The Migration (Hijrah)

Thirteen years had passed since that transformative night in the cave of Hira when the angel Gabriel first appeared to Muhammad with divine revelation.

In those years, the message of Islam had spread through Mecca — but with it came increasing hostility from the Quraysh tribe, who saw the new faith as a threat to their power and the profitable pilgrimage trade centered around the Kaaba's idols.

The persecution of Muslims had grown unbearable.

Believers were tortured, boycotted, and some forced to flee to distant lands. Yet through all these trials, Prophet Muhammad had remained in Mecca — hoping his own people would eventually accept the truth.

But by the year 622 CE... it became clear that Allah had different plans.

News had reached the Prophet from the northern city of Yathrib — later to be known as Medina.

Delegations from the tribes of Aus and Khazraj, who had been locked in bitter warfare for generations, came to Mecca seeking arbitration. They had heard of Muhammad's reputation for justice and wisdom... and when they encountered his message, many embraced Islam with sincere hearts.

Seventy-five Muslims from Medina secretly met with the Prophet at Aqaba — pledging not only to protect him as they would their own families, but to offer him sanctuary in their city!

They understood that accepting Muhammad meant accepting potential war with all of Arabia. Yet their faith gave them courage.

"O Messenger of Allah," they declared, "we will protect you as we protect our own children and wives!"

As the persecution in Mecca intensified, Allah revealed to His Messenger that the time for migration had come.

The believers were commanded to make their way to Medina in small groups — leaving behind their homes, businesses, and possessions.

One by one, the Muslims slipped away from Mecca, carrying only what they could hide from the watchful eyes of the Quraysh.

Some, like Suhayb ar-Rumi, were forced to abandon every possession they owned just to be allowed to leave. When the Quraysh demanded his wealth as the price of his freedom, Suhayb gave up everything. The Prophet, upon hearing this, said: "Suhayb has profited! Suhayb has profited!" — for he had traded the fleeting comforts of this world for the eternal reward of the next.

As the Muslim community in Mecca dwindled, only the Prophet, Abu Bakr, and Ali remained. The Quraysh, alarmed by the steady migration, realized that Muhammad was building a power base in Medina that could threaten their dominance. They convened an emergency assembly at Dar an-Nadwah — their council hall — to decide the Prophet's fate.

Various proposals were debated. Some suggested exile, others imprisonment. But it was Abu Jahl — the fiercest enemy of Islam — who proposed the most sinister plan: select one young man from each tribe and have them all strike Muhammad simultaneously. This way, no single tribe would bear the blame, and the Hashemites could not wage war against all of Quraysh at once. The plan was agreed upon unanimously.

But Allah, the best of planners, revealed their conspiracy to His Messenger. The Quran recorded: "And remember when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you. But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners" (Quran 8:30).

On the fateful night, as the assassins surrounded Muhammad's house, the Prophet turned to his young cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib. He asked Ali to sleep in his bed, wrapped in his green cloak, so the assassins peering through the window would believe their target still lay inside. Ali, barely twenty years old, accepted this potentially fatal mission without hesitation — placing his life in danger so that the Prophet might escape. This act of selfless courage would be remembered for all time.

The Prophet slipped out of his house in the dead of night, passing directly through the crowd of assassins who had surrounded his home. Allah cast a veil over their eyes — they could not see him. As he passed, he scattered a handful of dust over their heads, reciting the opening verses of Surah Ya-Sin: "And We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier, and We have covered them so they do not see" (Quran 36:9).

He made his way to Abu Bakr's house, and together they slipped out of Mecca under the cover of darkness. But instead of heading north toward Medina — where the Quraysh would search first — they went south, toward the Cave of Thawr, a small cave hidden in the rocky mountainside about five miles from the city.

For three days and three nights, the Prophet and Abu Bakr sheltered in that narrow cave. Abu Bakr's son Abdullah would bring them news of the Quraysh's movements each night. His daughter Asma would deliver food, earning her the title "She of the Two Belts" for tearing her belt in two to tie the provisions. Their servant Amir ibn Fuhayrah would drive his sheep over their tracks to erase any trace of their path.

The Quraysh, discovering at dawn that Ali lay in the bed instead of Muhammad, erupted in fury. They placed a bounty of 100 camels on the Prophet's head — an enormous fortune — and dispatched expert trackers across every route leading out of Mecca. One group of trackers followed the trail all the way to the mouth of the Cave of Thawr.

Inside the cave, Abu Bakr trembled with fear. "O Messenger of Allah," he whispered, "if any of them were to look down at their feet, they would see us!" The Prophet placed his hand gently on his companion and spoke words that have comforted believers for fourteen centuries: "Do not grieve, for indeed Allah is with us" (Quran 9:40). Allah had sent His protection — a spider had woven its web across the cave entrance, and a pair of doves had built a nest at its mouth. The trackers, seeing the undisturbed web and the nesting birds, concluded that no one could have entered recently and moved on.

After three days, when the search had cooled, the Prophet and Abu Bakr emerged from the cave. With their hired guide, Abdullah ibn Urayqit, they took an unusual coastal route to avoid the Quraysh patrols. Along the way, they were pursued by Suraqah ibn Malik, a bounty hunter seeking the 100-camel reward. But each time Suraqah's horse drew near, its hooves sank into the sand as if by divine intervention. Terrified, Suraqah begged for mercy and turned back — later becoming a Muslim himself.

The journey to Medina took approximately eight days. The Prophet first stopped at Quba, a village on the outskirts, where he established the first mosque in Islam — Masjid Quba. He then entered Medina proper, where the Ansar (helpers) lined the streets, singing songs of welcome: "The full moon has risen over us... we owe it thanks where the caller calls to Allah."

In Medina, the Prophet laid the foundations of a new society. He built the Prophet's Mosque (Al-Masjid an-Nabawi), established the brotherhood (mu'akhah) between the Muhajirun (migrants from Mecca) and the Ansar (people of Medina), and drafted the Constitution of Medina — a landmark document that defined the rights and duties of all citizens, including Muslims, Jews, and other communities. The Hijrah had transformed a group of persecuted refugees into the nucleus of an Islamic civilization that would change the course of human history. Discover more about the stories of the Quran and the lessons they hold for our lives.