View source for Religion:Hijrah

{{Short description|Journey of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina}}


The '''Hijrah''' or '''Hijra''' ({{Lang-ar|الهجرة}}) was the journey the Islamic prophet [[Biography:Muhammad|Muhammad]] and his followers took from [[Place:Mecca|Mecca]] to [[Place:Medina|Medina]].<ref name=FazlurRehman51>{{cite book |last= Shaikh |first= Fazlur Rehman |title= Chronology of Prophetic Events |year= 2001 |publisher= Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd. |location= London |pages= 51–52}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |date=Fall 2017 |title=Approaches to the Research of Early Islam: The Hijrah in Western Historiography |url=https://www.academia.edu/35523840 |journal=Jamma'a |volume=23 |page=vii}}</ref> The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the [[History:Epoch|epoch]] of the [[Engineering:Islamic calendar|Lunar Hijri]]{{efn|commonly known in the West as 'the' [[Engineering:Islamic calendar|Islamic calendar]], though both calendars are used by [[Religion:Muslims|Muslims]].}} and [[History:Solar Hijri calendar|Solar Hijri]] calendars; its date equates to 16 July 622 in the [[Julian calendar]].<!-- Please do not change to Gregorian calendar since that took another 900 years approx to arrive on the scene --><ref>{{cite book |first=Sherrard Beaumont |last=Burnaby |url=https://archive.org/details/elementsofjewish00burnuoft |title=Elements of the Jewish and Muhammadan calendars |date=1901 |pages=373–5, 382–4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter=Table 1.2 Epochs for various calendars |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cK1XDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |page=17 |title=Calendrical Calculations |edition=Third |oclc=1137352777 |publisher=O'Reilly |first1=Nachum |last1=Dershowitz |first2=Edward |last2=Reingold  |date=2018| isbn=9781108546935 }}</ref>{{efn|1 Muharram of the new fixed calendar corresponded to Friday, 16 July 622 CE, the equivalent civil tabular date (same daylight period) in the [[Julian calendar]]. The Islamic day began at the preceding sunset on the evening of 15 July. This Julian date (16 July) was determined by medieval Muslim astronomers by projecting back in time their own [[Religion:Tabular Islamic calendar|tabular Islamic calendar]], which had alternating 30- and 29-day months in each lunar year plus eleven leap days every 30 years. For example, al-Biruni mentioned this Julian date in the year 1000 CE.<ref>al-Biruni, ''The chronology of ancient nations'', tr. C. Edward Sachau (1000/1879) 327.</ref> Although not used by either medieval Muslim astronomers or modern scholars to determine the Islamic epoch, the thin [[Astronomy:Lunar phase|crescent moon]] would have also first become visible (assuming clouds did not obscure it) shortly after the preceding sunset on the evening of 15 July, 1.5 days after the associated [[Astronomy:Dark moon|dark moon]] (astronomical [[Astronomy:New moon|new moon]]) on the morning of 14 July.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases0601.html|title=NASA phases of the moon 601–700|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008214455/http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases0601.html|archive-date=8 October 2010}}</ref>}} The Arabic word ''hijra'' means primarily "a severing of ties of kinship or association."<ref name="Schacht" /><ref name="Holt" /> It has been also transliterated as '''Hegira''' in medieval Latin, a term still in occasional use in English.

Early in Muhammad's preaching of [[Religion:Islam|Islam]], his followers only included his close friends and relatives. Most of his tribesmen, the Quraysh, however, were indifferent to his activities, as they did not appear to be particularly interested in devotional meetings, and accordingly, Muhammad did not encounter any serious opposition from them; that was the case until he began to attack their beliefs, which caused tensions to arise.{{Sfn|Buhl|Welch|1993|p=364}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-24 |title=Muhammad {{!}} Biography, History, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Lewis|2002|p=35–36}} Muhammad and his small faction of Muslims then reportedly faced several challenges including a boycott of [[Religion:Banu Hashim|Muhammad's clan]], torture, killing, and other forms of religious persecution by the Meccans. Toward the end of the decade, Abu Talib, Muhammad's uncle, who supported him amidst the leaders of Mecca, died. Finally, the leaders of Mecca ordered the assassination of Muhammad, which was to be executed by 11 men with swords.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mubarakpuri |first=Safiur Rahman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5Y2zgEACAAJ |title=The Sealed Nectar (Ar-Raheeq Al-makhtum): Biography of the Noble Prophet Muhammad -Peace Be Upon Him- |date=2020-10-06 |publisher=Independently Published |isbn=979-8-6941-4592-3 |language=en}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=May 2023}}

In May 622, after having convened twice with members of the Medinan tribes of Aws and Khazraj at al-'Aqabah near Mina, Muhammad secretly left his home in Mecca to emigrate to their city, along with his friend, father-in-law and [[Religion:Sahabah|companion]] Abu Bakr.<ref>Moojan Momen (1985), ''An Introduction to Shi'i Islam: History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism'', Yale University Press, New edition 1987, p. 5.</ref> Prophet Muhammad's arrival at Medina was warmly welcomed, resulting in the renaming of the city from Yathrib to Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (Arabic: المدينة المنورة‎, romanized: al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, lit. 'The Enlightened City', Hejazi pronunciation: [almadiːna almʊnawːara]), commonly simplified as Madīnah or Medina (Arabic: المدينة‎, romanized: al-Madina, Hejazi pronunciation: [almadiːna]; {{Lit.|the City}}).<ref name="Shamsi">{{cite journal |jstor=20847270 |title=The Date of Hijrah |last1=Shamsi |first1=F. A. |journal=Islamic Studies |year=1984 |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=189–224}}<br/>
{{cite journal |jstor=20847277 |title=The Date of Hijrah |last1=Shamsi |first1=F. A. |journal=Islamic Studies |year=1984 |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=289–323}}</ref>

After the hijrah, Muhammad began attacking the caravans of the Meccans and plundering their goods,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peters |first=Francis E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0OrCo4VyvGkC |title=Muhammad and the Origins of Islam |date=1994-01-01 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-7914-1875-8 |pages=211–214 |language=en}}</ref>{{Sfn|Buhl|Welch|1993|p=269}} which prompted armed conflicts between the Muslims and the Quraysh, including the battles of Badr, Uhud, and the Trench.{{Sfn|Buhl|Welch|1993|p=369-370}} Sometime after the latter battle and after Muhammad had successfully eliminated the three major [[Religion:Jews|Jewish]] tribes from Medina, he reportedly stopped making raids on the Quraysh,{{Sfn|Buhl|Welch|1993|p=370}} at which point he mostly focused his attention on the north, where he raided Banu Lihyan and Banu Mustaliq, to name a few.{{Sfn|Buhl|Welch|1993|p=370}}

== Etymology ==
Hijrah is a contemporary transliteration of the [[Social:Arabic|Arabic]] word هجرة which means primarily "a severing of ties of kinship or association."<ref name="Schacht">{{harv|Schacht et al.|1998|p=366}}</ref><ref name="Holt">{{harv|Holt et al.|1978|p=40}}</ref> Hajara, the verb's first stem, is defined as "to cut off someone from friendly association" or "to avoid association with." And the third stem, hājara, denotes "a mutual termination of friendly relations." The word has been mistranslated as "flight."<ref>{{harv|Schacht et al.|1998|p=366}}</ref> Since 1753, the word has also been used to refer to an exodus in [[Social:English language|English]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of HEGIRA |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hegira |access-date=2020-10-16 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Background ==
Medina was inhabited by both Arabs and [[Religion:Jews|Jews]]. The Arabs consisted of two tribes–the Banu Aws and Banu Khazraj. The Aws and Khazraj were constantly at war with each other, and this made traditional rules for maintaining law and order dysfunctional, and, without a neutral man with considerable authority over things, stability seemed unlikely.<ref>Holt, et al (2000), pp. 39–40.</ref> It is also accepted by modern historians of Arabia that the Arabs of Medina had heard from their Jewish fellow citizens of the coming of a prophet.<ref name="Shibli1" /><ref name="Holt, et al 2000, p. 40" /> 

During [[Religion:Dhu al-Hijjah|Dhu al-Hijjah]] of the year 620 CE, Muhammad convened with some members of the Banu Khazraj tribe from [[Place:Medina|Medina]] near the al-'Aqabah Hill in Mina just outside of [[Place:Mecca|Mecca]], propounded to them the doctrines of [[Religion:Islam|Islam]], and recited portions of the [[Religion:Quran|Quran]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Sell |first=Edward |title=The Life of Muhammad |url=http://www.muhammadanism.org/Canon_Sell/muhammad/life_muhammad.pdf |access-date=19 January 2013 |year=1913 |publisher=The Christian Literary Society for India |location=Madras |page=70}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Holt | first1=P. M. |  last2=Lambton | first2=Ann K. S. | last3=Lewis | first3=Bernard |  title=The Cambridge History of Islam | url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory00holt_798 | url-access=limited | year=2000 | publisher={{wipe|Cambridge University Press}} | isbn=978-0521219464 | page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory00holt_798/page/n57 39]}}</ref> Impressed by this, they embraced Islam,<ref name="Shibli1">Shibli Nomani. [[Religion:Sirat-un-Nabi|Sirat-un-Nabi]]. Vol 1. Lahore.</ref> and during the pilgrimage of 621, five of them brought seven others with them. These twelve informed Muhammad of the beginning of gradual development of Islam in Medina, and took a formal pledge of allegiance at Muhammad's hand, promising to accept him as a prophet, to [[Religion:Tawhid|worship none but one God]], and to renounce sins including theft, [[Social:Adultery|adultery]], and [[Social:Murder|murder]], in what is now known as the First Pledge of al-'Aqabah.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zl3KelLEwtYC&pg=PT107|last=Khan|first=Muhammad Zafra|title=Muhammad, seal of the prophets|date=1980|location=London|page=70|isbn=978-0-85525-992-1}}</ref><ref>Peter Malcolm Holt, Ann K S Lambton, and Bernard Lewis, ''The Cambridge History of Islam'', Volume 1, ''The Central Islamic Lands'', Cambridge, 2000, p. 40. {{ISBN|978-0-85525-992-1}}</ref><ref>Sell (1913), p. 71.</ref> At their request, Muhammad sent with them Mus‘ab ibn 'Umair to teach them the instructions of [[Religion:Islam|Islam]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Murad, Khurram.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41621132|title=Who is Muhammad, peace be upon him|date=1998|publisher=Islamic Foundation|others=Islamic Foundation (Great Britain)|isbn=978-0-86037-290-5|location=Leicester|oclc=41621132}}</ref> The following year, in 622, a delegation of around 75 Muslims consisting of members of both the Aws and Khazraj from Medina restated the terms of the First Pledge and also assured Muhammad of their full support and protection if the latter would migrate to Medina as an arbitrator to reconcile among the Aws and Khazraj.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hitti |first=Philip Khuri |author-link=Philip Khuri Hitti |title=History of the Arabs |year=1946 |publisher=Macmillan and Co. |location=[[Place:London|London]] |page=116}}</ref> This is known as the Second Pledge at al-Aqabah,<ref name="Holt, et al 2000, p. 40">Holt, et al (2000), p. 40.</ref><ref>Khan (1980), p. 73.</ref> and was a religiopolitical success that paved the way for the Medinan Hegira.<ref>Sell (1913), p. 76.</ref> Following the pledges, Muhammad encouraged his followers to migrate to Medina, and in a span of two months, nearly all the Muslims of Mecca migrated to the city.

==Migration==
Muslims believe Muhammad waited until he received divine direction to depart from [[Place:Mecca|Mecca]]. In anticipation of receiving this direction, Muhammad began making preparations and informed Abu Bakr. On the night of his departure, Muhammad's house was besieged by men of the Quraysh, who had seen large numbers of the Muslims leave the city and had planned to kill him as soon as he left. Muhammad, who was renowned for his trustworthiness, owned various properties of members the Quraysh entrusted to him and he asked [[Biography:Ali|Ali]] to stay behind to return them and to fulfill his obligations on his behalf. Muhammad asked Ali to wear his cloak and to lie down on his bed assuring him of God's protection. Ali wore Muhammad's cloak, leading the assassins to think Muhammad had not yet departed. Ali risked his life by staying in Mecca but ultimately survived the plot. He would later leave for Medina with his mother, Fatima bint Asad, Muhammed's daughters Fatimah and Umm Kulthum, and two other women, Muhammad's wife Sawda and wetnurse Umm Ayman.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJxMAAAAcAAJ|last=Muir|first=William|title=The life of Mahomet Volume 2|date=1861|pages=258–59}}</ref><ref name="Al Mubarakpuri" /> 

Muhammad and Abu Bakr left the city and took shelter in a cave atop the Thawr mountain south of Mecca before continuing their journey to elude the Quraysh party pursuing them led by Suraqa bin Malik. They stayed in the cave for three days before resuming their journey. During the journey, whenever Suraqa neared Muhammad and Abu Bakr, Suraqa's horse stumbled until he finally gave up on the desire of capturing Muhammad.<ref name="Al Mubarakpuri">{{cite book |last= Al Mubarakpuri |first= Safi ur Rahman |chapter= On the Road to Madina |title= Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum – The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r_80rJHIaOMC |access-date= 2011-11-11 |year= 2002 |publisher= Darussalam |isbn= 9960899551 }}</ref> Muhammad and Abu Bakr turned to the Red Sea, following the coastline up to Medina, arriving at Quba'. He stopped at Quba' and established a [[Engineering:Mosque|mosque]] there. He waited there for fourteen days for Ali and his family to join him. Thereafter he continued to Medina, participated in their first Friday prayer on the way. Upon reaching the city, they were greeted cordially by its people.

== Aftermath and legacy ==
Muhammad's followers suffered from poverty after fleeing persecution in Mecca and migrating with Muhammad to Medina. Their Meccan persecutors seized their wealth and belongings left behind in Mecca.<ref name="Esposito4">John Esposito, ''Islam'', Expanded edition, Oxford University Press, pp. 4–5.</ref> Beginning in January 623, Muhammad led several raids against Meccan caravans travelling along the eastern coast of the Red Sea. Members of different tribes were thus unified by the urgency of the moment. This unity was primarily based on the bonds of kinship.<ref name="Esposito4" /><ref>William Montgomery Watt, ''Muhammad at Mecca'', Oxford, 1953, pp. 16–18.</ref><ref name="Rue">{{cite book|last=Rue|first=Loyal D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yy0Z_8ha8ggC|title=Religion is Not about God: How Spiritual Traditions Nurture Our Biological Nature and what to Expect when They Fail|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0813535111|}} p. 224.</ref>

The second [[Religion:Rashidun|Rashidun]] [[Place:Rashidun Caliphate|Caliph]], Umar ibn Al-Khattab, designated the Muslim year during which the Hegira occurred the first year of the [[Engineering:Islamic calendar|Islamic calendar]] in 638 or the 17th year of the Hegira. This was later Latinized to ''Anno hegirae,'' the abbreviation of which is still used to denote Hijri dates today.<ref name="Shamsi" /> Burnaby states that: "Historians in general assert that Muhammad fled from Mecca at the commencement of the third month of the Arabian year, Rabi 'u-l-awwal. They do not agree as to the precise day. According to Ibn-Ishak, it was on the first or second day of the month;"<ref>Sherrard Beaumont Burnaby, ''Elements of the Jewish and Muhammadan calendars'' (1901).</ref>

Several Islamic historians and scholars, including [[Biography:Al-Biruni|Al Biruni]], Ibn Sa'd, and Ibn Hisham, have discussed these dates in depth.<ref>Caussin de Perceval writing in 1847 as reported in 1901 by Sherrard Beaumont Burnaby, ''Elements of the Jewish and Muhammadan calendars'' (London: 1901) 374–75.</ref> The hypothetical dates of the major milestones of the Hegira are calculated by retrocalculating the dates in the current Islamic calendar. When the [[Religion:Tabular Islamic calendar|tabular Islamic calendar]] was invented by Muslim astronomers, it changed all the known dates by about 118 days or four lunar months. The Muslim dates of the Hijrah are those recorded in an original lunisolar [[Engineering:Pre-Islamic Arabian calendar|pre-Islamic Arabian calendar]] that was never converted into the purely lunar calendar to account for the four [[Physics:Intercalation (timekeeping)|intercalary months]] inserted during the next nine years until intercalary months (''nasī''<nowiki/>') were prohibited during the year of the Farewell Pilgrimage (10 AH).

== See also ==
* Laylat al-Mabit (Muhammad's escape from Mecca) 
* Battle of Badr
* [[Religion:Glossary of Islam|List of Islamic terms in Arabic]]
* [[Religion:Hajj|Hajj]]
* [[Religion:Prophetic biography|Prophetic biography]]
* List of expeditions of Muhammad

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Holt |first1=Peter Malcolm |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4AuJvd2Tyt8C |title=The Cambridge History of Islam |last2=Lambton |first2=Ann K. S. |last3=Lewis |first3=Bernard |date=1978 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-29135-4 |language=en|ref={{harvid|Holt et al.|1978}}}}
* {{Citation |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume III (H-Iram): [Fasc. 41-60, 60a] |date=1998-06-26 |url=https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/1482 |editor-last=Schacht |access-date=2023-06-21 |publisher=Brill |language=en |isbn=978-90-04-08118-5 |editor2-last=Lewis |editor3-last=Pellat |editor4-last=Ménage|ref = {{harvid|Schacht et al.|1998}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Bernard |date=2002 |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-arabs-in-history-9780192803108?cc=us&lang=en& |title=The Arabs in History |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-280310-8 |location=Oxford, New York}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Buhl |first1=F. |last2=Welch |first2=A.T. |date=1993 |entry=Muḥammad |entry-url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/muhammad-COM_0780 |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition=2nd |publisher=Brill |volume=7 |isbn=978-90-04-09419-2 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{NIE Poster|year=1905|Hejira}}
*[http://www.seratonline.com/23486/is-there-any-virtue-for-abu-bakr-in-the-incident-of-the-cave/ Incident of the cave]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040210040119/http://www.islamicity.com/Mosque/ihame/Sec2.htm IslamiCity.com article on the Hijrah]
* [http://abdurrahman.org/jihad/ Articles, audios on the Hijrah]


[[Category:Islamic terminology]]

{{Sourceattribution|Hijrah}}