘a bin Al-Aswad and Hakeem bin Hizam to represent Bani Asad
bin ‘Abd Al‘
Uzza;
6.Al-Hajjaj’s two sons Nabih and Munbih from Bani Sahm;
7.Omaiyah bin Khalaf from Bani Jumah.
On their way to An-Nadwah House, Iblis (Satan) in the guise of a vulnerable elderly man standing at the
door interrupted their talk and introduced himself as a man from Najd curious enough to attend the
meeting, listen to the debate and wish them success to reach a sound opinion. He was readily admitted
in.
There was a lengthy debate and several proposals were put forward. Expulsion from Makkah was proposed and debated in turn but finally turned down on grounds that his sweet and heart-touching
words could entice the other Arabs to attack them in their own city. Imprisonment for life was also
debated but also refused for fear that his followers might increase in number, overpower them and
release him by force. At this point, the arch-criminal of Makkah, Abu Jahl bin Hisham suggested that
they assassinate him. But assassination by one man would have exposed him and his family to the
vengeance of blood. The difficulty was at last solved by Abu Jahl himself, who suggested that a band of
young men, one from each tribe, should strike Muhammad simultaneously with their swords so that the
blood-money would be spread over them all and therefore could not be exacted, and his people would
seek a mind-based recourse for settlement. The sinful proposal was unanimously accepted, and the
representatives broke up the meeting and went back home with full determination for immediate
implementation.
No comments:
Post a Comment