20151218-Sheikh Khalil Abdul Rashid

Opening

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. There is none worthy of worship except Allah. Praise be to Allah.

We praise Him, we seek His help, we seek His guidance, we believe in Him and we put our trust in Him. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He leads astray, none can guide him.

We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan.

Indeed, he who has imposed upon you the Qur'an will return you to a place of return.

And the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "The emigrant is he who emigrates to Allah from the disobedient," or as he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 10; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 64)

Rabi'ul Awwal: The Month of the Hijrah

Today, this Friday, is the seventh day of the month of Rabi'ul Awwal. Typically, as a Muslim community, when we think of Rabi'ul Awwal, what comes to mind the quickest is that this is the month that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was brought into this world — on the twelfth of the month of Rabi'ul Awwal.

But what I'd like to highlight today is something that doesn't get as much discussion in the masajid and the communities. And that is the hijrah — the migration from Mecca to Medina. Not only is Rabi'ul Awwal the month of the birth of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, but it is also the month of the migration, the hijrah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

As a matter of fact, the hijrah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, began on the first of Rabi'ul Awwal, which in that time was on a Monday, corresponding to September 12th. And the migration of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, from Mecca to Medina took eight days. Eight days.

We don't have a lot of time, but I would like to share with you some of those events that happened during the migration of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Because migration is a core element of human history. It is part of who we are.

We are a creature that constantly migrates. Our human evolutionary history — and when I say evolutionary, I don't mean in the Darwinian terms; I mean just in terms of history, how we've changed — we began as nomads, people that roam, and then it's only been in recent human history that we've settled down. The rise of the city and the urban areas is a recent human phenomenon. Migration has always been a part of who we are.

But what made the Prophet's migration, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, unique from other forms of migration in human history, is that his migration was about religious freedom, and was about establishing equality in the realm of العبودية — ubudiyyah. Equality in the sense that every human being, male and female, are equal in the eyes of Allah. And so, as we are in this time of Rabi'ul Awwal, it's important for us to shed some light, and to remember a few events of the Prophet's migration, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

His physical migration from Mecca to Medina was actually inspired and came after the spiritual migration from Mecca to Jerusalem, to the heights of heaven — known as the Isra' and the Mi'raj. It was that spiritual migration which took place in his body, the bodily form of that spiritual migration, which paved the way and prepared the ground for the physical migration.

The Eight-Day Journey

The Departure: Friday

On Friday, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, packed his things and left his home — his home where Khadijah, his beloved wife, used to live. He walked through one of the major marketplaces, just walked right through the souk. Today that marketplace is no longer there; the haram has expanded over history. In today's time, there is a big door over where that marketplace used to be — where Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to walk. Those of you that have been to Hajj and Umrah know it: it's called Bab Malik Abdul Aziz, the door of King Abdul Aziz. That is where the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, walked through.

He then went to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq's house — unfortunately today the site of the Mecca towers. They left together and went to the Cave of Thawr. They stayed there, as we know, for three nights: Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night. Monday morning they descended the mountain, where their pre-arranged guide was waiting for them at the base.

They descended the mountain on that Monday — Rabi'ul Awwal the 1st. And they left.

Day One: Rabi'ul Awwal 1st — Hudaybiyyah

That first day of the migration, they passed mountains and valleys. They went through a plain called Hudaybiyyah — that would later become very famous in the seerah. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, walked through Hudaybiyyah. He reached an area full of the remnants of where lava used to be — these lava stones. That area later becomes very special in history, as part of Surah al-Fath is revealed there. They camped out in that area.

Day Two: Rabi'ul Awwal 2nd — Umm Ma'bad

Day two, they continued and reached a little town called Usfan. They took a break there, then continued into a big area where there were some small tents. This area was run by an old woman whose name was Umm Ma'bad. Umm Ma'bad was very famous because she would always treat the nomads to a drink of water or milk as they traveled by — she and her husband, Abu Ma'bad.

Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, came to this area with Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, and their guide. On this particular occasion, Abu Ma'bad was not there. And Umm Ma'bad's goat, which she normally milked to provide for visitors, was emaciated and could not produce. This caused Umm Ma'bad some pain, because when she first saw Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, she didn't know who he was — but she knew he was somebody special. She saw him from a distance and was in a state of awe, reciting poetry about the beauty and majesty of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: how he was a very handsome man, not too tall, not too short, describing his physical features.

She embraced those guests, and the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, placed his blessed hand on the udder of the goat, pronounced the name of Allah, and the udder filled and milk poured forth, and they drank.

They left the company of Umm Ma'bad, and later on her husband returned. She told him, Abu Ma'bad, about this encounter with this amazing bashar — this amazing human being. He was shocked, and knew that was most likely Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. He packed his things and went to find him.

Day Two Continued: Juhfah and the Revelation

The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, continued and reached an area called Juhfah. At Juhfah, he had a moment — he now knew for certain there was no turning back. He was leaving. And he felt sadness in his qalb, in his heart. He was leaving his home. He was most likely thinking he'd never visit the grave of his wife again, the grave of his grandfather, Abu Talib's grave — all of the people that had supported him, protected him, his home, all of it left behind.

He was muhajir now. Some of the ulema say he had two feelings at Juhfah: one was remorse and sadness for what he was leaving behind, and the other was fear. He knew from the pattern of the anbiya before him that the moment a prophet was separated from his city or his people, it sometimes signified that the punishment of Allah was coming to those people. And he was afraid of that. He didn't want that to happen.

And at Juhfah, that emotion settled in — and that is when Allah revealed a portion of an ayah in Surah al-Qasas. The entire Surah al-Qasas, by the way, is a Meccan surah, except for that verse — verse 85, the verse we recited at the opening.

Allah knew his feelings. And so He revealed: Indeed, know that the one who has bound this Qur'an to you — the one who has obligated you to follow this Qur'an, on account of which you're leaving your home, on account of which you've been kicked out of your home, persecuted, lost your wife, lost your companions, sacrificed everything for the tabligh of the Qur'an — this was fard upon you, it wasn't a voluntary mission, you had to do it — and now you find yourself kicked out of your home. The one who obligated the Qur'an to you, لَرَادُّكَ إِلَىٰ مَعَادٍ — the one that bound you to the Qur'an and its message and its propagation, is the same one that will return you back home. Don't worry. You'll be back. Don't worry, you'll go back home.

Every migrant, no matter what their life is like, how beautiful it is in the country they've immigrated to — at the end of the day, there's no place like home. That Rabb that tied you to that message, لَرَادُّكَ إِلَىٰ مَعَادٍ — He's going to return you back home.

Look at the shafqah, the rahmah of Allah. There is a subtle message here: he was also being reassured that the people of Mecca would not be destroyed. He would be sent back to complete the message. His people would accept the message. That place would be more hospitable for him later. But now — take a break, leave, let some time happen, then you'll go back home.

That was Juhfah. And that place of Juhfah now is what's called the miqat — the place for pilgrims from Syria, from Egypt, and from the Maghreb and the West, to stop and enter into the state of ihram before they enter Mecca. Look at that — the sites from the hijrah, many of them are sites where pilgrims coming into Mecca prepare themselves to enter Mecca.

Day Three and Day Four: Al-Qaha

Day three: the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and Abu Bakr continued traveling — mountains, valleys, plains.

Day four, they arrived at a place called Al-Qaha. Al-Qaha had different paths and roads, but there was one road that was special. That one road in Al-Qaha — the road going into Mecca — was only taken by the anbiya and the salihin, the righteous. And the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, exiting Mecca, took that road out. He walked out of Mecca on the path of the anbiya. SubhanAllah. It is still called Al-Qaha today.

Day Five: Al-Araj

On the fifth day, they reached a little town called Al-Araj. They took a break and walked through — it was a very long plain area full of mountains and valleys. It was a Friday, Jumu'ah.

Al-Araj later becomes very special in the seerah, because in the last year, when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, came from Medina back into Mecca to conquer it with an army of over 10,000 strong — that army went through that same place, Al-Araj. It is very famous that when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was coming back through Al-Araj, he saw a mother dog nursing her pups. And he commanded one of his companions to stand guard so that no one in the army would disturb that mother or those puppies nursing. Al-Araj became the place in Islamic history where a soldier guarded a mother dog and her pups while an army of 10,000 marched through, so that those animals would not feel any stress or anxiety. The rahmah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him — because Al-Araj had given him shelter as he was traveling, and so everything in that place deserved sanctity and protection.

Day Six: Jabal al-Waraqan and Wadi Reem

Saturday, day six. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his companion left Al-Araj and went into a beautiful area which had an unbelievably strange and exotic mountain called Jabal al-Waraqan. If you see this mountain, it is the most extraterrestrial mountain you will ever look at — red, pink, orange. It stands out.

And the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, pointed to that mountain and told Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and the guide:

"That is a mountain from Jannah." It is called Jabal al-Waraqan. It is still there today. As they traveled on day six, that mountain — that red, pink, exotic mountain — overlooked them, never leaving their sight, until close to evening when they entered a valley called Wadi Reem — the Valley of Reem. They camped out in Reem Valley.

And behold — by the qadr of Allah — guess who they encountered there. Abu Ma'bad. The husband of the woman they met on day two, Umm Ma'bad with the goat. He had caught up to them. In Wadi Reem, he met Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that Saturday, day six. He embraced Islam at the hands of Rasulullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then returned to the place of Umm Ma'bad — and that entire area embraced Islam as well.

Day Seven: Aqiq — Rabi'ul Awwal 7th

Day seven. They entered into an area by water called Aqiq. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, made du'a for that water. Today, Aqiq is a place for the miqat for the people of Medina coming into Mecca. Its water is seasonal — there in the spring, not necessarily throughout the summer — and it is mubarak, blessed water to drink from. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, drank from that water.

He also entered into a place called Jahjafa, which had a blessed well in it. Many of the tribes of the Ansar were camped there, and they embraced the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, there. That was a Sunday. The 7th of Rabi'ul Awwal.

Day Eight: Kuba — Rabi'ul Awwal 8th

Then Monday. The 8th. The 8th of Rabi'ul Awwal. Monday. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, entered a place called Kuba. There he was met by a man whose name was Amr ibn A'uf, and he stayed in the home of that companion in Kuba. It was a Monday. The 8th of Rabi'ul Awwal.

He stayed with Amr ibn A'uf for four days — from the 8th of Rabi'ul Awwal till the 11th. And in Kuba, he built — peace and blessings of Allah be upon him — the first masjid ever. He built it at that time: the foundation, the qibla, the mihrab. He was not there just relaxing — he was building.

The 12th of Rabi'ul Awwal: Arrival in Medina

On Thursday the 11th, he slept. Friday morning — the 12th of Rabi'ul Awwal — his birthday — he arose, left, and prayed Fajr. That place where he prayed Fajr now has a masjid in Kuba.

He then left, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, he and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, went to a man's house, and in that house they prayed Salatul Jumu'ah in Kuba. Today, that place where they prayed is now a masjid called Masjid Jumu'ah — in Kuba.

After Salatul Jumu'ah, he left — peace and blessings of Allah be upon him — on his ride. And he walked two miles into Medina. And where his camel stopped in Medina, on the 12th of Rabi'ul Awwal, on a Jumu'ah — the symbols here are just unbelievable — where his camel stopped, as you all know, is the house of the great companion Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.

Today, the place where the camel stopped — that house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari — today is the minbar in Masjid al-Nabawi. It is the minbar of the Prophet's Masjid. When you go into Masjid al-Nabawi and you see the minbar, that's where the camel stopped. That's where the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari was. Masjid al-Nabawi was built after that. The Prophet's house, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was built there. He stayed with Abu Ayyub al-Ansari for six months.

Now where is Abu Ayyub al-Ansari today? Istanbul — in Europe. Buried in Europe. Look at that. The migration of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was housed by Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. And look where Abu Ayyub al-Ansari migrates to: Europe. Istanbul. If you want to go visit him today, you don't go to Medina — you go to Istanbul. You go to Europe. He is on the European side of Istanbul, not the Asian side. Look at the migration of Islam. And now, Islam is here.

Reflect on the Journey

When you go to Umrah and you go from Mecca to Medina, don't just take bus rides. Think. Ponder. Reflect. This was not just a path from Mecca to Medina. These are very special, mubarak events. Each day on that eight-day journey was sacred, special, transformative. Mountains that were testifying, and valleys, and waters, and wells, and tribes with tents, and goats, and everything along the way testified to لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. And they testified to the meaning of that physical migration, and they looked forward to that promise of Allah:

We will return you back home — back home not only to Mecca, but back home to Jannah ultimately as well.

Reclaiming the Migratory Spirit

We have to reclaim that migratory spirit, brothers and sisters. We act like we are sedentary here, like we are here just to stay. We are migrants. Every day should be a new day for us. Every day we should work harder, strive harder. We should establish, we should build, we should thrive, we should move forward — move forward in our ruh, move forward in our aql, move forward in our qalb, move forward in our dedication to Allah, move forward in our dedication to establishing this deen. And continue to move, and move, and move, and build, and build, and build. And not become shackled down by what we lost — what is in our past — as if we will never return to the people that we lost, or the money we've given away, or the youth that we had, the fame that we had.

The Qur'an is fard on us too. But by following the Qur'an we earn that ma'ad. We earn our destiny in being returned home. We are migrants too. And the moment we become sedentary people is the moment we actually start to move backwards.

We have become sedentary in following the spirit — and in many cases the form — of our tradition. But we have become migrants in following the modern way of doing things. We have to check that paradigm.

So let us, this month of Rabi'ul Awwal, in this time of migrants, this hijrah time that we are remembering, be invigorated and moved by the Prophet's hadith, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him — and we'll close with this:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 10; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 64)

The muhajir — the migrant — is the one that journeys to Allah, who migrates and goes to Allah, away from all kinds of sins. All types of ma'asi: internal, psychological, spiritual, actual — ma'asi with the eyes, and the nose, and the ears, and the tongue, and the hands, and the genitals, and the stomach, and the feet, and the nafs. All of it. We must migrate psychologically, consciously. And that internal migration will lead to external movement. And if we wonder why we have not moved externally, it is because internally we have become sedentary. We are satisfied with who we are consciously in our nafs.

Closing Du'a

May Allah inspire us with these stories. May Allah give us the ma'na, help us to ponder on these blessed eight to twelve days of the hijrah of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. May we be inspired by it, may our children be inspired by it, and may this inspiration allow us to reclaim the meaning of the birth of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. And through his birth, may our nafs be relegated and may it die and may it be reformed again — because Allah has the qudra and the power to produce life from death, and to produce death from life.

I say this, and I ask Allah to forgive me and you and all the Muslims. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and upon his family and companions. I advise you to fear Allah.

Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, send blessings upon him and give him peace.

Indeed, Allah commands justice, goodness, and giving to those near to Him, and forbids immorality, evil, and transgression. He admonishes you, that you may remember.