News Right Now: Understanding the Hijrah 

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Welcome to News Right Now - Understanding the Hijrah.

Congratulations to the Muslim Ummah on the new Islamic year, which started two weeks ago . The beginning of the 1440th Islamic year commemorates the hijrah of the Prophet (s) from Makkah to Madinah.

It marks the transfer of the status of Islam from a deen embodied in the hearts of a small group of persecuted souls, to a deen that was embodied in the form of a state, supported by men and women who pledged their lives to defend it against all enemies, Arab and non-Arab, so that Allah (swt)’s word would become supreme.

The hijrah marked the turning point of the Prophet’s dawah, which up to that time was restricted to individual discussion, teaching, and intellectual and political interaction in the society to having the authority to implement the rules of Islam and administer the affairs of the people accordingly.

Upon receiving the message, the Prophet (s) worked tirelessly for 3 years in Makkah, first calling his friends, relatives, and acquaintances to Islam privately.

Then when Allah gave him the command, the Prophet (s) and his group of sahabah boldly and defiantly engaged their dawah to the society at large. They called against it’s vicious tribalism, and infanticide, and corruption and cheating of the poor and powerless. For this, they endured torture, and humiliation, and exile, and boycott; but they still stayed firm.

Then, after he was commanded to approach the rest of the Arab tribes. So the Prophet (s) approached them and sought Nusrah, or support.

The Prophet (s) approached tribes all across Arabia, presenting himself to them, asking that they believe in him as a prophet and accept him as a leader.
Rather than escaping the persecution he faced in Makkah, seeking Nusrah from the powerful tribes indicates that the Prophet (s) was seeking to implement Islam in the form of a state.

He approached dozens of tribes, rejecting any conditions; the tribe of Banu Amir ibn Sa’Sa demanded rulership after the Prophet (s) death and the tribe of Banu Shiban bin Thalabah refused to defend against the Persians - these were political conditions, both of which were rejected flatly.

These indicate that the Prophet (s) wasn’t running from persecution, rather he sought nusrah to implement Islam in the form of a state.

It wasn’t until the people of Yathrib heard of the Prophet, learned Islam, and gave the first and second pledge at Aqabah, that the first Islamic State was established by the hands of the Holy Prophet (s) and his companions.

Quraish understood the political dimensions of what occurred; if Rasoolullah (s) was able to take control of Madinah, he would soon be able to take control of the entire Arabian peninsula.

This state eventually did control the Arabian Peninsula, and expanded beyond to encompass huge swaths the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, spreading Islam and showing its practical application. In turn, the people in these lands rushed to embrace Islam and continue to adhere to it to this very day.

This state continued for over 1300 years until it was destroyed at the hands of the British, along with their loyal agents in Turkey and the Arabian peninsula.
We honor the new Islamic year and remember that it commemorates the hirjah of the Muslims from Makkah to Madinah so that they could establish their deen and spread it to the world.

If hijrah marks the starting point of the Islamic calendar, then the Nusrah is its focal point because the hijrah occurred after dedicated, sincere, and consistent effort by the Prophet (s) and his companions.

Today, that same effort must be applied to regain Nusrah from the strong and powerful that can grant authority to Islam so that it may once again be embodied in the form of a state and implement the Islamic rules and carry the message of Islam to the entire world.

The Prophet (s) promised Jannah to those men and women that pledged allegiance to him and granted him the Nusrah.

That door remains open today, and this is an invitation to join this blessed work. Allah SWT tells us, Bismillah ir rahman nirraheem

وَالسَّابِقُونَ الأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالأَنصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَانٍ رَّضِيَ اللّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُواْ عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ

“And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct - Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment” [Surah Tawbah:100]

JazakAmullah Khair for joining us, wasalaam u alaykum wa rahmatullahee wa barakathu hu.