In Madeenah, the Muslims heard the news of the departure of the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), from Makkah. Hence, they began to set out every morning to the outskirts of their city, waiting for him. When the sun became too hot to bear, they would return to their homes.
On the day the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), arrived, they had repeated their routine and went back when there was no shelter from the scorching sun. So, when he, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), arrived, it was a Jewish man who spotted him and informed the people, all of whom then came out to welcome him. They set out with their weapons to the borders of Al-Harrah, exceptionally joyful at his coming.
The Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), first stayed in Qubaa' with Bani ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf for fourteen nights and laid the foundation of the area’s namesake Masjid (mosque). Then, when he, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), decided to enter Madeenah, he sent a message informing the chieftains of Bani An-Najjaar who came to him armed with swords for his protection and, as tradition dictated, to use in their celebratory rituals.
It is reported that there were about five hundred of the Ansaar (supporters, i.e., locals of Madeenah) who had come out. Surrounding the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, who were riding on their mounts, they brought them into Madeenah. The advent of the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), was announced; men and women climbed to the rooftops of their houses, and children ran into the streets, exclaiming: “O Muhammad, O Messenger of Allah! O Messenger of Allah!”
The Companion, Al-Baraa' ibn ‘Aazib, may Allah be pleased with him, an eye-witness recounts, "Never have I observed the people of Madeenah more joyous at anything than their happiness with the [coming of the] Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention )." However, there is no authentic narration that states that people welcomed him, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), with poems and songs.
The Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), proceeded until he stopped near the house of Abu Ayyoob Al-Ansaari, may Allah be pleased with him. He, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), asked: “Which of our people’s houses is [this one that is] closer [to me]?” Abu Ayyoob, may Allah be pleased with him, replied, "O Messenger of Allah, this is my house and here is its door." So, the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), stayed at his house, according to one narration, for seven months.
Books of history narrate that many prominent Ansaar had hoped that the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), would stay with them; so, whomever’s house he would pass, the resident would invite him in. However, the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), womuld reply: "Let the camel [move on]; it is commanded by Allah The Almighty."And so, it came to kneel only at the door of the house of Abu Ayyoob, may Allah be pleased with him.
He relates: “When the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) came to my house, he dwelled on the first floor, while Umm Ayyoob and I remained on the second floor. But I told him that I could not bear my wife and myself residing above him, while he is below us.” So, Abu Ayyoob, may Allah be pleased with him, requested the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), to change floors with him, but he, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), replied that remaining where he is would be more convenient for him and his visitors.
In another account that display’s the hospitality of Abu Ayyoob, may Allah be pleased with him, he recounts: "A water jar once broke, so Umm Ayyoob and I started to wipe up the water with a velvet cloth that we used as a cover, out of fear that it might spill downstairs on the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) and harm him."
Such generosity was a hallmark of all the Ansaar, who drew lots to house the Muhaajiroon (emigrants from Makkah), favoring them even over themselves. For this, they were highly praised and memorialized in the Quran to be forever recited by successive generations; Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And [also for] those who were settled in al-Madeenah and [adopted] the faith before them. They love those who emigrated to them and find not any want in their breasts of what the emigrants were given but give [them] preference over themselves, even though they are in privation. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul - it is those who will be the successful.} [Quran 59:9]
Even the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), honored them, for he would often say: "Were it not for the Hijrah, I would be one of the Ansaar." He even remarked that "[i]f the 'Ansaar walked through a particular valley or a mountain pass, I would take their path."
The Masjid of the Prophet:
Initially, whenever the time of prayer was due in Madeenah, the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), used to pray in any place. After a brief period of time, he ordered the construction of a Masjid on a piece of land with palm-trees that belonged to two orphans from Bani An-Najjaar. So, the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), bought it from them and ordered the Muslims to level the land by cutting down the trees and lining up the stones in the direction of the Qiblah. The Masjid was first built with palm branches and then with mud-brick four years later.
The Muslims – Muhaajiroon and Ansaar both – were overjoyed during the process of building the Masjid with the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ). They would chant motivating poems that talked about the reward of the Hereafter and included supplications to Allah The Almighty for victory.
Difficulties Faced by the Emigrants:
This is not to deny the Muhaajiroon from Makkah didn’t suffer a great deal of difficulty while adapting to the differing humid climate in Madeenah, in addition to the dissimilar agricultural landscape covered in gardens of palm-trees. Several Companions, such as Abu Bakr and Bilaal, may Allah be pleased with them, suffered from fever, so ‘Aa'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, informed the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), who implored Allah The Almighty, saying: "O Allah! Make Madeenah lovable to us like Makkah or even more; make it healthy for us; make its Mudd and Saa’ (measures of weight, for food) blessed for us and expel the fever to [some place away, like] Al-Juhfah."
He, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), also said: "O Allah! Complete and facilitate the Hijrah of my Companions and make them arrive safely."And so, the Muhaajiroon overcame many obstacles, soon settling in in the new land, in the interest of their faith and the necessity of propagating Islam to others.
Hence, it was the occasion of this Hijrah that was drawn on to mark the beginning of the Islamic calendar, during the caliphate of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, when Muslims began to record history. However, while the Hijrah actually took place in Rabee’ul-Awwal, preparations for it began three months earlier in Thul-Hijjah, after the second pledge of Al-‘Aqabah. It was determined, then, that the next crescent that followed the pledge, which was of Muharram, will mark the first month of the Muslim calendar.
