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The Meaning of Hijrah
Very often when the Hijrah is discussed, we tend to limit ourselves to the
details describing how the Prophet (saaw) hid in a
cave or who slept in his (saaw) bed. This process inevitably diverts us from
discussing the true substance of the event. An account of such events
should serve only to remind us that Prophet (saaw),
while relying on the revelation as the source of the Islamic Message, had to
carry the Islamic Da’wah as a human being, and through the means
accessible to a human being. The Hijrah to Medinah
did not take place because the Muslims in Mecca wanted to avoid the
persecution there, or because they wanted to find a safe haven for
themselves, or to run away from the hardships they
faced in that city. Rather, it was an event that took history in a new
direction, and this can only be seen if we look at
the Seerah in the correct manner.
The Seerah of the Prophet (saaw) is an integral part of the Sunnah, and is
just as much a part of the revelation as is the
Qur’an. After a careful study of it, we can extract a very specific method
for carrying out the Da’wah, and if our aim is to
please Allah (swt), then it is our obligation to adhere to
this method step by step, through each and every phase.
“Say (0 Muhammad): If you love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you and
forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful” (Al-i-Imran 3: 31)
“And whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and whatever he forbids,
avoid” (AI-Hashr 59: 7)
According to the Seerah, the Hijrah marks the transition from the phase in
the Da’wah known as “Seeking the Nusrah” to
the phase where Islam is implemented in the form of a state. The
Nusrah is the transfer of authority to a
person via the material support or allegiance from the powerful
elements of a society. The Hijrah is a direct result of seeking, and
subsequently receiving, the Nusrah.
When Mus’ab ibn Umair (ra) was sent to Medinah to spread the Message of
Islam, it took him one year of tireless work in
that city before its leaders journeyed to Mecca to transfer their authority
to the Prophet (saaw) by giving him the Ba’yah.
This Ba’yah was called Bayat-ul Harb (Allegiance of
War). Although there was no war, it was called Bayat-ul Harb because
it indicated the willingness of the Muslims to
fight, when necessary, to protect the Da’wah and the newly established
Islamic State. The Prophet (saaw) had invested
four years of Da’wah, towards most of the tribes in Najd
(the large area between Mecca and Medinah) before he (saaw) received
the Nusrah.
It is important to note that until this time in the Seerah, even with all
the pressure the Prophet (saaw) placed upon the
Kufr society of Mecca, all the persecution that the Quraysh inflicted on
Prophet (saaw) and the Muslims was comparatively
trivial to the persecution that came after the Prophet
(saaw) received the Nusrah from the leaders of Medinah. From this
point onward the plot of
the Kuffar was to assassinate Muhammad (saaw).
Indeed, it is true that Shaitan and his followers are
most afraid of the implementation of Allah’s rules.
Keeping these elements in mind, whenever we discuss the Hijrah, which many
people will try to reduce to a spiritual journey
the Prophet (saaw) took over some terrain, we should discuss the
overall ideological significance of this event in terms of Islam and
the Da’wah mission. It is critical for us, the
Muslims, to realize that this event not only marks the beginning of our
calendar, but more importantly it commemorates the establishment of
the nucleus of the first Islamic state. For
hundreds of years to come this nucleus would engulf neighbouring lands, sub
sequently liberating one oppressed people after another and bringing
them the Mercy from Allah (swt) called Islam. If
we want to talk about the essential nature of the Hijrah, we have to realize
that it marks the time when Islam as an Ideology
was transformed from idea to practice.
Hitherto, the people of Medinah accepted Muhammad (saaw) only as a Prophet.
However, after the transfer of power (Nusrah),
when he (saaw) arrived in Medinah, they were receiving him (saaw) as
a ruler and a Prophet. Before the Prophet (saaw) made the Hijrah, he
(saaw) was a Prophet with the new laws revealed to
him (saaw) by Allah (swt). After the Hijrah, he (saaw) was the one who
implemented this law. Islam had gone from addressing and pointing out
the problems and issues to tackling the problems
and issues and providing solutions for them. It was at this point that the
Prophet (saaw) was able to apply the rules and systems of Islam into
real life.
The Hijrah, a part of the Seerah, is something that must be studied in depth
to gain a full understanding of its implications
and meaning. It is not simply a series of bedtime stories to be told
and remembered like fairy tales of how the Prophet (saaw) took Abu
Bakr (ra) with him and went on a journey, and at
the end of it the people received him (saaw) by singing merry melodies,
This is not to say that the small details of the Hijrah, like how the
Prophet (saaw) had to get Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra)
to sleep in his bed, or how he (saaw) had to hide in a cave, are not
significant. These
details are important because they remind us that the techniques and tactics
used by the Prophet (saaw) were human and not
superhuman. They were not tactics which required miracles to be
carried out.
We cannot claim that since he (saaw) was a Prophet, and since we are not
Prophets, we are unable to exactly follow his (saaw)
footsteps when it comes to the manner in which he (saaw) carried the
Da’wah.We must remember that these steps, or phases, in the Da’wah
mission were meant for us to follow, and to not
follow them is a disobedience to Allah (swt).
In the Seerah Series
Seerah -Part 1
Seerah -Part 2
Seerah -Part 3
Seerah -Part 4
Seerah - Part 5
Seerah - Part 6
Seerah - Part 7 |
