After Muhammad had
preached publicly for more than a
decade, the opposition to him reached such a high pitch that, fearful
for their
safety, he sent some of his adherents to Ethiopia. There, the Christian
ruler
extended protection to them, the memory of which has been cherished by
Muslims
ever since. But in Mecca the persecution worsened. Muhammad’s
followers were
harassed, abused, and even tortured. At last, seventy of Muhammad’s
followers set
off by his orders to the northern town of Yathrib, in the hope of
establishing
a news stage of the Islamic movement. This city which was later to be
renamed Medina (“The City”). Later, in the early fall of 622, he, with
his closest friend, Abu
Bakr al-Siddeeq, set off to join the emigrants. This event coincided
with the leaders
in Mecca plotting, to kill him.
In Mecca, the plotters arrived at Muhammad’s home to
find that his cousin, ‘Ali, had taken his place in bed. Enraged, the Meccans
set a price on Muhammad’s head and set off in pursuit. Muhammad and Abu Bakr,
however, had taken refuge in a cave, where they hid from their pursuers. By
the protection of God, the Meccans passed by the cave without noticing it, and
Muhammad and Abu Bakr proceeded to Medina. There, they were joyously welcomed
by a throng of Medinans, as well as the Meccans who had gone ahead to prepare
the way.
This was the Hijrah - anglicized as Hegira - usually,
but inaccurately, translated as “Flight” - from which the Muslim era is dated.
In fact, the Hijrah was not a flight, but a carefully planned migration that marks
not only a break in history - the beginning of the Islamic era - but also, for
Muhammad and the Muslims, a new way of life. Henceforth, the organizational
principle of the community was not to be mere blood kinship, but the greater
brotherhood of all Muslims. The men who accompanied Muhammad on the Hijrah
were called the Muhajiroon - “those that made the Hijrah” or the “Emigrants”
- while those in Medina who became Muslims were called the Ansar, or “Helpers.”
Muhammad was well
acquainted with the situation in Medina. Earlier, before the Hijrah,
various of its inhabitants came to Mecca to offer the
annual pilgrimage, and as the Prophet would take this opportunity to
call
visiting pilgrims to Islam, the group who came from Medina heard his
call and
accepted Islam.. They also invited Muhammad to settle in Medina. After
the
Hijrah, Muhammad’s exceptional qualities so impressed the Medinans that
the
rival tribes and their allies temporarily closed ranks as, on March 15,
624,
Muhammad and his supporters moved against the pagans of Mecca.
The first battle, which took place near Badr, now a
small town southwest of Medina, had several important effects. In the first
place, the Muslim forces, outnumbered three to one, routed the Meccans. Secondly,
the discipline displayed by the Muslims brought home to the Meccans, perhaps
for the first time, the abilities of the man they had driven from their city. Thirdly,
one of the allied tribes which had pledged support to the Muslims in the Battle
of Badr, but had then proved lukewarm when the fighting started, was expelled
from Medina one month after the battle. Those who claimed to be allies of the
Muslims, but tacitly opposed them, were thus served warning: membership in the
community imposed the obligation of total support.
A year later the
Meccans struck back. Assembling an
army of three thousand men, they met the Muslims at Uhud, a ridge
outside Medina. After initial successes, the Muslims were driven back
and the Prophet himself was
wounded. As the Muslims were not completely defeated, the Meccans, with
an
army of ten thousand, attacked Medina again two years later but with
quite
different results. At the Battle of the Trench, also known as the
Battle of the Confederates, the Muslims scored a signal victory by
introducing a new form
of defense. On the side of Medina from which attack was expected, they
dug a
trench too deep for the Meccan cavalry to clear without exposing itself
to the
archers posted behind earthworks on the Medina side. After an
inconclusive
siege, the Meccans were forced to retire. Thereafter Medina was
entirely in
the hands of the Muslims.
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