The Muslims' Emigration to Yathrib

Subsequently, Muhammad commanded his companions to follow al Ansar [Literally,

"the helpers," the name given by Muhammad to the first Muslims of

Madinah who gave assistance to the cause at the time of its greatest

peril. Later on, the name was to apply to all the Muslims of Madinah in

contrast to al Muhajirun-literally, "the emigrants"-applied to those Muslims of Makkah who emigrated

before or after the Prophet to Madinah. -Tr.] in Yathrib. He ordered them to exit from Makkah in

very small groups so that they would not give cause to Quraysh to suspect or attack

them. The Muslims began their exodus individually or in small groups. When the

Quraysh realized what they were about, it began to return those whom it could catch

to Makkah to suffer punishment and torture. This Makkan countermeasure was

carried out with such zeal and determination that man and wife were separated

whenever a pair wanted to exit from Makkah. Those who disobeyed were locked up

in jail. But the Quraysh could not do more, fearful as they were of alienating the

tribes by killing their Muslim members and thereby adding to their list of enemies.

The Muslims, nonetheless, continued to exit from Makkah and to emigrate to Yathrib.

Muhammad remained where he was, nobody knowing whether he, too, was planning

to emigrate or not. None suspected him. Previously, he had permitted his

companions to emigrate to Abyssinia without going there himself; he had stayed

behind and continued to call the Makkans to Islam. Indeed, even Abu Bakr asked the

Prophet for permission to emigrate to Yathrib. The Prophet advised, "Do not hurry;

perhaps God may yet give you a companion for your trip." No more was said

regarding this matter.

The Quraysh and the Prophet's Emigration

All this notwithstanding, the Quraysh were quite apprehensive lest the Prophet

himself emigrate to Yathrib. The Muslims in that city had become so numerous that

the dominion of the city was almost theirs. The Muhajirun,[Literally, "the

helpers," the name given by Muhammad to the first Muslims of

Madinah who gave assistance to the cause at the time of its greatest

peril. Later on, the name was to apply to all the Muslims of Madinah in

contrast to al Muhajirun-literally, "the emigrants"-applied to those Muslims of Makkah who emigrated

before or after the Prophet to Madinah. -Tr.] who were arriving at Yathrib in numbers,

consolidated and increased Muslim power. Should Muhammad himself go there, the

Quraysh feared that under his wise and farsighted leadership and persistence, the

people of Yathrib might even seek to attack Makkah or, at least, to cut off their trade

route to al Sham. If this should ever become a real possibility, the Muslims would

avenge the boycott and isolation of the Muslims in kind by cutting off the Makkan

trade routes.

On the other hand, even if the Quraysh were to succeed in keeping Muhammad in

Makkah and thus prevent him from joining his companions, the Quraysh were still

exposed to the danger of the people of Yathrib's attacking them in defense of their

Prophet. Hence, the Quraysh decided that there was really no alternative but to kill

Muhammad and get rid of this persistent trouble once and for all. But in case they

did succeed in killing him, Banu Hashim and Banu al Muttalib would surely seek to

avenge his blood, and the civil war which they feared so much would break out

within Makkah and bring a greater danger than that which they feared might come

from the side of Yathrib. In al Nadwah, their community house, the Quraysh

gathered in order to find a means and solution. One of them suggested, "Let us

catch Muhammad and lock him up in jail. Then, wait to see happen to him that which

has happened to other possessed people and poets like Zuhayr, al Nabighah, and

others." This view found no supporters. Another suggested, "Let us carry him out of

our country and banish him and then forget about him altogether." This, too, found

no supporters because the Quraysh feared that Muhammad might then join his

followers in Yathrib and lead them against Makkah frightful possibility, indeed.

Finally, they concluded that the best solution is that each one of their clans delegate

a strong youth and arm him with a sharp sword so that all these delegates can kill

Muhammad together in one stroke; therefore, responsibility for his death would be

equally divided among all, thus making vengeance on the part of Banu `Abd Manaf

virtually impossible. The clan of Muhammad would then be forced to accept his

bloodwit, and the Quraysh would put an end to this instigator who had rent its unity

and sapped its power. The Quraysh thought well of this counsel and carefully chose

their executioners. They expected that the story of Muhammad was soon to come to

a close, that his cause would soon be buried and forgotten, and that those who had

migrated to Yathrib would soon return to their tribe, their former religion and gods,

and that Quraysh would resume the unity and leadership which it had almost lost.

Al Hijrah or the Prophet's Emigration

The Command to Emigrate

Muhammad discovered that the Quraysh had plotted to kill him rather than to allow

him to emigrate to Madinah where he might entrench the forces of Islam for a

resolute stand against Makkah and from where he might cut off its trade with al

Sham. No one doubted that Muhammad would hence-forth seize any opportunity to

carry out his plan for emigration. But no one knew of any plans he might have had;

not even Abu Bakr, who had been commanded to keep two beasts alert and ready

ever since he asked the Prophet for permission to emigrate and the Prophet advised

him to wait. Muhammad remained in Makkah until he learned of the Quraysh's plot

to assassinate him, and until none but the fewest Muslims were still left there with

him. He waited for the command of his Lord for emigration. When, finally, that

command did come, he went to the house of Abu Bakr and informed him of the

permission God had granted. He asked Abu Bakr to accompany him on the trip.

'Ali in the Prophet's Bed

Here begins one of the greatest adventures history has known in the cause of truth

and religious conviction. It is one of the noblest and most beautiful. Abu Bakr had

chosen his two beasts and given them to 'Abdullah ibn Urayqit to graze until the time

when they would be needed. When the two men planned to leave Makkah they were

absolutely certain that Quraysh would follow them in their trail in order to seize them

and bring them back. Hence, Muhammad decided to surprise his enemies by leaving

under circumstances and at a time hardly conceivable to them. The young men

whom the Quraysh had prepared for performing the assassination had blockaded his

house during the night in fear that he might run away. On the night of the Hijrah,

Muhammad confided his plan to 'Ali ibn Abu Talib and asked him to cover himself

with the Prophet's green mantle from Hadramawt and to sleep in the Prophet's bed.

He further asked him to tarry in Makkah until he had returned all things left with

Muhammad to their rightful owners. The Quraysh men waiting to kill the Prophet felt

reassured whenever, looking through a hole in the door, they saw somebody

sleeping in the Prophet's bed. Just before dawn, Muhammad left without being

noticed, picked up Abu Bakr at the latter's house and from there they proceeded

through a back door southward toward the cave of Thawr. The southerly direction of

their flight was inconceivable to everyone.

Nobody knew of their hiding place in the cave except 'Abdullah, son of Abu Bakr, his

two sisters, 'A'ishah and Asma', and their servant 'Amir ibn Fuhayrah. 'Abdullah

spent his day in Makkah listening to what the Quraysh said and plotted about

Muhammad and then reported it to the pair at their hideout under cover of night.

'Amir grazed the sheep of Abu Bakr and passed by the cave in the evening in order

to give them some milk and meat. Upon 'Abdullah's return from the cave, 'Amir

would follow him with all his sheep and then conceal any trace of his steps. For three

long days, the pair remained in the cave and the Quraysh persistently looked for

them without avail. For the Quraysh it was absolutely necessary to find Muhammad

and to prevent his emigration to Yathrib. Meanwhile, Muhammad spent most of his

time praying to God and invoking his blessings, and Abu Bakr continually sought to

find out whether they were being discovered and to look after their security.

The young men of Quraysh who were chosen to kill Muhammad continued their

search and came close to the cave fully armed and ready for the kill. When they

found a shepherd in the vicinity, they asked him about Muhammad and Abu Bakr. He

answered, "Perhaps they are within the cave, although I have not seen anyone go in

or out." When he heard the shepherd's answer, Abu Bakr trembled with fear and

expected the Quraysh to break into the cave any moment. He withdrew into a corner

and, trusting in God, remained motionless. Some members of the Quraysh party

climbed up to the cave, and the foremost among them turned round as soon as he

saw the cave entrance. His companions asked him, "Why have you not gone into the

cave? He answered, "Its entrance is covered with cobwebs, and there is a pair of wild

pigeons on the threshold. Obviously, no one could have gone in without disturbing

the pigeons and destroying the cobwebs." At that moment, Muhammad prayed while

Abu Bakr continued to shake with fear. To Abu Bakr, who pressed ever closer to

Muhammad, the latter whispered, "Do not grieve; God is with us." According to some

Hadith books, it is reported that when the Quraysh party arrived at the cave

entrance, Abu Bakr exclaimed: "If any one of them looks at his feet he will find us,"

and that the Prophet had answered, "O Abu Bakr, how can you fear for two men

whose constant companion is God Himself?" The Quraysh men were further

convinced that the cave was empty when they saw the entrance to the cave covered

indeed blocked with branches growing from a tree nearby. They then agreed to leave

and called one another for their return to Makkah. Only then did the two refugees

within the cave feel reassured. Abu Bakr's faith in God and His Prophet became

stronger, and Muhammad prayed: "Praise be to God! God is greater than all!"

The Miracle of the Cave

The cobwebs, the two wild pigeons, and the tree and its branches these are the miracles

which the biography books relate concerning the hiding in the cave of Thawr. The miracle

is that none of these things were there when the Prophet and his companion entered the

cave, and that thereafter, the spider hurried to weave its cobwebs, the two pigeons to

build their nest and to lay their eggs, and the tree to grow its branches around the door.

In this connection the Orientalist Dermenghem wrote, "These three things are the only

miracles recorded in authentic Mussulman history: the web of a spider, the love of a dove,

the sprouting of a flower three miracles accomplished daily on God's earth."[E. Dermenghem, op. cit., p.

149]

Some Biographers Omit the Story

This miracle received no mention in Ibn Hisham's biography. His version of the story of the

cave ran as follows: "They [Muhammad and Abu Bakr] went to the cave of Thawr, on the

south side of Makkah. Abu Bakr ordered his son `Abdullah to stay in Makkah during the

day, listen to the news of the Quraysh and bring them knowledge thereof in the evening.

He ordered his servant, `Amir ibn Fuhayrah, to continue to graze his sheep and to come

by the cave at night. Asma', daughter of Abu Bakr, brought them provisions of food in the

evening, also. The Prophet of God-may God's peace and blessing is upon him stayed in the

cave three days. The Quraysh had announced a prize of one hundred camels to whosoever

would bring back Muhammad to Makkah. `Abdullah, son of Abu Bakr, used to spend his

day in Makkah listening well to the plotting and gossip of the Quraysh, and when visiting

the pair in the evening, related the news to them. `Amir ibn Fuhayrah, servant of Abu

Bakr, used to graze the flock of sheep around Makkah and, in the evening, passed by the

cave and gave milk and meat to the pair. When `Abdullah, son of Abu Bakr, returned

home to Makkah, he was followed by `Amir ibn Fuhayrah and his sheep in order to cover

over his footprints. Three days later, when the interest of the Quraysh in this search had

subsided, the man whom Abu Bakr had appointed to graze the two camels for the trip

came with the three camels, two for Muhammad and Abu Bakr, and a third for himself . . .

." That is all that Ibn Hisham says concerning the story of the cave.

In the same connection, the following verses of the Qur'an were revealed:

"When the unbelievers plotted to imprison you, to kill you or to banish you, God planned

on your behalf, and He is the best of planners. . . If you [the people] do not help

Muhammad, then know that God Will. For God helped him when the unbelievers drove him

out, and he and his companion hid in the cave. At that time, the Prophet said to his

companion, `Grieve not for God is with us.' It was then that God sent down his peace

upon him and assisted him with hosts invisible that the word of God might be supreme

and that of the unbelievers might be repudiated. God is almighty and all wise."[Qur'an, 8:30; 9:40]