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THE HIJRAH LESSONS AND EXHORTATIONS

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICIENT, THE MERCIFUL

BEING THE FIRST KHUTBAH FOR THE MONTH OF MUHARRAM, DATED 3RD MUHARRAM 1445AH (21ST JULY, 2023CE)

TOPIC: THE HIJRAH: LESSONS AND EXHORTATIONS

THE FIRST SERMON

All praises belong to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. O Allah, to You belong praise for the blessing of Islam and faith. Praise be to You for making us among the nation of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone without partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, his family and companions all together.

To proceed, O Muslims! Fear Allah and listen and be aware of His saying, the Most High, in His impeccable verses: (إِلا ّ تَنْصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِجُنُودٍ لَمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا السُّفْلَى وَكَلِمَةُ اللَّهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ) “˹It does not matter˺ if you ˹believers˺ do not support him, for Allah did in fact support him when the disbelievers drove him out ˹of Mecca˺ and he was only one of two. While they both were in the cave, he reassured his companion,1 “Do not worry; Allah is certainly with us.” So Allah sent down His serenity upon the Prophet, supported him with forces you ˹believers˺ did not see, and made the word of the disbelievers lowest, while the Word of Allah is supreme. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.” (At-Tawbah: 40)

Dear brothers in Islam, the Hijrah (migration from Makkah to Madinah) for the sake of Allah is an ancient tradition, and the migration of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was not an innovation in the history of the Messengers in an effort to support their beliefs. If the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, migrated from his homeland and birthplace for the sake of the Da’wah, to preserve it and create a fertile environment that would be acceptable to it, respond to it and defend it, in the same way, before him, a number of his brothers among the prophets migrated from their homelands for the same reasons which prompted our Prophet to migrate. This is because the continuous stay of the Da’wah in a barren land does not serve it, rather it obstructs its course, paralyzes its movement, and may expose it to shrinkage within the narrowest circles.

The Holy Qur’an recounted to us examples of the migrations of the Messengers and their followers among the past nations, to make it clear to us one of traditions of Allah in the matter of Da’wah, so that every believer after could act by it if he is encounters impediments in the matter of his faith, dignity, or under any form of fear against his personality, existence and faces assaults in his dignity.

The struggle between the truth and falsehood is an old and continuous one: It is a divine law that is enforceable. The Almighty said: (الَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّا أَنْ يَقُولُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللَّهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ لَهُدِّمَتْ صَوَامِعُ وَبِيَعٌ وَصَلَوَاتٌ وَمَسَاجِدُ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا اسْمُ اللَّهِ كَثِيرًا وَلَيَنْصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَنْصُرُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ) “˹They are˺ those who have been expelled from their homes for no reason other than proclaiming: “Our Lord is Allah.” Had Allah not repelled ˹the aggression of˺ some people by means of others, destruction would have surely claimed monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which Allah’s Name is often mentioned. Allah will certainly help those who stand up for Him. Allah is truly All-Powerful, Almighty.” (Al-Hajj: 40). But this struggle, its end result is known. Allah The Most High says: (كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَأَغْلِبَنَّ أَنَا وَرُسُلِي إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ) “Allah has decreed, “I and My messengers will certainly prevail.” Surely Allah is All-Powerful, Almighty.” (Al-Mujadilah: 21)

Thus the topic of our sermon this week shall be: “LESSONS AND EXHORTATIONS FROM THE PROPHET’S MIGRATION”

Dear Muslims, know – may God have mercy on you – that the events of the Prophet’s migration contain many lessons and admonitions, and we will summarize them into the following:

1. Sacrifice: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was compelled to leave the land in which he was born and raised, leaving his relatives and clan, as he said while leaving with a tone of sadness: “By Allah! You are the best of Allah’s earth, and the most beloved of Allah’s earth to Allah, and if it were not that I was expelled from you I would not have left.” (Tirmidhi). Here is Umm Salama – (may Allah be pleased with her), she was the first woman to migrate in Islam, who says: “When Abu Salamah (my husband) decided to leave for Madinah, he prepared a camel for me, hoisted me on it and placed our son Salamah with me. Then he set out riding his camel. When some men of Banu Al-Mugheerah bn Makhzuum saw him, they approached him and said: “Though you are free to do what you like with yourself, you have no power over your wife. She is our daughter. Do you expect us to allow you to take her away from us?”  So they snatched me away from him, and My husband clan- Banu Abd al-Asad got angry at that, and they had affection for Salama, and said: By Allah, we will not leave our son (Salama) with her, as you have taken her away from our companion- (Abu Salama). They struggled to pull Salama between themselves until they dislocated his hand. Banu Abdul-Asad went away with him and Banu Al-Mugheerah detained me with them. My husband Abu Salama left until he reached Madinah, so they separated between me and my husband and my son”.

She spent a whole year crying, until they became sympathetic on her condition, so they released her and returned her son to her. And Allah reunited her with her husband in Madina.

Here is also the case of Suhaib al-Rumi, when he wanted to migrate, the infidels of Quraysh said to him: “You came to us as a wretched despised, but your wealth increased while with us, and you reached this status of yours, then you want to leave with both your money and yourself? By Allah, that can never happen. So, Suhaib said to them: “What if I give out my money to you, will you allow me? They said: “Yes”. He said: “I have given you my money! So the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) was informed of that, and he said: “Suhaib is a winner!” (Sahih As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah)

2. Hope and not to be in despair: The Prophet (peace be upon him) stayed in Makkah for a period of time calling his people to guidance, but only a few believed in him. Rather, he lived in persecution and humiliation, and he and his companions were tortured. All of this did not deter him from his Da’wah, but rather he increased his persistence and steadfastness, and he went on looking for alternative solutions. He went to Al-Taif, looking for a land suitable for the call, but he was faced there with harsher than he expected, thus he was harmed, humiliated, and was pelted with stones. He left Al-Taif expelled and humiliated at above fifty years of age, but he became more determined to continue his message. So he began to present himself persistently to the tribes during the Hajj season. Jabir said that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to introduce himself at the stations of people and said: “Isn’t there a man who will take me to his people, for the Quraysh have prevented me from conveying the words of my Lord.” Fifteen tribes rejected his call, until Allah opened the hearts of the Ansars for him, so the first pledge of allegiance at Aqaba took place then the second. Mus’ab bn Umair, the emissary to Madinah was the one who prepared the suitable ground for the continuation of the call as well as the formation of the state in Madinah, so the migration was the culmination of hard work, great patience, and an effort that did not know fatigue or boredom.

3. Good company: This was manifested in its best form in Abubakr Al-Siddiq, whom many commentators have said is what is meant by the “truthful” in the Almighty’s saying: “He who brings the truth and believes in it…” (Al-Zumar: 33) When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “I have been shown the vision of the abode of your migration to be a land with date palms between two regions, the two are of regions of blackish stones” (Bukhari). Abubakr was prepared but the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to him: “Take it easy, I am waiting for approval to leave.”  Abubakr said: “Do you want that, you are dear to me as my father” He said: “Yes”. So Abubakr waited for the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. He waited for four months, feeding the two she-camels that were with him, until Allah permitted them to migrate. When the Prophet, peace be upon him informed Abubakr, he couldn’t believe being a companion to the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, until he said: “Companionship! you are dear to me as my father, O Messenger of Allah? The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “Yes”. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: By Allah, I never felt before that day that anyone was could cry out of joy, until I saw Abubakr crying on that day. (Bukhari). When they both set out, Abubakr was ahead of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in guarding and watching places, so that he would not be harmed. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked him, saying: “Oh Abubakr, if there was something, would you like it happen to you than me?” Abubakr said: “By Him who sent you with the truth, there is no distress except that it happen to me than you.” When they reached the cave, Abubakr said: O Messenger of Allah stay in your place until I clear the cave for you. (Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak and Al-Dhahabi said: Sahih mursal)

4. Mastering planning and the proper use of capacities: The migration teaches us how good planning plays its role in achieving success, and one of the greatest foundations of planning is the proper use of energies, and the proper use of available capabilities. Getting a companion before the journey, the ride were fed and prepared before four months secretly, Ali bn Abi Talib saddle with the role of sleeping on the bed of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as a disguise for the polytheists and to deceive them, which is the role for the strong boys.

As for the role of women, it is represented by what Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, speaking on behalf of herself and her sister Asma: “So we equipped them with the most powerful device” and the device here means: (what is needed during travel) and we made for them a sufra (the provisions that are made for the traveler) in a pouch (a container in which the provisions and the like are kept). Asma bint Abi Bakr cut a piece from her belt, and tied it to the mouth of the bursa, and with that she was called “the possessor of the two belts (Al-Bukhari)

As for the role of the children, it is represented by Abdullah bn Abubakr. “In it three nights, Abdullah bin Abi Bakr, who is a boy, a young man, educated, shrewd, quick-witted, spends the night with them,” and he enters from them by magic “before dawn,” and he becomes with the Quraysh in Makkah as a sleeper. It is as dark as the darkness of the night.” (Al-Bukhari) From the perfection of planning, the shepherd Aamir bin Fahira used to walk his flock along the path of the cave to remove the footprints leading to it, then he watered the Messenger (may God bless him and grant him peace) and his companion with the milk of his sheep. And from the perfection of planning is that the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) took Abdullah bin Areeqat as a guide who knew the way despite being a polytheist, as long as he was trusted, proficient in his work. Therefore, he guided them – with his skill – to take a path other than the usual one.

5. Patience and certainty are the paths to victory and empowerment: The messengers in this life must face hardships, troubles, tribulations and trials. The Most High said: “Do people think that they will be left to say, ‘We believe’, while they are not tempted? Those before them, so let God know those who speak the truth, and let Him know the liars.” (Al-Ankabut: 1-3) On the authority of Saad bin Abi Waqqas, may God be pleased with him, who said: I said: “O Messenger of Allah.” God, which of the people is most tested? His affliction is severe, and if there is a weakness in his religion, he will be afflicted according to his religion. There is no sin upon the earth.” (Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi)

  And the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) was reassuring them that victory was coming, so when Khabbab bin Al-Aratt came to him complaining of the injustice of Quraysh to him (may God bless him and grant him peace) while he was resting on his sheet cloak in the shade of the Kaaba, we said: “Don’t you wait? Tell us that you do not pray for us, and he said: “It was before you that a man would be taken and a man would be dug for him in the ground, and he would be buried in it, and a man would be brought in.” saw, put on his head, cut in two halves, and combed with iron combs, below his flesh and bone, so that does not stop him You have his religion, and by God, let this matter be perfected, so that a rider travels from Sana’a to Hadramout, fearing nothing but God and the wolf on his head. No, but you are in a hurry.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Ahmad)

We ask Allah Almighty to help us and direct our steps to support His religion.

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