What Can We Learn From Remembering Hijrah Each Year?
12 August, 2020
QWhy do we remember the Hijrah each year? What can we learn from that time? What does it mean for our life now?
Short Answer:
After 13 years of persecution in Makkah, the Prophet in obedience to the Divine command decided to migrate with his followers to Madinah.
So the Hijrah marked the Muslims’ act of breaking free from the narrow confines of a religion to a comprehensive way of life, a perfect universal religion.
And for Muslims who are subjected to oppression beyond toleration, Hijrah to a land where they can live in freedom and practice their religion is a valid option.
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The Meaning of Hijrah
The word Hijrah is derived from “hajara” meaning, “to emigrate, to dissociate, to leave.”
And in Islamic history, the Hijrah is used chiefly to refer to the Emigration of the Prophet and his followers from Makkah to Madinah in 622 C.E
Hijrah was a deliberate choice of the Prophet under Divine Guidance to leave the land of persecution seeking freedom, peace, and security.
Throughout history we can see migration playing a crucial role in the history of all religions, and most specifically of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Abraham’s migration from Haran to Canaan, Moses’ migration to the Promised Land and Jesus’ from Galilee to Jerusalem are all cases in point.
All these were responses of faith in God and obedience to His commands, though their spiritual significance and temporal consequences may vary in the respective religious traditions.
Without massive movements of populations, wars of conquest, and missionary enterprises, the three Abrahamic religions would not have been what they are today.
The Prophet’s Hijrah to Madinah
In Makkah, the Prophet’s impassioned call to the tribes resulted in several people embracing the Message of Guidance he brought to them.
This provoked the ruling Quraysh to conspire against him, with a view to getting rid of him once for all.
After a harrowing period of severe trial that lasted thirteen years, the Prophet in obedience to the Divine command decided to migrate with his followers to Madinah.
Allah Almighty says in the Noble Quran:
Those who believe, and migrate and strive in Allah’s cause, with their goods and their persons, have the highest rank in the sight of Allah: they are indeed the successful people. Their Lord does give them glad tidings of a Mercy from Himself, of His good pleasure, and of Gardens where enduring pleasure will be theirs: They will dwell therein forever. Verily in Allah’s presence is a reward, the greatest (of all). (Quran 9:20-22)
For the Sake of Allah’s Mercy
The foregoing means that the Hijrah was not a flight from persecution, pain or perseverance; but it was a dedicated struggle to attain the Mercy of Allah Himself.
Ultimately, the emigrants attained the pleasure of God, along with the Gardens of eternal happiness prepared for them by Allah, the All-Merciful.
So for the Prophet and the early Muslims, the Hijrah signified a transition from a position of weakness to a position of power.
It was, for them, the abandonment of a life of complacent subordination to a decadent tribal system dominated by the crudest type of idolatry, to a progressive and dynamic socio-political order based on the Submission to the One True God of the universe.
That is to say, the Hijrah marked the Muslims’ act of breaking free from the narrow confines of a religion in the narrow sense, to a comprehensive way of life, a perfect universal religion.
Hijrah a Crucial Milestone in Islamic History
It is significant that the people of Madinah did not look upon Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a refugee; in fact they welcomed him as their own leader.
And soon after reaching there, he laid the foundations for a strong society based on the universal principles of the Quran.
The movement he started overwhelmed the mighty empires of the day; and today, despite all the turmoil in the Muslim world, Islam continues to shine.
Thus we can see that in the variegated history of Islam, the Hijrah became a crucial event and a watershed that led to the establishment of the glorious Islamic civilization.
And for this reason, Khalifah ‘Umar made the inspired decision (in approximately 638 C.E) to declare the Hijrah as the focal point to mark the beginning of a new era, a new civilization and a new history for mankind.
The Hijrah: What We Can Learn Today
We should realize that the Hijrah was not just a physical journey of the Prophet and companions from Makkah to Madinah; it was at the same time a spiritual journey too.
It was in effect a spiritual breaking away from persecution to freedom; from selfishness to charity; from fear to courage; and from violence to peace; from defiance and resistance to complete reliance on God.
The Hijrah is most emphatically an emigration from lawlessness and defiance to peaceful obedience and wholehearted submission to the laws and commandments of Allah Almighty.
This is the lesson for all Muslims, no matter in what land or in what age they live.
For Muslims who are subjected to oppression beyond toleration, Hijrah to a land where they can live in freedom and practice their religion is an option, as Allah Almighty says in His Noble Quran:
NOW as for those who forsake the domain of evil in the cause of God, after having suffered wrong [on account of their faith] – We shall most certainly grant them a station of good fortune in this world: but their reward in the life to come will be far greater yet. If they [who deny the truth] could but understand. (Quran 16:41)
Exile for the Sake of Allah
Regarding those who cannot make such a physical journey, Dr. Tariq Ramadan writes:
What remains, and is open to everyone through the ages and for eternity, is the experience of spiritual exile which brings the individual back to himself and frees him from the illusions of self and of the world.
Exile for the sake of God is in essence a series of questions which God asks each conscience: who are you? What is the meaning of your life? Where are you going?
Accepting the risk of such an exile, trusting the One, is to answer: through You, I return to myself and I am free.
Hijrah – It’s More Than a Physical Journey
Theresa Corbin
18 August, 2019
“The caravan departs, and the traveler enters into a foreign land. He becomes separated from the habits and customs associated with his homeland. This allows him to ponder carefully over his situation. He seeks the most important thing that helps in his journey to Allah that deserves his life’s pursuance.” (The Magnificent Journey by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah)
The first hijrah (that began the Islamic calendar) was a journey to new opportunity that we are reaping the results of to this day, as the Muslim community outside of Makkah prospered.
Today the hijrah is still a journey, a migration we can all take. However, few of us think of this migration in any other terms than a change of physical location.
But migration of the heart, or a hijrah to Allah, is a much greater and more fundamental journey we must all take. As Ibn Qayyim suggests, only in this journey, this leaving the familiar, does one begin to examine his own purpose.
When thinking about any journey, there are always four components that need to be fulfilled. A journey or a migration must have a path, a traveler, provision, and guidance. In the migration or hijrah of the heart, these same four components are also necessary.
The Path
O Allah! I seek refuge from Your wrath in Your acceptance, from Your punishment in Your pardon, and from You in You! (Muslim)
In order to have a path, you have to have two points: a point of origin and a point of destination. The migration of the heart is the only journey that will start and end in the same place. And the point A and point B is Allah. This is the essence of tawhid– the worship of the one true God.
We must flee from everything that Allah dislikes to everything that Allah loves. We must escape Allah’s displeasure by seeking Allah’s mercy. There is only one God, there is only one refuge.
This path and the oneness of it is perfectly explained in Ibn Al-Qayyim’s, The Magnificent Journey:
“There is nothing in the universe that one would flee or seek protection from but is created and originated by Allah. Hence, one would flee from that which emanates from Allah’s decree, will and creation, to that which emanates from His mercy, goodness and seeking refuge in Him from Him!”.
And so the path is clear. We must flee unto Allah.
The Traveler
Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a traveler. (Al-Bukhari)
If we are to be travelers in this world, we must understand what that means. What makes one a traveler is not knowing the correct path or that the path is singular.
What makes someone a traveler is the attachment of the heart. To undertake any journey we must love the destination more than the origin.
In the hijrah of the heart, we must love Allah and seek his pleasure more than we love anything that distracts us from that. If we begin to attach our heart to the life of this world, we will lose sight of our destination, fail in our journey, and nullify our traveler status.
“One’s nafs, his whims and his Satan keep calling him to that which is against what he loves and is satisfied with [Allah]. One continues to be tested by these three things, calling him to avenues that displease his Lord” writes Ibn Qayyim.
Provision
Faith wears out in the heart of any one of you just as clothes wear out, so ask Allah to renew the faith in your hearts. (Al-Hakim)
When we find ourselves on a physical journey, there are many dangers and obstacles to overcome and provisions might dwindle. Sometimes there will even be doubt that we can make it safely with enough food, money, fuel, etc.
What prevents us from turning back is our love of and need for the destination. And provision is a key in reaching our goal.
In the hijrah to Allah, we find that there are many trials and obstacles like in any physical journey. And provision is similarly necessary to stay on track and not turn back. But in the journey of the heart, provision cannot be anything physical like money or fuel. The fuel the heart needs is iman, faith.
When faith increases, the sights are set on the goal, love of The Creator increases, and the journey becomes easy. When faith is high, there is more than enough provision to make the trip.
But when faith decreases, the heart gets distracted by the creation, anxious over little things, and the journey seems difficult. In order for the traveler to stay on the path he or she must maintain a high level of provision or faith.
Ibn Qayyim writes:
“This hijrah becomes strong or weak [in the heart] depending on the state of iman”.
Guidance
Your companion, Muhammad, is neither astray nor being misled. Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. It is only the Revelation with which he is inspired. (53:2-4)
There are many forks in the path, so Allah has sent messengers to mankind to show us which avenues to avoid and which one to stay on.
The final messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) lived the life of the traveler in the most perfect way. He is an example for us. He is our GPS. When we worry that the way is not clear, all we must do is turn to the Prophet’s life as an example and find the direction back to the path to Allah.
“What is surprising is that you might find a man talking at great length and going into very fine details regarding the [physical] hijrah […] But for the hijrah of the heart […] you find he does not seek any knowledge regarding it, nor does he develop any intention to undertake it! Thus he turns away from that for which he has been created […]” writes Ibn Qayyim.
So this new hijrah year, before we even think about a physical migration, let us truly understand Ibn Qayyim’s words, our love for Allah, the Messenger’s guidance, and understand fully what the hijrah of the heart is. Let’s make sure we know what the path is.
Let’s renew our intention to be travelers in this journey to Allah, renew our faith, and take the best of guidance, so that we can reach our goal successfully.
Hijrah of Prophet Muhammed (SAW) and Hijrah Today
Social Reflections on Hijrah
Maria Zain
21 August, 2019
Editor’s Note:
On the occasion of Hijrah, which is widely celebrated in many parts of Muslim world, the author here reflects on this remarkable occasion, linking the past with the present, and sheds light on some of the social lessons derived from Hijrah.
Leaving in the deep of the night. Fleeing for one’s life. Making a move to seek refuge in Allah and Allah alone. Starting a new life in an unknown and new land. Feeling homesick, nostalgic and emotional towards everything that has been left behind.
Hijrah, in general, is an emotional plight. We know the historical pieces of Hijrah that drove the small group of believing Muslims away from persecution and into safety, only to be faced with new challenges, such as attacks from various tribes that were sparked by the emigration.
This was all done for Allah and because it was a turning point in Islamic history, it pays heed to reflect on the social lessons derived from this pivotal change for Muslims and apply it for the Hijrahs of today.
While the handful of Muslims had moved together as an ummah and founded the first civilization in Madinah – the first known to humankind, we have to remember that each of the companions – including the female ones – faced their own personal Hijrahs – journeys and challenges in their own right.
Women had their own challenges
Asm’aa bint Abu Bakr spent the first nights of her father and the Prophet’s departure, sashaying food to them through the turbulent desert, while the men were wildly hunted down by their own tribes. She was brutally assaulted by archenemy Abu Jahl, when she refused to provide or reveal the whereabouts of the two beloved men in her life.
Umm Salama, another comrade, and later a wife of the Prophet, was torn away from her family during the Hijrah. Already an outcast to her family, she spent a while before she was able to be reunited with her children (who had been taken from her) and her husband, who had left for Madinah. Then, there was Prophet Muhammad’s eldest daughter who had to leave her husband in later years, and make her way to Madinah in her own personal Hijrah, as her beloved husband refused to share her faith.
Every single woman of the time – iconic as they are now – went through challenges and obstacles of their own in order to attain the recognition of greatness in Islam.
In today’s age, challenges and obstacles still exist, only in different forms. Yet they are here and bear great importance, as every single Muslimah, makes her own Hijrah (whether physical or not) for our own self-betterment, social extractions of the Islamic emigration can be infused in our lives to make each journey smoother, and a more spiritual one – in order to please Allah Ta’ala.
Hijrah: the storm before the calm
The Hijrah was not a simple journey. It did not happen overnight but, there were months and months of planning that took place before the actual journey began. This is important to remember because we often forget that change is gradual, even if it is just writing out a plan or putting little things together. The big even will eventually materialize, but it takes time and effort for it to come together. The Hijrah was also seen as the storm before the calmness and warmth of Madinah.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his followers had spent years and years of spreading Islam in treacherous conditions. It was not easy for them to keep on going, but the directives of Allah to maintain good relations with kin was still loud and clear, and they were compelled to continue to preach the Oneness of God.
After continuous efforts and successfully having stronghold icons like Hamzah Ibn Abdul Mutalib and Umar Ibn Khattab embraced Islam, the Quraysh had grown agitated. They began to hunt and torture the poorer Muslims relentlessly. The Hijrah came at a much-needed time where their lives were at stake and they had to leave to save themselves.
Hijrah of Prophet Muhammed (SAW) and Hijrah Today - About Islam
Although our Hijrahs will not be of such great magnitude today, it is important to remember that these changes do not come easy. But, our efforts to change will always be followed up with Allah’s help and guidance, as compared to not putting any effort in at all. There will be wars, sandstorms and torrential rains that will push us to breaking point, but with every hardship comes a double ease, and we have to go through these challenges before arriving at our personal states of calm.
Renewing intentions for the sake of Allah
The Hijrah comprised of a variety of people. While by far, the majority of them were upon the emigration for the sake of Allah, there were those who had other intentions, such as moving for business opportunities or for getting married. While these were not wrong for the Hijrah, their rewards were only based on their intentions.
Similarly, with our own personal Hijrahs, reassessing our intentions for all the right reasons will ultimately set the paths to the right goals and in turn, will reap the right rewards and blessings in order to undergo such changes. The Hijrah is a great reminder to renew our intentions throughout the changes we go through, so we don’t fall waylay along the way.
Hijrah of Prophet Muhammed (SAW) and Hijrah Today
Social Reflections on Hijrah
Maria Zain
21 August, 2019
Wishing the same for one’s sister
The Hijrah teaches values of brotherhood between the Ansar and Muhajireen at Madinah. The Ansar took in the Muhajireen without second thoughts, providing them home, food and shelter and were praying with them in the new Masjid that was built in Madinah. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) preached about the importance of holding on to each other as one community, and this is a much-needed reminder in today’s divided society.
Remembering to wish the same for a sister as one’s self is part and parcel of a believer’s faith; what a great lesson from the Hijrah, especially in today’s world of consumerism and materialism. what is it that we really want for ourselves and our sisters? Going through changes are wonderful times to reassess what we really mean when we talk about success, happiness and guidance.
Learning from the past, while moving on
No matter what we are moving away from, whether good or bad; the past is part of us and carries lessons for the future, influencing our decisions and shaping our opinions of things to come. The Hijrah is actually not a one-stop solution to our problems or a dead end of an opportunity. The journey continues, much like journey of the Muslims, whose ultimate goal was to return to Makkah.
As they settled down in Madinah, there were numerous attacks upon them, as their da’wah work spread as an institution (state), rather than at an individual level.
This was a grave threat to the people of Makkah, especially the Quraysh tribe, who were unable to eradicate such a movement at such a grand scale. Humiliated and dejected, the Quraysh attacked the Muslims outwardly, and when they could not kill off their spirit even when the Quraysh were victorious at the Battle of Uhud, they began to create allies within Madinah, through Jewish tribes, and attacked from within.
Hijrah of Prophet Muhammed (SAW) and Hijrah Today - About Islam
The Muslims, even though, escaped persecution in their homeland, were still at risk in Madinah, after a moment of calm, while they settled down in the relatively safe environment. They still had to fight battles, lives were still lost and families were torn apart.
And this is the same for Hijrahs today. They are journeys. Just because a major change happened, it does not mean life comes to a stop. More challenges come along the way – maybe even more difficult ones – forcing ourselves to look forwards and renew our intentions at every possible juncture.
Putting trust in Allah, and Allah alone
At the end of the day, much like the comrades of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and some of the many iconic women of the time, like Asma, Umm Salama and Zaynab, we have to remember to put our trust in Allah.
After planning, strategizing and thinking out of a big change, we can have so much control over our situations; whether it is entering into a marriage or taking an opportunity to climb the corporate ladder.
Women all over the world face challenges of their own, whether personal, family, professional, or spiritual in nature. Some of them are physical Hijrahs, where they move from one place to the other – and every single change needs to be endorsed by Allah Ta’ala for it to happen smoothly.
So while we plan, face the obstacles and embrace the change, we have to remember that we can only do so much – and once we have tied our camels, we need to leave the rest to Allah . We have to trust that He is the Best of Planners and our Guide, no matter how difficult or enthralling the journey becomes much like the Hijrah from Makkah to Madinah.
