The Holy Prophet's Migration (Hijrah)
Till the thirteenth year of his mission, the islam, and stood firm when faced with the persecutions of the Quraysh. Eventually he got to know that the Quraysh had hatched an incredible plot to kill him, so he put Hazrat 'Ali (A.S) to sleep in his bed in his place and left Mecca at night; he hid in a cave, and then migrated from there to Medina.
The Hijrah of the Prophet opened an entirely new chapter in the history of Islam from which a stimulating and surprising leap forward was made. For this very reason, the Hijrah of Muhammad (PBUH) became the beginning of the dating system of the Muslims.
With the presence of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) in Medina, the tribes of Aws and Khazraj became bothers for life in the shadow of the teachings of Islam, and a blessed sincerity and the example of Muhammad's behavior, his spiritual and moral superiority, and the naturalness of his pure religion, caused the people to come to Islam by the score, and in the end to accept it.
The Prophet of Islam (PBUH) was from the people and with the people, and did not maintain a distance from them. He shared with them in their gains and losses. He firmly criticized oppression and aggression, and refrained from and prevented them. He set forth all the principles which were, in the light of Islam, effective for the development of the position of women, and put an end to the tyranny they had been subjected to previous to Islam, but he also vehemently fought against their unchastely and licentiousness, for he wanted them to attain their real development on the basis of the true principles of Islam.
He defended the rights of slaves, and had broad comprehensive programmers for their freedom. The Prophet of Islam created a society where black and white, rich and poor, great and small, were all-equal and could enjoy the benefits of being human beings. In such an atmosphere, there could be no question of 'racial discrimination', for there was a much higher basis in virtue, knowledge, piety, human values and ethical greatness.
Let us look at a clear example of the great teaching of the Prophet (PBUH): Juwayber was a young man, poor and rather ugly. He came to Medina with a great enthusiasm for Islam, and accepted it. The Prophet (AS) gave him a place in the mosque, and later in a place by the mosque (named al-Suffa). One day the prophet told him: It is good for a man to take to himself a woman, and to choose a wife, so that he may keep his chastity and have a home-life."
"May God bless you, but I am poor and ugly; in what woman could there be such a desire that she would take me as her husband, especially as I am not from a noble family?"
"Juwayber, with the coming of Islam all the nobility of the age of ignorance (before Islam) has been broken down together with all the standards of greatness and have been melted together. Black and white, Arab and non-Arab have all come from Adam, and God made Adam from the earth.
"For this reason today there is no black and white, nor even any results from imperfection "The dearest person to God is the most virtuous person.
"Now go to the house of Ziyad and ask for his daughter, Dhalfa' on my behalf."
Juwayber did what the Prophet had told him, but Ziyad, who was one of the nobles of the Ansar group, did not accept, and said, "We only give our daughters to people like ourselves and the Prophet himself knows that very well; so go back till I have consulted with him and give my apologies myself."
He turned to go back, but because of his anger he cried out, "I swear by God, neither the Qur'an nor the Prophet have said that one must give one's daughter to someone who is of equal status in family and in wealth!"
Dhulfa' heard the voice of Juwayber, and sent someone to her father. He came to her and she asked him, "What have you said to that young man that has made him angry?
"The Prophet sent him to me to take you, my daughter, with my agreement.
"Juwayber would not tell a lie; send him back and go yourself to the Prophet so that he may clarify the matter for you.'
Ziyad did what his daughter had said. He sent Juwayber back, and himself hurried to the Prophet and said, 'Juwayber brought a message from you. I want to remind you that I am an Ansari, and that we do not give our daughters in marriage except to men of equal status from the same tribe.'
'Juwaybar is a believer and a man of faith, and a man with faith is the equal of a woman with faith. Give him your daughter as a wife."Ziyad then returned home and told his daughter what the Prophet had commanded.
The daughter said, 'Father! To disobey the prophet's command is against the religion. And I am ready of my own accord, so accept juwayber as your son-in-law"Ziyad brought Juwayber in front of the people of his tribe and gave him in marriage to his daughter on the basis of the command of Islam. He even gave the dowry to his daughter from his own pocket, and gave them a house with all necessities so that they would live happily.
Truly, this light was dazzling; this source or warmth-giving radiance lit up a flame in every heart that was a guide to all pure hearts on the path. And thus it was that the muddled souls of the people were led forth from the harassment of the gloom and darkness of that time, like moths who wing their way towards the brilliant flame, and turned in their hundreds towards Islam, seeking the protection of the illustrious, illuminating system of the Qur'an.
Source: alhassanain.com
Other links:
Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Mercy unto the Creation '
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), A Paragon of Virtue in All Fields
Foretelling the Advent of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (Part 1)
Foretelling the Advent of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (Part 2)
