End
of the Journey
After an eight-day journey, the
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) arrived at Quba' on
Rabia al-Awwal 8, the 14th year of Prophethood (corresponding
September 23, 622 CE) at noon. Quba' lies at a distance of a few miles from
Al-Madinah and was generally taken as the locality of Al-Madinah. It was
largely inhabited by Banu Amr bin Auf who had already been enlightened by
Islam. A few days before the departure of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) from Makkah, the news of his arrival in
Al-Madinah was in the air.
The Ansâr of Al-Madinah would come
out of their dwellings early in the morning and kept waiting till noon
everyday. Thus when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) arrived at Quba' at noon, they had already gone back after
waiting for some time.
A certain Jew who was watching the
crowds of Muslims awaiting someone by coming out of their settlement knew that
Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was about to come
from Makkah. This Jew was then, by chance, upstairs when he witnessed the small
caravan moving into Quba'. Guessing it to be the caravan of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), he cried at the top
of his voice: "O the people of Arabia, O those taking rest at noon, there
has come your object of love." Having heard this call, the people rushed
out of their dwellings and waves of exultation gripped the whole atmosphere of
Quba'. He (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
was emerging from an orchard of dates. Bearing in mind that the people might
fall into confusion regarding the identification of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) drew himself back
and shaded the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
with his mantle, thus making a clear distinction between the master and the
servant.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was now entering Quba' and the little
girls of the Ansâr were reciting in great fervor and boundless joy:
"On the hillside whence
caravans are given a send-off,
The full moon comes up in the day.
All the while Allâh is praised.
We had better return our thanks
The noble one, O you sent to us,
You have brought binding
commands."
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) entered Quba' on Monday and stayed there
until Friday. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
stayed in the house of Kulthum bin Hadm while Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) stayed with Habib bin Asâf (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). He (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) would hold his
assemblies in the house of Saad bin Khaithamah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and the people visited him at that same place. During this
short stay in Quba', he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
laid the foundation of a mosque which is the first mosque ever built after the
advent of Islam. On Friday, the $12^{th}$ Rabi' Al-Awwal, he left Quba' and
made his entry into Al-Madinah. He (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) was still in Quba' when Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) bin Abu Tâlib (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
came and joined him. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
(رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) had made this long
and arduous journey on foot. While the Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) was staying in Quba', Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) who had been busy returning the deposits
of the people to their rightful owners was blessed with the honor of joining
the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم).
He had left Makkah the very day the Prophet (صلى الله
عليه وآله وسلم) left the cave of Thaur. But Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ),
a traveler by himself, made his movement during the night and kept himself
hidden in the day. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) came avoiding the busy thoroughfares and reached Quba' in
eight days, while Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
(رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) undertook the
journey by the well-known routes but was made late by three or four days
because of being on foot.
Entry
into Al-Madinah
Taking leave of the people of Quba'
and Banu Amr bin Auf on Friday, the Prophet (صلى الله
عليه وآله وسلم) moved forward to make his stay in Al-Madinah. Every household
of each locality expressed its strong desire that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) would stay with
them. He was in the locality of Banu Sâlim bin Auf when the time for the Friday
(Jumu'ah) prayer drew near. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه
وآله وسلم) led the prayer at the same place in a field with about a
hundred men behind him. This was the first Friday prayer of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) in Al-Madinah and
the first time the Friday sermon (Khutbah) was ever delivered. Later on, a
mosque was built at that place.
After offering the Friday prayer,
the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
mounted his she-camel. Banu Sâlim bin Auf approached him and took hold of his
she-camel's halter with the request that he stay with them. The people of other
clans and localities also came in groups and made the same request. This led to
a clash of words, which ended when the Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) said to one and all: "Let her go her
way. She is guided by Allâh. I shall stop where the animal sits down." The
Ansâr and Muhâjirîn followed the she-camel on all sides. He set the halter
loose and free and the she-camel moved ahead slowly. All eyes were focused on
the animal and they were eagerly waiting for it to kneel down.
When she entered the locality of
Banu Biyâdah, Ziyâd bin Labid and Urwah bin Amr, the chieftains of the tribe
wanted to take hold of the halter but the Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) forbade them saying: "Leave her for
she has already been commanded." Then the she-camel stepped into the
locality of Banu Sâ'idah and Saad bin Ubâdah and Mundhir bin Amr, the
chieftains of Banu Sâ'idah made the same attempt but received the same words
from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم).
After this, she reached the locality of Banu Al-Hârith bin Al-Khazraj, and Saad
bin Ar-Rabi', Khârijah bin Zaid and Abdullah bin Rawahah stepped forward to
stop her but received the same reply. From there the she-camel made an entry
into the locality of Banu Adi bin An-Najjâr. Since Abdul-Muttalib's mother
Salma bint Amr belonged to this clan, they made their claim for the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to stop there. Thus
Salit bin Qais and Asirah bin Abu Khârija, the chieftains of Banu Adi took hold
of the halter but he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
asked them to leave it for the animal had prior instructions for herself. At
last the she-camel arrived at the locality of Banu Mâlik bin An-Najjâr and
knelt down in a deserted and fallow land for a while and then got up and
advanced a little only to turn back and be seated on the same spot again. This
time she shook herself and then lay down on her neck wagging her tail.
Close to this unpopulated land was
the house of Abu Ayub Khâlid bin Zaid Ansâri (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). He rushed to the spot with his face beaming with joy and took
the belongings of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
to his house. Thus he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
made his stay in his house. The deserted land was the property of two orphan
boys Sahl and Suhail. The piece of land had a few date trees, graves of the
polytheists and a resting spot for the herds of cattle. "Who is the owner
of this land?" The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) inquired. Mu'âdh bin Afra' submitted, "This piece of land
belongs to two orphan boys related to me and they are nourished by me; I shall
make them agree, you may take it for building a mosque." But the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) asserted, "I
want to buy it, and will not take it without paying the price." Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) made the payment at
once. And with the order of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه
وآله وسلم) the date trees were cut, the graves leveled, and the
construction work of the mosque was started then and there. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) joined the builders.
The walls of the mosque were constructed with stone and kneaded clay, the roof
with the wood of the date palm and date leaves. Until the construction of a
separate house for himself, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه
وآله وسلم) remained staying with Abu Ayub Ansâri (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) in his house as his guest. This is the
same Abu Ayub Ansâri (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
whose grave lies in Constantinople where he was honored later with martyrdom
during the siege of Constantinople in the caliphate of Mu’âwiyah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) in 48 AH.
Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) stayed in the house of Abu Ayub Ansâri (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) for six months and a
few days. The mosque built during the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) saw no change before the caliphate of
Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). During his
caliphate, it underwent an expansion for the first time. Uthmân bin Affân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) strengthened it.
During the time of Walid bin Abdul-Mâlik, it saw more expansion with the
inclusion of the dwellings of the noble wives of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم). Mâmun Rashid Abbâsi adorned the mosque
beautifully. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
was in the house of Abu Ayub Ansâri (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) when he sent Zaid bin Hârithah and Abu Râfi (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to bring Fâtimah, Umm Kulthum, Saudah
bint Zam'ah, Usâmah bin Zaid and his mother, Umm Aiman (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ). Abdullah bin Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) also, along with his relatives,
accompanied them. Talhah bin Ubaidullah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) also joined the caravan. After the arrival of these people,
the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
shifted to his newly built house.
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