Before we move on, there is an interesting important milestone in our history th

at's not related directly to the Hijrah, but its the establishment of the Islami
c calender. The Arabs did not have a calender they relied upon. A sign of civili
sation is to have a calender, script, architecture etc. The whole miracle of Isl
am is that it came and changed this backward Arab society into a legacy that rul
ed the world - and Allah says this in the Quran. The Arabs had many problems:
1. There was no universal calender; rather each tribe had their own calender. An
d they judged time by important incidents. Any major incident became a milestone
and they would thus say "2 years after so and so died" or "one year before the
year of the elephant". Every few years some milestone happened and they would ju
st judge their calender and sense of time around this. But this was just a local
calender to each tribe.
2. There was another confusing practice: nasee. Allah mentions in the Quran that
four months of the year will be sacred. Allah says "the number of months in the
year are 12... of them four are sacred". Allah decreed this from the beginning
of time. And note every single calender has 12 months. The romans, persians etc.
Also 7 days of the week is in the shariah - Allah decreed this. The concept of
keeping four months sacred is from the time of Ibrahim AS and the Arabs knew and
followed this. The issue was that the powerful tribes would flaunt these four m
onths. Suppose they wanted to declare war, they would just swap the current mont
h around. Literally they would swap months around at their desire. Of course you
can't have any fighting during a sacred month, so they would just swap the mont
h and the other tribes would take heed and follow them.
Now imagine what would happen after decades of swapping months. The months are l
ost as are the significance of their order. The year the prophet PBUH performed
Hajj he announced that "the months of this year have fallen in the order they we
re when Allah created the heavens and the Earth" - this happened in the 10th yea
r of the Hijrah. And the prophet PBUH then said "from now on, no swapping months
- this is the correct order". So from that year those months have been repeatin
g correctly.
The other issue is the year. The prophet PBUH directly did not institute a calen
der. Most likely the 17th year of the Hijrah, one thing that happened was Umar R
A was presented with a case of two people fighting. One of them said "he was sup
posed to pay me money by Sha'ban and its already Ramadan". The other said "I mea
nt Sha'ban of next year". So Umar RA said "how will we decide this dispute?" Eac
h has a valid point but the contract just says "Sha'ban". This of course causes
a problem. He then got a letter saying "Oh Umar you tell us to do something by a
paticular month, but we don't know if you mean this year or next. So find a way
to tell us". So Umar RA called a gathering of the sahabah to sort this out. One
or two suggested "we'll follow the calender of the Romans" but this was immeida
tely rejected as the muslims had their own civilisation. Umar RA asked "which ye
ar shall we begin with?" One of them said with the death of the prophet PBUH but
this was not appropiate. Another said with the birth of the prophet PBUH; or co
nquest of Badr... Ali ibn Abi Talib said "the year of the Hijrah shall be the fi
rst year because this was the one decisive thing that changed the muslims from o
pression to victory". Umar RA said this is the "wise opinion" and everyone agree
d. Second issue: which month is the first month? People differed again. Some sai
d Ramadan as its the most holy month; other said Rajab etc. Until Uthman ibn Aff
an said Muharram. Why? Two reasons have been given:
1. It's linked to Ali's announcement of 1 Hijrah being the first year. Note the
ACTUAL month the prophet PBUH immigrated was Safar. Why not choose Safar then? T
he announcement came for people to do Hijrah in Muharram and the bulk of them im
migrated then and the prophet PBUH immigrated right at the end of Safar. So Muha
rram was taken as the first month of the calender year.

2. In some reports Uthman expressed a reason. In those days the sahabah pretty m
uch every year did Hajj. And for them returning back from Hajj represented a new
life and a fresh beginning. And when do you come back from Hajj? The end of Dhu
l Hijjah i.e. the start of Muharram so it makes sense to have Muharram as the fi
rst month.
Note later scholars tried to read in a Quranic evidence (surah Tawbah verse 108)
.
Summary: the Meccan period lasted 13 years, the Madani period lasted 10 years. T
his period can be split up into three distinct categories:
1. Era of consolidation: this was an era of internal descent being emilinated fr
om both the hypocrites and the jews. These were the two major points of weakness
. Note initially there were also pagans; slowly but surely these were eliminated
, as were the hypocrites and eventually the jews in the end. The muslims were fa
cing internal threats and also external from the Quraysh. So the first era was t
he elimination of any major threat - after this the muslim ummah/republic could
stand confidently independant of any serious problems. This era was from the beg
inning of the Hijrah to the battle of Ahzab, the 5th year of the Hijrah. So duri
ng this time any major threats were eliminated to the extent that the ummah can
stand with no serious issues. The prophet PBUH himself said during the Battle of
Badr "if this group is destroyed you will not be worshipped on Earth" i.e. the
very existance of the ummah was at stake. The battle of Uhud and Khandak was als
o the same. But of course Allah protected them, and the battle of Ahzab was the
main changing point.
2. Era of truce: this lasted two and a half years. From the treaty of Hudaybia t
o the conquest of Mecca. In this era the muslims witnessed a peace along with a
coalition with the non muslims. And the prophet PBUH is sending out letters and
envoys etc; during this era the muslim republic expands five fold. So it expande
d much more in the era of peace. This was the 6th, 7th and 8th years of the Hijr
ah.
3. Era of establishment: this is post conquest of Mecca up until the death of th
e prophet PBUH in Rabbi Al Awwal in the 11th Hijrah. This is when Allah revealed
the verse "this is the ultimate victory" - i.e. that the entire Arabian Peninsu
la embraced Islam.
Note even though we have discussed 53 years of the tprophet PBUH's life, the Mad
ani seerah is three times as large as the Meccan seerah as we have three times t
he information. Therefore there is still much more to go in the seerah Allah-wil
ling.
Now, how did the early immigrants find Madinah? The fact of the matter is, they
did not like it. Not because of anything problematic, but because they missed ho
me. There is truly 'no place like home'. It dosen't matter how well you are trea
ted at someones house, or if you visit a fancy hotel, 'there is no place like ho
me'. That comfort you get there you will not get anywhere else. On top of this t
hey miss the environment, the city and the people of Mecca. Therefore the muhaaj
ir (immigrants) felt so homesick they felt literally sick. Aisha RA narrates she
visited Abu Bukr and Bilal RA after she arrived in Madinah and asked them "how
are you?". She said both of them were moaning and Abu Bukr was in a severe fever
. And he said "we wake up with out family but death is closer to us that our sho
elace to our toe" - the point here is that he's so sick of Madinah he is thinkin
g of death. And so Aisha RA asks Bilal and he also says some poetry "how I wish
that I would spend a night in a valley full of thorns" i.e. he is missing the th
orns and dryness of Mecca. And Bilal said to Aisha "May Allah's punishment be on
..." and he starts listing the Quraysh leaders. Why? Because he says "they kicke
d us out of our homes" and he is venting his anger out on them. And Aisha RA say

s she goes back to the prophet PBUH to inform him of whats going on and so the p
rophet PBUH made a special dua for the muhajiroon "Oh Allah make Madinah beloved
to us like we used to love Mecca, or even more". And "Oh Allah bless us in our
food measurements (i.e. all of the food supplies); oh Allah remove the bad weath
er and plagues (Madinah had more plagues than Mecca) and throw it out". And so s
lowly but surely the love of Madinah entered their hearts, so much so when the p
rophet PBUH would go away, the sahabah would count the days they would go back t
o Madinah. And when the prophet PBUH would see Madinah in the distance, he would
fasten his horse to reach home quicker. And indeed even today when we visit Mad
inah its truly peaceful and there is a sense of love for Madinah that's not felt
elsewhere.
Of the early things the prophet PBUH did, so much so some earlier scholars say h
e did this before the masjid was built, was the muaakar (making people akhi 'bro
thers'). Despite the fact he told the Ansar to be generous. and indeed they were
- Allah says in the Quran "for those poor people of the muhaajir (note Allah ca
lls all the muhajir poor) they will have their reward and pleasure". Now we get
to the Ansar: "And those who prepared the house". Note Allah calls Madinah the h
ouse; why not their house? Because the Ansar gave up half of their houses to muh
ajir - Allah is saying 'the house' as He is saying its both of their houses now.
And Allah says the Ansar "preferred others over themselves". Its even reported
the Ansar came to the prophet PBUH and said "Oh messenger we will give half of o
ur land to the muhajir". And the prophet PBUH made dua for them, but they refuse
d to accept such a generous gift. He said "they will take care of the manual lab
our and you will take profits from this". See now this shows us the nature of Is
lam - that the prophet PBUH wanted the sahabah to work for what they got. They d
idn't want the muhajir to get it for free. He also didn't want shaytan to encour
age amnesty between the muslims; 5 generations later the descendants of the Ansa
r might say "oh we gave all of this to you for free etc" so the prophet PBUH cut
off this possibility. Even though it was a genuine gift the prophet PBUH said "
No - they will do work and take their wages in dates and food, and you can take
your wages too". So he insisted the muhajir to do work, and he insisted the Ansa
r be generous too.
The famous first hadith of Madinah was by Abdullah bin Salam (the big jewish rab
bi who converted to Islam - only of the few who did). He said when he heard the
prophet PBUH first arrived in Kuba he rushed to see him. And when he saw his fa
ce he knew this was not the face of a liar. This is called 'Qirasa' that pure pe
ople can sense pure people. And he heard the prophet PBUH saying "Spread peace;
share food; pray during the night while people sleep... and you will enter Parad
ise in peace.' The prophet PBUH also went further than this every single Ansar w
as paired with a muhajir - they would become full brothers, even in inheritance.
For every single male muhajir there was a pair done. And everytime you look at
the biographies of the pairs of people, they were very similar. The prophet PBUH
knows exactly who he is pairing with who; every one of these names paired toget
her we also find them mentioned in the seerah together. For example the famous s
tory about when Salman al Farasi visited Abu Dhardha - the point is this was the
pairing and it was a genuine relationship. The most famous story is with Abdur
Rahman bin Awf and Sa'ad ibn Rabiah. And Sa'ad wanted to split everything down:
his house, his land and he even offered one of his two wives. But Abdur Rehman s
aid "I dont want any of this; just tell me where the marketplace is". And he wor
ked hard, brought and sold items etc until he got some money, and built himself
up. The prophet PBUH saw him walking by in fancy clothings with perfume and Abdu
r Rehman informed him he got married to a women of the Ansar. Notice the generos
ity of the Ansar and the honour of the muhajir. One is offering out of imaan, an
d the other is decling out of imaan. The Ansar in fact helped the muhajir so muc
h, the muhajir went to the prophet PBUH worried and said "Oh messenger we have n
ever seen a group of people like this: they share everything with us equally at
times of difficulty and are generous with us at times of ease; they have taken c
are of our needs and allow us to share in the good". They are worried the Ansar

will take all of the ajar away from them. That all of the toture, the wealth the
y left behind, the persecution they endured etc will give to the Ansar. They are
worried their reward will be gone. Look at the complaint - its truly amazing. T
he prophet PBUH said "They will not get your reward as long as you praise them a
nd make dua for them". This is why the muhajir are at a higher level than the An
sar. After the battle of Badr Allah revealed surah Anfal and said "Allah praises
those who have immigrated and abandoned everything for Him, but families are cl
ose than them" - i.e. it abbrogates the inheritance clause between each pair. Th
ere are several points regarding the muakar:
1. The muakar began in this era but continued right until the end. How do we kno
w? Salman al Farasi and Abu Dhurda. Ja'far ibn Abi Talib came to Madinah in the
7th year of the Hijrah but still the prophet PBUH did muakar with him and an Ans
ari. It's also mentioned the prophet PBUH did muakar with Muawiya ibn Abu Suffya
n and he accepted Islam after the conquest of Mecca. Therefore we extract this i
s a neglected sunnah - we must do especially when someone converts to Islam. We
need to resurrect this sunnah. The prophet PBUH did these continously throughout
the Madinah period.
2. It also shows for any society to grow and develop there needs to be a strong
bond between the people. And the strongest of bonds is a bond of religion. In fa
ct the Quran tells us this is indeed the strongest bonds. When you look at this
early society of muslims; no society has been as generous as them. But they did
it and Allah praised them in the Quran and said "their hearts were pure when the
y gave it". These bonds are vital for societies.
3. Also realise the prophet PBUH cannot just give general advice and leave it at
that. Rather he chose two people one after the other so he knows who is the mos
t qualified to be a brother of each muhajir. The prophet PBUH literally sat down
and did the muakar between pairs 'in our area of Madinah'. This shows a practic
al approach.
4. Also, the wisdom of Allah in gradually forming the laws of Allah. In the begi
nning when the muhajir have no family the Ansar literally become family. Then Al
lah makes it easier and once the muhajir have their own family He changes the la
ws of inheritance. Therefore for that generation Allah experianced the shariah i
n a gradual manner. Similarly the prohibition of wine was increasing: it came do
wn in four steps. First it was discouraged until it was foribdden in the end. If
a non muslim says "why can't I use this four step program? Give me one year for
each of these stages" The response is that a new convert is not allowed the pri
valleges those sahabah had. Why? The sahabah were the first society of muslims.
They have no support or role model. When a convert comes into Islam there is a s
ociety up and running, therefore you cannot give him the laxities the first gene
ration had. So we will say "You are required to stop drinking instatly as it is
forbidden". Not only this, he needs to start praying immediately even if he has
to hold a paper during prayer. Technically the shariah is applicable upon him in
stantly.
5. The status of the Ansar: Allah praises them in multiple verses which is why l
oving the Ansar is a sign of imaan. The prophet PBUH said "this sign of imaan is
to love the Ansar and a sign of hypicrisy is to hate the Ansar". Therefore we m
ust love the Ansar. So much is the blessing of the Ansar the prophet PBUH said "
If I could I would give up my lineage and be with you. Were it not for the Hijra
h I would have been one of you. If all of mankind went in one direction and the
Ansar went in another direction I would go with the Ansar". The amount of praise
he gave to the Ansar is literally unprecented even though the muhajir have a le
vel above them. This is also why Allah always praises the muhajir first and then
the Ansar. "Allah have repented upon the prophet, then the muhajir and then the
Ansar". Even the highest praise to the Ansar (Surah Hashar verse 9) Allah first
praised the muhajir first. When the Ansar were praised so highly this is why th

e sahabah became scared their reward would be taken.