A March Towards Civilization Hijrah

Before the hijrah, the city of Medina was called Yathrib. The word yathrib translates to “an unpleasant, condemned place, or a source of mischief.” That was a perfect representation of how the city was before the settlement of Muslims there. A blaze of fitnah fueled by the local Jewish tribes devastated everyone’s lives and did not allow peace and stability to prevail.

Aws and Khazraj, two related tribes of Yemeni origin, had been fighting each other for 120 years. Unfortunately, of those who did not fall victim to the blood feuds, many would perish due to the frequent yellow fever and plague outbreaks.

Corrupt social and justice systems prevailed at the time. For example, if a patriarch died and his sons had not yet reached the age of puberty, neither they nor his wife or daughters could inherit from him. As a result, they would be forced into a state of poverty and despair, with no one offering them assistance or care. Yathrib was a complete “fire pit,” as stated in the Qur’an; it burned everyone it touched.

From Yathrib to Taybah

That fire was gradually extinguished by the mercy of the Muslims who accepted Islam during the allegiances of Aqabah. They migrated to Yathrib slowly over time and through companions such as Mus’ab ibn Umayr (radiyallahu anh), who was sent there for the dawah (spread) and teaching of Islam, their mercy spread, dousing the flame.

At last, with the glory of the nubuwwah (prophethood) of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), who entered that town on Friday, the 12th of Rabi-ul-Awwal 1444 years ago, according to the Hijri calendar, Yathrib was no longer a fire pit. It was transformed into Al-Medinatu’l-Munawwarah—the city enlightened with the light of the Prophet. And that is why our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade those around him from calling this destination of hijrah Yathrib; he said, “This is Taybah now!” Taybah or Tabah, the nickname he gave, means beautiful or pleasant, as Yathrib became radiant and began to take on the qualities that made it the city we now know as Medina due to the presence of the most beautiful of all creations – Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

The Name of a Life

According to dictionaries, the word medina means “city” in Arabic. It signifies “a collective life order in a permanent settlement with certain rules” rather than an administrative province or a physical settlement. In its essence, the new life that began in this blessed mother of cities represents everything an ideal civilization should stand for. However, departing from this norm and falling into our own “modernized” ideas of civilization and urbanization causes us to stumble into frequent mistakes in this regard, leading to being blindsided by harmful factors, such as the over-sanctifying of technology or the ideology of progress at the expense of the human aspect of what makes a group of settlements a civilization.

However, medina, which is etymologically derived from the word “din” (religion) in the sense of “debt” or “responsibility,” is defined as “a place where an encompassing law determined by the principles laid down by religion is applied; a place where people’s responsibilities towards Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), society, the natural environment, and themselves are regulated according to the criteria of Islam.” As such, the city that bears this name isn’t any random or nondescript place of settlement, but a city characterized by the sublime qualities of the perfect harmony between an ideal society and thorough observation of the principles of Islam.

Nevertheless, a more detailed description may be needed to clarify our conception of civilization. This is because all organizations that claim to be a civilization, whether religious or civil, are ultimately based on a fundamental assumption that also serves as a doctrine. Even if we assume that these doctrines are Islamic, the influence of time, place, and other conditions on the rights and responsibilities determined by it, apart from the Islamic criteria,  is an issue.

To overcome all these problems and reach an authentic understanding of civilization, it is vital not to consider Medina as a city in general terms, which includes the towns that were meditated according to Islamic standards in any period of history after the Age of Bliss. The source of our civilization, Medina, is Al Medinatu’l-Munawwarah or Medinatu’n-Nabi, which came into being with the hijrah under the guidance of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Medina is where the sunnah is practiced and prevails as a system.

The Geography of Kindness

Hijrah is not an escape but a search for other opportunities driven by the desire to live Islam ideally with ikhlas, both individually and socially. Although it aims to eliminate the unbearable oppression, persecution, and torture intended to shatter the resolve of Muslims and extinguish their faith, hijrah is not a search for comfort or relief. This is evident from the determination of the Muslims of Makkah to reject the immunity and privilege promised to them by the mushriks in return for compromising their beliefs; instead, they were ready to abandon their properties, hometowns, and even their spouses and children. Hijrah is a believer’s determination to give up all worldly belongings for Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and His Rasul (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), an indication that one has reached ihsan—the highest level of benevolence in Islam.

The ones who transformed Yathrib into Medina, who each became muhsin by holding tightly to the Sunnah Al-Saniyyah (valuable traditions of the Prophet), are the beloved sahabah—the companions of the Prophet. The excellence of the Medina civilization has shown itself in the various Islamic sovereign entities throughout history during periods when we established the world order and held a position of great power across the civilized world. Furthermore, the founders of these civilizations adhering to the spirit of hijrah and being devoted muhsins has demonstrated that it is only possible to leave a lasting, benevolent legacy and carry the standard of Islam to new horizons through state structures established on the basis of the Qur'an and Sunnah. The beauty, refinement, functionality, care, and sensitivity to protect even the most fragile details of legitimacy in the organization of our civilization are skills reserved only for muhsins who are on the right path of life. For this reason, rather than imagining civilization as a theoretical project and a particular system of rules, it is better to regard it as the accomplishment of the muhsins who seek refuge in Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and His Rasul (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

In the determination shown by those who made hijrah, therefore, in the concept represented by the meaning of the word medina, the main goal is to perform our duties with ikhlas without making the slightest concession from the sunnah; this is done under the belief that ikhlas and the passion of the devoted believers who undertake these duties will automatically build a perfect form. Muslims mostly belonging to the Banu Hashim (Al-Hashimi) tribe, who migrated to Ma Wara an-Nahr (known as Transoxiana) during the Umayyad and Abbasid eras, transformed that region into a place for our civilization by making it Madinatun-Nabi with the sensitivity of the sunnah they brought along. As such, the civilization nurtured and raised by Medina moved to the Anatolian geography with the dervishes raised in that climate making hijrah therein the later periods.

In short, civilizations bloom like the season of spring; just as nature is invigorated by pristine rivers rushing with a life-giving flow when spring comes, hijrah gives life to civilizations. There will be no spring without this flow and no civilization will flourish without hijrah.

Hijrah Until the End of the World (Al-Qiyamah)

As a flow that nurtures the spring of civilization, hijrah is neither a random event in history nor merely a migration from one place to another. It is a determination to leave things that do not please Allah for things that do, and as such, it takes its meaning and purpose from the hijrah of our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and his companions. Since our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) demanded hijrah from the Muslims to whom he received allegiance until the conquest of Makkah, the new converts to Islam wanted to accept allegiance on the condition that they also make hijrah to gain good deeds and reach the degrees of the muhajir (Muslims who made hijrah to Medina for the first time). Upon this, Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “There is no need for hijrah after the conquest, but the jihad and niyyah (intention) remain,” pointing out that jihad and the niyyah, which may include a determination that takes the risk of hijrah when necessary, carry the meaning and purpose of the hijrah.

In some other hadiths, “a genuine muhajir” is described as someone “who flees from what Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has forbidden and abandons mistakes and sins.” In addition to the definitions of hijrah, such as “abandoning evil and what our Rabb dislikes,” “struggling with the nafs,” and “facing towards Allah and His Messenger,” “being kind towards parents” and “repentance” were included as well.

In that case, hijrah, first, is an act of the heart and a sign of perfect faith that leads us to perform what Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and His Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) require from us with ikhlas, to preserve our dignity in servitude by turning from a low character to sublimity, and to realize our duties on earth properly and act accordingly. Because the essential thing in the hijrah is the determination to abandon all worldly desires and opportunities without hesitation when necessary, no matter how hard it is for the nafs, no matter how difficult the conditions are.

This is a determination that can be gained by preferring the schools of irfan (true knowledge), where the heart is purified from bad habits and directed towards good habits; this is done by distancing oneself from social circles that suffocate the light of Islam within the spiritual heart, and by way of repentance and sayr wa suluk (the journey of Sufism). Hijrah, first of all, is the journey of turning our hearts from Yathrib to Medina. It is the struggle and resolution to place the standards of religion, brotherhood, love, dhikr, and marifah into our hearts. It is unconditional surrender to our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

If we are looking for an answer to the question, “Why do we not have a civilization resembling Medina today?” let us check our hearts: Are they Yathrib or Medina?

Ali Yurtgezen