First and Second
Hijrahs to Abyssinia
When endurance was reaching its limits and persecution
became unbearable, the Prophet advised a group of his followers to migrate to
Abyssinia where a benign Christian king reigned. This was the first Hijrah
(Migration) in Islam and fifteen people took part in it:
And those who become fugitives for Allah's sake after
they are oppressed, verily We shall give them good abode in the world and surely
the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew. (Qur'an, 16:41)
And what was all this tyranny and persecution for? Just for
believing in one God and for leading a chaste and pious life! Further migration
of some people led to intensified persecution of those left behind. The Prophet
advised a second Hijrah to Abyssinia, and this time about a hundred people,
including Jafar, the elder brother of 'Ali, went away. The Quraish sent a
deputation with 'Amr ibn al-'As and 'Ammara ibn Rabi'ah to Negus (Nijashi, in
Arabic), the king of Abyssinia, to demand the deportation of the emigrants back
to Mecca to be punished by death. Having won the favor of the clergy, the
deputation tried to prejudice the king against the fugitives. Asked to explain
the position, Jafar delivered a speech, which is a brilliant summary of the
fundamentals of Islam and all that it stands for:
"O king! We were
plunged in the depth of ignorance and barbarism; we adored idols; we lived in
unchastity; we ate dead animals, and we spoke abomination. We disregarded every
feeling of humanity, and the duties of hospitality and neighborhood. We knew no
law but that of the strong. At that time, God raised from among us a man of
whose birth, truthfulness, honesty and purity we were aware, and he called us to
the Unity of God and taught us not to associate anything with Him. He forbade us
to worship idols and enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our
trusts, to be merciful, and to regard the rights of neighbors. He forbade us to
speak ill of women and to eat the substance of orphans. He ordered us to flee
from vices, to abstain from evil, to offer prayers, to render alms, and to
observe the fast. We have believed in him; we have accepted his teachings and
injunctions to worship God, and not to associate anything with Him. For this
reason, our people have risen against us and persecuted us in order to make us
forego the worship of God and return to the worship of idols of wood and stone
and other abominations. They have tortured us and injured us. Having found no
safety among them, we have come to thy country and hope thou wilt protect us
from their oppression."
The king refused to oblige the deputation, and the latter
had to return disappointed. Muslim traditions indicate that the king later on
secretly converted to Islam.
Some European critics, with the object of assigning some
ulterior motive for the migration, go to the length of saying that persecution
was only slight and at worst confined to slaves and the poorer people who could
find no clans to protect them. There is a mass of historical data recorded in
original sources about the names and numbers of persons put to physical torture,
the names of their tormentors and the manner of their physical torture and
persecution. Although these critics admit that even Abu Bakr had to undergo the
indignity of being bound to a clansman and to solicit the protection of a
nomadic chief, they would still suggest that the persecution was limited to
persons who had no clans to support them. Such people had, no doubt, the worst
of the treatment, but when people of a clan were oppressing their fellow
clansmen for accepting Islam, clan protection could not help the victims. What
protection could be expected from the clan when a father chained his son, a
brother tortured his sister, or a husband injured his wife? Furthermore, the
slaves and the poor people constituted the bulk of the disciples at that stage.
A Western historian surmises that the migration was caused either by a rift in
the Muslim ranks, as some Muslims might not have liked the attitude of the
Prophet towards Meccan opposition, or was undertaken with the object of making
Abyssinia a base of attacking Meccan trade or to solicit military help to enable
the Prophet to seize control of Mecca. Even Encyclopedia Britannica tries to
water down the persecution (Macro. Vol. 12. p. 607):
"There was little physical violence, and that almost always
within the family. Muhammad suffered from minor annoyances, such as having filth
deposited outside his door."
About the emigration to Ethiopia it suggests:
"... but they may have been seeking opportunities for trade
or military support for Muhammad."
If such fantastic conjectures can be made when the Muslims
were yet a handful and survival was the only consideration before them, when all
along they stood solidly behind the Prophet, when no Meccan caravan was ever
attacked from Abyssinia, when that country never provided any military help to
the Muslims, and when the Prophet did not seize control of Mecca even when it
lay at his feet, what fairness in exposition and presentation can be expected
from such historians?
Deputations of
Quraish
Now we have reached the sixth year after the Declaration of
Prophethood. In spite of the persecution and exodus of some people, the Prophet
was laboring quietly but incessantly to wean away his people from the worship of
idols. His mission gained considerable momentum by the conversion of his uncle
Hamza the Valiant.
Once, at the suggestion of Abu Bakr, the Holy Prophet came
into Masjid-ul-Haram and Abu Bakr started a lecture. The Quraish violently
stopped him and the Holy Prophet had to take refuge in the house of al-Arqam
near the hill of Safa. (Now, that house has been included into the extension of
Masjid-ul-Haram). 'Umar ibn al-Khattab accepted Islam in those days.
Because of the prestige of Abu Talib, Quraish did not dare
to kill the Holy Prophet. But they were making him suffer as much affliction as
possible, no less was the heartache caused to him by the sufferings of the
helpless Muslims. He himself said: "No prophet was ever made to suffer such
afflictions as I was."
All along, Islam was gaining adherents not only from
Quraish but also from the neighboring tribes. The oligarchy of Mecca was now
desperately trying to. stem the movement.
The forbearance of the Holy Prophet was making the Quraish
wonder as to why a man should put himself in such a precarious situation. Their
outlook was materialistic; their ideals were wealth, beauty and power. They,
naturally, ascribed the same motives to the Holy Prophet.
'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, father-in-law of Abu Sufyan, was sent
to him to convey the message of Quraish:
"Muhammad! If you want power and prestige, we will make you
the overlord of Mecca. Or do you want marriage in a big family? You may have the
hand of the fairest maiden in the land. Do you want hoards of silver and gold?
We can provide you with all these and even more. But you should forsake this
nefarious preaching which implies that our forefathers, who were worshipping
these deities of ours, were fools."
The Quraish were almost certain that Muhammad would respond
favorably to this offer. However, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) recited Sura 41 in
reply, which, inter alia, contained the following warning:
But if they turn away, then say: 1 have warned you of a
thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of the 'Ad and the Thamud. (Qur'an, 41:13).
`Utbah was overwhelmed with this ringing warning. He did
not accept Islam but advised the Quraish to leave Muhammad alone and to see how
he fares with other tribes. Quraish said that he, too, was bewitched by
Muhammad.
Then a deputation was sent to Abu Talib. They demanded that
Abu Talib should either persuade his nephew to desist from his mission or hand
him over to suffer the extreme penalty or be prepared to fight the whole tribe.
Finding the odds too heavy against him, Abu Talib said to the Holy Prophet:
"O son! Do not put such a burden on my shoulders which I am
unable to bear."
The Prophet's reply to his uncle gives an indication of his
indomitable will, his profound trust in God and confidence in his Mission. Said
he:
"O uncle! If they placed the sun on my right hand and the
moon on my left to persuade me to renounce my work, verily I would not desist
therefrom till God makes manifest His cause or I perish in the attempt."
Saying this, he was overwhelmed with grief. Abu Talib was
moved by this reply and said:
"By Allah, the
Quraish can never reach thee in spite of their great number till I am buried in
the earth. Therefore, pronounce what order thou hast; nobody can do any harm to
you; be happy with this (promise) and keep thy eyes cool (i.e. be consoled)."
In their final attempt, they took a young man, 'Ammarah ibn
al-Walid, to Abu Talib and offered to exchange him with Muhammad. They said to
him:
"This young man is
a well-known poet of the tribe; he is also very handsome and wise. You better
exchange Muhammad with him. You may adopt him as your son: he will be a good
helper to you. And give us your Muhammad; we will-kill him. Thus, you will not
suffer any loss because you will have 'Ammarah in place of Muhammad, and by
eliminating Muhammad, all this strife and friction in the tribe will come to an
end."
Abu Talib was extremely furious on hearing this outrageous
proposal. His voice was raised in wrath. He said:
"What a worst
bargain have you proposed! Why, you want me to give you my son, so that you may
kill him, and are giving me your son so that I should feed him and look after
him? Go away! This bargain is nothing if not foolishness
Hijrahs to Abyssinia
When endurance was reaching its limits and persecution
became unbearable, the Prophet advised a group of his followers to migrate to
Abyssinia where a benign Christian king reigned. This was the first Hijrah
(Migration) in Islam and fifteen people took part in it:
And those who become fugitives for Allah's sake after
they are oppressed, verily We shall give them good abode in the world and surely
the reward of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew. (Qur'an, 16:41)
And what was all this tyranny and persecution for? Just for
believing in one God and for leading a chaste and pious life! Further migration
of some people led to intensified persecution of those left behind. The Prophet
advised a second Hijrah to Abyssinia, and this time about a hundred people,
including Jafar, the elder brother of 'Ali, went away. The Quraish sent a
deputation with 'Amr ibn al-'As and 'Ammara ibn Rabi'ah to Negus (Nijashi, in
Arabic), the king of Abyssinia, to demand the deportation of the emigrants back
to Mecca to be punished by death. Having won the favor of the clergy, the
deputation tried to prejudice the king against the fugitives. Asked to explain
the position, Jafar delivered a speech, which is a brilliant summary of the
fundamentals of Islam and all that it stands for:
"O king! We were
plunged in the depth of ignorance and barbarism; we adored idols; we lived in
unchastity; we ate dead animals, and we spoke abomination. We disregarded every
feeling of humanity, and the duties of hospitality and neighborhood. We knew no
law but that of the strong. At that time, God raised from among us a man of
whose birth, truthfulness, honesty and purity we were aware, and he called us to
the Unity of God and taught us not to associate anything with Him. He forbade us
to worship idols and enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our
trusts, to be merciful, and to regard the rights of neighbors. He forbade us to
speak ill of women and to eat the substance of orphans. He ordered us to flee
from vices, to abstain from evil, to offer prayers, to render alms, and to
observe the fast. We have believed in him; we have accepted his teachings and
injunctions to worship God, and not to associate anything with Him. For this
reason, our people have risen against us and persecuted us in order to make us
forego the worship of God and return to the worship of idols of wood and stone
and other abominations. They have tortured us and injured us. Having found no
safety among them, we have come to thy country and hope thou wilt protect us
from their oppression."
The king refused to oblige the deputation, and the latter
had to return disappointed. Muslim traditions indicate that the king later on
secretly converted to Islam.
Some European critics, with the object of assigning some
ulterior motive for the migration, go to the length of saying that persecution
was only slight and at worst confined to slaves and the poorer people who could
find no clans to protect them. There is a mass of historical data recorded in
original sources about the names and numbers of persons put to physical torture,
the names of their tormentors and the manner of their physical torture and
persecution. Although these critics admit that even Abu Bakr had to undergo the
indignity of being bound to a clansman and to solicit the protection of a
nomadic chief, they would still suggest that the persecution was limited to
persons who had no clans to support them. Such people had, no doubt, the worst
of the treatment, but when people of a clan were oppressing their fellow
clansmen for accepting Islam, clan protection could not help the victims. What
protection could be expected from the clan when a father chained his son, a
brother tortured his sister, or a husband injured his wife? Furthermore, the
slaves and the poor people constituted the bulk of the disciples at that stage.
A Western historian surmises that the migration was caused either by a rift in
the Muslim ranks, as some Muslims might not have liked the attitude of the
Prophet towards Meccan opposition, or was undertaken with the object of making
Abyssinia a base of attacking Meccan trade or to solicit military help to enable
the Prophet to seize control of Mecca. Even Encyclopedia Britannica tries to
water down the persecution (Macro. Vol. 12. p. 607):
"There was little physical violence, and that almost always
within the family. Muhammad suffered from minor annoyances, such as having filth
deposited outside his door."
About the emigration to Ethiopia it suggests:
"... but they may have been seeking opportunities for trade
or military support for Muhammad."
If such fantastic conjectures can be made when the Muslims
were yet a handful and survival was the only consideration before them, when all
along they stood solidly behind the Prophet, when no Meccan caravan was ever
attacked from Abyssinia, when that country never provided any military help to
the Muslims, and when the Prophet did not seize control of Mecca even when it
lay at his feet, what fairness in exposition and presentation can be expected
from such historians?
Deputations of
Quraish
Now we have reached the sixth year after the Declaration of
Prophethood. In spite of the persecution and exodus of some people, the Prophet
was laboring quietly but incessantly to wean away his people from the worship of
idols. His mission gained considerable momentum by the conversion of his uncle
Hamza the Valiant.
Once, at the suggestion of Abu Bakr, the Holy Prophet came
into Masjid-ul-Haram and Abu Bakr started a lecture. The Quraish violently
stopped him and the Holy Prophet had to take refuge in the house of al-Arqam
near the hill of Safa. (Now, that house has been included into the extension of
Masjid-ul-Haram). 'Umar ibn al-Khattab accepted Islam in those days.
Because of the prestige of Abu Talib, Quraish did not dare
to kill the Holy Prophet. But they were making him suffer as much affliction as
possible, no less was the heartache caused to him by the sufferings of the
helpless Muslims. He himself said: "No prophet was ever made to suffer such
afflictions as I was."
All along, Islam was gaining adherents not only from
Quraish but also from the neighboring tribes. The oligarchy of Mecca was now
desperately trying to. stem the movement.
The forbearance of the Holy Prophet was making the Quraish
wonder as to why a man should put himself in such a precarious situation. Their
outlook was materialistic; their ideals were wealth, beauty and power. They,
naturally, ascribed the same motives to the Holy Prophet.
'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, father-in-law of Abu Sufyan, was sent
to him to convey the message of Quraish:
"Muhammad! If you want power and prestige, we will make you
the overlord of Mecca. Or do you want marriage in a big family? You may have the
hand of the fairest maiden in the land. Do you want hoards of silver and gold?
We can provide you with all these and even more. But you should forsake this
nefarious preaching which implies that our forefathers, who were worshipping
these deities of ours, were fools."
The Quraish were almost certain that Muhammad would respond
favorably to this offer. However, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) recited Sura 41 in
reply, which, inter alia, contained the following warning:
But if they turn away, then say: 1 have warned you of a
thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of the 'Ad and the Thamud. (Qur'an, 41:13).
`Utbah was overwhelmed with this ringing warning. He did
not accept Islam but advised the Quraish to leave Muhammad alone and to see how
he fares with other tribes. Quraish said that he, too, was bewitched by
Muhammad.
Then a deputation was sent to Abu Talib. They demanded that
Abu Talib should either persuade his nephew to desist from his mission or hand
him over to suffer the extreme penalty or be prepared to fight the whole tribe.
Finding the odds too heavy against him, Abu Talib said to the Holy Prophet:
"O son! Do not put such a burden on my shoulders which I am
unable to bear."
The Prophet's reply to his uncle gives an indication of his
indomitable will, his profound trust in God and confidence in his Mission. Said
he:
"O uncle! If they placed the sun on my right hand and the
moon on my left to persuade me to renounce my work, verily I would not desist
therefrom till God makes manifest His cause or I perish in the attempt."
Saying this, he was overwhelmed with grief. Abu Talib was
moved by this reply and said:
"By Allah, the
Quraish can never reach thee in spite of their great number till I am buried in
the earth. Therefore, pronounce what order thou hast; nobody can do any harm to
you; be happy with this (promise) and keep thy eyes cool (i.e. be consoled)."
In their final attempt, they took a young man, 'Ammarah ibn
al-Walid, to Abu Talib and offered to exchange him with Muhammad. They said to
him:
"This young man is
a well-known poet of the tribe; he is also very handsome and wise. You better
exchange Muhammad with him. You may adopt him as your son: he will be a good
helper to you. And give us your Muhammad; we will-kill him. Thus, you will not
suffer any loss because you will have 'Ammarah in place of Muhammad, and by
eliminating Muhammad, all this strife and friction in the tribe will come to an
end."
Abu Talib was extremely furious on hearing this outrageous
proposal. His voice was raised in wrath. He said:
"What a worst
bargain have you proposed! Why, you want me to give you my son, so that you may
kill him, and are giving me your son so that I should feed him and look after
him? Go away! This bargain is nothing if not foolishness