After an eight-day journey, the Prophet arrived at Quba' on Rabia al-Awwal 8, the 14th year of Prophethood (corresponding to September 23, 622 CE) at noon. Quba' lies at a distance of a few miles from Al-Madeenah and was generally taken as the locality of Al-Madeenah. It was largely inhabited by Banu Amr bin Auf (an Arabic tribe) who had already been enlightened by Islam. A few days before the departure of the Prophet from Makkah, the news of his anticipated arrival in Al-Madeenah was in the air. The “Ansar” (Supporters of the Prophet) of Al-Madeenah would come out of their dwellings early in the morning and kept waiting till noon everyday. Thus, when the Prophet “” arrived at Quba' at noon, they had already gone back after waiting for some time.
A certain Jew who was watching the crowds of Muslims coming out of their settlement as if they were waiting for someone knew that Muhammad was approaching from Mecca. This Jew was then, by chance, upstairs when he witnessed the small caravan moving into Quba'; guessing it to be the caravan of the Prophet he cried at the top of his voice: "O people of Arabia, O those taking rest at noon, there has come your object of love." Having heard this call, the people rushed out of their dwellings and waves of joy gripped the whole atmosphere of Quba'. He was emerging from an orchard of dates. Bearing in mind that the people might fall into confusion regarding the identification of the Prophet Abu Bakr drew himself back and shaded the Prophet with his mantle, thus making a clear distinction between the Prophet and the companion.
The Prophet was now entering Quba' and the young girls of the “Ansar” were reciting in great fervor and boundless joy:
"On the hillside whence caravans are given a send-off,
The full moon comes up in the day.
All the while Allah is praised.
We had better return our thanks
The noble one, O you sent to us,
You have brought binding commands."
Building the Quba’ Mosque
The Prophet entered Quba' on Monday and stayed there until Friday. He stayed in the house of Khulthum bin Hadm while Abu Bakr stayed with Habeeb bin Asaf. He would hold his assemblies in the house of Sa'd bin Khaithamah and the people visited him at the same place. During this short stay in Quba', he laid the foundation of a mosque, which is the first mosque ever built after the advent of Islam. On Friday, the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal, he left Quba' and made his entry to Al-Madeenah. He was still in Quba' when Ali bin Abu Talib came and joined him. Ali had made this long and arduous journey on foot. While the Prophet was staying in Quba', Ali who had been busy returning the deposits of the people to their rightful owners (in Mecca) was blessed with the honor of joining the Prophet . He had left Makkah at about the time the Prophet was leaving the cave of Thaur. But since he was traveling by himself, Ali made his movements during the night and kept himself hidden in the day. The Prophet “” avoided busy roads and reached Quba' in eight days, while Ali undertook the journey by the well-known routes, but was late by three or four days because of being on foot.
Entry into Al-Madeenah
Taking the leave of the people of Quba' and Banu Amr bin Auf (Banu means tribe) on Friday, the Prophet moved forward to make his stay in Al-Madeenah. Every household of each locality expressed its strong desire that the Prophet should stay with them. He was in the locality of Banu Salim bin Auf when the time for Friday (jumu'ah) prayer drew near. The Prophet “” led the prayer in the locality of Banu Salim bin Auf in a field with about a hundred men behind him. This was the first Friday prayer of the Prophet “” in Al-Madeenah and the first time the Friday sermon (Khutbah) was ever delivered. Later on, a mosque was built at that place.
After offering the Friday prayer, the Prophet “” mounted his she-camel. Banu Salim bin Auf approached him and took hold of his she-camel's rein requesting that he stay with them. People of other tribes and localities also came in groups and made the same request. This led to a clash of words, which ended when the Prophet “” said to one and all: "Let her go her way. She is guided by Allah. I shall stop where the animal sits down." The “Ansar” and “Muhajireen” (emigrants) followed the she-camel on all sides. He set the reins loose and the she-camel moved ahead slowly. All eyes were focused on the animal, and they were eagerly waiting for it to kneel down.
When the she-camel entered the locality of Banu Biyadah, Ziyad bin Labid and Urwah bin Amr the chieftains of the tribes wanted to take hold of the reins but the Prophet “” forbade them saying: "Leave her for she has already been commanded." Then, the she-camel stepped into the locality of Banu Sa'idah and Sa'd bin Ubadah and Mundhir bin Amr the chieftains of Banu Sa'idah made the same attempt but received the same words from the Prophet . After this, she reached the locality of Banu Al-Harith bin Al-Khazraj, and Sa'd bin Ar-Rabi', Kharijah bin Zaid and Abdullah bin Rawahah stepped forward to stop her but received the same reply. From there the she-camel made an entry into the locality of Banu Adi bin An-Najjar. Since Abdul Muttalib's mother, Salma bint Amr, belonged to this clan, they made their claim for the Prophet to stop there. Thus Salit bin Qais and Asirah bin Abu Kharija, the chieftains of Banu Adi, took hold of the reins but he asked them to leave it for the animal had prior instructions for herself. At last the she-camel arrived at the locality of Banu Malik bin An-Najjar and knelt down in a deserted and bare land for a while and then got up and advanced a little, only to turn back and be seated on the same spot again. This time she shook herself and then laid down on her neck wagging her tail.
Close to this unpopulated land was the house of Abu Ayub Khalid bin Zaid Ansari . He rushed to the spot with his face beaming with joy and took the belongings of the Prophet to his house. Thus he stayed with him in his house. The deserted land was the property of two orphan boys Sahl and Suhail. It had a few date trees, some graves of polytheists and a resting spot for herds of cattle. "Who is the owner of this land?" The Prophet enquired. Mu'adh bin Afra responded, "This piece of land belongs to two orphan boys related to me, and I take care of them; I shall make them agree, you may take it for building a mosque." But the Prophet asserted, "I want to buy it, and will not take it without paying its price." Abu Bakr made the payment at once. With the order of the Prophet the date trees were cut, the graves leveled, and the construction work of the mosque was started then and there. The Prophet joined the builders. The walls of the mosque were constructed with stone and clay, the roof with wood and leaves of the date palm. Until his house was built, the Prophet continued to live with Abu Ayub Ansari for six months and a few days.
The mosque built during the time of the Prophet saw no change before the caliphate of Umar . During his caliphate, it underwent an expansion for the first time. Uthman bin Affan strengthened it. During the time of Walid bin Abdul-Malik it saw more expansion with the inclusion of the dwellings of the noble wives of the Prophet .
The Prophet was in the house of Abu Ayub Ansari when he sent Zaid bin Harithath and Abu Rafi to bring Fatimah, Umm Kulthum, Saudah bint Zam'ah, Usamah bin Zaid and his mother, as well as Umm Aiman . Talha bin Ubaidullah, along with Abdullah bin Abu Bakr, and his relatives, also accompanied them . After the arrival of these people, the Prophet moved into his newly built home.
“I was shown the land where you shall emigrate to and it had palm trees - it is Al-Madeenah.” This was the vision that the Prophet, , had. It was like a rescue boat that would save the Muslims from the harm and persecution meted out by Quraysh, and would take them to the land of freedom and security that the Muslims had longed for. They prepared for the Hijrah (emigration) to Madeenah and those who had migrated to Abyssinia also left from there for Madeenah.
The Quraysh did not allow the believers to leave Makkah that easily. They used the most offensive means of torture and oppression with the Muslims, thinking that they would therefore be able to devastate this collective emigration. However, the believers were ready to sacrifice everything they had and faced all the conspiracies conspired against them with patience and firmness, regardless of the results and consequences. This resulted in the finest examples that are worthy of respect and contemplation.
Abu Salamah, may Allah be pleased with him, emigrated for the sake of Allah The Almighty and His Messenger, , accompanied by his wife and child. However, the family of his wife prevented him from taking her and took hold of the child. Accordingly, the family of Abu Salamah, may Allah be pleased with him, were enraged, and said, “By Allah, we will not leave our son with her.” Consequently, the two families tugged at the child, causing his arm to be dislocated. The family of Abu Salamah then took the child and Abu Salamah, may Allah be pleased with him, then continued on his way alone until he reached Madeenah.
Therefore, Abu Salamah, may Allah be pleased with him, faced this adversity with patience and firmness. His wife suffered a great deal as she was separated from her husband and child. For almost a year, she would weep from morning until night because of being separated from her loved ones. Then, a man who was of one of her people saw this and felt great pity, so he interceded on her behalf with her people until they agreed to allow her to emigrate. When her husband’s people came to know that, they returned her child to her. She was alone with her child when she emigrated. On her way, ‘Uthmaan ibn Talhah, may Allah be pleased with him, saw her and let her ride his camel while he walked. When they reached the outskirts of a village near Madeenah, he said to her, “Your husband is in this village, so go there with the blessings of Allah.” Then he returned to Makkah.
The emigration of Suhayb ibn Sinaan Ar-Roomi, may Allah be pleased with him, was another example of the great sacrifices that the Muhaajiroon (emigrants) made for the sake of Allah The Almighty, giving up their wealth and property for the sake of gaining the pleasure of Allah The Almighty. After making up his mind to emigrate, the disbelievers of Quraysh tried to catch up with him and prevent him.
When he saw them, he pulled out his bow and arrow and fought with all his might. They said to him, “You came to us as a poor man and made your fortune by living among us, and now you want to emigrate safely with your wealth? How can this be? By Allah, this will never happen!” He answered them saying, “Will you allow me to emigrate if I leave my wealth with you?” They agreed. Therefore, he told them where he had hidden his wealth in Makkah and they allowed him to proceed on his journey, having given up all that he had for the sake of his beliefs and his Da‘wah (call to Islam).
When the Prophet, , heard what had happened, he said: “O Abu Yahyaa [i.e., Suhayb], you made a profitable deal.”Then he recited the verse where Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And of the people is he who sells himself, seeking means to the approval of Allah. And Allah is kind to [His] servants} [Quran 2: 207] This event was narrated by Al-Haakim.
One of the most magnificent scenes of the Hijrah was what happened to ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, ‘Ayyaash ibn Abi Rabee‘ah and Hishaam ibn Al-‘Aas ibn Waa’il As-Sahmi, may Allah be pleased with them all. They agreed to meet secretly outside Makkah. ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab and ‘Ayyaash ibn Abi Rabee‘ah, may Allah be pleased with them, met at the appointed time, but Hishaam failed to meet them because the Quraysh had captured and tortured him until he spoke words of disbelief.
When ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab and ‘Ayyaash ibn Abi Rabee‘ah, may Allah be pleased with them, reached Madeenah, the Quraysh wanted to trick them in order to kidnap ‘Ayyaash, may Allah be pleased with him. Therefore, they sent Abu Jahl and Al-Haarith ibn Hishaam - since they were relatives of ‘Ayyaash, may Allah be pleased with him - to Madeenah, searching for him until they found him in Qubaa’. They said to him, “Your mother has vowed not to comb her hair or seek shelter from the sun until she sees you.” It therefore became very difficult on him to bear the fact that he was the reason for his mother being harmed.
However, ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, realized from the very first moment that it was only a trick. He therefore said to him, “By Allah, these people want to make you apostate. Therefore, beware of them. By Allah, if lice aggravate her, then she will comb her hair and if the heat of Makkah becomes intense, she will seek shelter from the sun.” ‘Ayyaash, may Allah be pleased with him, replied, saying, “I will fulfill the oath of my mother and bring my money, which I left there.” ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said to him, “By Allah, as you know I am one of the richest people of Quraysh, so take half of my wealth and do not go with them.” However, ‘Ayyaash, may Allah be pleased with him, insisted on going; accordingly, ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, could not do anything and so he gave him his she-camel so he could escape with it if need be.
On their way to Makkah, Abu Jahl asked ‘Ayyaash, may Allah be pleased with him, to dismount his she-camel. The moment he dismounted, the men who were with Abu Jahl attacked him, tied him up firmly, took him to Makkah and tortured him until he spoke words of disbelief. When the Muslims heard about this, they were distraught. They thought that Allah The Almighty would not accept his repentance and those who were like him because they had become disbelievers after knowing Allah The Almighty and believing in His Messenger, . However, Allah The Almighty then revealed the verses where He Says (what means): {Say: ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’ And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped. And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord before the punishment comes upon you suddenly while you do not perceive} [Quran 39:53-55].
‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, hastened to give Hishaam ibn Al-‘Aas, may Allah be pleased with him, the glad tidings that his repentance had been accepted through sending him these verses written on a sheet. When Hishaam, may Allah be pleased with him, read it he did not understand what it meant, so he asked Allah The Almighty to inspire him with its meaning. Hence, Allah The Almighty inspired his heart that it was meant for him and those who were like him. Therefore, he returned to Madeenah as a repentant Muslim and ‘Ayyaash, may Allah be pleased with him, followed him after managing to escape from the people of Quraysh.
These were clear examples and true images of the difficult circumstances that the Muhaajiroon experienced on their way when they were seeking religious freedom and seeking a way out of the harm and persecution meted out by the Quraysh. Such sacrifices were the final steps taken in establishing the Islamic sate and its secure society.