Seerah
From Makkah to Madinah
An invitation, a murder plot, a cave, and a new city.
5 min, Intro, Draft written with AI help: awaiting scholar review
Part 1 of 4
Pilgrims from Yathrib, a town torn by tribal war, meet the Prophet in secret and accept Islam. Over the next two years they make two pledges. In the second, they promise to protect him as their own families.
Lesson
Madinah invited the Prophet. He did not conquer it.
Part 2 of 4
In Makkah, Quraysh plot to kill the Prophet. He leaves at night with Abu Bakr and hides three days in the cave of Thawr. The searchers come close. Abu Bakr is afraid. The Prophet tells him: "Do not grieve; Allah is with us."
Qur'an 9:40
إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدۡ نَصَرَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِذۡ أَخۡرَجَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ثَانِيَ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ إِذۡ هُمَا فِي ٱلۡغَارِ إِذۡ يَقُولُ لِصَٰحِبِهِۦ لَا تَحۡزَنۡ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَنَاۖ فَأَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُۥ عَلَيۡهِ وَأَيَّدَهُۥ بِجُنُودࣲ لَّمۡ تَرَوۡهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ٱلسُّفۡلَىٰۗ وَكَلِمَةُ ٱللَّهِ هِيَ ٱلۡعُلۡيَاۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ٤٠
40 If you do not support the Prophet, Allah has already supported him when the disbelievers forced him out; when he was second of the two in the cave – saying to his companion, “Do not grieve; Allah is with us.” Thereupon Allah sent down His tranquility upon him, supported him with soldiers that you did not see, and rendered the word of the disbelievers the lowest, whereas the Word of Allah is supreme. And Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.
A long ayah: scroll within the card.
Lesson
Even fleeing for his life, the Prophet returned what he was trusted with.
Part 3 of 4
The Prophet reaches Madinah in 622. One of his first acts is to build a simple mosque. He pairs each emigrant from Makkah with a host from Madinah as brothers, who share homes and wealth.
Qur'an 59:9
وَٱلَّذِينَ تَبَوَّءُو ٱلدَّارَ وَٱلۡإِيمَٰنَ مِن قَبۡلِهِمۡ يُحِبُّونَ مَنۡ هَاجَرَ إِلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا يَجِدُونَ فِي صُدُورِهِمۡ حَاجَةࣱ مِّمَّآ أُوتُواْ وَيُؤۡثِرُونَ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمۡ وَلَوۡ كَانَ بِهِمۡ خَصَاصَةࣰۚ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفۡسِهِۦ فَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡلِحُونَ ٩
9 As for those who were settled in the city [of Madinah] and embraced Islam before them, they love those who migrated to them and find no covetous desire in their hearts for what they were given. Rather they give them preference over themselves even though they may be in dire need. Whoever is protected from the covetousness of their souls, it is they who are successful.
A long ayah: scroll within the card.
Lesson
The new community in Madinah was built on sharing, before anything else.
Part 4 of 4
Madinah was home to Muslims, Jewish tribes and others. The Prophet drafts an agreement among them: one community for mutual defence, each keeping its own religion and laws. The Islamic calendar counts from this year.
Lesson
The Islamic calendar starts not with a birth or a battle, but with a migration.
Reflect, just for you
Seen by lamplight. It gives more each time.
An invitation, a murder plot, a cave, and a new city.