Historic Migration to Medina 1435 Years Ago

Human migration is the movement of people going from one place to another with the intention of settling temporarily or permanently in the new location. It can take the form of both voluntary and involuntary migration. People who migrate into a territory are called immigrants, while at the departure point they are called emigrants.

According to UN Global Migration Statistics there are 232 million migrants living abroad worldwide in 2013 (= 3.2 per cent of the world’s population). In 2013, half of all international migrants lived in ten countries, with the US hosting the largest number (45.8 million), followed by the Russian Federation (11 million); Germany (9.8 million); Saudi Arabia (9.1 million); United Arab Emirates (7.8 million); United Kingdom (7.8 million); France (7.4 million); Canada (7.3 million); Australia (6.5 million) and Spain (6.5 million).

The purposes of migration vary: most immigrants do it in search of a better livelihood; others search for a peaceful place fleeing from a chaotic situation in their original country; and others migrate due to political reasons.

But those who migrated from Mecca to Medina 1435 years ago (counted in lunar years), had the specific purpose, dictated by God, to diffuse God’s call to the whole world. We can say their motive was to establish a great human civilization based on God’s guidance. This migration took place 13 years after the Prophet’s mission in Mecca.

Before that historic migration, in the fourth and fifth year of his mission, the Prophet (God’s blessings upon him) suggested to some of his followers to migrate to Ethiopia. The first group that consisted of 10 men and 4 women migrated in 614, and the second group, 83 men and 19 women, in 615. The purpose of that migration was twofold: to escape from oppression they suffered from the Meccan rulers (of Quraish tribe); and at the same time to expand the mission of calling people to listen to God’s appeals to humanity as a whole. The Prophet chose Ethiopia because there ruled a Christian King who was known to be equitable and fair.

The Meccan rulers sent a delegation to Ethiopia to convince the King that those Muslim migrants were rebels and should be repulsed back to their country. But after investigation, the King did not consent to the delegation’s demand and decided to give them refuge and good treatment.

Seeing the increase of the oppression against his followers in Mecca, the Prophet started to think of migrating to a place from where he could expand his mission. In the beginning of 621, during the Hajj (Pilgrimage) season, the Prophet met secretly some persons who came from Yathrib (later called Medina). He presented them with the Islamic creed. They were convinced and became submitted to God and believed in the Prophethood of Muhammad  (God’s blessings upon him). Afterwards, they asked that someone be sent to their home to teach them the Qur’an. In the next year, 75 men and 15 women came again from Yathrib, invited the Prophet to migrate to their home, and gave pledge to lodge him and his Meccan followers as soon as they arrived there.

Immediately after that, in 622, the Prophet ordered his followers to start the migration to Medina. Among the last ones were the Prophet himself, Abubakr and Ali. One night, the Prophet went out from his home in Mecca, secretly leaving town accompanied by his closest friend Abubakr, on their way to Medina.

By the time the immigrants came to Medina, half of the population of the city had already entered Islam. All those immigrants were welcomed and given shelter and considered truly as their own brothers. This brotherhood was so wonderful, that God mentioned it in the Qur’an as follows: “The poor emigrants who have been driven away from their homes and their possessions that they should seek bounty from God and beatitude and who aid (the cause of) God and His messenger. It is they, they who are true to their word! And those who had settled in the hometown, and (had abided) in faith before them, love those who have emigrated to them (in search of refuge), and do not find any grudge in their hearts for whatever the others may have been given, but rather give them preference over themselves, even though poverty be their own lot: for such as from their own covetousness are saved – it is they, they are the successful!” (59:8-9).

Well settled in Medina, the Prophet (God’s blessings upon him) had had a lot of discussions with different factions of the population and managed to draft a document called

“The Medina Charter”. This Charter shows how the Prophet managed to take leadership and create a lasting peace. The first clause, indicating the population of Medina, was marked as “They are a single community (Ummah)”, which means he succeeded in unifying many diverse groups, cultures and religions with a wide tolerance for each other.

To conclude, I would say that the migration held by Prophet Muhammad (God’s blessings upon him) and his followers from Mecca to Medina was a great event, which proceeded to a great change in human civilization at large. From there Islam expanded, with its message: a Godly origin and a humanly aim and purpose.

Islam incites human beings to be free to think, free to express positive opinions. It insists that there should be no compulsion in religion, and seeks humanity to build fair civilizations, far from becoming slave to one’s whim, whether it is the ego, sex or any unjust deed. People need to accept the plurality of religions, cultures and opinions, as it was written in the “Medina Charter”, and of course in the Quran.

In recognition of the impact and importance this migration had on the Islamic History, seventeen years after that migration, Omar bin Al-Kattab, as the Head of State in Medina, appointed that year as the beginning of the Islamic Calendar!

Building Up A Civilization

“And when Abraham was raising up (the construction) on the foundations of the House (the Ka’bah), along with Ismail, (they prayed:) O Our Lord! Accept this (service) from us: for, verily, You are the all-Hearing, the all-Knowing. O Our Lord, make us both submissive to You, and (make) of our progeny as well, a people submissive to You and show us our holy rites, and accept our repentance, as indeed, You- and You alone – are the most Relenting, the very Merciful!” (2:127-128).

Let us contemplate together those two verses of the Qur’an recounting the performance done by the great Prophet Abraham and his son Ismail while building up the Ka’bah on the strong foundations they established in the middle of the Arabian Peninsula.

God not only registered this event in the Holy Book, but also enjoined the believers to do they prayers facing this Holy Building five times a day, wherever they are. God also made the pilgrimage to this House an obligation once in every person’s life, if he or she has the means to do so.

The verb “raising up” in Arabic is “rafa’a” (past tense) and “yarfa’u” (present tense). In this story the Qur’an used the present tense “yarfa’u”, surely for a specific purpose. That purpose is to let the readers of this story perceive the action of constructing.

It seems that this Qur’an verse, with its special terminology incites every Muslim to be ware in all of his actions and not to stray from the straight path leading to the same goal as Abraham’s.

Every believer should be candid in sharing and continuing to build a great civilization, enriching and elevating humans’ life according to the ambition of Abraham, Ismail as well as Muhammad (God’s blessings upon all of them).

And what was their ambition? To construct and develop all what is good for humanity, using the right means according to God’s ordinances.

God recounted in the Qur’an Abraham’s statement as follows:

“I have, indeed, turned my face straight towards the One who created the heavens and the earth, and I am not one of those who associate partners with God” (6:79).

And God ordered Prophet Muhammad (God’s blessings upon him) as follows: “Say: Verily, my Lord has guided me to a straight way through an ever-true faith – the way of Abraham who turned away from all that is false, and was not of those who ascribe divinity to anything beside Him. Say: Truly, my prayer and my rituals, and my living, and my dying, are all for God the Lord of the worlds” (6:161-162).

Dr. Ahmad Khairi Al-Umari (in his book “Guide for the pilgrim to ritual places of construction”) has an excellent perception on this issue. He said that all rituals connected with the Ka’bah (prayers, hajj and tawaf) symbolize the acts of constructing and building, which the faithful believers should apply to all their livelihood activities. Tawaf (turning around the Ka’bah) corresponds to the rotation of every cell of each being in the earth and in the heavens. This rotation around the Ka’bah indicates the necessity of harmony between all of God’s creations.

Those rituals are a very important means for inciting them to participate actively in building human civilization in the right direction and with fair means.

The Most Beautiful Names (Attributes of Perfection)

                      “And to God belong the Most Beautiful

                      Names: so invoke Him by them, and

                      leave those who blaspheme His Names.

                      They will be requited for what they did”

                                        (Qur’an, 7:180).                         

The Qur’an describes God’s attributes as the Most Beautiful Names. Indeed, they are most beautiful and are the attributes of perfection: “He is God, besides Whom there is no god, the One who knows the unseen (= all that is beyond the reach of a created being’s perception), as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature’s senses or mind; He is the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace. He is God, besides Whom there is no other god, the Sovereign Supreme, the Holy, t he Peace (= the One with Whom all salvation rests), the Securer (= the Giver of Faith), the Guardian (of Faith), the Mighty, the Compeller (= the One Who subdues wrong and restores right), the One to Whom all greatness belongs. Utterly remote is God, in His limitless glory, from anything to which men may ascribe a share in His divinity! He is God the Creator, the Maker, who shapes all forms and appearances. His (alone) are the Most Beautiful Names (= Attributes of Perfection). All that is in the heavens and on earth extols His limitless glory, for He alone is Almighty, truly Wise” (59:22-24).

God’s Names are His attributes, in action and behaviour, because a name is a word or phrase that constitutes the distinctive designation of a person or a thing. And we can get these attributes only from Him, because He is the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper of all beings and the one Who gives them faculties of intelligence.

God is “the Living” because any other living being gets its life only from Him: He is the One “Who created death and life, that He may try you (to see) which of you is best in conduct, and He is the Mighty, the Forgiving” (67:2). He is “the Unique One”, “the Self Sufficient”, “the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of all that exists”.

He is “the Sovereign Supreme” who governs all universe and all beings: “He directs the command (of all that exists), from the heaven to the earth; then it ascends to Him in a day whose measure is a thousand years by your reckoning” (32:5).

He is the One who is extremely subtle, so that He is intangible and unfathomable:  “No (human) vision can encompass Him, whereas He encompasses all vision: for He alone is al-lateef al-Khabeer (= Unfathomable, all-Aware)” (6:103).

“Al-Lateef” also means  “the One who is All-Gentle”: “God is All-Gentle to His servants, He provides sustenance for whomsoever He will – for He alone is Powerful, Almighty”

(42:19).

This Gentleness together with God’s Wisdom made human beings differ: in their intelligence, in their appearance, in their standpoints on everything. “Had your Lord willed He would have made mankind one community (= with one standpoint), but they continue to differ, except those on whom your Lord has mercy; and that is why He created them .. “ (11:118-119). “And it is He who has made you inherit the earth, and has raised some of you by degrees above others, so that He might try you by means of what He has bestowed upon you. Verily, your Lord is swift in retribution; yet, behold, He is indeed Much-Forgiving, a Dispenser of grace” (6:165).

Indeed, this diversity and multiplicity are in the interest of all mankind, to cover their needs. Consider if God were to make all humans similar in will, in desire, in capability, thus in their standpoint too; then what would happen? No mutual interactions, no mutual services and no exchange of livelihood: “.. We have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world, and raised some of them above others by degrees, so that some of them may take others in service..” (43:32). “And if God were to grant (in this world) abundant sustenance to (all of) His servants, they would behave on earth with wanton insolence; but as it is, He bestows (His grace) from on high in due measure, as He wills; for, verily, He is fully Aware of (the needs of) His creatures, and sees them all” (42:27).

For that reason God has prepared for mankind all they need: “And the earth – We have spread it out wide, and placed on it mountains firm, and caused (life) of every kind to grow on it in a balanced manner. And We have given you power in the earth, and have appointed for you therein (means of) livelihood, and those for whom you do not provide” (15:19-20).

Deed & Motive

                            “Or has he not been informed of what

                             is in the scrolls of Moses, and Abraham

                             who fulfilled (his summons) that no

                             bearer of burdens shall be made to bear

                             another’s burden; and that man shall

                             have only what he (himself) strives for;

                             and that his endeavor will be seen, then

                             he will be rewarded for it with the fullest

                             reward; and that the ultimate end is

                             toward your Lord” (53: 36-42)

A deed is an action or performance done by a person and motive is the reason for a certain course of action.

In the Islamic faith, the very existence of mankind is with a certain purpose: to make all our deeds in accordance with our submission, obedience, love and devotion to God, the Creator. This is the overall purpose, however in details we have many purposes, which have the one and unique purpose mentioned above, and that is the motive of all our actions or deeds. For example: we have to eat, to drink, to wear clothes and to find shelter in order to meet our bodily needs. We have to take care of our family and the disabled and the needy. We have to interact with others in the society, because every individual needs the service of the other.

As we talk about deed, we come to the aspect of intention. Intention is something that you want and plan to do. Prophet Muhammad (God’s blessings upon him) said: “The value of deeds depends upon the intentions, and every person will get out of his deed only what he intended for” (Narrated by Umar bin Khattab, and recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim in their Collections of Hadith).

After that we come to sincerity. Sincerity is the freedom from deceit, hypocrisy or falseness.  

The Prophet (God’s blessings upon him) said: “True faith is sincerity, true faith is sincerity, true faith is sincerity!” Hearing that from the Prophet, and by repeating his saying three times, the audience asked him: to whom, o Messenger of God? He said: “To God, to His Book, to His Messenger, to any responsible person among you, and to everybody”. (Quoted by Muslim in his “Collection of Hadith” and by An-Nasaie in his “Sunan”).

Realizing that a deed or a performance, good or bad, is not necessarily an easy thing to do, however most things can be recognized as good or bad by everybody. Sadly, we have seen through human history and even now, in many corners of the world, men and institutions with great power spreading corruption and creating disorder, with the slogans of reformation. God has described them in the Qur’an as follows: “And when it is said to them: do not spread disorder on the earth; they say: we are but reformers. Truly, they are the makers of corruption, but they perceive not”  (2:11-12).

For a person who has faith in God, there is a reference that helps evaluate the quality of a deed or a performance, and that is God’s ordinances. Human beings should evaluate with knowledge, which is a gift from God. But many people do evaluate things without knowledge, as God says: “They do not have any knowledge thereof. They follow nothing but conjecture, and indeed conjecture can never substitute for the truth” (53:28).

And because God gives to mankind a little of this knowledge, and gradually, it cannot contain everything totally. God said in the Qur’an: “.. and you have not given of the knowledge only a little” (17:85). Thus, the right and complete guidance can come only from God who has the complete and true knowledge of everything.

 We are ordered by God to be sincere in our deeds and speech and we are told that each person will take the responsibility of what he does in this worldly life:

 “And every human being’s destiny have We tied to his neck; and on the Day of Resurrection We shall bring forth for him a record which he will find wide open; (and he will be told:) Read this your record! Sufficient is your own self today to make out your account!” (17:13-14).

It means that the destiny of each person depends upon his conduct during his life time: “Whoever follows the guidance, he is guided only for the good of his own self; and whoever goes astray, goes astray only to its detriment; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another’s burden..” (17: 15).

To conclude, I would say: only God’s guidance may define the good deed, because good deed is a way of “worshiping” God. And God says: “So, anyone who looks forward (with hope and awe) to meeting his Lord (on Judgment Day), let him do righteous deed and let him not associate anyone in this worship due to his Lord” (18:110).