Hijrah (Migration) - Part 8

[Guest guest]

('Hijrah' - migration, especially the Muslims' migrations to Medina. [Muhammad

Prophet For Our Time Glossary pg. 216].)

 

 

Hijrah (Migration) - Part 8

 

(p.111) After the hajj, the Ansar [Medinese Muslim Helpers] returned to Yathrib

to await the arrival of the Muslim fugitives. The Qur'an now adopted the Aramaic

name that the Jews gave to the settlement of Yathrib:'medinta' ( " the city " ).

Yathrib was about to become 'al-Madinat', the city of the Prophet. In Mecca,

Muhammad began to persuade Muslims to make the hijrah, but he did not command

it. Anybody who felt it to be beyond his or her strength was free to remain

behind. (p.112) But during July and August 622, about seventy Muslims set off

with their families to Medina, where they were lodged in the houses of the Ansar

until they could set up their own homes. The Quraysh do not seem to have made a

concerted effort to detain them though some women and children were forcibly

prevented from leaving, and one man was carted back in triumph, tied to his

camel. For their part, the Muslims were careful not to draw attention to their

flight, and usually agreed to meet up outside the city limits and to travel in

small, unobstrusive groups. 'Umar left with his family; 'Uthman ibn 'Affan and

Ruqayyah made the journey with Zayd and Hamzah, but Muhammad and Abu Bakr stayed

behind until nearly everybody had left. But it was not long before this major

defection left disturbing gaps in the city, revealing the open wound that

Muhammad had inflicted on his tribe. The big houses in the middle of Mecca

looked desolate and portentous to passers by, " doors blowing to and fro, empty

of inhabitants. " [34]

 

Glossary (for above paragraph):

 

'Umar ibn al-Khattab--The nephew of Abu Jahl; at first passionately opposed to

Muhammad, but later became one of his closest companions. (Glossary, p.227).

 

'Uthman ibn 'Affan--One of the earliest converts, with family connections to

some of the most powerful clans in Mecca; he became Muhammad's son-in-law.

(Glossary, p.228).

 

Ruqayyah bint Muhammad--Daughter of Khadijah and Muhammad; married to 'Uthman

ibn' Affan. (Glossary, p.226).

 

Zayd ibn 'Amr--One of the early 'hanifs', who was driven out of Mecca because of

his stinging criticism of the traditional pagan religion; the uncle of 'Umar ibn

al-Khattab. (Glossary, p.228).

 

Hamzah ibn al-Muttalib--One of Muhammad's uncles; a warrior of prodigious

strength, who converted to Islam and died at the battle of Uhud. (Glossary,

p.224).

 

In August, shortly before he was due to leave, Mu'tim, Muhammad's Meccan

protector, died. Muhammad's position in Mecca was now untenable, because he was

fair game for assassination. There was a special meeting to discuss his fate in

the assembly, from which Abu Lahab pointedly absented himself. Some of the

elders simply wanted to throw Muhammad out of Mecca, but they were overruled by

those who felt that to allow him to join those unprincipled renegades in Yathrib

would be dangerous. Abu Jahl came up with a plan: each clan would select a

strong and well-protected young man. Collectively, they would represent the

entire tribe, and would kill Muhammad together. (p.113) There would be no

vendetta, because the Hashim could not take on the whole of Quraysh.

 

Glossary (for the above paragraph):

 

Mu'tim ibn 'Adi--Muhammad's protector during his last years in Mecca before the

'hijrah'. (Glossary, p.226).

 

Abu Lahab ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib--The half-brother of Abu Talib; an early opponent

of Muhammad. After Abu Talib's death, he became the chief of the clan of Hashim.

(Glossary, p.223).

 

Abu Jahl-- " Father of Insolence, " the nickname given by the Muslims to Abu

l-Hakam; the most virulent of Muhammad's early opponents. (Glossary, p.222).

 

Hashim--The Meccan clan [of the Qurayshi tribe] to which Muhammad belonged.

(Glossary, p.224).

 

Quraysh--Muhammad's tribe, rulers of Mecca; 'Adj.' Qurayshan; Qurayshi; a member

of the tribe. (Glossary, p.226).

 

 

So that night a band of carefully chosen youths gathered outside Muhammad's

home, but were disturbed to hear the voices of Sawdah and some of the Prophet's

daughters through the window. It would be shameful to kill a man in the presence

of his women, so they decided to wait until he left the house the following

morning. One of them peered in and saw a figure lying in bed, wrapped in

Muhammad's cloak. Unbeknownst to them, Muhammad had already escaped through a

back window, leaving 'Ali lying apparently asleep, wearing his clothes. When

'Ali strolled outside the next morning, the young men realized that they had

been tricked, and the Quraysh offered a reward of a hundred camel mares to

anybody who would bring Muhammad back, dead or alive.

 

By this time, Muhammad and Abu Bakr were hiding in a mountain cave just outside

the city. They stayed there for three days, and from time to time, their

supporters slipped out to bring them news and provisions. At one point, it was

said, a search party actually passed the cave, but did not bother to look inside

because an enormous spider's web covered the entrance and a rock dove, who had

clearly been sitting on her eggs for some time, had her nest in an acacia tree

in exactly the place where a man would have to put his foot when climbing into

the cave. All the while, Muhammad experienced a deep calm and a strong sense of

God's presence. The Qur'an recalls how he comforted Abu Bakr: " 'grieve not:

verily God is with us.' And thereupon God bestowed upon him from on high His

[gift of] inner peace. " [35] (p.114) Increasingly the Qur'an would insist that

when Muslims found themselves in frightening or disturbing circumstances, they

should be serene and tranquil, and should never fall prey to the impetuous rage

and vengeful fury of jahiliyyah.

 

Muhammad (Prophet For Our Time)

Chapter 3, 'Hijrah', p. 111-114

Karen Armstrong

Harper Perennial - London, New York, Toronto and Sydney

ISBN-13 978-0-00-723248-2

ISBN-10 0-00-723248-9

 

Notes:

 

[34] Ibn Ishaq, 'Sirat Rasul Allah', in Guillaume, 'Life of Muhammad'.

 

[35] Qur'an 9:40.