Part 2 why make hijrah
Allah says, “Those who made hijrah for the cause of Allah after they had been wronged we will surely give them good residence in this world, but indeed the reward of the Hereafter is greater if they only knew.”
Ibn Kathir says that Ibn Abbas, ash-Sha’abi and Qatada said that the meaning of hasan in this ayah is Madina, but others like Mujahid it means rizq tayib. Allah will give pure rizq. So Allah does not promise a large quantity of rizq but he promises it will be pure – tayib whether it is a little or a lot it will be tayib. Your wealth may be limited but it will have Baraka (blessings) in it, while the wealth of someone else may be vast and huge but with no Baraka in it. So the issue here is not numbers but Baraka. And Ibn Kathir talks about this and he says, “These muhajireen about whom the ayah is talking, they left their dwellings and wealth behind so Allah gave them better than what they left.” If you leave something for Allah, He will definitely give you something better. Allah gave them establishment in the earth and allowed them to rule over the land and they became leaders and judges and every one of them was an imam for the mutaqeen (pious ones). These people who had limited wealth in Mecca and they would have lived and died in Mecca and no one ever hearing about them became the guides for the entire earth. They are the ones who were carrying the beacons of light who would guide the path for humanity towards Jannah. And now one is emir over Iraq and one emir over Egypt and one emir, they went all over the earth spreading the dawa of Islam so Allah gave them in duniya better than what they left behind and what they will get in Akhira is even better.
Amr ibn al-Khattab, when he would give the muhajireen a part of the booty he would say, “take this, this is what Allah has promised you in duniya and what Allah has promised you in Akhira is even better.” This is all because of the baraka of hijrah.
Why Make Hijrah?
1. Because it is an order from Rasool Allah (sas). Rasool Allah says that he has ordered with five things. Listen and obey, be with the group, hijrah and jihad for Allah’s sake. These are the five commands of Rasool Allah and notice that these are the five essential elements for a successful jama’ah (group) that would establish the religion of Allah. You need to have listen and obey, this means there is an emir and there is a group and a collective effort, because when you have splattered efforts here and there, it is different when everyone is serving in a group and you have the synergy of everyone and this is when Allah puts baraka in the work.
Then we have hijrah in Allah’s Cause and we have jihad and you will notice that these are frequently mentioned together. This is because many times jihad needs hijrah before it. So they are associated together, and sometimes three things are mentioned together, eman, hijrah and jihad, these three things are linked.
This order of hijrah is not temporary but it stands until the Day of Judgment. Rasool Allah (sas) says that hijrah does not stop as long as jihad does not stop. He says that there will always be hijrah as long as there is an enemy of Allah to fight – as long as there is an enemy of Allah to fight have to go make hijrah to be able to join the fight.
The hijrah to Medina was a hijrah for the sake of jihad in Allah’s cause because Madina was the base for the mujahideen.
2. Bara’a from the mushrikeen – disassociating one’s self from the mushrikeen. Rasool Allah says in the hadith – I disavow myself from whomever lives amongst the mushrikeen in their dwellings – I disassociate myself from those who live amongst the mushrikeen - they should not see the lights of each other. Rasool Allah says in hadith that you should live far enough from the mushrikeen so that you don’t even see their lights. The one who lives amongst the mushrikeen is like the mushrikeen.
Jarish came to Rasool Allah to give allegiance and he said, ‘O Rasool Allah, give me your hand so I can pledge to you and state your conditions.’ Rasool Allah sas said that you worship in Allah and establish the prayer and pay zakat, and give advice to Muslimeen and you leave the mushrikeen.’ That is part of the bayah (pledge) Rasool Allah gave to Jarish – that you leave the mushrikeen.
3. The ajr of hijrah – Rasool Allah says in the hadith, ‘Shaytan will wait for you (ibn Adam) in your path’. Shaitan waited for the son of Adam on his way to Islam and said ‘you want to leave the religion of your fathers and father’s fathers?’ but the son of Adam disobeyed him and became a Muslim. Then the shaytan sat on the path on the son of Adams way towards hijrah and he said ‘you are going to leave your land?’ And he disobeyed him and made hijrah. And then he sat for him on his path to jihad and said, ‘you want to fight jihad and it will cost you your wealth and your self and you will be killed and then your wife will be married by someone else and your wealth inherited and split amongst others’ but the son of Adam disobeyed him and went to jihad. Rasool Allah (sas) says that whoever does that then Allah promises to enter him into Jannah.
Whoever is killed in the path of Allah then Allah will give him Jannah, and if he drowns or falls of his mount and dies, then Allah will enter him into Jannah. So whatever happens to him then Allah will enter him into Jannah if he disobeys Shaitan in these three paths: Islam hijrah jihad fi sabilillah.
This is an interesting hadith - Rasool Allah says, ‘if you die while you make hijrah the distance between the place of your birth and the place of your death, you will be given that much land in Jannah. So those who are coming from America or Australia are going to get a lot of ajr!
Rasool Allah (sas) was asked, ‘tell me about something to do (for the religion),’ and he said to that person to make hijrah because there is nothing else like it.
Reasons that People Choose to Make Hijrah
1. For the protection of your Deen. Allah swt says, “O my servants who have believed, my land is vast so worship me.” Meaning that you will find a place worship Allah. If you can’t worship Allah were you are, move out and you will be able to worship Allah. Mujahid said that the meaning of this ayah is that the earth is vast so make hijrah and fight jihad in Allah’s cause - that there will always be a place to fight jihad for Allah’s cause but you will probably need to make hijrah to find that place. Saeed ibn Jibr interpreted the ayah to mean that if you are in a place that is full of sinners and there are a lot of sinful acts around, then move out and worship Allah (swt) somewhere else, like the man who killed ninety-nine then one hundred, he was told by the scholar to move out and make hijrah.
Mutaraf ibn Abdullah said, the meaning is that Allah’s earth is vast so you will find rizq somewhere else.
2. For your safety - and this was the hijrah of the Muslimeen from Mecca to al-Habasha (Abyssinia). They did not make hijrah from dar al-kufr to dar al-Islam, they made hijrah from dar al-kufr to dar al-kufr. But they made hijrah from a place where they could not worship Allah to a place they could worship Allah. So, France tells you that your daughters and sisters and wives cannot wear hijrab – move somewhere else. You will find a place where you can worship Allah the Most High. You don’t have to stay behind and disobey Allah when the earth is vast and wide – why stay behind when you are banned from fulfilling obligations? There are things that are mustahab when you leave them but this is something wajib so the issue of hijab is wajib and it is compulsory and it is one of the important compulsory things for the Muslim sister so why stay behind in a land where you cannot fulfill this obligation? Like Friday prayer – why life somewhere where Friday prayer is not allowed?