During the Khilafah of Umar bin al-Khattab the sahaba agreed to start the Islamic calendar from when the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم made hijra to Medina and established the first Islamic State. As we enter the blessed month of Muharram and the year 1431 we should remind ourselves of the hijra and dispel some of the misconceptions surrounding it.
Very often when the Hijrah is discussed, we tend to limit ourselves to the details describing how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم hid in a cave or who slept in his صلى الله عليه وسلم bed. This process inevitably diverts us from discussing the true substance of the event. An account of such events should serve only to remind us that Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, while relying on the revelation as the source of the Islamic Message, had to carry the Islamic Da'wah as a human being, and through the means accessible to a human being.
The Hijrah to Medinah did not take place because the Muslims in Mecca wanted to avoid the persecution there, or because they wanted to find a safe haven for themselves, or to run away from the hardships they faced in that city. Rather, it was an event that took history in a new direction, and this can only be seen if we look at the Seerah in the correct manner.
The Seerah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is an integral part of the Sunnah, and is just as much a part of the revelation as is the Qur'an. After a careful study of it, we can extract a very specific method for carrying out the Da'wah, and if our aim is to please Allah سبحانه وتعالى, then it is our obligation to adhere to this method step by step, through each and every phase.
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
"Say (O Muhammad): If you love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Al-Imran, 3:31)
وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا
"And whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and whatever he forbids you avoid it." (Al-Hashr, 59:7)
According to the Seerah, the Hijrah marks the transition from the phase in the Da'wah known as "Seeking the Nusrah" to the phase where Islam is implemented in the form of a state. The Nusrah is the transfer of authority to a person via the material support or allegiance from the powerful elements of a society. The Hijrah is a direct result of seeking, and subsequently receiving, the Nusrah.
When Mus'ab ibn Umair (ra) was sent to Medinah to spread the Message of Islam, it took him one year of tireless work in that city before its leaders journeyed to Mecca to transfer their authority to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم by giving him the Ba'yah. This Ba'yah was called Bayat-ul Harb (Allegiance of War). Although there was no war, it was called Bayat-ul Harb because it indicated the willingness of the Muslims to fight, when necessary, to protect the Da'wah and the newly established Islamic State. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had invested four years of Da'wah, towards most of the tribes in Najd (the large area between Mecca and Medinah) before he صلى الله عليه وسلم received the Nusrah.
It is important to note that until this time in the Seerah, even with all the pressure the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم placed upon the Kufr society of Mecca, all the persecution that the Quraysh inflicted on Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the Muslims was comparatively trivial to the persecution that came after the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم received the Nusrah from the leaders of Medinah. From this point onward it was the plot of the Kuffar to assassinate Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. Indeed, it is true that Shaitan and his followers are most afraid of the implementation of Allah's rules.
Keeping these elements in mind, whenever we discuss the Hijrah, which many people will try to reduce to a spiritual journey the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم took over some terrain, we should discuss the overall ideological significance of this event in terms of Islam and the Da'wah mission.
It is critical for us, the Muslims, to realize that this event not only marks the beginning of our calendar, but more importantly it commemorates the establishment of the nucleus of the first Islamic state. For hundreds of years to come this nucleus would engulf neighboring lands, subsequently liberating one oppressed people after another and bringing them the Mercy from Allah سبحانه وتعالى called Islam. If we want to talk about the essential nature of the Hijrah, we have to realize that it marks the time when Islam as an Ideology was transformed from idea to practice.
Hitherto, the people of Medinah accepted Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم only as a Prophet. However, after the transfer of power (Nusrah), when he صلى الله عليه وسلم arrived in Medinah, they were receiving him صلى الله عليه وسلم as a ruler and a Prophet. Before the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم made the Hijrah, he صلى الله عليه وسلم was a Prophet with the new laws revealed to him صلى الله عليه وسلم by Allah سبحانه وتعالى. After the Hijrah, he صلى الله عليه وسلم was the one who implemented this law. Islam had gone from addressing and pointing out the problems and issues to tackling the problems and issues and providing solutions for them. It was at this point that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was able to apply the rules and systems of Islam into real life.
The Hijrah, a part of the Seerah, is something that must be studied in depth to gain a full understanding of its implications and meaning. It is not simply a series of bedtime stories to be told and remembered like fairy tales of how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم took Abu Bakr (ra) with him and went on a journey, and at the end of it the people received him صلى الله عليه وسلم by singing merry melodies.
This is not to say that the small details of the Hijrah, like how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had to get 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) to sleep in his bed, or how he صلى الله عليه وسلم had to hide in a cave, are not significant. These details are important because they remind us that the techniques and tactics used by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم were human and not superhuman. They were not tactics which required miracles to be carried out.
We cannot claim that since he صلى الله عليه وسلم was a Prophet, and since we are not Prophets, we are unable to exactly follow his صلى الله عليه وسلم footsteps when it comes to the manner in which he صلى الله عليه وسلم carried the Da'wah. We must remember that these steps, or phases, in the Da'wah mission were meant for us to follow, and to not follow them is a disobedience to Allah سبحانه وتعالى.
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Fatimah Bint Yusuf
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For the vast majority of the muslim Ummah, the Hijrah is only limited to spiritual matters and some bedtime stories they imagine to be a miracle. This shows that this Ummah is not only under military occupation from Iraq to Afghanistan, but also one of the most dangerous occupations in history: The intellectual occupation. The muslim Ummah ha been distanced from the crystal clear understanding og Islamic concepts suc as Tawakal, Sabr, Seerah and Quran. The first tool to be used by the colonialists were the destruction of the Arabic language, which were taken away from us in order to take Islam away. This is because the Arabic language is the key to Islam as its the language of Quran which Allah chose. Then the misery and intellectual occupation continued o the lowest point that the Hijrah became limited to a journey the prophet saw. and his sahabah took to leave the murdering, tortures and oppression of Mecca nd afterwards they were welcomed by the people of Medinah singing joy songs nd welcoming them. To avoid misunderstandings: yes the prophet saw. and his sahabah took the journey to Medinah and yes the people of Medinah welcomed them with joy and songs expressing their love for Islam, and yes the muslims were under harsh conditions in Mecca with killings and oppressions. But what to be understood is realy that the people of Medinah just didnt love Islam by a miracle and they didnt welcome them by a miracel but because Rasool saw. was sending sahabis to the region to carry out the Dawah of Islam and make an opinion amongs there leaders in order to get their support for a bigger mission: The establishing of Islam on the land> The establishing of the first Islamic state. The prophet saw. and his Sahabah left Mecca to Medinah because Allah swt. ordered it and not beause they were afraid of the Quraish, who were already torturing them to death. Their fear was in Allah sw. not human beings like themselves, and their aim was not to get paradise but to get the pleasure of Allah swt. If the case is really that they were fearing the oppressing then why did they not leave in all those 13 yars of sufferings and killings from he Qurash? The muslims left to Medinah only when Allah swt. revealed to Rasool saw. to go to Medinah and after many years of Dawah in Medinah to make people ready for the great mission which was to come: Establishing the Deen of Allah swt. and protecting it against any enemy who would attack the state. I could continue....but to make it short: Hijrah was the beginning og a new era, a new dawn of Islam which brought justice, peace, security and progress that no other state in the human history could create for its citizens. And this was not limited to arabs or muslims only like we see here in the west, it was a golden age for all human beings as Islam views all humans as equal and does not distinguish the arab from the frican, Asian or European. In only one century Islamic ruling came to people from all continents> Africa, Asia, and Europe. For the first timein history people of all those continents were united as one Ummah and they were equal with one identity and one deen: Muslim Ummah with no difference between them or racism like we know from this western society we are part of today. And Allah knows best |
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kash
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i have a few questions inshallah you might clear up for me, in the stage of seeking the nusrah did he (saw) give daw`ah to the tribal leaders. If any of the leader accepted then did he (saw) then culture the poeple of nusrah (i.e the army of today) whic in turn lead to them giving him the pledge and allowing him to rule over them. so would that mean in reality of today we should culture the poeple and also seek the nusrah( the army leaders) and then culture the army too, for this is what would lead to the army giving the pledge to whom ever gave them daw`ah to lead? i would be most greafull if you could answer this. i would prefer the hizb to answer because i find the hizb a rgeat expert in knowing the method to fullfill this fard jazzakkallah khair |
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Mohammad Saidali Unda bin Hadji Abdul Malic
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Happy 'Aam un Jadeed 'alaikom. |
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Zeital
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1431 A.H. The Last Ummah of Noble Sayiddinna Muhammad s.a.w) has witnessed many momentous events. The expansion into Coptic Egypt, Sassanid Persia, Hindistan, Central Asia, and westwards towards Morocco and Al Andalusia. The fortunes of this Ummah has ebbed and flowed, with mixed outcomes. Al-Andalusia and the Aghlabids (whose rule encompassed Sicily, Sardinia, and Southern Italy) were contested between the Gothic Kingdoms of Northern Spain and later the Normans who retook Sicily. The Berbers gave an immense service to Islam but expanding into Al-Ifriqiya (Africa) and a new culture took root in West Africa. Arab, and later Guajarati traders brought Islam to South East Asia. Trade relations were established from Arabic speaking lands, through Constantinople, along the River Volga and even into Scandinavia. The Volga Bulgars became Muslims, and Islam remained present in regions such as Kazan ever since. The two great challenges the Ummah faced were the Crusades, and more devastating Tartar-Mongol invasions. Even though those invasions were repelled and reversed with great cost it took two centuries for the Muslim societies to recover. The Islamic community was politically fragmented, and rife with numerous kingdoms vying for regional control. The Abbasid Caliphs had become relegated to a figurehead with little authority over far flung provinces. The Turkic invaders embraced Islam and acquired Persian Statecraft which allowed the future Ottoman and Mughal Empires to emerge (as a fusion of Persian and Turkish methods of ruling). During this period the Renaissance and succeeding Reformation was underway in Europe. The Scientific Revolution brought about by the methods introduced by scientists (Muslims and non-Muslims) during the period 800 – 1400 C.E was carried into Europe. Europe followed Spain and Portugal after the 1650, to discover the World and map the globe, whilst in contrast the Muslims turned inwards and introspective after 1700. Indeed even other civilisations such as China became closed an introspective, whilst the new states (Russia, Netherlands, France, England, and Scotland) became increasingly curious about the rest of the world. Another new European offshoot, the U.S.A, expanded across North America and would pursue the spirit of enquiry and free thought. World trade since the Global Spanish Empire had become integrated, linking the economies of the Old and New World. As Britain would seek to monopolise the Global Trade System post 1750, the control over international trade, commerce, and flourishing of ideas, became increasingly dominated by European Mercantile States. This saw the rise of modern banking and rise of the Atlantic Economy. The non-Europeans (especially societies with limited exposure) became increasingly sidelined as Europe had more impact globally. Historians have focused on these details in order to understand the causes for rise and fall of Great Powers. |
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Zeital
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The greatest material challenge the Muslim Ummah faced was the Naval Crusades beginning with the Portuguese entrance into the Indian Ocean, and Spanish/Portuguese expansion in the Western Hemisphere and South East Asia. The rise of imperialism was the greatest recent challenge the Ummah (or indeed the globe) faced since 1750, culminating in the authority over Hindistan being relinquished. The Muslims and Hindus found themselves ruled from a distant entity overseas. The mighty Tsarist Russian Empire waged wars against the Ottomans and took over lands in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Balkans region. Ultimately the Ottoman authority dissolved 1346 A.H and with it the last link that had passed from generations of Caliphs from the earliest Rightly Guided Caliphs, to Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, Seljuk, and finally Uthmaani Caliphs. From 1860 – 1914 saw European Empires expand relentlessly across Africa, Asia, and seek to break into Latin America, whilst only the Ottoman State, Persia, Afghanistan, Liberia, and Abyssinia retained independence. The 19th Century was as bloody one, whilst the 20th Century even bloodier. Post World War Two saw decolonisation in Africa and Asia, and ceaseless wars of attrition as nations fell into anarchy and former colonial powers sought to intervene. The Muslim populated regions became the scene of much insurgencies, emergencies, and nationalist revolt. As the 21st Century is approaching the end of its first decade, and American financial power heaves under strain, the battle lines for ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’ is being replayed (and planned ahead) over the so called ‘Crescent of Crisis’. The 20th Century saw a myriad of advanced technologies, such as aviation, submersibles, rocketry, telecommunications, quantum physics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and computing. Most of these technologies have been charged in the Military-Industrial Complex of both World Wars and the Cold War. The Muslim Ummah has seen many remarkable events over the span of 14 centuries. There are most questions than answers in this era, but what remains to be seen is even more strange or astounding. May Allah s.w.t guide this final Ummah through events that are yet to come. http://www.engdahl.oilgeopolitics.net/ |
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