When most of the Muslims left Makkah and settled in Yathrib, it occurred
to the idolaters that if Islam struck roots in the oasis in their north,
and became viable, it would pose a threat to their commercial interests
in Syria. They saw Islam as a new "peril" rearing its head in the north.
They, therefore, convened a meeting in their city hall at which they considered
the most effective way of forestalling this "peril." After some debate,
they agreed, by consensus, that the only way of averting this new
peril, was by killing its author – Muhammad himself – while he was still
in Makkah. This decision raised a few other questions such as who would
kill him, how, when and where. They further debated these questions, considered
numerous options, and finally decided, again by consensus, that
one warrior from each clan of each tribe living in Makkah and its environs,
would be selected; all of them would attack the house of Muhammad simultaneously,
and would kill him, just before dawn of the following day. Such concerted
action, they felt confident, would "immobilize" the Banu Hashim who would
be unable to fight against all the clans at the same time in retaliation
for the murder of Muhammad.
The Prophet, however, was ready to meet an exigency like this. Apprised
in time of the plan of the Quraysh to kill him, by a secret convert, he
called his devoted cousin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, disclosed to him the plan
of the Quraysh, and his own plan to outwit them. His plan was to put Ali
in his own bed, and then to slip out of the house at an opportune moment.
The Quraysh, seeing Ali covered in a mantle, would imagine that Muhammad
was sleeping, he explained. He also asked Ali to restore all the deposits
of the pagans to their owners, and then to leave Makkah and to meet him
in Yathrib. Ali understood everything, and the Apostle commended him to
God's protection.
Muhammad Husayn Haykal
The young men whom the Quraysh had prepared for performing Muhammad's
assassination had blockaded his house during the night lest he ran away.
On the night of the Hijrah, Muhammad confided his plan to Ali ibn Abi Talib
and asked him to cover himself with the Prophet's green mantle, and to
sleep in the Prophet's bed. He further asked him to stay in Makkah until
he had returned all valuables deposited with Muhammad to their owners.
(The Life of Muhammad, Cairo, 1935)
Marmaduke Pickthall
The slayers were before his (Muhammad's) house. He gave his cloak to
Ali, bidding him lie down on the bed so that anyone looking in might think
Muhammad lay there. (Introduction to the Translation of Holy Qur’an,
Lahore, 1975)
The polytheists surrounded the house of Muhammad. They peeked inside
and beheld a recumbent figure covered in a blanket, and were satisfied
that their "quarry" was safe. The opportune moment for the Apostle to escape
came sometime after midnight when the pickets had dozed off. He silently
walked through them and out of the precincts of his house.
The pagan pickets had been caught off-guard, and the Apostle of God
had succeeded in eluding their surveillance!
Ali slept in the bed of the Prophet all night. Just before daybreak,
the pagan head-hunters stormed into the house with drawn sabers to kill
the Prophet. But their surprise and dismay knew no bounds when they noticed
that it was Ali and not Muhammad who was sleeping in the bed. They seized
Ali for questioning and possibly for torture. But the captain of the pickets
told them that Muhammad could not have gone too far, and that they might
still catch him if they did not waste precious time in questioning Ali
whereupon they released him. This event is celebrated in the history of
Islam as Hijra or Migration.
M. Shibli, the famous Indian historian of Islam, writes in his biography
of the Messenger of God:
...the pagans of Makkah hated Muhammad, yet they trusted him. Whoever
had any valuables, he brought them and deposited them with him. He was
their "banker." He knew about the plans of the Quraysh to kill him. He,
therefore, called Ali, and said: "Allah has ordered me to go to Yathrib.
You sleep in my bed and tomorrow return all the deposits of the Makkans
to them." This was a situation fraught with the gravest danger. Ali also
knew that Quraysh had resolved to kill the Apostle of God that night, and
that to sleep in his bed was to sleep in the jaws of death. But when was
Ali ever afraid of death? The conqueror of Khyber slept in the jaws of
death so soundly as he had never slept in all his life. (Life of the
Apostle of God, Azamgarh, India, 1976)
The Apostle did not have time to explain to Ali in detail how many deposits
he had and to whom they were to be turned over. It was enough for him to
tell Ali to return all the deposits to their (pagan) owners, and he (Ali)
did. It was just like the Feast of Dhul-'Asheera when all that the Apostle
had to do, was to ask Ali to invite to dinner the elders of the clan of
Banu Hashim. No detailed instructions were necessary. Ali instinctively
understood what his master expected from him. Being entrusted to restore
the deposits of the Makkans to them, is proof that Ali was the confidante
and the "private secretary" of the Prophet of Islam even before the Migration
to Yathrib.
If Hijra highlights Ali's unquestioning loyalty to his master, Muhammad,
it also demonstrates his incredible courage. The pickets of the enemy might
have killed him either believing that he was Muhammad, or upon the discovery
that he was not, out of sheer frustration. He understood this perfectly,
but for him no risk was too great if he could save the life of the Apostle
of God. It was this devotion and this courage that won for him the accolades
of Al-Qur’an al-Majid. Qur’an has paid tribute to his loyalty and his daring
which he displayed on the fateful night of Hijra (Migration) as follows:
And among men there is one who sells his life to win the pleasure
of Allah. Allah is very kind to His devotees. (Chapter 2; verse 207)
Razi, the famous commentator of Qur’an, says in his Tafsir Kabir
(vol. II, page 189) that this verse was expressly revealed in recognition
of Ali's great and glorious service on the night of Hijra when he made
it possible for Muhammad, the Apostle of God, to leave Makkah. Because
of Ali, he could leave in safety.
On that historic night, a strange and a mysterious business transaction
took place, the first and the last of its kind in the entire history of
Creation. It was a sale-and-purchase transaction between Allah and one
of His slaves. The slave in question was Ali ibn Abi Talib.
On a silent and moonless night, Allah came into the "market" as a "Customer."
He came to buy a certain commodity. His slave, Ali, came into the "market"
as a "merchant." His mission: to sell the commodity that Allah was seeking.
The "commodity" was his soul, his life!
Allah, the "Customer," contemplated the quality of the "commodity,"
and found it superb. He, therefore, decided to buy it on the spot. He paid
the "price" to the "merchant," and the "commodity" changed hands, same
as in any other business transaction. From that moment, the "commodity"
– Ali's life – ceased to be his, and became the peculiar property of Allah.
The sale and purchase transaction between Master and slave was thus completed,
to the entire satisfaction of both parties.
There were "witnesses" too of this transaction. They were the angels
and the stars – myriad’s of them – watching from their celestial "galleries."
They beheld in silent amazement and silent admiration as Ali sold his life
to Allah. Al-Qur’an al-Majid became their "spokesman" to the mortals on
this earth, and recorded what they – the witnesses – observed on that memorable
night.
The "record" of this transaction, as preserved by Qur’an, is now with
us, and it is imperishable and indestructible. It will last on this earth
as long as those angels and the stars – "the witnesses" of the transaction
– will last in Heaven!
Ali had sold the "merchandise" to Allah. Now freed from "anxiety" for
the safety of that "merchandise," he could sleep, and he went to sleep
– in the bed of Muhammad Mustafa, the Apostle of Allah. On that Night of
Destiny, he slept himself into immortality. At dawn, when he woke up, or
rather, when he was awakened by the clangor and rattle of the spears and
the swords of the head-hunters, sent by Quraysh, to kill Muhammad, he had
become immortal!
Out of all His slaves, Allah selected Ali to carry out His Plan. That
Plan was to protect His Messenger, from his enemies. The latter had worked
out a plan for the destruction of Islam. They believed that if they killed
Muhammad, Islam would be destroyed. They, therefore, planned and conspired
to kill Muhammad. But they didn't know that Allah had a plan of His own
– a Counter-Plan – ready for this occasion. It was Allah's Counter-Plan
that was going to checkmate the Quraysh by saving the life of His Apostle.
The Qur’anic reference to Allah's Counter-Plan occurs in the following
verse:
And (the unbelievers) plotted and planned, and Allah too planned,
and the best of planners is Allah. (Chapter 3; verse 54)
Ali ibn Abi Talib was the "key component" in the Counter-Plan of Allah.
Ali's role guaranteed the success of the Hijra (Migration) of Muhammad,
and the success of Hijra alone made the birth of the political state of
Medina possible. If Hijra had failed, the State of Medina would never have
come into existence. The State of Medina was the physical apparatus of
the first and the last Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Allah made His slave,
Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Instrument through which He put that Kingdom on
this earth.
When Muhammad was out of the perimeter of his house, he went to the
house of Abu Bakr, and told him that God had ordered him to leave Makkah
that same night. Since they had no time to linger, they immediately left
the city, and went to a cave called Thaur in the south of Makkah. They
reached the cave and entered it while it was still dark.
They were hiding in the cave when, a few hours later, the head-hunters
also arrived in their pursuit. According to tradition, a spider had spun
its web across the entrance to the cave, and a bird had laid an egg at
it. The head-hunters argued that if anyone had entered the cave, the web
and the egg would be broken, but since both were intact, no one had entered
it. Thus convinced that the fugitives were not in the cave, they gave up
the hunt and returned to Makkah.
While the head-hunters were debating the point whether or not they should
enter the cave to capture the fugitives who might be hiding in it, Abu
Bakr was seized with panic, and he said to the Apostle: "We are only two
and our enemies are so many. What chance we have of saving our lives if
they enter the cave?" The latter said: "No. We are not two. There is a
Third One with us, and He is Allah." This incident has been referred to
in Al-Qur’an al-Majid as follows:
And God helped His Apostle when the unbelievers banished him. And
when they were in the cave, he said to the second of the two: "do not be
grief-stricken. God is with us." And God bestowed His peace upon him (upon
His Apostle) (Chapter 9; verse 40)
The Apostle and Abu Bakr spent three days in the cave. In Makkah, during
this time, interest in capturing the Apostle had waned. On the fourth day,
Abdullah, the son of Abu Bakr, brought two camels with him for them to
ride. Abu Bakr offered one of the camels to the Apostle but he refused
to accept it as a gift, and paid its price before riding it. He and Abu
Bakr then mounted these camels, and skirting Makkah to the north and east,
they rode toward Yathrib in the north.
Muhammad ibn Ishaq
When Abu Bakr brought two camels to the Apostle, he offered the better
one to him and invited him to ride her. But the Apostle refused to ride
an animal which was not his own, and when Abu Bakr wanted to give him it,
he demanded to know what he had paid for it, and bought it from him. (Life
of the Messenger of God)
The two travelers covered the distance between Makkah and Yathrib in
nine days, and on the tenth day arrived in Quba, a place two miles south
of Yathrib where they stayed in the house of Kulthum bin Hind, as his guests.
The Apostle decided to await the arrival of Ali from Makkah before entering
Yathrib. In the meantime, he laid the foundations of a mosque in Quba.
It was a rough structure the completion of which is said to have taken
fourteen days.
The Messenger of God arrived in Quba on Monday. On Thursday, Ali also
arrived. He had returned the cash, the jewelry, the documents and other
valuables of the Makkans to them. His master was thrilled to see him, and
thanked God Who had brought him safely out of Makkah.
Muhammad ibn Ishaq
Ali stayed in Makkah for three days and nights until he had restored
the deposits which the Apostle held. This done, he joined the Apostle,
and stayed with him in Kulthum's house.(The Life of the Messenger of
God)
S. Margoliouth
On Monday the 8th of Rabi-I of the year 1 A.H., corresponding to September
20 of the year A.D. 622, the Prophet reached Kuba, now a great place for
gardens and orchards. Hospitality was offered by an aged convert, Kulthum
son of Hind, the name of whose slave "Success" seemed to the Prophet of
good augury (Isabah, iii, 1138). It was accepted, though for receptions
the house of another convert was found to be more convenient. At Kuba the
Prophet determined to remain until Ali joined him which happened on the
Thursday; with him was Suhaib ibn Sinan, who had been forced to hand over
his savings to the Koreish. On the Friday, the Prophet rode from Kuba towards
Yathrib, and is said to have performed service in the Wadi Ra'unah.(Mohammed
and the Rise of Islam, London, 1931)
The route was lined with merry multitudes of the Yathribites who were
wearing their best holiday clothes. Women and children were singing songs
of welcome from the rooftops of their houses. It was a scene that could
hardly have been invented in fantasy. Muhammad, the Apostle of God, must
have been deeply moved by such a reception.
Every (Arab) citizen of Yathrib was eager to become the host of the
Prophet of Islam who was entering his city as a guest. But not wishing
to disappoint even the humblest citizen, he dropped the reins of his she-camel,
and declared that he would stay wherever she would halt. The she-camel
ambled past many houses, and then halted in front of the house of Abu Ayyub,
whereupon he became the proud host of the Apostle of God. Abu Ayyub was
a distinguished citizen of Yathrib, and belonged to the clan of Banu Najjar.
Both Amina, the mother of the Apostle, and the mother of his grandfather,
Abdul Muttalib, had belonged to this clan.
Related Link:
Conspiracy to
Assassinate the Prophet
This article is from
a chapter of "A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims".
The complete book is available at the Al-Islam Site.
