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Hijra الهجرة

In review — pending scholar verification

The Prophet Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, marking the start of the Islamic calendar.

Overview

The Hijra (الهِجرَة) is the migration of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his companions from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. It is the point from which the Islamic lunar calendar is counted, instituted by Umar ibn al-Khattab during his caliphate.

Etymology

The root ه-ج-ر means to abandon, leave, or sever ties. In Islamic usage, the term carries the dual meaning of physical relocation for the sake of Allah and the spiritual abandonment of what He has forbidden.

Quranic references

The Quran repeatedly honours the muhajirun (emigrants):

Surah At-Tawbah 9:40 — "If you do not aid the Prophet — Allah has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out as one of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion, 'Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us.'" This refers to Abu Bakr in the cave of Thawr.

Surah An-Nisa 4:100 — "And whoever emigrates for the cause of Allah will find on the earth many locations and abundance."

Surah Al-Anfal 8:74 — "But those who have believed and emigrated and fought for the cause of Allah… those are the believers, truly."

Surah Al-Hashr 59:8 — "For the poor emigrants who were expelled from their homes and their properties, seeking bounty from Allah and pleasure."

Hadith and tradition

Umar ibn al-Khattab reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Actions are but by intentions, and every person will have only what they intended. So whoever's migration was for Allah and His Messenger, his migration is for Allah and His Messenger; and whoever's migration was for worldly gain or to marry a woman, his migration is for that for which he migrated." — Sahih al-Bukhari 1; Sahih Muslim 1907

Aishah narrated the details of the Prophet's ﷺ journey, including the role of Abu Bakr's preparation and the guide who took them via an unexpected route to elude the Quraysh.

Significance

The Hijra reframed the Muslim community from a persecuted minority into a self-governing society, with the Constitution of Medina, public salah, and the institution of zakat. The change of qiblah from Jerusalem to Mecca followed in 2 AH. Scholars from Ibn Kathir onward read the Hijra as the historical hinge of iman meeting consequence.

See also

References

  1. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, volume on the Hijra year.
  2. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Manaqib al-Ansar.
  3. al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, on the Hijra and the calendar.
  4. Ibn Hisham, al-Sira al-Nabawiyya, on the journey from Mecca to Medina.