Making
Preparations for the Journey
With the order for migration, the
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) called at the house
of Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
at noon when the burning sun had forced the people indoors. Since it was an
unusual time to visit, Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) speculated that migration must have been ordered. First of all
he (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) inquired if there
was any strange person in the house. When he was informed that there was no one
in the house except Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
and his daughters, Asma' and Âishah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), he disclosed that migration to Al-Madinah had been ordered.
"Who will accompany you on the
journey?" Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
asked. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
said, "You will accompany me." Having heard this, tears of joy
trickled down from the eyes of Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and he said, "O Prophet of Allâh! I have already bought
two she-camels for this purpose and have made them strong and stout, and I
offer you one." The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) said, "I will purchase it." Thus he paid for it and
Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) had to accept it.
And from that moment, preparations for migration started. Asma' bint Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) made them provisions
of parched barley and some other food, Âishah (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was at that time still of a very tender age. After telling Abu
Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) of the plan, the
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) went back home.
The polytheists had made their
nefarious plan to assassinate the Prophet (صلى الله
عليه وآله وسلم) on the following night. They surrounded his house from that
evening. Their heinous plan was to make a surprise attack on the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) when he comes out to
offer his dawn prayers. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه
وآله وسلم) had asked Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
bin Abu Tâlib (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
to lie in his bed and to wrap himself in his mantle. He also gave Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) the valuables that his pagan neighbors
had left with him in trust, and instructed Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
to give them back to their rightful owners the next morning. He also asked Ali
(رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to migrate after settling these matters.
After completing this, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) came out of his house in the dark hours of the night reciting
the first nine Verses of Surat Yâsin. He threw a handful of dust at them, with
the result that they did not see him.
"And
(remember) when disbelievers plotted against you to imprison you or to kill you
or to get out you; they were plotting and Allâh too was planing; and Allâh is
the Best of the planners." (8:30)
Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) paid Abdullah bin Uraiqit a reasonable sum to deliver both the
she-camels at an appointed time and place to be told to him later, although he
was a disbeliever, he was trustworthy.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) came out of his house and went straight
to Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ).
They set out right away, and took a low-lying trail to a distance of four miles
outside of Makkah. They arrived at the cave of Mount Thaur and hid themselves
in it. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
bin Abu Tâlib (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
kept sleeping soundly and peacefully in the bed of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) while the
disbelievers of Makkah continued their siege around the house the whole night.
They were feeling satisfied thinking that Ali (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
was the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم).
When Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) got up for the Fajr (dawn) prayer the
disbelievers asked him, "Where's Muhammad?" Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) retorted, "How can I know, for I was asleep the whole night.
You should know his whereabouts since you have been on guard." The
disbelievers held Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
(رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and beat him in a
state of ferocity and then released him after sometime. Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) then gave back the trusts to their rightful owners.
It is worth noticing here that
although the disbelievers were thirsting for the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), they trusted his
honesty and integrity so much so that they left their precious valuables, gold,
silver, and jewelry in trust with him. He (صلى الله
عليه وآله وسلم) was very particular about it and that is why he left Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), someone he knew he could depend on, to
return the trusts to his bloodthirsty enemies.
Leaving Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), the disbelievers called at the house of Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and knocked at the
door. Asma' bint Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
came out. Abu Jahl said, "O girl! Where is your father?" She said
flatly, "I know nothing about him." Hearing this the wicked man
slapped her so violently that her earrings fell down on the ground. After this,
the furious disbelievers mounted a search for the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) but it was in vain. Now, in a state of
frustration, they announced a reward of one hundred camels for anyone who could
catch and bring back Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
dead or alive. The greed for such a substantial reward incited a number of
persons to search the area but their efforts met with total failure.
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