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Early in Muhammad's preaching ofIslam, his followers only included his close friends and relatives. Most of his tribesmen, theQuraysh, however, were indifferent to his activities, as they did not appear to be particularly interested in devotional meetings, and accordingly, Muhammad did not encounter any serious opposition from them; that was the case until he began to challenge their beliefs, which caused tensions to arise.[9][10][11][12]
In May 622, after having convened twice with members of the Medinan tribes ofAws andKhazraj at al-'Aqabah nearMina, Muhammad secretly left his home in Mecca to emigrate to their city, along with his friend, father-in-law andcompanionAbu Bakr.[13]
Hijrah is aromanization of theArabic wordهجرة 'to depart to', 'to migrate to' or 'to move away from'.[1][2] The first stem of the verbal rootH-J-R,hajara, means 'to cut off someone from friendly association; to avoid association with'; the third stem,hājara, means 'a mutual termination of friendly relations by leaving or departing'. The word has been mistranslated, without proper context, as 'a severing of ties of kinship or association'.[14] Since 1753, the word has also been used to refer to an exodus inEnglish.[15]
Located more than 260 miles (420 km) north ofMecca,Medina is a verdant oasis.[16] According to Muslim sources, the city was founded by Jews who had survived the revolt against the Romans.[17] While agriculture was far from the domain of the Arab tribes, the Jews were excellent farmers who cultivated the land in the oases.[17] In addition to several smaller Jewish clans, there were three major Jewish tribes in the city:Banu Qaynuqa,Banu Nadir andBanu Qurayza.[18] Over time, Arab tribes from southern Arabia migrated to the city and settled alongside the Jewish community.[17] The Arab tribes comprisedBanu Aws andBanu Khazraj, both known collectively as Banu Qayla.[19] Prior to 620, these two Arab tribes had been fighting for nearly a hundred years.[16] Each of them had tried to court the support of the Jewish tribes, which occasionally led to infighting among the latter.[16]
Muhammad's encounters with Banu Aws and Banu Khazraj
In 620, having lost all hope of winning converts among his fellow townspeople, Muhammad limited his efforts to non-Meccans who attended fairs or made pilgrimages.[20] During these efforts, Muhammad met six members of theBanu Khazraj tribe who were visitingMecca, on a pilgrimage to the holy sites around the city. These six individuals had a history of raiding Jews in their locality, who in turn had warned them that a prophet would come, and with his help, the Jews would obliterate them. Upon hearing Muhammad's religious message, the six individuals said to each other, "This is the very prophet of whom the Jews warned us; don't let them get to him before us!" After embracing Islam, they returned toMedina and shared their encounter, hoping that by having their people—the Khazraj and theAws, who had been at odds for so long—accept Islam and adopt Muhammad as their leader, unity could be achieved between them.[21][22]
In February 621, five earlier converts met with Muhammad again.[23][page needed] They were accompanied by seven new converts, including two people from the Banu Aws tribe. This gathering took place at the al-'Aqaba mountain pass, located just north of Mecca near the trade route. At the meeting, they took a pledge to Muhammad, known as the "pledge of women."[24][25] It was so called because it contained no obligation to fight for Islam. One of the main tenets of this pledge was to renounce idols and affirm Allah as the only deity, with Muhammad as their leader. Muhammad then entrustedMus'ab ibn Umayr to accompany them on their return to Medina to promote Islam.[26][27]
In the pilgrimage season of 622, Muhammad had another meeting inAqaba with the Medinan converts;[26] this time, there were 75 of them, including 2 women.[28] Muhammad's uncleal-Abbas, who accompanied him, made a speech at the beginning, declaring that Muhammad was "the most respected person among his kinsmen." This is quite in contrast with the fact that Muhammad had received strong opposition from his other uncle,Abu Lahab, as well asAbu Jahl and other Quraysh leaders. Al-Abbas also falsely stated that Muhammad had rejected offers from all but the men of Medina in an apparent attempt to create a sense of exclusivity and importance among them. Historical records, however, show that they were among the last groups Muhammad had tried to approach and that he had no other offers available.[29]
Muhammad himself then spoke and invited their allegiance, asking them to protect him as they would their women and children.[30][22] One of them, al-Bara, readily agreed, emphasizing the military prowess of his people. The other however, Abu al-Haytham, expressed concern that if they took the pledge and severed their ties with the Jews, Muhammad would return to his people after they gave him victories. Muhammad assured them that he was now one with them and would share their fate in war and peace.[29][31] Twelve delegates, three from the Aws and nine from the Khazraj, were then selected to oversee the implementation of this pact.[28] When the group inquired about the reward for their loyalty, Muhammad simply replied, "Paradise." They then took the oath, also known as the pledge of war.[32][33][29]
Quba Mosque, the first mosque in the history of Islam, at the outskirts of Medina. It was founded by Islamic prophet Muhammad when he immigrated to Medina
Not long after receiving the pledges, Muhammad instructed hisMeccan followers to relocate toMedina. The whole departure spanned about three months. To ensure that he did not arrive in Medina alone while his followers remained in Mecca, Muhammad chose not to go ahead and instead stayed behind to watch over them and persuade those who were reluctant.[28] Some of theQuraysh tried to dissuade their family members from leaving,[34][35] but in the end, there were no Muslims left in Mecca.[34] Muhammad regarded this migration as an expulsion by the Quraysh.[35]
Islamic tradition relates that, in light of the unfolding events, one of the Quraysh chiefs,Abu Jahl, Muhammad's childhood friend-turned-enemy,[36] proposed a joint assassination of Muhammad by representatives of each Quraysh clan. Having been informed of this by the angel Gabriel, Muhammad asked his cousinAli to lie on his bed covered with his green hadrami cloak, assuring him that it would keep him safe.[37] Muhammad then went withAbu Bakr to a cave inMount Thawr, about an hour's walk south of Mecca, and hid there.[38] Abu Bakr's children and servants, who were still in Mecca, regularly brought them food.[39] After three days in hiding, they set out for Medina on camels that Abu Bakr had bought in advance, and accompanied by a guide, Abdallah ibn Arqat, who was a pagan.[38]
Muhammad's followers suffered from poverty after fleeing persecution in Mecca and migrating with Muhammad to Medina. Their Meccan persecutors seized their wealth and belongings left behind in Mecca.[40] Beginning in January 623, Muhammad led several raids against Meccan caravans travelling along the eastern coast of theRed Sea. Members of differenttribes were thus unified by the urgency of the moment. This unity was primarily based on the bonds of kinship.[40][41][42]
The secondRashidunCaliph,Umar ibn Al-Khattab, designated the Muslim year during which the Hegira occurred the first year of theIslamic calendar in 638 or the 17th year of the Hegira. This was laterLatinized toAnno Hegirae, the abbreviation of which is still used to denote Hijri dates today.[43] Burnaby states that: "Historians in general assert that Muhammad fled from Mecca at the commencement of the third month of the Arabian year,Rabi 'u-l-awwal. They do not agree as to the precise day. According to Ibn-Ishak, it was on the first or second day of the month".[44]
Several Islamic historians and scholars, includingAl Biruni,Ibn Sa'd, andIbn Hisham, have discussed these dates in depth.[45]
^1 Muharram of the new fixed calendar corresponded to Friday, 16 July 622 CE, the equivalent civil tabular date (same daylight period) in theJulian calendar. The Islamic day began at the preceding sunset on the evening of 15 July. This Julian date (16 July) was determined bymedieval Muslim astronomers by projecting back in time their owntabular Islamic calendar, which had alternating 30- and 29-day months in each lunar year plus eleven leap days every 30 years. For example, al-Biruni mentioned this Julian date in the year 1000 CE.[7] Although not used by either medieval Muslim astronomers or modern scholars to determine the Islamic epoch, the thincrescent moon would have also first become visible (assuming clouds did not obscure it) shortly after the preceding sunset on the evening of 15 July, 1.5 days after the associateddark moon (astronomicalnew moon) on the morning of 14 July.[8]
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