The Start of the Migration
The following year, ten men from the tribe of Khazraj and two men from the tribe of Aws came to Makkah. Five of them were among those who had met the Prophet ﷺ at ‘Aqabah the previous year.
The Prophet ﷺ also took a pledge from these people. He recited verses from Surah al-Nisa before them.
After the pledge, when these people were preparing to return to Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ sent Hazrat ‘Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum رضي الله عنه with them.
The Prophet ﷺ also sent Hazrat Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umair رضي الله عنه with them so that he could teach the new Muslims about their religion and teach them the Qur’an.
He was known as a Qari. He was the first person among the Muslims to be called a Qari.
Hazrat Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umair رضي الله عنه began leading the Muslims of Madinah in prayer. He also led the very first Friday prayer.
Although the Friday prayer had already become obligatory in Makkah, the Muslims there could not perform it because of the polytheists.
The first Friday prayer was attended by forty people.
When Hazrat Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umair رضي الله عنه began preaching Islam in Madinah, Hazrat Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh and his cousin Hazrat Usaid ibn Hudair رضي الله عنهما accepted Islam at his hands.
After they accepted Islam, Islam began to spread even more rapidly throughout Madinah.
After this, Hazrat Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umair رضي الله عنه returned to Makkah during the days of Hajj.
The Prophet ﷺ was extremely pleased to hear about the successes of Islam in Madinah.
Among the people of Madinah who had already accepted Islam, those who had come for Hajj met the Prophet ﷺ at night after completing the Hajj.
The place and time of the meeting had already been decided.
Since some polytheists had also come from Madinah with them, and this meeting had to be kept secret from them, the meeting took place at night.
There were a total of 73 men and 2 women.
The meeting place was the valley of ‘Aqabah. They gathered there one or two at a time.
Among this gathering were eleven men from the tribe of Aws.
Then the Prophet ﷺ arrived.
The Prophet’s ﷺ uncle, Hazrat ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib رضي الله عنه, was also with him. No one else accompanied the Prophet ﷺ.
Hazrat ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه had not yet accepted Islam at that time.
He had come with his nephew so that he could personally observe this matter.
According to one narration, Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه and Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه were also present on this occasion.
First, Hazrat ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه addressed them. He said:
«“Whatever covenant and pledge you make with him—the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—you must fulfill it under all circumstances. If you cannot fulfill it, then it is better that you do not make any covenant or pledge at all.”»
They promised that they would remain loyal and fulfill their pledge.
Then the Noble Prophet ﷺ said to them:
«“Worship Allah alone and do not associate anyone with Him. As far as I am concerned, I ask you to support me and protect me.”»
One of the Ansar said:
«“If we do this, what will we receive in return?”»
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
«“In return, you will receive Paradise.”»
They all exclaimed:
«“This is a profitable bargain. We will never abandon it.”»
They all then pledged allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ and promised to protect him.
Hazrat al-Bara’ ibn Ma‘rur رضي الله عنه said:
«“We will stand by you under all circumstances and protect you.”»
While Hazrat al-Bara’ ibn Ma‘rur رضي الله عنه was saying these words, Abu al-Haytham ibn al-Tayyihan رضي الله عنه spoke up:
«“Even if we become so poor that we are reduced to needing even the smallest amount of money, and even if we are killed, we will stand by you at every cost.”»
At that moment, Hazrat ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه said:
«“Lower your voices a little, lest the polytheists hear you.”»
On this occasion, Abu al-Haytham رضي الله عنه asked:
«“O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! We have certain agreements with the Jews, and now we are breaking them. Will it not happen that you will leave us and return to Makkah?”»
Hearing this, the Prophet ﷺ smiled and said:
«“No! Rather, my blood is your blood. Whoever you fight, I will fight him; and whoever you grant protection, I will grant protection to him.”»
Then the Prophet ﷺ selected twelve men from among them—nine from Khazraj and three from Aws.
He said to them:
«“You are my devoted supporters… you are my chiefs and representatives.”»
Among these twelve were:
- Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah
- As‘ad ibn Ruwahah
- al-Bara’ ibn Ma‘rur
- Abu al-Haytham ibn al-Tayyihan
- Usaid ibn Hudair
- ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn Haram
- ‘Ubadah ibn al-Samit
- Rafi‘ ibn Malik
رضي الله عنهم
Each of them was a representative of his own tribe.
The Prophet ﷺ said to these devoted supporters:
«“You are responsible for your respective people in the same way that the twelve disciples of ‘Isa عليه السلام were responsible for him, while I am responsible for my people—the Muhajirun.”»
This pledge is known as the Second Pledge of ‘Aqabah.
It was extremely important.
When this pledge took place, Satan raised a great commotion, shouting and crying out, because this pledge was the foundation of Islam’s progress.
When these Muslims reached Madinah, they openly announced that they had accepted Islam. They began offering their prayers publicly.
Seeing that the circumstances in Madinah were favorable, the Noble Prophet ﷺ ordered the Muslims to migrate to Madinah.
When Quraysh learned that the Noble Prophet ﷺ had established a relationship with a powerful and warlike people and had found a place of refuge among them, they made life even more difficult for the Muslims in Makkah.
They began subjecting them to hardships of a kind they had not imposed before.
Day by day, the worries and difficulties of the Companions increased.
Various methods were tried to turn some of the Companions away from their religion, and they were subjected to many forms of persecution.
Eventually, the Companions complained to the Prophet ﷺ about their difficulties and asked for permission to migrate from Makkah.
The Noble Prophet ﷺ remained silent for a few days.
Finally, one day he said:
«“I have been informed about the place of your migration… it is Yathrib,”»
meaning Madinah.
After this, the Noble Prophet ﷺ gave them permission to migrate.
Following this permission, the Companions رضي الله عنهم began leaving Makkah secretly, one or two at a time, and making their way towards Madinah.
Before the Muslims departed for Madinah, the Noble Prophet ﷺ established brotherhood among his Companions and made each one the brother of another.
For example, he established brotherhood between Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه and Hazrat ‘Umar رضي الله عنه.
Likewise, he made Hazrat Hamzah رضي الله عنه the brother of Hazrat Zayd ibn Harithah رضي الله عنه.
He made Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه the brother of Hazrat ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf رضي الله عنه.
He established brotherhood between Hazrat ‘Ubadah ibn al-Samit رضي الله عنه and Hazrat Bilal رضي الله عنه.
He established brotherhood between Hazrat Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umair رضي الله عنه and Hazrat Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه.
He established brotherhood between Hazrat Abu ‘Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah رضي الله عنه and Hazrat Salim رضي الله عنه, the freedman of Hazrat Abu Hudhaifah رضي الله عنه.
He established brotherhood between Hazrat Sa‘id ibn Zayd رضي الله عنه and Hazrat Talhah ibn ‘Ubaidullah رضي الله عنه.
And Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه was made the Prophet’s ﷺ own brother.
Among the Muslims, the first Companion to migrate towards Madinah was the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ cousin, Hazrat Abu Salamah ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-Asad al-Makhzumi رضي الله عنه.
He was the first to decide to travel to Madinah alone.
When he had returned from Abyssinia to Makkah, he had been subjected to severe hardships. Eventually, he had decided to return to Abyssinia.
However, when he learned that the people of Madinah had accepted Islam, he stayed in Makkah. When permission to migrate was granted, he set out for Madinah.
When leaving Makkah, he mounted his camel and also placed his wife, Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها, and their nursing infant on the camel.
When his in-laws learned about this, they rushed after him and caught up with him on the way.
They stood in his path and blocked his way.