Contemplations on Hijrah Anniversary
In the name of Allah; praise be to Him; and blessings and peace be upon His Messenger, his kinsfolk, companions, and followers:
Now to the topic:
As we congratulate our Muslim nation on the launch of a new Hijri year – May Allah Almighty make it a year of prosperity, blessings, victory and glory – we must reflect on the memory of emigration of the Prophet, peace be upon him, draw lessons from it, and derive the power we need to help us continue our path to Allah Almighty, with insight and awareness. ﴾Say, O Prophet, “This is my way: I invite to Allah, based on insight —I, and whoever follows me. Glory be to Allah, and I am not of the polytheists.﴿ (Yusuf: 108)
Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, was successful and inspired when he chose the Hijrah day to initiate the Islamic calendar, being a solemn event and a landmark in the course of Islamic history, rather human history as a whole. With it, the Islamic state was established, delivering the message of guidance to mankind, and presenting a model of the right path with all its aspects to the world throughout history.
Had it not been for the Hijrah (Prophet’s migration from Makkah to Madinah), Muslims would have remained mere individuals, albeit distinguished by integrity of belief, depth of education, and cohesion of social structure; but they would at the same time be - at their best – just a stalked gathering, subject to erosion and strife, lacking a future horizon in the midst of darkness, and fearing annihilation in a surrounding that is stalking them, as well as tyrants whom the Qur’an described as ﴾ They do not honour the bonds of kinship or covenants with the believers. It is they who are the transgressors. ﴿ (Al Tawbah: 10).
And Allah Almighty posed immigration as a victory, a pure victory and support from Him, Glory be to Him: ﴾If you do not aid him (the Prophet) - Allah has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah] as one of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us." And Allah sent down his tranquility upon him and supported him with angels you did not see and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah - that is the highest. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.﴿ (Al Tawbah: 40)
In fact, the Prophet’s migration and establishment of the "First Muslim State" came as a culmination of stages of educational and advocacy action that spanned for thirteen years, and they were gradual stages, aimed from the very beginning to empower the final religion, so that it could be disseminated to all mankind. It is a mission that Allah authorized His Messenger to undertake from the early beginnings of the Islamic call, and He reiterated it in the surahs of the Quran revealed in Makkah, to be anchored in the awareness of the believing community since the early beginning of its formation, as He said in Surah Saba’, Verse 28: ﴾ And We have not sent you (O Muhammad SAW) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most of men know not.﴿ (Saba’: 28; and in Surah Al Furqan, Verse 1: ﴾ Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His Servant that he may be to the worlds a warner.﴿ (Al Furqan: 1). This mission would not have been accomplished had Muslims been stalked and subjected to tribulation, without having any support, power, or a state. Hence came the migration of the believers to Abyssinia, so that a group of believers would remain safe from tyranny that might have led to perishment. And hence came the attempt of the Prophet, peace be upon him, to migrate to Taif; but when this goal was not achieved, he resorted to calling the Arab tribes to Islam and asking them to grant him support, as well as securing protection for him, so that he could deliver Allah’s Message (of Islam).
When Allah Almighty granted success to the efforts exerted to establish the “First Islamic State”, the faith base had met the required conditions to preserve that state, and moving it on the path to achieve its objectives, whose features were drawn up by the Holy Qur’an, with its verses continuing to guide its path and organize its steps, after (the state) being established in patience and forbearance, and tested in ordeals and misfortunes, and thus has possessed the ability to withstand, and the insight in approach.
At the time, the faith community, both immigrants and Ansar (supporters), represented the nation’s spectrum: men and women, noble and oppressed (or the vulnerable categories in general), individuals and families, as those Muslim families provided the most wonderful examples in the saga of migration itself, including: the family of “Abu Salemeh” and the family of “Abu Bakr”; as well as many other families that migrated to Abyssinia in the fifth year of the start of the Prophet’s mission, where they remained there for about fifteen years, in the diaspora, amid feelings of loneliness and homesickness, until they returned home in the aftermath of the Battle of Khaybar in the seventh Hijri year.
Praise be to Allah, this good example provided by Muslim families at the time has continued throughout the history of the nation, even amidst its darkest circumstances.
Muslim women have provided an excellent example in supporting their husbands in successive ordeals, by preserving their homes, bringing up and educating their children in the best morals, as well as backing and helping their husbands in all circumstances.
In this context, we will never forget what our Muslim sisters are suffering amidst the ordeal that we are currently experiencing, that ordeal which afflicted many of our sisters; where the tyrants sent them to detention centers and prisons, and they violated sanctities, abused dignities, and committed such despicable acts that Abu Jahl, himself, as one of the prominent polytheist pagan leaders, would have abstained from committing!
On this great occasion, we recall that Hijrah (migration) as a continuous approach, as long as the struggle between truth and falsehood continues, which is a struggle between holders of the right - who despite being deprived of means of power and protection, yet they still cling to the bitter right, seeking to support it - and arrogant tyrants who do not attribute to Allah due grandeur.
Allah has rewarded His giving in this world and in the Hereafter to the holders of the right who sacrifice for His sake, the immigrants in His cause, as He Almighty said in Surah Al Nahl, Verse 41: ﴾And as for those who emigrated for the Cause of Allah, after suffering oppression, We will certainly give them goodly residence in this world, but indeed the reward of the Hereafter will be greater, if they but knew!﴿ (Al Nahl: 41); and He also said in Surah Al Nisaa - Verse 100: ﴾ And whoever emigrates for the cause of Allah will find on the earth many [alternative] locations and abundance And whoever leaves his home as an emigrant to Allah and His Messenger and then death overtakes him - his reward has already become incumbent upon Allah And Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.﴿ (Al Nisaa: 100).
LetHijrah remain a landmark for those who overlook the worldly attractions, longing for homelands, and cowardice based on the intense love of family and children. Our noble Messenger has confirmed the great status of migration as he said to those who supported him and generously sacrificed their lives for the sake of their religion: Narrated Al-Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “But for the migration, I would have been one of the Ansar.”
Because migration is an ongoing approach, Allah has made supporting the oppressed and the vulnerable an obligatory duty for Muslims, as Abu Daoud included within his book “Sunan” a Hadith that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “No Muslim will desert another Muslim in a place where his respect may be violated and his honour aspersed without Allah deserting him in a place where he wishes His help; and no Muslim who will help another Muslim in a place where his honour may be aspersed and his respect violated without Allah helping him in a place where he wishes His help.” And Allah Almighty testified in favor of the two categories - the immigrants and the supporters - that they are believers, and promised them good reward, so He, Glory be to Him, said in Surah Al Anfal: ﴾And those who believed, and emigrated, and struggled in the way of Allah; and those who have given refuge and aid; Those in truth are the believers, and theirs shall be forgiveness and generous provision.﴿ (Al Anfal: 74).
The right in our world today needs such support; to find its due place that Allah wanted, to save humanity and guide it.
And the close of our supplication will be: "Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds!"
Dr. Salah Abdel Haq
Acting Muslim Brotherhood General Guide
(Thursday, 2 Muharram 1445 AH / 20 July 2023)