Brothers and sisters! We bid farewell to another year of the Hijrah. After the passing of the blessed month of Dhul-Hijjah, we are now in the sacred month of Muharram of the new Hijri year – 1440. It is reported that the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) would learn the following du’a for when the new month or new year would begin:
اللهم أَدْخِلْهُ عَلينا بِالأمْنِ وَالإيمان وَالسَّلامَةِ وَالإسْلام وَرِضْوَانٍ مِّنَ الرَّحْمن وِجوارٍ مِّنَ الشَّيْطان
“O Allah, bring this upon us with security, iman, safety, Islam, your pleasure and protection from shaytan.”
My khutba today is on the topic: ‘Significance of Al-Hijrah.’ Al-Hijrah refers to the migration of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) from Makkah to Madinah in the year 622. The Islamic calendar was introduced during the era of Umar ibn Al-Khattab (RA) and began on a day corresponding with the first day of the month of Muharram.
The Hijrah was not only a historical event, but an event that changed the course of history. Every Islamic New Year is reminiscent of this very significant occasion in the history of Islam, which brought in its wake an end to tyranny, persecution, discrimination, pain and grief of the believers in Makkah and ushered in a new era of freedom, fraternity, equality, and justice in Madinah. The Hijrah was the beginning of a new phase in the life of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his companions.
The first phase of the Prophetic mission known as the Makkan period lasted for thirteen years (610-622). The second phase which began with the Hijrah is called the Madinan period and lasted for ten years (622-632). This Hijrah from Makkah to Madinah was executed by the Prophet (SAW) and his companions under a divine command and was mandatory unlike the optional migration of a few companions to Abyssinia in the early days of the Prophet’s mission. This mission had begun with the first revelation to the Prophet (SAW) in the cave of Hira situated at the peak of Jabal al-Nur.
It was a simple command to “read” (iqra’) and hence began the journey, which along its way transformed his companions into beacons, illuminated with the light of faith (iman), and led to the establishment of Islam as a concrete historical reality. This was the fruit of the iman that had been instilled in the minds and hearts of the believers during the Makkan period. Their training (tarbiyyah) and their purification (tazkiyyah) at the hands of the Prophet (SAW), the adversities endured by them in the path of Allah (SWT) and their life-experiences during the Prophetic era had made for them the metaphysical concepts of the unseen, the life hereafter and the reckoning on the Day of Judgment as something not only comprehensible but also real. They could not help but cry out:
رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُنَادِي لِلْإِيمَانِ أَنْ آَمِنُوا بِرَبِّكُمْ فَآَمَنَّا رَبَّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَكَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّئَاتِنَا وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الْأَبْرَارِ () رَبَّنَا وَآَتِنَا مَا وَعَدْتَنَا عَلَى رُسُلِكَ وَلَا تُخْزِنَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّكَ لَا تُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ
“Our Lord! We have heard someone calling us to faith; believe in your Lord, and we have believed. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, wipe out our bad deeds, and grant that we join the righteous when we die. Our Lord! Bestow upon us all that You have promised us through Your messengers. Do not humiliate us on the Day of Resurrection. You never break Your promise.” (Aal ‘Imran, 3:193-194).
The believers’ intense and deep rooted iman made them withstand all forms of persecution, hardship and torture meted out to them by the arch-enemies of Islam including Abu Jahal and the Prophet’s own uncle Abu Lahab who vented their wrath against them just for proclaiming the true testimony of faith and living by it. Bilal, ‘Ammar, Yasir, Sumaiyyah, among other companions of the Prophet (SAW) were brutally tortured and some of them were actually killed.
The noble Prophet (SAW) himself was subjected to verbal abuse and constant harassment and many intrigues and murderous plots were hatched against him. His agony reached a climax when he was not only chased out from the city of al-Taif near Makkah where he had gone to convey Allah’s message to its inhabitants, but even stones were pelted at him. But the Prophet’s mercy, kindness and magnanimity knew no bounds. When asked by the angel of mountains if he may cause the mountains surrounding al-Taif to move in and destroy its dwellers as they had tortured and abused Allah’s messenger, his spontaneous response was that they should be left safe as their progeny and future generations perhaps would heed to the message brought by him and worship the one and only true God.
Allah (SWT) in His infinite mercy responded to the cry of the believers who were being tormented day in and day out during the Makkan period at the hands of the Pagan Quraish and others, and ordered them to migrate to Madinah, a city about 200 miles north of Makkah.
During the Makkan period of thirteen years, the Prophet’s mission was focused toward inculcating three basic doctrinal beliefs in the hearts of the believers: (1) faith in Allah (SWT), (2) faith in Prophethood, and (3) faith in the hereafter. These three cardinal articles of faith revolve around two-thirds of the Qur’anic text revealed during the Makkan period.
The implicit faith in the Creator that the Prophet (SAW) and his companions possessed and the intense desire to please Him caused them to march to Madinah to establish a community where Allah’s rule would reign supreme. On his way to Madinah, the Prophet (SAW) established the first Masjid at Quba where the Muslims could freely worship Allah alone without fear of any persecution of any sort. The first thing that happened on the Prophet’s arrival at Madinah was that the enmity between the two feuding tribes of Aws and Khazraj came to an end. Allah (SWT) fostered brotherhood between them. They came to be known as the Ansar or helpers. Allah (SWT) mentions this phenomenon in the following Qur’anic ayah,
وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَى شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِنَ النَّارِ فَأَنْقَذَكُمْ مِنْهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ آَيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
“Remember Allah’s favor to you: you were enemies and then He brought your hearts together and you became brothers by His grace; you were about to fall into a pit of Fire and He saved you from it- in this way Allah makes His revelations clear to you so that you may be rightly guided.” (Aal Imran, 3:103)
Upon his arrival at Madinah, Prophet (SAW) laid the foundation of the first Islamic Center, the Prophet’s Mosque – a Masjid cum school which catered to both the worshiping and learning needs of the believers. Many great companions were graduates of this school. Second, the Prophet engendered a strong feeling of fraternity between the Ansar and the muhajirun (emigrants), which went a long way to unite and strengthen the Muslim community of Madinah. The Ansar demonstrated a unique self-sacrificing spirit when they welcomed their Makkan brothers with open arms and cheerfully shared their wealth and possessions with them just for the sake of Allah (SWT). Third, the Prophet (SAW) executed alliance pacts with different tribes and communities including the Jews. This ensured the safety and security of Madinah against foreign aggression as all parties to the alliance, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, whether hostile or friendly to each other were legally and morally bound to stand against their common enemy.
The Prophet (SAW) was constrained to engage in defensive wars when the aggressive pagan Quraish along with their allies invaded Madinah. With the help of Allah (SWT), within a few years, the Prophet (SAW) and his companions emerged successful and this success culminated when he along with his companions marched towards Makkah and restored the sanctity of the sacred Ka’ba by cleansing it from idols and other objects of worship. This victory of Makkah was achieved without spilling blood and the Prophet (SAW), again in keeping with his usual benevolence declared a general amnesty, even for those disbelievers who had crossed limits in their persecution and opposition of the believers. May we derive useful lessons from the noble life and teachings of the Prophet (SAW).
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! Just two months prior to his passing away, in 632, the Prophet (SAW) performed Hajj in which he delivered his famous farewell sermon. Among many gems of advice, he admonished the believers to be good to one another, to be kind to women, to avoid usury, to eliminate prejudices of ethnicity and tribalism, and to be alert of the accursed Satan. On this occasion, Allah (SWT) signaled His pleasure to the Prophet (SAW) and to the community of believers by revealing what is believed to be the last revealed verse of the Qur’an:
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
“Today I have perfected for you your faith, and have completed My favor upon you, and am well-pleased with Islam as your deen.” (Al-Ma’idah, 5:3).
Madinah became the capital of the new born Islamic State. The trials and tribulations of the believers in the Makkan period and their sincere commitment to struggle in the path of Allah (SWT) eventually resulted in the creation of a social order based on fairness and justice. This social order and stability was not restricted to Makkah and Madinah; rather it spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula and beyond.
Many of us are immigrants (muhajirun) to the USA. We should create the same bond of brotherhood and sisterhood with the native Ansar population of this land such as the Muslim Caucasian, Latino, and African-American brothers and sisters among others. We have to be united and not divided. We have to turn our mosques into centers of learning as the Prophet (SAW) had done. Such centers of learning will unify, energize and rejuvenate their students to struggle in the path of Allah (SWT), and to practice and convey Islam. We also need to engage the community and work with whoever likes to work with us towards providing social and humanitarian services. We have to come to terms with our opponents and repel evil with good. Allah (SWT) says,
وَلا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلا السَّيِّئَةُ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ
“Good and evil cannot be equal. Repel evil with what is better and your enemy will become as close as an old and valued friend.” (Fussilat, 41:34)
There is also another type or dimension of Hijrah that takes place in the heart of a believer, and that is mentioned in a hadith which says, “A Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hands the Muslims are safe; and an emigrant (muhajir) is the one who migrates from what Allah has forbidden.”
This means that Hijrah is not just physically moving to a new place, but also spiritually and ethically moving away from what Allah has forbidden, and struggling to stay on the right path. This implies being knowledgeable and mindful of God’s commands and prohibitions, being strong enough to control one’s urges, being aware of the world around us, and seeking to rise in rank in Allah’s sight by constantly working to be a better person and a better Muslim. And this is best done by following the Prophet’s model, for Allah (SWT) Himself attests to this.
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الآَخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
“The Messenger of Allah is an excellent model for those of you who put your hope in Allah and the Last Day and remember Allah often.” (Al-Ahzab, 33:21)
