THE EMIGRATION TO MADINAH
Dawah work paved the way for a new chapter in Islamic history.
In ancient Arabia, people lived under tribal protection. The tribe was responsible for the security of each member’s life and property. The Prophet of Islam belonged to the clan of the Banu Hashim. The Prophet’s uncle, Abu Talib, was the chief of his clan. Abu Talib died in the 10th year of prophethood. After that, according to the tribal custom, this seat was given to Abu Lahab, Abu Talib’s brother.
Abu Lahab refused to extend tribal support to the Prophet. This was a very delicate situation because deprivation of tribal protection implied that the concerned person’s life and property were constantly at risk. That is why the Prophet’s opponents became more emboldened against him. However, according to the accounts in the Prophet’s biographies, the Quraysh were not able to take any aggressive action against the Prophet during the life of Abu Talib. But after the death of Abu Talib, they became aggressive towards him. Some foolish people even threw dust on the Prophet.
Apparently, the Prophet’s stay in Makkah had become impossible. Exactly at the same time, a very bright opportunity opened up for the communication of the divine mission. In the eleventh year of prophethood, some people from Madinah came to Makkah on a pilgrimage and accepted Islam after being influenced by his message. The following year more people came to Makkah. They heard the Quran from the Prophet and pledged allegiance to him. When they were to return to Madinah, the Prophet sent two men Abdullah ibn Umm Maktuum and Musab ibn Umayr along with them from Makkah to teach Islam and the Quran to the people of Madinah. The moment they reached Madinah they started teaching the Quran to the people. The environment in Madinah was very conducive to the spread of Islam.
The people began accepting Islam at a rapid pace and soon Islam spread throughout all the Madinan localities. There was not a single house without some men and women who were Muslims.
When the Prophet saw the favourable environment for Islam in Madinah, he told the Muslims to leave Makkah quietly. So, they began to migrate until finally, the majority of them migrated from Makkah to Madinah. The Makkans took this situation as a challenge. They thought that once these people were established in Madinah, they would take aggressive action against the local Makkans. So, they decided that Muhammad should be killed before his migration to Madinah. But by now the matter had gone out of their hands. The night they wanted to attack him; God made him leave Makkah for Madinah. After that, Islam began to make headway in Madinah and undoubtedly it was dawah that paved the way for this new chapter in its history.
