Chapter 28 : Hijra I - The Assassination Attempt Flashcards
Why did The Prophet choose to emigrate to Madinah
- Makkah was no longer suitable or safe for The Muslims
- In Makkah, The Message of Islam was falling upon deaf ears and it became clear that The Quraysh was hell bent on fighting The Prophet to the death
- In addition to safety concerns, The Prophet also did not have the freedom to propagate his message
- The Message of Islam was universal and by remaining in Makkah, he would be depriving others from hearing The Word of God
- Muslims were also at their breaking point
- The Prophet was sensing that many of his followers could not bear any more suffering in Makkah
Why Madinah
- Its geographic proximity allowed The Prophet and his followers to keep a close eye on the activities of The Quraysh
- Madinah gave leverage to Muslims against Quraysh
- The Syrian Trading routes passes by Madinah
- Many of the residents of Madinah had embraced Islam
- Madinah offered religious freedom
What was the background of Madinah like
Geography of Madinah
- It is surrounded to the South, East and West by Large Tracts of Volcanic Rock known as Harrah
- The only open road into Madinah was from The North between Mount Uhud and The Western Harrah
- From other directions, the city was guarded against attack
Demographics of Madinah
- There were 3 Jewish Tribes that lived along The Eastern Harrah within fortifications :-
1) Banu Nadir
2) Banu Qurayzah
3) Banu Qaynuqa
- There was also 2 Arab Tribes in Madinah who were at a civil war with each other for years :-
1) Banu Aws [ Lived With The Jews And Had An Alliance With Banu Qurayzah ]
2) Banu Khazraj [ Occupied The Central and Western Portions of The Area and Were 3 Times More Numerous Than The Aws ]
Religion of Madinah
- The Aws and Khazraj were almost exclusively Pagan and followed the same religion as The Quraysh in Makkah
- Manat [ Idol ] was especially dear to them
- They were not influenced by The Jews because :-
1) The Jews were not interested in Proselytizing [ Converting someone from one religion to another ]
2) Judaism was seen as a foreign religion whereas Paganism was seen as indigenous
Economy of Madinah
- Madinah did not take part in the annual trade expeditions
- Madinah’s economy was primarily agriculture especially dates
- There was an abundance of water and fertile land which gave Madinah a greater potential for development than Makkah but it was largely untapped because :-
1) Accessing underground water required digging wells which was hard in the Volcanic Rock
2) The Jews had grabbed the best land. Their wealth led them to hoard, price gouge [ Increasing the prices of goods, services and commodities to a price much higher than what is considered reasonable and fair ] and indulge in Usury [ Lending money at unreasonably high rates of Interest ]
Gradual Emigration [ Hijra ] to Madinah
- Abu Salamah and Umm Salamah [ Both from Banu Makhzum ] had returned from Abyssinia and faced persecution from their clan
- After The First Pledge of Aqabah, they decided to emigrate to Madinah but Umm Salamah’s family bar her from leaving and then Abu Salamah’s family takes their son Salamah from her
- Abu Salamah leaves while Umm Salamah remains in house arrest for a year until she is finally allowed to take her son back and join her husband
- After The Second Pledge of Aqabah, The Prophet orders The Muslims of Makkah to flee to Madinah saying :-
” God has provided you with brothers and homes in which you will be safe “
The First Pact of Brotherhood [ Mua’khat ]
- The Pact of Brotherhood that we are familiar with is actually The Second Pact which was initiated when The Prophet arrived in Madinah
- The First Pact of Brotherhood was established by The Prophet in Makkah to strengthen the bond of Muslims
- The Hijra to Madinah was permanent unlike The Hijra to Abyssinia which was temporary
- The Pact of Brotherhood make it psychologically easier to endure that drastic change
- The Prophet assigned The Emigrants a Brother and paired them together as protectors of one another :-
1) Hamza Ibn Abdul Muttalib [ A Noble From The Prestigious Clan of Banu Hashim ] with Zayd Ibn Haritha [ A Former Slave ]
2) Abu Bakr with Umar
3) Uthman Ibn Affan with Abdul Rahman Ibn Awf
4) Bilal Ibn Rabah [ A Former Slave ] with Ubaydah Ibn Al Harith [ Cousin of The Prophet From His Father’s Side ]
- The Prophet was sending a powerful message that The Muslims [ As They Start Their Migration To Madinah ] realize that they are all brothers and are all equal
- He did this by pairing The Rich and The Poor. The Master and The Slave [ Former ]
- Ultimately, only 1 Muslim Man was left who did not have a brother and that was Imam Ali
- Finally, The Prophet designates Imam Ali to be his brother and says :-
“Are you not satisfied that I am your brother ?”
- Imam Ali then says :-
” Of course I am satisfied. “
- The Prophet then said :-
” You are my brother in the world and in the Akhirah [ Afterlife ]. “
- Hamza stayed with As’ad Ibn Zurarah while the bachelors stayed with Kulthum Ibn Hidam who was also a bachelor
- All leave [ Except those under House Arrest ] and only The Prophet, Imam Ali and Abu Bakr remain
Regarding the struggles to escape Makkah
- Ibn Hisham records many of the struggles of many companions to escape Makkah :-
1) Ayyash Ibn Abi Rabi’al Al Makhzumi was tricked by Abu Jahl into returning to Makkah at which they bound him and placed him under House Arrest
2) Suhayb who was Byzantine and had done well for himself in Makkah was prevented from leaving with his wealth so he gave up his wealth in exchange for safe passage out of Makkah. When The Prophet learned of this, he exclaimed ‘ Suhayb stuck a profitable deal ! Suhayb struck a profitable deal ! ‘
Regarding those barred from emigrating
- Regarding those who were barred from emigrating, the following verses in The Quran was revealed :-
” Those whose souls the Angels take who have wronged themselves, The Angels will ask them ‘ In what state were you ? ‘ They shall say ‘ We were oppressed in the place we lived. ‘ The Angels will ask ‘ Was God’s earth not vast enough for you to emigrate to a different place ? ‘ They will wind up in hell and what a terrible place to wind up. Except the weak ones from among the men and the women and the children who have not in their power the means nor can they find a way to escape. “
Al Quran [ 4 : 97 - 98 ]
The plot to assassinate The Prophet
- The elders of Quraysh met in Dar Al Nadwa to decide what to with The Prophet
- Abu Jahl says :-
” O Quraysh ! Nobody among The Arabs is more beloved to God than we. We are the people of God. Arabs come to us twice a year and honour us. Here in the sanctuary of God, no one dares touch us. We were always like this until Muhammad Ibn Abdullah grew up in out midst. We used to call him Al Amin for his righteousness and surety and truthfulness. Then he came into his prime and we honoured him and then he claimed that he was The Messenger of God and that news from the sky comes to him. He called us idiots [ This is fabricated, He just made it up ] denounced our Gods, corrupted our youths and created rifts in our society and he believed that our elders who had died are in fire. Nothing he said was more heinous than this. Now I have an idea to deal with him. “
- Abu Jahl proposes that they choose an assassin to kill him while others propose House Arrest and Banishment
- Iblis shows them how each of these solutions is insufficient
- Abu Jahl then proposes that one man from each clan kill him together so that The House of Hashim has no allies to help them retaliate
- According to Shayk Al Tusi [ Shia Scholar ], it is Abu Jahl himself who had the idea of assassinating him altogether
- Interestingly, there are still willing to observe The Hashimi’s right to Blood Money [ They say they are willing to pay 10 times what they are due ]
- The Angel Gabriel then exposes the plot to The Prophet and tells him to command Imam Ali to lie in his bed as a decoy so that The Prophet may esacpe
- Imam Ali’s response is :-
” And you will remain safe by me sleeping in your place ? “
- When The Prophet said yes, he smiled and prostrated on the ground in gratitude that The Prophet would escape
- When darkness sets in, The assassins surround The Prophet’s House
- The Prophet bids Imam Ali farewell and recites Verse 36 : 9 in The Quran as he escapes unnoticed :-
” And We set before them and behind them a barried [ saddan ] and have covered them [ aghshaynahum ] so they do not see. “
Al Quran [ 36 : 9 ]
- Imam Ali lies in his place as the assassins make their move at midnight
- Before they can kill him, he alerts them of his identity
- They capture him and imprison him for a while and then let him go
- Allah then reveals the following verse in praise of Imam Ali :-
” And among the man is he who sells his self [ nafs ] to seek the pleasure of Allah and Allah is Affectionate to the servants. “
Al Quran [ 2 : 207 ]
Practical Lessons learned in this chapter
1) If you live in a place where you are not permitted to practice your religion freely, you should relocate. One of the Major Sins in Islam is ‘ To Lose Your Religious Identity Where You Live ‘
2) The Jews were actively awaiting the appearance of The Final Messenger of God and relocated to live in the place where he would emigrate. Despite all this, they rejected him because he did not meet their expectations of what The Final Messenger of God would look like
3) The Pact of Brotherhood reminds us of the importance of seeing each other as equals before God. The only basis of superiority is in Piety
