Author: Wazeer Murtala Hijra: Historical Significance and Contemporary Relevance (Part 1)
In Arabic parlance, ‘Hijra’ literarily means to abandon or leave. It derives from the verb h-j-r. By extension, haajara with an elongated /haa/ implies being forced by a party to flee or fleeing from a territory of the polytheist into a territory where there are believers (see: Tafseer Sha’raawi Vols. 1&8). In the more technical sense, Hijra is used to describe the forced emigration of prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) from his birth town of Makkah to Yathrib (present day Madinah) in the year 622 CE. The need for his emigration alongside many new Muslims was made apparent by the degrading persecution that he faced among the polytheist Arabs of Makkah. As a remarkable event, the migration has been described as having political, social and economic importance, not just for Muslims, but for others across the world.
As far as Islamic history is concerned, the Hijra represents a very important aspect. In fact, it can be described as one of the critical points in the consolidation of Islam as a political force and as a community. The migration ensured that, Muslims, who were otherwise scattered and weak numerically would come together in a single place where they could form the nucleus of what was to become a state. As a new community with members from different Arab clans and elsewhere, the Hijra engendered a strong bond of brotherhood among new Muslims who would otherwise be at opposing ends.
As a community, the relationship between Muslims as a unit with other communities was also established. The prophet ensured a peaceful relationship among Muslims, Jews and other groups that were present in the new state of Madinah. It was as a result of this migration that the prophet introduced a constitutional basis known as the charter of Madina. In the constitution, there was a strong basis for a just confederate arrangement where all the parties involved had a collective front and were required to work together regardless of their religions. In it, it is stated that:
…for the Jews their religion, and for the Muslims theirs, be one client or patron. But whoever does wrong or commits treachery brings evil only on himself and his household…
…And if any one fights against the people of this code, their (i.e., of the Jews and Muslims) mutual help shall come into operation, and there shall be friendly counsel and sincere behaviour between them; and faithfulness and no breach of covenant.
…And this prescript shall not be of any avail to any oppressor or breaker of covenant. And one shall have security whether one goes out to a campaign or remains in Madina, or else it will be an oppression and breach of covenant.
The constitution that was signed by all the parties involved established law and the rule of law as one of the important elements for a prosperous segmented community. Today, the rule of law has been encouraged as an important aspect of governance and social wellbeing. As a matter of fairness, those who went against the provisions of the constitution were punished according to the approved legal instrument.
The Islamic dating system or the Hijr calendar that was designed by Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) also has as its starting point, the Hijra day. Consequently, the Islamic calendar is known as the Hijri calendar.
Hijra has numerous lessons and relevance to our situations today and that of the generation to come. The lessons of the event will be difficult to explain exhaustively and as such, we can only take bits and pieces from it. Some of the lessons, apart from its historical importance and its creativity for community development are also important for individuals. They range from teaching us to have sabr, selflessness and tawakkul to being creatively interested in solving social problems.
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Do you actually mean the terminology should only be used for a religious purpose. I mean, is the word “hijra” coined by the prophet which means to migrate from mekkah to Medina alone or can also be used for emigration of all kind.
For instance can we say the migration or fleeing of the afganistanis from the Taliban out of Afghanistan is also hijra.