Dear Members,
Al-salaamu alaykum wa rahmat-Allaahi wa barakaatuhu (Peace be upon you,
and the mercy of Allaah and His blessings).
The Concept of Hijrah.

Since today Friday(15/3/02) is the start of the new Hijri year(1423)I would
like to take this opportunity to dispel some of the pernicious propaganda by
the enemies of Islam inferring that Prophet Muhammad(On Whom be the peace
and blessing of Allah),fled from Mecca to Medina because of persecution.That
they(Prophet and His Companions) ran away from the insult,injury and
atrocities committed against them.It is foolish to propose such a flimsy
prediction to an event which had been decreed by Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala had guaranteed him protection and ordained
that Islam would flourish.
The concept of Hijra was part of the Almighty plan for Islam,since Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala knows all things.He had warned the prophet of the
conspiracy of the confederacy of pagans to murder him.The Qureish were
determined to silence the preaching of the prophet which ran counter to
their interest.Having been forewarned,the prophet escaped their evil
machinations,and even when they were pursued he calmly assured his companion
Abu Bakar that Allah was with them.
With foreknowledge of what was to come in terms of the Hijra,the prophet
took preparatory steps,illustrated by the his ordering some persecuting
Muslims to migrate to Abyssinia(Present day Ethiopia).He also established
the fraternity of Muslims in Mecca by uniting in brotherhood Zayd Bin Harith
and his uncle Hamza and Abu Ubaida to Salim Mawla of Abu Hudhaifa and Ubaida
Bin Al Harith to  Bilal Mawla of Abu Bakr.Though this process achieved
protection  for the helpless and the weak from among the nascent Muslim
Society the Prophet aimed to pave the way for the wider reformation of
society which abolished the class system that prevailed in Arabia at the
time.The Prophet achieved this by dismantling the tribal loyalty and
allegiance Arabs normally held paramount in their daily lives.These
loyalties and allegiancies were to be transformed into loyalty to Islam as
an idelogy and allegiance to other muslims in brotherhood. These steps were
in conformity with the grand design the Prophet had for the Muslims.
When he migrated to Al-Madina he reinforced these concepts by creating the
fraternity between the Muhajireen and the Ansar where each Ansari became the
brother of a Muhajir shared with him his wealth and property and by which
the fraternal bond was considered equivalent to blood kinship even in
matters of inheritance.
An additional significance of this fratenity was that the Muhajirs were
ordered to similarly reciprocate with a share of their earnings.This helped
and afforded to the Muhajireen rehabilitation and a smooth absorption into
the new society.since not all of Madina at that time was Muslim,the cohesion
of the fraternity guaranteed them safety in Madina from those who had not
yet accepted Islam.
To remedy the socio-political system prevailing in Madina the
Prophet(PBUH)promulgated the 'The Constitution of Medina'(Al-Sahifah)which
established harmony amongst the inhabitants of the city,both Muslims and
Non-Muslims.it is also significant to note that this was the first time that
the concept of 'Ummah' was advocated,which destroyed the old concepts of
tribal divisions,loyalties and class dissensions.

With the very best of good wishes,
Musa Amadu Pembo
Glasgow,
Scotland
UK.
[log in to unmask]
Da’wah is to convey the message with wisdom and with good words. We should
give the noble and positive message of Islam. We should try to emphasize
more commonalities and explain the difference without getting into
theological arguments and without claiming the superiority of one position
over the other. There is a great interest among the people to know about
Islam and we should do our best to give the right message.
May Allah,Subhana Wa Ta'Ala,guide us all to His Sirat Al-Mustaqim (Righteous
Path).May He protect us from the evils of this life and the hereafter.May
Allah,Subhana Wa Ta'Ala,grant us entrance to paradise .
We ask Allaah the Most High, the All-Powerful, to teach us that which will
benefit us, and to benefit us by that which we learn. May Allaah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala grant blessings and peace to our Prophet Muhammad and his family
and
companions..Amen.

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