The prophet PBUH was one of the last, if not the last to emigrate to Madinah.

Th
e only people left was the family of Abu Bukr, or Ali RA etc.
Before we get on to the actual emigration of the prophet PBUH we will discuss Um
ar RA's hijrah. Ali ibn Abi Talib says "I don't know of anyone who did the hijra
h publically except for Umar; he was the onle one to do it publically". Umar RA
packed his bags, armed himself, wore his shields and arrows. He's dressed as a t
raveller, goes to the kab'ah and does tawaaf seven times and then makes an annou
ncement: "Oh people of Mecca, whoever wishes that his mother loses him tonight,
or that his children become orphans, or his wife a widow, then know that I am do
ing the hijrah and you can meet me outside in such a such a valley". This shows
the status of Umar RA. And indeed the prophet PBUH said "bless Islam with one of
the two Umar's who is more beloved to you". Of course no one stopped Umar RA an
d he went.
As usual we need to peice together the incident of the Hijrah of the prophet PBU
H from different stories. The seerah is not written down in one story, so just l
ike in Isra wal Mi'raj we don't know its exact order. The first most authentic s
ource is Aisha RA narrating in Sahih al Bhukari. Aisha RA at this time is 6/7 ye
ars old and she says "I don't remember any day except my parents were muslims."
So when she was born Abu Bukr RA was already a muslim. Her sister, Asma bint Abu
Bukr was older and she also had a different mother who wasn't a muslim, so Abu
Bukr divorced her. And she said "I don't remember any day except the prophet PBU
H visited us. And then when the prophet PBUH was given the permission to migrate
, and he told the muslims to migrate, Abu Bukr RA prepared a camel to migrate. A
nd he asked the prophet PBUH for permission". Note every muslim asked the prophe
t PBUH for permission to leave first. So the prophet PBUH said "wait I hope that
Allah will give us permission." So Abu Bukr understood that the the prophet PBU
H wanted permission to migrate with him. So he asked "Are you hoping for my comp
anionship?" The prophet PBUH said "Yes". This shows us the prophet PBUH never di
d anything except with the permission of Allah. And when Abu Bukr RA heard this
he was so happy.
So when Abu Bukr heard this, he prepared two camels. This is the ship of the des
ert; able to carry food and camel. But you need to feed the camel a special diet
, drink him water etc. So you prepare it for a few weeks and then the hump appea
rs. Abu Bukr RA said he prepared the camel for "four months". Here Abu Bukr RA i
s rounding up, as it was most likely 3.5 months from when the prophet PBUH told
the muslims to migrate to when he migrated. The actual hijrah took place on Mond
ay 26th Safar of the 13th year of the dawah which is the 1st year of the hijrah.
What happened? In the day at the peak of hotness when everything is shut down. A
nd they noticed the prophet PBUH coming from a far away distance and realised th
is must have been something very important. So the prophet PBUH came to the hous
e of Abu Bukr, asked permission to come in and he went inside. Then he asked tha
t everyone be removed from all the rooms. Abu Bukr said "they are but your famil
y i.e. Aisha RA and her mother". Of course the prophet PBUH had already been eng
aged with Aisha RA. Remember Aisha RA is narrating this story first person. And
so the prophet PBUH said "Allah has given me permission to emigrate". So Abu Buk
r asked "did Allah me to be the companion? I beg you by my mother and father did
He?" And the prophet PBUH said "Yes". Aisha RA said "I saw Abu Bukr cry and I h
ad never believed people could cry out of happiness until that day". So Abu Bukr
said "I have prepared two camels, one of them are yours". SubhanAllah note the
prophet PBUH didn't even have a camel. Yet the prophet PBUH said "only if I pay
you the cost of a camel". Why? This is among the perfection of his manners. The
prophet PBUH wants the full reward of doing the Hijrah. So Abu Bukr forcibly too
k a sum from the prophet PBUH. And Asma, who is an adult at least 10/15 years ol
der than Aisha, had prepared the food and reserves, but in the panic of the mome
nt she bundled up all the food but didn't have a bag. So she took off her belt,

bit it in half and used that to hold the food. This is why she is known as "she
of the two belts". And Abu Bukr RA had 5000 dirham; Ibn Ishaaq narrates before I
slam, he had 40,000 dirham. And he spent 90% of his wealth for Islam, freeing sl
aves and helping the prophet PBUH.
Regarding this, Abu Bukr's father Abu Quhafa who embraced Islam only after the c
onquest but before was a bitter, sharp tounged and blind old man who always mock
ed Abu Bukr. He came to Asma mocking Abu Quhafa for having abandoned his two dau
ghters. So Asma took the money jar and quickly picked up some pebbles and threw
them in there. And she said "no my grandfather look at how much money he left us
". And he said "oh ok thats fine then". Yet Asma said "he didn't leave us a sing
le penny". Abu Bukr RA took every last penny he had and had trust that someone w
ould take care in them. This is the version of Bhukari, and this is the most sho
rt and concise story. Of course for the juicy details we go to other sources.
Ibn Abbass says Allah revealed in the Qur'an surah Anfal verse 30 regarding the
night of the Hijrah:
"And [remember, O Muhammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to r
estrain you or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allah pla
ns. And Allah is the best of planners."
So what happened? The Quraysh came together in a secret meeting. And representat
ives for all the tribes came except for the Banu Hashim, even Abu Lahab because
it would have been a conflict of interest. Why? Because they were planning to ha
rm his own blood. No matter how much he would have liked it, he couldn't give th
e 'green light'. It was very crafty of them to leave Abu Lahab out. They also le
ft out Mut'im ibn Adi. He is the one who is protecting the prophet PBUH. So they
figured out they can't invite him, nor Abu Lahab as he would simply not get his
hands guilty. Not that he loves the prophet PBUH. But its a matter of tribal ho
nour and the customs of the times. If Abu Lahab let the prophet PBUH die knowing
ly it would have been a shame to him forever. Its also said in a weak narration
that an old man came knocking on the door in a secret meeting. He said "I am a l
eader from the Najj, allow me to come, perhaps I can benefit you about what you'
re planning to do". Ibn Abbass said this was shaytan. So when they came together
they said "the muslims have now migrated - and we cannot let this man leave els
e they will be a powerful force". So they are meeting the night before the Hijra
h. Of course realise the timing of the Hijrah was because of this meeting: becau
se they plotted, Allah plotted. So they gave suggestions: first, lets imprison h
im in a house (note this concept wasn't known). Then Iblees said "if you do this
, his words would still reach his followers". But Iblees said "sending him into
exile is to send him back to his followers, it will strengthen them". Here is wh
ere Abu Jahal said "you still haven't said the main point which everyone is thin
king but no one has the guts: let us just kill him". BUT: it's a matter of law a
nd honour. It's a matter of law for the Arabs that you don't kill one of your ow
n. This is something thats never been done before. For them its a mark of humili
ation. Their enemies would criticise them forever if they did this. So Abu Jahal
said "we'll do it in a way that nobody can get angry at any one tribe". This wa
s the dastertdly plot. He said "let every single tribe send one representative s
uch that his blood is on everyone's swords and no one knows who killed him. If w
e do this no one tribe can be made fun off, and the Banu Hashim cannot wage war
against all of us - they will have to accept the blood money". See, the Banu Has
him would have to wage war because its about tribalism and gang mentality. Its a
bout tribal honour. But this way they can't fight all of the Quraysh and this wa
s Abu Jahal's plot. After Abu Jahal said this, Iblees stood up and said "this is
the right decision".
So right then and there all the tribes picked one person and sent them all to th
e house of the prophet PBUH. At the same time Jibreel AS came down to the prophe
t PBUH and informed him "you must make Hijrah now". The same evening the prophet

PBUH spoke to Abu Bukr: thats the same day they left. Ibn Ishaaq famously repor
ts, without any isnaad: as they surrounded the prophet PBUH's house, the prophet
PBUH walked out of it reciting surah Ya Seen and they were completely blinded t
o his presence. They couldn't see a thing. And ibn Ishaaq mentions that the prop
het PBUH through dust of every one of them. It's said he was still living in the
house of Khadijah. And Ali RA who was living with the prophet PBUH since a youn
g age, is a young man at this time. He was told to remain behind in the bed of t
he prophet PBUH so if the Quraysh look they will see a figure. But these details
have no real isnaad - they are only found in Ibn Ishaaq.
Now Abu Bukr RA had already prepared the two camels, and in the middle of the ni
ght they both went to the cave of Thore. It's in the exact oppisite direction of
Madinah. You're literally turning your back to Madinah. So the prophet PBUH had
already devised a plan to go to this cave and stay there for three days and thr
ee nights in upmost secrecy. And then they would meet a guide who would take the
m to Madinah on a very secret path. In fact they had to circle round, they got c
lose to Jeddah and then they went to Madinah.
So Abu Bukr RA had a plan how to undertake this journey. Before this, its said w
hen the prophet PBUH passed the final shops of Mecca in the middle of the night,
he turned around to take one final look (he wouldn't enter again for many years
later): and he said to Mecca "you are the most blessed land on Earth and the mo
st beloved to me, and were it not for the fact my people had expelled me, I woul
d not have left you". This is exactly the wordings Wariqah ibn Nawful told him.
The exact same wordings. 13 years later the prophet PBUH is saying the exact sam
e phrase as Wariqah knows reality. So the prophet PBUH said this, ibn Kathir say
s the prophet PBUH also made a long, beautiful dua that Allah gives him protecti
on etc. This paticular point is mentioned only in Ibn Kathir.
Back to the story, Aisha RA says Abu Bukr RA planned to stay in the cave for thr
ee nights. And they made an arrangement with three people to do three chores. So
there was set planning. The first was his son Abdullah who was a young, strong
man - very quick to understand. Abdullah was his oldest son, then its Asma, then
Aisha, then Abdur Rehman and his last daughter was Umme Kulthoom (the youngest)
. And in fact on his death bed Abu Bukr RA said to Aisha RA "take care of your t
wo brothers and two sisters". But Aisha RA said "what two sisters?" as at the ti
me Umme Kulthoom had not been born. And Abu Bukr said "I feel my wife is pregnan
t with a girl" - this was intuition from Allah. And indeed 8 months later this c
ame true. So Abu Bukr said to his oldest son Abdullah that every morning he shou
ld come out with some food and drink for the cave. He should listen to the peopl
e of Mecca, what they're doing, what they're talking about and where the expidit
ions are being sent to find them. And every day he would do this - go to the mar
ketplace and eavesdrop. Because he's a kid no one paid attention to him and he w
as very smart in how he did this. The second person was Amr ibn Hufayra who was
a freed slave. His job was to take out the flocks and make sure the footsteps of
Abdullah ibn Abu Bukr are erased away. The third man was Abdullah ibn Arkat. He
wasn't from the Quraysh - he was from a far away tribe. His job was to lead the
m to MAdinah through a secret passage.
Now note they did have highways back then with wells and provisions for travelle
rs. (depending on the political state of the people). So people know its a path
and people take those path for safety, security, reliance etc. But of course the
prophet PBUH couldnt go on this path. So they hired this person to take them th
rough a back path. And the plan was Abullah ibn Arkat was to meet them on the mo
rning of the third night and he would take them to MAdinah.
Abu Bukr RA narrates the details of the journey. The cave of Thore is a very sma
ll cave, and over time its increased in size so now its like a small chamber. Bu
t back then its said there was only space literally for two people. Abu Bukr RA
saw the Quraysh walking up and down the cave. When the Quraysh figured out the p

rophet PBUH had not gone on the usual roads, they hired an expert scout to figur
e out the traces of the camel from the house of Abu Bukr. So this scout managed
to, despite all of the precautions, leads them to the base of the cave of Thore.
And although its a bit iffy, this is a lead/hint - the first they've got. So al
l the big names come, Abu Jahal, Waleed ibn Mugira etc and this is the famous in
cident that Abu Bukr RA looks out and sees all of their people. And he whispers
to the prophet PBUH that all they need to do is look down and they'll see us (si
nce the entrace of the cave was at feet level i.e. below the ground). And the pr
ophet PBUH responded "Oh Abu Bukr what do you think of two people, when Allah is
the third of them?". And Allah made it so that they didn't check the cave.
We all have the famous stories of the spider, trees and pigeons etc. That the sp
ider made a web on the cave so as to appear no one has entered. Or the tree lean
ing down over the mouth of the entrance of the cave; or the two pigeons creating
a nest on the cave. Out of these stories, the most authentic is the spier as it
is repored in Musnan Ahmed. However the other two have been reported in books f
rom the third or fourth generation i.e. big missing links in the chain of narrat
ion. While there's no issue narrating it, we don't know its fully true.
So, the quraysh passed the cave and on the third night the prophet PBUH and Abu
Bukr RA met Abdullah ibn Arkat as planned and journeyed to Madinah. On the way t
o Madinah a number of stories are narrated. Of these two are clearly authentic.
The first is the story of Suraka ibn Malik. He was from the tribe of Ju'shim (no
t from the Quraysh) and he was the leader of the tribe. And the booty of 100 cam
els had been placed on the prohpet PBUH, dead or alive. That is an immense amoun
t of money. It's a treasure. So there's such a huge randsom on the prophet PBUH
and Abu Bukr RA. And this story is narrated by Suraka ibn Malik himself after he
accepts Islam. He says he was sitting with his fellow tribesmen. And the news c
ome there is a search for three riders: the prophet PBUH, Abu Bukr RA and Abulla
h ibn . Suraka ibn Malik said he was sitting and one of his people came back and
said "I saw three people in the distance and I am sure this must be that group
of people everyone is looking for". Suraka ibn Malik got greedy: and he wanted t
he 100 camels for himself. So immediately he lied and said "oh that's not them,
that's someone else I know who they are". So everyone sat down. Suraka ibn Malik
when they all forgot slipped away, rushed back home and galloped as fast as he
could to the three people. And he was fully geared up with arrows and war armour
since he could kill the three without any worry as the randsom was dead or aliv
e. And Suraka ibn Malik says when he saw them for the first time, all of a sudde
n his horse sunk into the ground and flipped him over. In another version he sai
d he could see a smoke between him and the three riders. So he pulled out his 'i
staam' i.e. a pagan salaatul istikhaara. A way to ask the pagan Gods what to do.
He said he threw out his izlaam onto the sand and the response he got was 'do n
ot proceed'. The second time he got closer the exact same thing happened. His ho
rse flew him over, he took out his azlam and it said 'do not proceed'. But he co
ntinued anyway but the third time it happened again, this time even more forcibl
y. After this he said "I knew this was a man I could not reach, and that his aff
airs of this man would spread". So he called out to them that "I am a safe perso
n give me permission to come to close". And he narrates something interesting: w
hen I saw them, I saw one of the two always riding in an agitated state. Constan
tly looking right and left; sometimes going behind, sometimes going to the front
etc. And indeed its because Abu Bukr RA is so worried about the prophet PBUH. B
ut Suraka ibn Malik said the other rider was riding so peacefully reciting the Q
uran. So when he got permission to come forth, Suraka ibn Malik says that he ask
ed permission from the prophet PBUH to give him protection in writing. This is t
ruly amazing: one minute he was hunting, the second he was being hunted and begg
ing him to live. And the prophet PBUH allowed Abullah ibn Arkat to write down pr
otection for Suraka ibn Malik. Further, Suraka ibn Malik offered some food but t
hey refused. However Abu Bukr RA said do one thing - "dont tell anyone about us"
. And so Suraka ibn Malik let them go. Finally when the prophet PBUH reached Mad

inah, Suraka ibn Malik eventually joined and narrated this story. Abu Jahal then
wrote a very harsh poem addressed to him. Suraka ibn Malik wrote back poetry th
at "had you been there on that day, you had seen what I had seen, you would neve
r say this".
Ibn Abdul Barr says when Suraka ibn Malik turned to leave, the prophet PBUH turn
ed to leave "hiw will you be the day that you put on the bracelets of Kisra?" An
d Suraka ibn Malik was so shocked he said "Kisra, the emporer of perisa?" Note K
isra would wear very expensive gold, decorated bracelets and jewlerry (like empo
rer in 300 movie). And on the day of Hunayn when the prophet PBUH conquered the
other tribes outside Mecca including Suraka ibn Maliks tribe. And so Suraka ibn
Malik pulled out this amana i.e. the same agreement. Within 6, 7 years of the pr
ophet PBUHs death the sassanid empire collapsed; and all of the treasures are ga
thered and sent to Umar RA. And the masjid is full of gold and Umar RA puts Sura
ka ibn Malik on his own chair, he finds the braclets of Kisra and puts them on t
he hand of Suraka ibn Malik. And the entire congregation starts praising Allah.
Can you imagine the bracelets of Kisra?!! Umar RA said all praise to Allah for t
aking these bracelets from this pagan to a muslim. And its narratd they took Sur
aka ibn Malik around Madinah with these bracelets.