Muhājirūn
The Muhājirūn were the early Muslims who migrated with Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ from Makkah to Madīnah during the Hijrah in 622 CE. The term derives from the Arabic word hijrah, meaning “migration” or “emigration,” and refers specifically to those believers who abandoned their homes, wealth, tribal protection, and social status for the sake of preserving their faith and supporting the emerging Muslim community. The migration marked a decisive turning point in Islamic history and laid the foundations of the first Islamic state in Madīnah.
The Muhājirūn occupied a distinguished status in Islam because of their sacrifices and unwavering loyalty to the Prophet ﷺ during the difficult Makkan period. They endured persecution, economic sanctions, torture, and social ostracism at the hands of the Quraysh before eventually migrating to Madīnah. Among the most prominent muhājirūn were Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, and al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām.
The Qurʾān repeatedly praises the Muhājirūn for their devotion and sacrifice. In Sūrah al-Tawbah (Qurʾān 9:100), Allah states: “And the first forerunners among the Muhājirūn and the Anṣār and those who followed them with excellence—Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him.” Similarly, Sūrah al-Ḥashr (Qurʾān 59:8) describes them as those: “Who were expelled from their homes and properties, seeking bounty from Allah and His pleasure and supporting Allah and His Messenger.” These verses emphasize the spiritual rank of the muhājirūn and their central role in the establishment of the Muslim community.
Upon arriving in Madīnah, the muhājirūn were welcomed by the anṣār (helpers), the Muslim inhabitants of Madīnah, through a bond of brotherhood (muʾākhāh) instituted by the Prophet ﷺ. This brotherhood system helped integrate the emigrants into Madinan society and alleviate their economic hardships. The cooperation between the muhājirūn and Anṣār became a defining feature of the early Islamic state and demonstrated the Islamic ideals of solidarity, sacrifice, and communal unity.
The Muhājirūn also played a crucial role in the political, military, and religious development of Islam. They participated in major battles such as Badr, Uḥud, Khandaq, and Ḥunayn, while many among them became leading scholars, governors, judges, and commanders after the death of the Prophet ﷺ. The first four caliphs all emerged from the Muhājirūn, reflecting their influence in shaping the political leadership of the Muslim community.
In Islamic thought, the hijrah of the muhājirūn symbolizes complete devotion to Allah and willingness to sacrifice worldly attachments for faith. Muslim scholars regard their migration not merely as a historical movement but as an enduring model of spiritual commitment, perseverance, and obedience to divine command. Their contributions to the establishment and preservation of the early Islamic community remain central to the study of sīrah and Islamic civilization.
## References
1 Qurʾān 9:100; 59:8. 2 Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, trans. Syed Muḥammad Ibrāhīm and Ḥabīb al-Raḥmān Ṣiddīqī (Karachi: Nafīs Academy, 1990), 2:99-117. 3 Ṣafī al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī, al-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm (Urdu) (Lahore: Maktabah al-Salafiyyah, 1995), 244-67. 4 Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār and Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Hishām, Sīrat Ibn Hishām, Urdu trans. Syed Yāsīn ʿAlī Ḥusnī Niẓāmī (Lahore: Idārah Islāmiyāt, 1994), 1: 334-43. 5 Shiblī Nuʿmānī and Syed Sulaimān Nadwī, Sīrat al-Nabī (Lahore: Maktabah Khalīl, 1990), 1: 132-145. 6 Abū ʿUbayd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Saʿd al-Baṣrī, Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd, trans. ʿAbdullāh al-ʿAmadī (Karachi: Dār al-Ishāʿat, 2003), 1:234-44. 7 Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ayyūb Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Zād al-Maʿād, trans. Rais Aḥmad Jaʿfarī (Karachi: Nafīs Academy, 1990), 1: 119-46. 8 Qāḍī Muḥammad Sulaymān Salmān Manṣūrpūrī, Wa-mā arsalnāka illā raḥmatan li’l-ʿālamīn (Lahore: Progressive Books, 2022), 1: 63-74.