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The Noble Prophetic Migration: A Journey of Building and Belonging
Author : The Grand Mufti, Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Hasanat
Date Added : 01-07-2025

The Noble Prophetic Migration: A Journey of Building and Belonging

 

 

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the most honorable of creation and messengers, our master Muhammad, the trustworthy guide, and upon his family, companions, and followers, and whoever follows them in goodness until the Day of Judgment.

The blessed Prophetic Migration (Hijrah), whose anniversary Muslims commemorate every year, is one of the most significant events in all of human history. This is due to the profound lessons and noble stances it embodies, which were instrumental in the rise of the Islamic nation (Ummah) whose light shone forth to dispel the darkness of ignorance (Jahiliyyah) and rectify the course of humanity.

The honor of this great journey became manifest through the gathering of the believers and the unification of sincere efforts to build a nation founded on brotherhood, love, and affection, strengthened by the blessings of divine revelation and divine planning. Thus, it served as a lesson for us in every time and place, teaching us how an Ummah rises after its lethargy, how it heals after its illness, and how it strengthens after its weakness.

This blessed journey began after harsh conditions suffered by Muslims in Mecca, characterized by their small numbers, the abandonment of kin who could have supported them, the loss of aid from friends, and the grim hostility of distant enemies. This continued until the Prophet (peace be upon him) became certain that the hearts of the people of Makkah had hardened to the point of turning to stone, their emotions withered until they became blunt, nobility vanished from their characters, and hope in them was severed!

At that time, the command came from Allah the Almighty to depart to the lands of a people whose thirsty hearts yearned to quench their thirst from the spring of faith, and who pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace be upon him) for victory and empowerment. Thus began that blessed journey, which commenced with a divine command, followed by taking human means. This was a lesson for us from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that the first steps to success, after relying on Allah Almighty, are proper planning and sound preparation. If he (peace be upon him) had wished, it would have sufficed for him to raise his hands to the sky and supplicate to his Lord, Glorified be He, until Al-Buraq came obediently and submissively, transporting him and those with him with a mere sign in the blink of an eye to any destination he desired. However, he (peace be upon him) teaches us that walking the path of Hijrah is not by mere wishes, and building nations does not depend on the occurrence of miracles. Rather, it is by combining preparing the provisions with submission and delegation (to Allah), and by taking physical provisions after spiritual provisions, as Allah The Exalted Says (What means): "And take provisions, for indeed, the best provision is righteousness." [Al-Baqarah/197]. Then, by choosing the best of companions for the journey, accompanied by turning to Allah in supplication: "(O Allah, You are the Companion in travel and the Successor over my family)," and by changing the accustomed route known to the polytheists, while adhering to the station of "Guide us to the straight path." Thus, the pillars of submission to the will of the Almighty Truth were completed, and the meanings of harmony between divine legislation and sincere servitude became manifest, and the meanings of beauty were perfected in combining revelation and sound judgment, embodied in the person and actions of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) arrived in those new lands, he found what he had sought when he departed from a people who chose to live in the darkness of ignorance, whose eyes were blinded by the light of faith, and who chased the signs of guidance in the desert with the edges of swords, to a people who welcomed those lights at the gates of Medina with the beating of drums. They believed that the power of change in the Ummah lies within itself, that the secret of its strength is in the unity of its children, and that faith does not require seeing miracles, but rather requires purifying the self. Their faith in the Prophet (peace be upon him) was before they saw him, and their love for him was before they met him, because when the sweetness of faith penetrates the souls, spirits submit to it and limbs obey it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) invested that great power of faith by building a structure in Medina – which was Quba’ Mosque – for the worship of Allah the Almighty. The companions chanted that immortal anthem during its construction, whose echoes resonate in hearts before ears, and invite us to reflect on its words that form a way of life: 

If we sit while the Prophet works, that would be a misleading act from us

This anthem shows us the methodology of the companions and their view of their new homeland. They carried building blocks on their shoulders, raising with them the edifice of their ancient future in the pure, illuminated land, sending a message to generations after them that their new homeland is a land where there is no laziness in work, and that diligence is required from every individual, and that the honor of homelands is only built upon the shoulders of honorable people. As for idleness in building and developing nations, it is the work of hypocrites and people of misguidance. Therefore, the Prophet's (peace be upon him) response was to supplicate for them with mercy and forgiveness, saying:

 There is no life but the life of the Hereafter; O Allah, have mercy on the Ansar and the Muhajirin

The Prophet (peace be upon him) completed the journey of building the Ummah by building the human being simultaneously with establishing the infrastructure. He commanded the brotherhood between the Muhajirin (the converts to Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad's advisors and relatives, who emigrated from Mecca to Medina) and the Ansar (the early Muslims from Medina) so that their hearts would shake hands as their hands did, and their souls would meet as their bodies met in obedience to Allah and His piety. He (peace be upon him) commanded them to purify their souls from the tribalism of ignorance and the impurities of idolatry. Through them, the Ummah of goodness and love was established, and Allah The Almighty called them "the successful ones" – those whose striving prospered, whose toil blossomed, and who saw the fruits of their work in this world before the Hereafter. As Allah The Almighty Says (What means): "For the poor emigrants who were expelled from their homes and their properties, seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure and supporting Allah and His Messenger – those are the truthful. And [also for] those who settled in the home [Medina] and [accepted] the faith before them. They love those who emigrated to them and find not any want in their breasts of what the [emigrants] were given but give [them] preference over themselves, even though they were in privation. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul – it is those who will be the successful." [Al-Hashr/8-9].

When these two great pillars in the Ummah were completed – meaning the pillar of knowledge, whose light shone from the Mosque, and the pillar of unity and love among the people of the same nation – submission to the foundation of justice in society became voluntary. So the Prophet (peace be upon him) established a document for them to regulate their affairs and inform them of their rights, and he built a strong economy for them that protected their livelihood, and he withdrew financial control from the hands of their enemies.

With these pillars, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was able to build an Ummah that Allah The Almighty called in His Book: "You are the best nation produced for mankind..." [Al-Imran/110]. This blessed Ummah will remain a bright, white page in the book of time, a history inscribed by believers in letters of light, and by The Will of Allah The Almighty, it will remain a witness to its superiority, righteousness, and goodness over all nations under the banner of our master, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the leader of the Ummah, its Imam, and its role model, throughout all ages and times. Besides, Allah The Almighty Says (What means): "And thus We have made you a middle nation that you may be witnesses over the people and the Messenger may be a witness over you." [Al-Baqarah/143]. And all Perfect Praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds.

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Summarized Fatawaa

Where should a woman who is led by her husband in prayer stand?

All perfect praise be to Allah The Lord of The Worlds                                                                                                                                                                          It is from Sunnah (Prophetic tradition) that she stands behind him. And Allah Knows Best.

What is the ruling on forgiving a tenant next month's rent, with the intention of counting it toward zakāh al-māl?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It does not fulfill the obligation to count the rent owed on a house, or a portion of it, in lieu of zakāh. Rather, it is necessary to first transfer ownership of the zakāh amount to the poor person directly; only afterward may he be asked to pay the rent [from that money].
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik (p. 112): "If someone gives [money] to a poor person, stipulating that the recipient return it to him in payment of a debt owed to him, or says, 'I am making what you owe me into zakāh, so take it [as such]' — this is not valid. But if he gives it to him with the [unstated] intention that the recipient will use it to repay him, or says, 'Repay what you owe me, so that I may [then separately] give it to you as zakāh,' or the debtor himself says, 'Give it to me, so that I may [then] repay you with it' — this is valid, and there is no binding obligation for the recipient to actually fulfill this [informal understanding]."
We would also remind [the reader] of the ḥadīth of the Prophet ﷺ: "The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim: he does not wrong him, nor does he abandon him [to harm]. Whoever attends to the needs of his brother, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will attend to his needs. Whoever relieves a Muslim of a hardship, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will relieve him of one of the hardships of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever conceals [the faults of] a Muslim, Allah will conceal him on the Day of Resurrection." (Agreed upon). And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

The Jurisprudential Significance of the Ḥadīth: "Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr Prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking..."
"Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking: 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-ḥamdu yuḥyī wa yumītu wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr' ten times — ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten bad deeds will be erased from him, he will be raised ten levels, he will spend that day in protection from everything disliked and guarded from the devil, and no sin will be able to befall him on that day except associating partners with Allah" — does this noble ḥadīth apply to the imam, and what is meant by "extraneous speech"?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite, immediately after the final salām, the specific remembrance reported in the sunnah to be said before turning away from one's place of prayer. The imam then leaves his praying spot, and the act of "turning" is fulfilled when the imam faces the congregation — even without physically leaving his spot — by positioning his right side toward them and his left side toward the qiblah, and this applies even while he is engaged in supplication.
Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn Qāsim al-ʿAbbādī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Tuḥfah (Vol.2/P.105): "It is most virtuous for the imam, once he has given the salām, to rise from his place of prayer immediately afterward." He adds that an exception must be made for the remembrances that are specifically required to be recited before he turns away. He then notes, citing Sharḥ al-ʿUbāb: "Yes, an exception to this rising immediately after the salām applies to the Fajr prayer, due to the authentic report that the Prophet ﷺ, when he prayed Fajr, would remain seated until the sun rose." He further cites, from al-Khādim, the ḥadīth concerning one who recites, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer while still in the position of crossing his leg to rise: "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah..." and the rest of the well-known ḥadīth. He comments that this makes explicit that this particular remembrance is to be recited before the worshipper turns his legs to leave, and the same applies to Maghrib and ʿAṣr, as reported in those contexts as well.
What is meant by "speech" in the relevant ḥadīth is extraneous worldly speech that is not called for after the prayer and for which there is no legitimate excuse. The remembrances reported to be recited upon concluding the prayer, however, do not fall under this category of extraneous speech, since they are themselves required by the sharīʿah.
Al-ʿAllāmah ʿAlī al-Shabrāmalsī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Nihāyah (Vol.1/P.551): "If someone greets a person with salām while he is occupied with reciting this remembrance [i.e., 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh...'], should he return the greeting — without this causing him to forfeit the promised reward, since he is engaged in an obligatory matter — or should he delay returning the greeting until he finishes, this being a legitimate excuse for the delay?" He continues: "I say: the more likely view is the former, and the prohibition on speech is to be understood as applying to extraneous speech for which there is no legitimate excuse. Based on this, should the worshipper give precedence to this remembrance ('Lā ilāha illā Allāh...') or to reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ ('Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad')? This requires consideration, though it is not unlikely that the remembrance takes precedence, given that the Lawgiver urged hastening to it through his words 'while crossing his leg.' This is not considered ordinary speech, since it is not extraneous to what is required after the prayer."
Accordingly, it is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite this remembrance and to give it precedence over the other remembrances of the prayer, ensuring it is said before they move from their place. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on wearing energy stones?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
There is no objection to a woman adorning herself with precious and semi-precious stones — such as ruby, carnelian, or the like — so long as these are stones that women customarily wear as adornment.
As for what are known as "energy stones," if they are used with the intention of seeking remedy and healing, then such matters are governed by experimentation and scientific study — which either establishes that they have a tangible effect or does not — and all of this operates by the permission and will of Allah, Glorified and Exalted. If studies or practical experience do establish that such stones carry a beneficial effect upon human health, then there is no objection to using them. They are, after all, part of Allah's creation, much like medicinal substances extracted from plants or derived from other created things — provided that the Muslim does not believe that the stone itself is the source of benefit or harm. It is nothing more than a means among the many means that Allah has placed in this world, and the reality of all affairs belongs to Allah alone. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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