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The Defining Moment in Islamic History – Lessons from the Hijrah
Despite the deep attachment Muslims have to their Prophet (Peace be upon Him) and their intense desire to trace every intricate detail of His life, they did not choose the date of His birth, the start of His prophethood, or His passing as the beginning of their calendar. Instead, they chose the date of His migration. This is because the Hijrah represents the birth and awakening of the Muslim Ummah (nation). It is the practical realization of our Prophet’s (Peace be upon Him) message; He was born and sent as a messenger to establish Islam, bring forth a unified nation, and build a functioning state.
Thus, the Hijrah is the absolute greatest moment in the history of Islam, cleanly dividing what came before it from what followed. It was the monumental transition from a mere call to faith (Da’wah) to the tangible establishment of a state, from weakness to strength, and from persecution to political empowerment. Were it not for the Hijrah, the Islamic state would never have been founded, its civilization would not have risen, and its guiding light would never have shined upon the world.
The Prophet (Peace be upon Him) as a Statesman and Reformer
The Hijrah is a historical reality that secularists find particularly hard to swallow, as it definitively proves that Islam is not merely a spiritual calling and the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) was not merely a preacher. Rather, Islam constitutes a state, and the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) was its paramount leader, chief judge, and ultimate legal authority. Through the Hijrah, it becomes entirely evident that the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) was not just a public speaker; He was a warrior and the supreme executor of the divine law (Shariah), actively establishing justice, applying penal codes, and resolving civic disputes.
Furthermore, the Hijrah reveals that the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) was not just a righteous man, but a proactive societal reformer. He did not reform society solely through eloquence, writing, or public appeals from the pulpit. He was a reformer through direct action, structural foundation, and the management of politics, security, warfare, economics, and all other multifaceted spheres of human life.
Is it not thought-provoking that the early followers of the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) were categorized entirely based on the standard of the Hijrah—becoming either the Muhajirun (Emigrants) or the Ansar (Helpers)? Those who followed Him before the migration were the Muhajirun, and those who followed Him after were the Ansar. When the companions lovingly competed over Salman Al-Farisi—who had a unique status blending both emigration and support—the Muhajirun claimed, “Salman is from us, the Emigrants,” while the Ansar countered, “Salman is from us, the Helpers.” The Prophet (Peace be upon Him) elevated him above both titles, declaring,
“Salman is from Us, the Family of the House (Ahl al-Bayt)!”
Consider the Prophet’s (Peace be upon Him) profound words:
“Were it not for the Hijrah, I would have been a man from the Ansar. If the people took one path in a valley and the Ansar took another, I would take the path of the Ansar!”
Notice how the Hijrah was the absolute dividing line by which Muslims were distinguished in their support and allegiance. Today, if Muslims pause to reflect on these deep lessons from the Hijrah, they would realize that many of their current political and organizational strategies require a serious reevaluation.
Lesson One: Islam Requires a State and Authority
Islam cannot be fully established without a state, governance, and authority. If Islam could thrive without these pillars, the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) would not have taken on the immense burden of migrating from His homeland—the most beloved of all lands to ALLAH and to Him. He would not have undertaken the agonizing task of uprooting His people from their homes, families, and tribes. In that era, a person’s tribe and clan were their identity, homeland, sanctuary, and sole source of support. For an Arab to migrate at that time meant entirely renouncing their nationality, identity, and the protections that came with them, effectively transforming into a hunted, exiled outcast.
Islam inherently required a state where its principles could be practically manifested on the earth. Without this state, Islam would have remained a mere philosophy or theoretical concept, similar to those produced by worldly philosophers and thinkers—ideas that sit quietly on library shelves, chewed over by researchers who then simply return to the secular realities imposed upon them. But Islam was never meant to be like that. Through the Hijrah, the Islamic state was established, making the religion an undeniable historical reality, a force on the ground, and an indelible page in the records of humanity.
It was in Medina—within the newly formed Islamic state—that the divine legislations and legal rulings were revealed. There, we witnessed the Prophetic methodology applied to politics, society, economics, urban development, security, and warfare. We saw how the state dealt with minorities, poverty, ignorance, refugee crises, social divisions, and people who had only recently left the days of pre-Islamic ignorance (Jahiliyyah). Without the Hijrah and the establishment of the state, none of this would have occurred or been known. If we were to erase all of this from Islam, it would no longer be the comprehensive religion sent down by ALLAH!
The Critical Need for Governance Today
The people most in need of understanding the absolute necessity of a state for the Islamic mission are the Muslims of today. They have practically become orphans, sitting for scraps at the tables of foreign nations and global superpowers ever since their Caliphate weakened and ultimately fell. There has never been a time where Muslims are more vulnerable and fragmented than they are today, living without a unified state or sovereign Caliphate.
The state is the most crucial instrument for reform, just as it can be the greatest instrument for widespread corruption. Every sincere bearer of a true message throughout history immediately sought to attain statehood, governance, and authority, knowing well that people naturally follow the religion and culture of their rulers. If Muslims truly understood this, they would be far more willing to sacrifice and strive to reclaim governance and political authority. Almost every major societal harm in our world today is heavily driven by those in political power. If Muslims do not wake up to this reality, destructive ideologies like atheism and sexual deviance will be forced right into their living rooms!
The strongest proof of the importance of establishing an Islamic state is the relentless, panicked uprising of Islam’s enemies to prevent it. They continuously conspire to ensure that the children of Islam never hold positions of sovereign governance or authority. This is a long-standing campaign; it did not start with the Quraysh conspiring to assassinate the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) or hunting down the Muhajirun to prevent their migration. Nor does it end with modern-day geopolitical plotting, the orchestration of military coups, or the backing of tyrannical despots. These enemies will even deploy foreign armies, if necessary, to prevent the collapse of the puppet systems they have meticulously constructed with their own hands.
Lesson Two: Religion Supersedes Patriotism
The early Muslims actually undertook two distinct migrations: the migration to Abyssinia and the migration to Medina. The migration to Abyssinia was an escape to preserve their faith, while the migration to Medina was an expedition to establish their faith. This beautifully clarifies the true meaning of “patriotism” and one’s attachment to a homeland. It strictly defines the relationship between religion and national identity, answering a critical question: what happens when the two contradict? In both migrations, the answer was uncompromisingly clear: religion stands infinitely above the homeland.
During the migration to Abyssinia, the Muslims fled a homeland that could no longer tolerate their faith, choosing to leave their families and land for a foreign country where they could practice their religion in peace. In the migration to Medina, they fled a homeland that was no longer suitable to host their religion, heading to a city whose people had actively chosen to make it the capital of Islam. Once stability was fully achieved in Medina, the emigrants to Abyssinia relocated there. They arrived as if they were finally returning to their true homeland, not as if they were migrating for a second time!
The Ultimate Allegiance of a Muslim
In a profound Hadith recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, narrated by Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari regarding the return of the Abyssinian emigrants to Medina, the supremacy of religion over the concept of a homeland is powerfully demonstrated. Umar ibn Al-Khattab playfully remarked to Asma bint Umays—one of the emigrants to Abyssinia—
“We preceded you in the Hijrah, so we have more right to the Messenger of ALLAH (Peace be upon Him) than you.“
Notice Umar’s deep sense of honor regarding the Hijrah and being the first to undertake it. Asma passionately replied,
“No, by ALLAH! You were with the Messenger of ALLAH (Peace be upon Him), who fed your hungry and taught your ignorant, while we were in the land of distant, hostile strangers in Abyssinia. All of that was for the sake of ALLAH and HIS Messenger (Peace be upon Him)… and we were harmed and lived in fear.“
Reflect deeply on how Asma described Abyssinia as the land of “hostile strangers,” even though they were physically safe there. She felt this way because the land was not governed by Islam. Even though they were under the protection of a just king, they were never entirely free from subtle harm or the lingering, exhausting anxiety that the king or the people might suddenly turn against them! This is a heavy feeling that modern-day Muslim immigrants and refugees know all too well.
Ultimately, even when Mecca was peacefully conquered and embraced Islam, the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) and His companions chose to remain in Medina. The political homeland of Islam had officially become Their true homeland, severing Their primary allegiance to Their original place of birth.
Grasping this stark distinction between religion and homeland is of paramount importance because it correctly orders a Muslim’s priorities and clarifies the true nature of their allegiance and loyalty. This understanding is exceptionally critical in our modern era, where “patriotism” is heavily promoted as a new idol to be worshipped instead of ALLAH, elevating it above the sacred bonds of faith.
We live in an age where immense grandeur and sacredness are bestowed upon the nation-state, the constitution, the law, artificial borders, national security, and the “supreme interests of the country.” These hollow buzzwords carry the toxic, implicit message that the nation is more important than religion. Tragically, some even use this secular rhetoric as a gateway to normalize relations with Zionists, justify the siege and starvation of fellow Muslims, and excuse the abandonment of Islamic causes while actively siding with the very enemies murdering their brethren!
Lesson Three: Islam Cannot Coexist with Ignorance (Jahiliyyah)
The Hijrah also proves to us that Islam is a religion that the pre-Islamic state of ignorance (Jahiliyyah) simply cannot bear to coexist with, just as Islam cannot accept coexisting with Jahiliyyah. The fact that Jahiliyyah cannot tolerate Islam is the overarching theme of the entire Meccan period. This intolerance culminated in a calculated plot to assassinate the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) after a long series of harsh restrictions, torture, and rejected compromises. Conversely, the fact that Islam cannot tolerate living under Jahiliyyah is the defining characteristic of the Medinan period. From the very first moment He arrived, the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) began establishing a distinct, independent Islamic system!
Here lies a crucial pause and one of the most profound principles that every Muslim and Islamic worker must internalize. The society in Medina at the time was deeply fractured.
- Looking at it through the lens of religion, it consisted of polytheists, Jews, and Muslims.
- From a tribal perspective, it was fiercely divided between the warring Aws and Khazraj, the Jewish tribes, and a scattered mix of Muslims arriving from various backgrounds.
- Economically, the city suffered from chronic, deeply rooted issues; it was heavily dominated by a usurious Jewish monopoly over the markets, while simultaneously facing a massive influx of Muslim refugees who desperately needed shelter and immediate livelihoods.
- Politically, the city was in crisis. After the devastating Battle of Bu’ath, the people of Medina had finally agreed to appoint AbduLLAH bin Ubayy bin Salul as their secular consensus leader and were actively preparing his coronation.
- To make matters worse, the Hijrah immediately ignited a massive geopolitical crisis between Medina and the surrounding environment, specifically with the superpowers of the Arabian Peninsula: Mecca and Taif!
Forging a Complete Islamic Society
Despite all these massive and incredibly dangerous challenges, the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) did not simply enter Medina as a passive preacher seeking basic protection and the freedom to proselytize under the umbrella of a “consensus president” like AbduLLAH bin Ubayy. Instead, the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) immediately established the Islamic state. He became the undisputed head of state, its supreme leader, its legislative reference, and its executive and judicial authority, completely formalizing this in the famous Constitution of Medina.
The Prophet (Peace be upon Him) did not allow these immense socio-political problems to force Him into delaying the establishment of the state, nor did He settle for a purely spiritual role. This is the very reason the Hijrah took place; it was a migration to firmly found a state, not merely a frantic flight to escape persecution and harm!
If Muslims today truly understood this concept, they would realize they commit a catastrophic, fatal error when they downplay the necessity of establishing a state, or when they compromise by seeking a secular “consensus” leader, a broad national agreement, or the approval of regional and international powers. The moment to establish Islamic governance is a historical opportunity that must never, ever be let slip. No matter the sheer scale of the challenges and obstacles, they must never be viewed as a valid excuse to abandon this duty.
In our current era, through our recent modern experiences, we have seen exactly where we end up when we push non-Islamic figures to the forefront in a desperate pursuit of “national consensus,” or to appease foreign desires to avoid having the Islamic movement crushed. Time and again, the movement is struck down anyway, and we are forced all the way back to square one!
There is an immense, unmatched power within Islam to solve deep societal crises. Muslims are still in desperate need of studying and reflecting upon the very first administrative actions the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) took upon entering Medina and how effectively they resolved these massive crises.
- Building the Mosque, where Muslims physically gather five times a day, was the fastest way to forge social cohesion among warring tribes.
- The pact of Brotherhood that the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) instituted was the greatest method in human history for solving a refugee crisis—a problem that major modern nations with massive resources completely fail to handle today.
- Drafting the Constitution was the perfect political tool to legally define rights, duties, and distribute responsibilities.
- Establishing a new, independent market was a brilliant economic maneuver that liberated Medina’s economy from Jewish monopolies, created immediate job opportunities for the Muhajirun, and relieved the financial pressure on the Ansar.
The scope of this topic is vast, and the details are endlessly profound.
Living the Seerah Today
In summary, the moment of the Hijrah is a historical milestone overflowing with practical lessons and wisdom that we desperately need in our contemporary lives. We have chosen in this publication to center our reflections around the Hijrah to purposefully mark the beginning of the new Hijri year. The discerning reader will clearly see how truly living and breathing the Prophetic biography (Seerah) illuminates the path forward for the Muslim Ummah.
However, this illumination only happens on the condition that our engagement with the Seerah is authentic and actionable. We must interact with the Seerah the exact way dedicated students engage with their master, and the way loyal followers obey their commander. It must never be reduced to a mere collection of stories casually recited in gatherings, as if it were simply a nostalgic trip down memory lane! The Seerah is not just a book of memories; the Seerah is right here, and the Seerah is right now!
Sources:
Mohamed Elhamy. ثلاث وقفات كبرى في ذكرى الهجرة. Blog Post.
