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Posted by msk2000 on 11/26/07 22:37
A spider had woven its web right across the entrance to the cave and a
dove was nesting with her mate nearby. As the Meccans stood in front
of the cave, with only the spider's web separating them from the
fugitives, Abu Bakr began to fear for their safety. He whispered to
the Prophet (pbuh), they are very close. If one of them turns we will
be seen.' But he was comforted by the Prophet's reply: "What do you
think of two who have with them Allah as their third? 'Grieve not, for
verily Allah is with us". (Koran ix.40) . After a few moments the
search parry decided that no one could have entered the cave recently,
or the spider's web would not have been complete and the dove would
not have nested there, and so they left without searching inside.
Three days later the Prophet (pbuh) and Abu Bakr thought it safe to
leave the cave. Abu Bakr's son, 'Amir, had arranged for three camels
and a guide to help them continue their journey to Yathrib. 'Amir
would ride behind his father. The leaders of Quraysh
meanwhile, returned to Mecca and offered a reward of one hundred
camels to whoever captured the Prophet (pbuh). Among those who went in
search of him was a famous warrior. He was, in fact, the only one to
catch up with him, but whenever he came close, his horse would
suddenly sink up to its knees in the sand. When this had happened
three times, he understood that the Prophet (pbuh) was protected by a
power stronger than anything he had known, and so he went back to
Mecca. On arriving there he warned everyone against continuing the
search, relating what had happened to him.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
"If you do not help him, still Allah has helped him already, When the
unbelievers drove him forth, (he second of two, When the two were in
the Cave, when he said to his companion, "Grieve not; surely Allah is
with us." Then Allah caused His peace and Reassurance to descend upon
him, And helped him with hosts you cannot see
And He made the word of the unbelievers the lowest; While Allah's word
is the uppermost; Allah is All-mighty, All-wise". (Koran ix.40)
The Prophet's journey from Mecca is called the hijrah, or migration.
It was really the first step towards the spread of Islam throughout
the entire world, and Muslims begin their calendar from the year of
the hijrah
Arrival In Yathrib
When the people of Yathrib heard that the Prophet W(pbuh) had left
Mecca and was on his way to their city, they anxiously awaited his
arrival. Each morning they would go to the edge of the city to see if
he was coming. Finally, on Monday, September 27, in the year 622 A.D.,
someone saw him in the distance and shouted to everyone, 'Here is
Muhammad! (pbuh) the Messenger of Allah has arrived!' All the Muslims
went out to greet him, shouting, "Allahu Akbar"! Allah is Great!
Muhammad the Messenger of Allah has arrived!' The women and children
sang songs to show how glad they were to see him. The Prophet (pbuh)
entered the city with his friend Abu Bakr.
Most of The people there had not seen him before and as they gathered
around they did not know which of the two was the Prophet (pbuh),
until Abu Bakr got up to shield him with his cloak from the burning
sun. Yathrib would now be Called al-Medina, which means, The City.
The Messenger of God (pbuh) stayed in Quba', which is a place at the
entrance of Medina, for three days. On the first Friday after his
arrival the Prophet led the congregation in prayer. After this many of
the wealthiest men invited him to come and live with them and share
their riches. But he refused and, pointing to his she-camel, Qaswa',
said, 'Let her go her way', because he knew that his camel was under
Allah's command and would guide him to the spot where he should stay.
They let the camel go until she finally knelt down beside a house
belonging to the Bani an-Najjar, the tribe to whom the Prophet's
mother was related. This house was used as a drying-place for dates
and belonged to two young orphan boys named Sahl and Suhayl.
They offered to give it to the Prophet (pbuh) but he insisted on
paying them for it, and so their guardian, As'ad the son of Zurarah,
who was present, made the necessary arrangements.
The Prophet (pbuh) ordered that a mosque and a place for him to live
be built on the site. All the Muslims worked together to finish it
quickly-even the Prophet (pbuh) joined in. It was here that the
Muslims would pray and meet to make important decisions and plans. The
building was quite plain and simple. The floor was beaten earth and
the roof of palm leaves was held up by tree trunks. Two Stones marked
the direction of prayer. At first worshippers faced Jerusalem, but
Soon after the direction of prayer was changed towards the Ka'bah in
Mecca.
After the building of the mosque, the Prophet (pbuh) wanted to
strengthen the relationship between the people called the Muhajirah or
Emigrants, who had left Mecca with him, and the people of Medina,
who were known as the Ansar, or Helpers. Each man from Medinah took as
his brother a man from Mecca, sharing everything with him and treating
him as a member of his own family. This was the beginning of the
Islamic brotherhood. In the early days of Islam, the times for prayer
were not announced and So the Muslims would come to the mosque and
wait for the prayer so as not to miss it. The Prophet (pbuh) wondered
how to tell the people that it was time for prayers. He discussed it
with his friends, and at first two ideas were put forward; that of
blowing a horn as the Jews did, and that of using a wooden clapper
like the Christians.
Then a man called 'Abd Allah ibn Zayd came to the Prophet (pbuh) and
told him he had had a dream in which he had seen a man dressed all in
green, holding a wooden clapper. He had said to the man, 'Would you
sell me your clapper in order to call the people to prayer?' The man
had replied, 'A better way to call the people to prayer is to Say:
"Allahu Akbar, Allah is Most Grea
tfour times, followed by "I bear witness that there is no divinity but
Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Come to
prayer, come to prayer, Come to salvation, come to salvation. Allahu
Akbar, Allahu Akbar! There is no divinity but Allah!"'
When the Prophet (pbuh) heard this, he said it was a true vision from
Allah. He sent for Bilal, who had a beautiful, strong voice, and
ordered him to call the people to prayer in just this way. Bilal did
so and soon after 'Umar came out of his house and told the Prophet
(pbuh) that he had seen exactly the same vision himself.
The Prophet (pbuh) replied, 'Allah be praised for that.' The adhan, or
call to prayer, which came to 'Abd Allah ibn Zayd in his dream and was
performed by Bilal on the instruction of the Prophet (pbuh), is the
one we still hear today being called from the minarets of mosques all
over the world.
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