The Hijrah

The Hijrah

 

In the wake of the conquest of Makkah, most of the Arabian Peninsula communities wittingly entered the fold of Islam. Those who declined to do so - covertly or otherwise - peacefully accepted the rule of Islam and the Muslims. It was around this time that the Prophet (pbuh) proclaimed that there is no (Hijrah) migration to Madinah after the take-over of Makkah; there remained only jihad and niyyah.

The Prophet (pbuh) used to encourage people from then on to stay where they were, and to contribute whatever they could in implementing and disseminating the Word of God elsewhere, since “To Allah belongeth all that is in the heavens and on earth…” (al-Baqarah 284), and “To Allah belong the East and the West: whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah’s Face. For Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing” (al-Baqarah 115).

At first, owing to the conditions which the Muslims and Islam were living through in Makkah, performing the Hijrah was imposed as an individual duty, particularly after the successful formation of the Muslim community in Madinah had come to pass. Undertaking the Hijrah was incumbent on each person because of the dangers the Muslims were exposing themselves to in Makkah and elsewhere. 

Such dangers, some of which were life threatening, incapacitated the followers of Islam from living peacefully and practicing under normal circumstances their new religion. Also, the Hijrah was an individual duty because the young community in Madinah was in dire need of abundant human resources with diversified capabilities and talents. The city-state of Madinah needed to evolve swiftly into a strong, thriving and respectable community capable of defending itself and its ideals.

According to some scholars, because it was the home of the Hijrah, Madinah was declared a Haram (sanctuary) so that its rich and delightful natural environment could be preserved and kept intact. In turn, the people were expected to be lured to migrate and settle therein. Urging the people to take the trouble to migrate to Madinah, Allah says in the Qur’an: “Those who believed, and migrated and fought for the Faith, with their property and their persons, in the cause of Allah, as well as those who gave (them) asylum and aid -, these are (all) friends and protectors, one of another.

 As to those who believed but did not emigrate ye owe no duty of protection to them until they emigrate; but if they seek your aid in religion, it is your duty to help them, except against a people with whom ye have a treaty of mutual alliance. And (remember) Allah seeth all that ye do” (al-Anfal 72).