Muhajreen and Ansar- Rameen

Muhajreen and Ansar

The emigrants and the helpers

The early Muslim community suffered a

lot before they were ordered to

leave Makkah and go to Madinah.

The persecution exercised against

Muslims increased especially after the

death of Prophet Muhammad’s beloved

wife, lady Khadijah and his uncle, Abu

Talib. At a certain point, it was necessary

to look for a new soil to plant the seed of

Islam, to spread the word of God, and to

practice Islam in a secure and receptive

environment.

I am not going to give a detailed account

of the events of the Prophet’s emigration

to Madinah. Such details can be found in

the Hadith Collection of Al-

Bukhari (hadith no. 245). However, I am

going to mention some lessons that can

be drawn from this great event in the

history of Islam.

The first lesson is patience. By patience I

mean enduring the hardships put

forward by the people of Quraish to

check the tide of Islam. Muslims were

boycotted; they were not allowed to buy

and sell in the open market or engage in

any business. However, they persevered

and accepted the tribulation.

After the command of emigrating to

Madinah, Muslims left behind everything

they loved, their families, friends, their

country, etc. Why did they do that?

Because they put their trust in God and

cherished hope in His mercy that He will

make a way out for them. In Madinah,

Muslims were free to practice their

religion and they were able to establish a

new state.

New Muslims can learn from this lesson

that there is some light at the end of the

tunnel.

You might be treated badly or ridiculed

by your families, neighbors and friends.

Therefore, do like what the early Muslims

did; endure the hardships with patience.

Do not lose hope. Rest assured that your

decision to take Islam your way of life will

not let you down.

The word ansar means "helper" in Arabic,

while the word ansari refers to a person

who helps. But as a term, the Ansar were

the people from Medina who supported

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and

themuhajirun (Emigrants) when they

migrated from Mecca to Medina.

The people of the Ansar were from two

tribes: the al-Aws and the al-Khazraj. It is

reported in the sources that these two

tribes often fought against each other in

the civil wars that preceded the advent of

Islam. A delegation consisting of six

people from the al-Khazraj came to Mecca

to demand the support of the Quraish

against the al-Aws (or perhaps just for

pilgrimage, it is not known for certain) in

the pilgrimage season in the eleventh year

of the prophethood, and they converted to

Islam when invited to do so by Prophet

Muhammad.

On their return to Medina, the people from

al-Khazraj, who had spoken about Islam

to the people of al-Aws, sent emissaries to

Mecca and met the Prophet; the people of

the al-Aws, who joined them in the 12th

and 13th years of the prophethood, gave

an oath of allegiance to the Prophet at the

place called known as al-Aqaba. Twelve

people in total, that is ten from the al-

Khazraj and two from al-Aws, joined the

First Pledge of al-Aqaba, and seventy-five

people from the al-Khazraj and the al-Aws

joined the Second Pledge of al-Aqaba.

The Medinan Muslims, who made an oath

at the Second Pledge of al-Aqaba that

they would protect and support the

Prophet and the Meccan Muslims as they

protected their own lives, families and

possessions, greatly contributed to the

formation of an Islamic state in Medina

and the opening of a new era in the

history of Islam.

After these pledges, the Muslims started

to migrate to Yathrib (Medina), which was

described as a "safe and peaceful

location" by the Prophet. Immediately after

the emigration, the Prophet established a

bond of brotherhood which united every

one of the Muhajirun (Muslims from

Mecca) to one of theAnsar (Muslims from

Medina) as siblings. Thus, the support of

the Ansar for the Muhajirun was enriched

by the spiritual bond of brotherhood and

any possible feeling of embarrassment on

the part of those who were receiving

support was prevented, making the

adaptation of the Muhajirun to Medina

easier.

The Ansars, the Medina Muslims,

embraced the Muhajirun as if they were

their real family, wanting to share with

them whatever they had. Providing them

with accommodation in their homes, they

shared their food with them; they even

wanted to divide their orchards and share

their property rights with them. However,

the Prophet encouraged the Ansars to

share products, but to maintain their

property rights. Actually, the Muhajirun did

not want property, but preferred to have a

share of the income that was earned

through work and trade in the market

place. However, from the time after the

Battle of Badr until the revelation of the

75th verse of Al-Anfal, there was an

inheritance right between theAnsar and

the Muhajirun.

Rameen Khurram