The Prophet’s HijraLessons must be learnt [Archives:2003/626/Culture]

Bassam Jamil
The possible war on Iraq, the American arrogance, the Arab and Islamic conferences permeated with squabbles and speeding up international events have left their gloomy impact on Islamic peoples and thus the Islamic new year passed in a state of sadness. Many Muslims however, confuse the new Hijriya year with the day of Prophet Mohammed's (mpbh) Hijra (migration) to Al-Madina. Although the Hijri (using the moon cycle calculation method for months) Calender has taken the name from the Hijra event as such, and in fact, the calender use started in the year the Hijra took place. Towards the end of Saffar or as other sayings claim, the beginning of Rabi'e Al-Awal a great event with meanings of greatness took place. It was a day that changed the course of history and reformulated life in a way the straightened deviation and illuminated the path and reestablished the balance after despotism of pre-Islam period.
The Hijra was not an escape but rather a quest for a more fertile society and environment and more appropriate for accepting the new religion. A quick reading of the Hijra, since its preparations till its fulfillment, discloses clearly its importance and greatness. It reveals to us rare images of sacrifice for the sake of the religion. The watertight political, strategic, tactical and security thought the Prophet and his companions had pursued depicts cleverness and shrewdness displayed by the Prophet, not only regarding the Hijra but also throughout his entire mode of life.
Biographers have overlooked the thinking, planning and organization of the Hijra. Detecting events and stands during the Hijra, we would find out the Prophet's wisdom and planning and dependence on God and then on the human factor. When the polytheists gathered at Dar al-Nadwa and discussed the way with which to get rid of the Prophet and the infantile call for the new religion, they decided to have forty men from representing all the tribes there to kill the Prophet the time he leaves his house and thus make it as a deed by all the tribes and thus make it impossible for the Prophet's tribe to have revenge. The revelation came upon the Prophet ordering him to migrate. Here the Prophet asked the Imam Ali to stay in the Prophet's bed. The prophet went to the house of his faithful companion Abubakr al-Siddiq and told him about his decision.
As the Prophet was aware that the tribe of Quraish would follow him and they would mostly chase him along the road heading for the city of Madeina to the north of Mecca, he preferred to take the opposite way to the south lading to Yemen and so he travelled five miles to reach the Mountain of Thor. Despite the human effort in camouflage and hiding Quraish managed to reach the cave where they stood at its entrance. Here the God's will interfered to save the Prophet and his companion as when the chasers saw the spider's cobweb covering the cave entrance and was not damaged they ruled out the Prophet had entered that cave and left the place.
Quraish had used torture to wring out information on the Prophet's migration and they used that way with Imam Ali and Asma' bint Abubakr. They had also used temptation by promising big awards to those who would give information leading to capture the Prophet. It is clear that reading the events of Hijra gives us an idea on the aspects of caution and watchfulness and means of providing protection to the call.
our problem when reading the Prophet's biography as Sir Omar Obaid Hassana in his book “Al-Omma”, is that: “The nonability to view the event with disregard to the time and place, and the nonability to form an objective view through which to deal with the present. The nonability to study the mechanism and tactics to be used in our lives and not merely a story for religious sentiments and seeking miracles of god with no human effort..”
The Prophet's biography is not only consisting of characteristics, and military campaigns and plans, despite their significance, but rather an embodiment of Islam values in immortal life examples capable of covering the nation's movement and guiding her to the end of history. But unfortunately, and as Shiekh AlQardhawi rightly said: ” We Muslims are the most ignorant when it comes to God's courses and the Universal laws”
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