Hijrah: Migration for Faith and the Birth of Islamic Community

The Hijrah—Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE—stands as one of the most pivotal moments in Islamic history, so significant that it marks year 1 of the Islamic calendar. Far more than a simple change of location, the Hijrah represents the transformation of Islam from a persecuted minority religion in Mecca to an established community (ummah) in Medina, from a primarily spiritual message to a comprehensive social and political system, from powerlessness to the beginning of Islamic political authority. The very word hijrah means not merely migration but emigration undertaken specifically for religious reasons—leaving behind home, family, property, and security for the sake of faith and obedience to Allah.

The Hijrah embodies themes that resonate throughout the Abrahamic traditions: the call to leave one’s homeland for God’s purposes (Abraham leaving Ur), the exodus from persecution to freedom (Israel leaving Egypt), the experience of exile and return (Babylon and Jerusalem), the willingness to sacrifice everything for faith. Yet Islam’s particular commemoration of the Hijrah as the calendrical starting point reveals its unique significance—Islamic history is measured not from Muhammad’s birth or first revelation, but from the migration that made possible the establishment of the first Islamic community. The Hijrah thus represents the birth of Islam not merely as individual faith but as social, political, and religious reality.

Historical Context: Persecution in Mecca

The Early Meccan Period

Muhammad began receiving revelations in approximately 610 CE when he was forty years old. For the first three years, he shared the message privately with close family and friends. When he began public preaching of monotheism and social justice, he faced increasingly fierce opposition from Mecca’s powerful Quraysh tribe, who controlled the Kaaba and profited from the polytheistic pilgrimage trade.

The Quraysh viewed Muhammad’s message as threatening on multiple levels: religiously (challenging polytheism and the Kaaba’s 360 idols), economically (threatening the lucrative pilgrimage business), socially (undermining tribal hierarchies and traditional authority), and politically (claiming divine authority that superseded tribal leadership). As Muhammad’s followers grew, persecution intensified.

Escalating Persecution

The early Muslims faced mockery, social ostracism, economic boycott, physical abuse, and even torture. Weak and poor believers without powerful tribal protection suffered most severely. Bilal, an Abyssinian slave, was tortured by being laid on burning sand with a heavy rock on his chest until he would renounce his faith; he repeatedly declared “Ahad, Ahad” (One, One), affirming monotheism despite torture. Yasir and his wife Sumayyah were tortured to death—Sumayyah is honored as Islam’s first martyr.

The Quraysh imposed a social and economic boycott against Muhammad’s clan (Banu Hashim), confining them to a valley outside Mecca for three years. During this period, Muhammad’s beloved wife Khadijah and his uncle and protector Abu Talib both died—the “Year of Sorrow” (619 CE). With Khadijah’s encouragement and Abu Talib’s protection gone, Muhammad’s position became increasingly precarious.

Failed Attempts and Divine Command

Muhammad sought refuge in Ta’if, a nearby city, but was violently rejected and stoned. Returning to Mecca under temporary protection, the situation remained untenable. Meanwhile, pilgrims from Yathrib (later renamed Medina, “the City [of the Prophet]”), a city 280 miles north of Mecca torn by tribal warfare, heard Muhammad’s message and invited him to come as mediator and leader. Through a series of secret meetings at Aqabah during pilgrimage seasons, 75 Muslims from Medina pledged their allegiance to Muhammad and promised to protect him as they would their own families.

The Quraysh, learning of these negotiations, intensified their plotting to assassinate Muhammad. According to Islamic tradition, Allah revealed to Muhammad that he should emigrate: “And when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you. But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners” (Quran 8:30).

The Journey: 622 CE

The Escape from Mecca

On the night of the planned assassination, Muhammad instructed his cousin Ali to sleep in his bed covered with his green cloak as a decoy. The assassins, one from each clan to distribute responsibility for Muhammad’s blood and prevent revenge, surrounded his house. Muhammad, protected by what Muslims believe was divine intervention that rendered him invisible to the assassins, walked past them reciting Quran 36:9: “We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier and covered them, so they do not see.”

Muhammad went to the house of his closest companion, Abu Bakr, whose daughter Aisha was betrothed to Muhammad. Abu Bakr had prepared for the journey, purchasing two camels and hiring a guide. That night, Muhammad and Abu Bakr left Mecca secretly, heading initially south (away from Medina) to mislead pursuers, then hiding in the Cave of Thawr in a mountain about three miles from Mecca.

The Cave of Thawr

Islamic tradition records miraculous signs protecting Muhammad and Abu Bakr during their three-day hiding in the cave. When Quraysh searchers approached the cave entrance, Abu Bakr feared discovery, but Muhammad reassured him: “Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us” (Quran 9:40). According to tradition, a spider quickly spun a web across the cave entrance and a dove nested there, convincing the searchers the cave was empty.

During these three days, Abu Bakr’s son Abdullah brought news from Mecca, his daughter Asma brought food, and a shepherd brought his flock to graze nearby to avoid suspicion. After the initial search intensity diminished, Muhammad and Abu Bakr left the cave and began the journey north to Medina.

The Journey to Medina

The journey took approximately eight days, traveling carefully to avoid Quraysh pursuers. The Quraysh had offered a reward of 100 camels for Muhammad’s capture, dead or alive. According to tradition, several pursuers came close, including Suraqah ibn Malik, whose horse repeatedly stumbled and sank into the sand whenever he approached Muhammad. Recognizing divine protection, Suraqah asked Muhammad for a guarantee of safety when Islam triumphed; Muhammad wrote him a guarantee, which Suraqah presented years later when Mecca was conquered.

Along the way, Muslims who had emigrated earlier (Muhajirun—emigrants) and residents of Medina who had embraced Islam (Ansar—helpers) eagerly awaited Muhammad’s arrival. When he finally reached the outskirts of Medina on September 24, 622 CE (12 Rabi’ al-Awwal, year 1 AH), he was greeted with joyous celebration. Young girls sang songs of welcome, and people competed for the honor of hosting him. Muhammad allowed his camel to choose where to stop; it knelt at a date-drying yard, the site where the Prophet’s Mosque would be built.

Significance and Impact of the Hijrah

Beginning of the Islamic Calendar

The Hijrah’s most visible legacy is that it marks year 1 of the Islamic calendar (Anno Hegirae—AH). This dating system was established during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab (634-644 CE), about 17 years after the Hijrah. The choice is significant: the calendar could have begun with Muhammad’s birth, his first revelation (610 CE), or his death (632 CE). That it begins with the Hijrah indicates Islam’s understanding that the faith’s full actualization required not just individual belief but communal implementation—the ummah as social and political reality.

The Islamic calendar is lunar, consisting of 12 lunar months of 29-30 days, totaling approximately 354-355 days per year, about 11 days shorter than the solar year. This means Islamic months rotate through the seasons over a 33-year cycle. The Hijrah date marks the fundamental transition point from which Islamic history is measured.

Formation of the Ummah

In Medina, Islam transformed from a persecuted minority movement to an established community. Muhammad was not merely a prophet but also political leader, judge, and military commander. The Constitution of Medina, an agreement between Muslims (both Muhajirun and Ansar), Jews, and pagan Arabs, established Muhammad’s authority and created a multi-religious political community bound by mutual defense obligations.

The Quran distinguishes between those who emigrated (Muhajirun) and those who provided shelter and support (Ansar): “The first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajirun and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct—Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him” (Quran 9:100). These two groups formed the core of the early Islamic community, with special status and brotherhood.

Muhammad instituted a system of brotherhood (mu’akhah) pairing each Muhajir with an Ansari, creating bonds of mutual support that transcended tribal affiliations. Ansar shared their homes, property, and resources with the emigrants who had left everything in Mecca. This established the principle that religious community supersedes tribal or blood loyalty—the ummah based on faith rather than kinship.

Strategic and Political Transformation

In Mecca, Muslims could practice only limited aspects of their faith in a hostile environment. In Medina, they could establish the full Islamic system—public worship, Islamic law (sharia), zakat collection and distribution, defensive jihad, and governance according to Quranic principles. The Hijrah thus enabled the transition from Islam as private faith to Islam as comprehensive din (religion and way of life).

Militarily, the Hijrah positioned Muslims strategically to disrupt Meccan trade caravans traveling to Syria, creating economic pressure on the Quraysh. The subsequent battles—Badr (624 CE), Uhud (625 CE), the Trench (627 CE)—demonstrated Islamic military capability and eventually led to the conquest of Mecca itself (630 CE), eight years after the Hijrah.

Theological and Spiritual Dimensions

The Hijrah embodies fundamental Islamic values:

Faith over Worldly Attachment: The Muhajirun left homes, businesses, families, and possessions for faith. Many lost significant wealth and social status. This demonstrated that devotion to Allah supersedes material comfort and worldly security.

Trust in Allah (Tawakkul): Muhammad’s confidence during the cave hiding—“Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us” (Quran 9:40)—exemplifies perfect trust in divine protection. The Hijrah required faith that Allah would provide and protect despite human powerlessness.

Patience and Strategic Wisdom: Muhammad did not respond to persecution with violence in Mecca, where Muslims were weak, but withdrew strategically and built strength in Medina. This balance of patience under persecution and strategic action when possible becomes a model for Islamic responses to adversity.

Sacrifice for Community: Both Muhajirun (who left everything) and Ansar (who shared what they had) sacrificed for the community’s sake. This mutual sacrifice established the bonds of the early ummah.

Divine Providence: The miraculous elements of the Hijrah narrative—Muhammad walking past assassins unseen, the spider web and dove at the cave, Suraqah’s horse stumbling—demonstrate Muslims’ belief in Allah’s active protection of His Prophet and His cause.

The Concept of Hijrah in Islamic Thought

Literal Migration for Faith

Beyond the historical event, hijrah became a theological concept applicable to all Muslims. The Quran warns those who remain in lands where they cannot practice Islam: “Indeed, those whom the angels take [in death] while wronging themselves—[the angels] will say, ‘In what [condition] were you?’ They will say, ‘We were oppressed in the land.’ The angels will say, ‘Was not the earth of Allah spacious [enough] for you to emigrate therein?’” (Quran 4:97).

This establishes that Muslims facing religious persecution or inability to practice faith have an obligation to emigrate (hijrah) to places where they can practice freely. Remaining in such situations without valid excuse is considered wronging oneself. The Quran promises: “Whoever emigrates for the cause of Allah will find on the earth many [alternative] locations and abundance” (Quran 4:100).

Spiritual Hijrah

Beyond physical migration, Islamic scholars developed the concept of spiritual hijrah—leaving behind sin and disobedience for righteousness and submission to Allah. A hadith states: “The muhajir (migrant) is the one who abandons what Allah has forbidden.” This internalizes the Hijrah concept, making it relevant for all Muslims in all times: daily spiritual migration from evil to good, from heedlessness to remembrance, from disobedience to obedience.

No Hijrah After the Conquest of Mecca

Muhammad reportedly said, “There is no hijrah after the Conquest [of Mecca], but jihad and intention.” Once Mecca was conquered and became part of the Islamic domain, migration from Mecca to Medina was no longer necessary or praiseworthy. However, the principle remains that migration from non-Muslim lands to Muslim lands (dar al-Islam) where one can practice faith fully may be obligatory or recommended depending on circumstances.

Parallels in Judaism and Christianity

Abraham’s Migration

The Hebrew Bible begins God’s covenant relationship with Abraham through a call to migrate: “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you’” (Genesis 12:1). Like Muhammad’s Hijrah, Abraham’s migration required leaving homeland, family, and security for an unknown destination based solely on faith in God’s promise.

Hebrews celebrates this: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). Abraham becomes the paradigm of faith-motivated migration, trusting God’s leading despite uncertainty.

The Quran also references Abraham’s emigration: “And Lot believed him. [Abraham] said, ‘Indeed, I will emigrate to [the command of] my Lord. Indeed, it is He who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise’” (Quran 29:26), connecting Muhammad’s Hijrah to the broader pattern of prophetic migration.

The Exodus

The most significant migration narrative in the Hebrew Bible is the Exodus—Israel’s departure from Egyptian slavery to freedom under Moses’ leadership. Like the Hijrah, the Exodus involved:

• Persecution and oppression in the land of residence
• Divine command to leave
• Miraculous protection during the journey
• Formation of community identity through the migration experience
• Establishment of covenant community in the new land
• Calendrical significance (Passover commemorates the Exodus; Islamic calendar begins with Hijrah)

The Exodus becomes the defining event of Israel’s history and identity, just as the Hijrah defines Islamic history. Both migrations transform a people from oppressed minority to covenant community serving God.

Babylonian Exile and Return

Israel’s exile to Babylon (586 BCE) and subsequent return under Persian permission (538 BCE) provides another migration parallel. While exile was forced rather than voluntary, the return represented a faith-motivated migration back to the land where proper worship could be restored. Like the Hijrah’s transformative impact, the exile and return profoundly shaped Jewish identity and theology.

Jesus and the Flight to Egypt

The Gospel of Matthew records that when Herod sought to kill the infant Jesus, an angel warned Joseph: “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him” (Matthew 2:13). Like Muhammad’s flight from Mecca, this was migration to escape persecution, trusting divine guidance for protection.

Early Church Dispersion

When persecution arose after Stephen’s martyrdom, “they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). This forced migration paradoxically spread the gospel: “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). Like the Hijrah’s ultimate success, persecution-driven migration became the means of expansion.

Exile as Spiritual Metaphor

Christianity develops the concept of believers as exiles and sojourners on earth: “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). Peter addresses Christians as “elect exiles of the Dispersion” (1 Peter 1:1). This spiritual hijrah—recognizing that one’s true home is with God, not in this world—parallels Islam’s spiritual understanding of hijrah as migration from sin to righteousness.

Modern Applications and Debates

Migration for Faith Today

Contemporary Muslims face questions about when hijrah from non-Muslim countries is obligatory, permissible, or unnecessary. Can Muslims live in non-Muslim majority countries where they can practice their faith freely? Most scholars say yes—the obligation to emigrate applies only when one cannot practice Islam or faces persecution. Many argue that Muslims should remain in non-Muslim countries to establish Muslim communities and practice dawah (invitation to Islam).

Conversely, some argue that Muslims should migrate to Muslim-majority countries to avoid the challenges of living in non-Islamic environments. This debate reflects broader tensions between isolation and engagement with non-Muslim societies.

Refugees and Asylum

The Hijrah narrative shapes Muslim attitudes toward refugees and asylum seekers. The Quran’s praise of the Ansar who welcomed and supported the Muhajirun creates theological grounding for welcoming refugees. Islamic tradition honors the Ansar’s generosity and establishes that supporting those who migrate for faith is righteous and meritorious.

Modern refugee crises involving Muslims (Syrian, Rohingya, Palestinian, etc.) evoke Hijrah imagery, though the comparison is imperfect—most modern refugees flee war and violence rather than specifically religious persecution, and most seek temporary refuge rather than permanent migration to establish Islamic community.

Commemorating Muharram 1

The Islamic New Year (1 Muharram) marks the beginning of the year of Hijrah, though it’s not the anniversary of the actual migration (which occurred in Rabi’ al-Awwal). Different Islamic communities observe this date differently—some with solemn reflection on the Hijrah’s significance, others with minimal observance. It lacks the celebratory character of Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha, remaining more contemplative.

The Calendar Difference

The lunar Islamic calendar’s difference from the solar Gregorian calendar creates practical challenges for Muslims living in solar-calendar societies. Dates for Ramadan, Hajj, and other Islamic observances shift approximately 11 days earlier each solar year. This disconnect from seasons and solar calendar has both benefits (Ramadan rotates through all seasons over time, ensuring no one always fasts in summer or winter) and challenges (difficulty coordinating with solar-based civic calendars).

Significance

The Hijrah stands as Islam’s defining moment—the pivot from persecution to power, from scattered believers to organized community, from message to movement. That Muslims count years from the Hijrah rather than from Muhammad’s birth or first revelation indicates a profound theological truth: Islam is not merely individual piety or private spirituality but comprehensive din requiring social implementation. Faith must express itself in community, law, worship, politics, economics—the full scope of human life under divine guidance. The Hijrah made this possible.

What makes the Hijrah so powerful is its demonstration that faithfulness to God sometimes requires radical sacrifice and risk. The Muhajirun left everything—homes, businesses, families, tribes, security—trusting Allah’s promise that “whoever emigrates for the cause of Allah will find on the earth many [alternative] locations and abundance” (Quran 4:100). They exchanged certain present comfort for uncertain future, trading worldly security for divine pleasure. Abu Bakr’s entire fortune funded the Hijrah; Ali risked his life as decoy; the Ansar shared their wealth with strangers based solely on shared faith.

The Hijrah also reveals the interplay of divine providence and human agency. Muslims believe Allah protected Muhammad miraculously—rendering him invisible to assassins, using spider and dove to mislead searchers, causing Suraqah’s horse to stumble. Yet Muhammad also planned strategically—choosing a southern route initially to mislead pursuers, hiding in the cave for three days, hiring a skilled guide, coordinating with supporters in Medina. Faith doesn’t negate wisdom; trust in Allah doesn’t mean abandoning prudent planning. The Hijrah models this balance.

Perhaps most significantly, the Hijrah established the principle that religious community transcends tribal, ethnic, and blood ties. The Muhajirun-Ansar brotherhood system made a Meccan emigrant and a Medinan supporter brothers in faith, obligated to support each other as family. The Constitution of Medina created a political community defined by agreed principles rather than common ancestry. This was revolutionary in seventh-century Arabia, where tribe and blood defined identity and obligation. The ummah based on faith rather than kinship remains Islam’s ideal, though tribalism and nationalism have often reasserted themselves in Islamic history.

The Hijrah’s parallels with Abrahamic migration narratives—Abraham leaving Ur, Israel leaving Egypt, the exile and return, the flight to Egypt—reveal a pattern: God calls His people to migrate for faith, promising both difficulty and divine presence. “Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us” echoes God’s assurance to Moses, to Joshua, to the exiles. Migration for God’s purposes requires abandoning security, but carries the promise of divine protection and ultimate blessing.

For contemporary Muslims, the Hijrah poses the question: What are you willing to sacrifice for faith? Physical migration may not be required, but spiritual hijrah—leaving behind sin, disobedience, attachments that compromise submission to Allah—is always incumbent. The Hijrah challenges comfortable accommodation to environments hostile to true Islam, whether that hostility is overt persecution or seductive secularism that marginalizes faith to private spirituality.

The Hijrah also speaks to all Abrahamic believers about the nature of faith itself. Faith is not merely intellectual assent or emotional feeling but total commitment that may require sacrificing everything. Abraham leaving Ur, Moses leaving Egypt, Jesus leaving heaven, Muhammad leaving Mecca, the early church scattering under persecution—all model faith as willingness to abandon security and comfort for God’s call. Hebrews declares that these “acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (11:13), demonstrating that true faith recognizes this world is not home and is willing to migrate—physically or spiritually—to reach the promised land where God dwells.