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way of life; the Battle of Badr is the first precedent to this effect. Though small in size, it became a major
event, which exerted an important influence in determining the course of history. It is therefore, interest-
ing to know the details:

Muhammad's effort in spreading Islam had not borne much fruit until the summer of 621 A.D.
when twelve men from Medina, visiting Mecca to perform the annual Hajj ceremony, embraced the faith
that he preached. They undertook to propagate it among the fellow Medinites. Next year, in June, 622,
a party of seventy-five pilgrims, including two women, came from Medina; they all had embraced Islam.
Driven by the zeal of their new gospel, they invited the Prophet to come and live among them to avoid
persecution. Muhammad, who had become safety-conscious, asked them if they would defend him as if
he were one of their own. Their answer, though positively enthusiastic, was conditional: "What shall we
get in return, if we suffer damage or death in the process?" "Paradise, of course," answered the Prophet.

These private meetings known as the two Pledges of al-Alaqba, encouraged the Prophet to
persuade his Meccan followers to emigrate to Medina in small groups. When about seventy of them had
done so, Muhammad himself quietly undertook the highly dangerous journey because his Meccan ene-
mies had taken the oath of killing him before he could escape. Making use of the unfrequented paths,
Muhammad reached his destination on September 24, 622. This flight is called HIJRAH and ranks as
the traditional starting point of Islamic history, though the Islamic era begins on the first day of the Ara-
bic year in which the HIJRAH or the flight took place i.e. July 16, 622. However, the significance of this
date is believed to lie not in the act of emigration but "the belief that this day marks severance of kinship
ties and announces unity of all Muslims, no matter where they come from."

To understand its background, one must realize that Muhammad belonged to the Quresh of
Mecca whereas the people of Medina had their blood ties with other tribes. Thus, accepting common
denominator of Islam, they all, including Muhammad, lost their tribal distinctions.

This understanding of the act of HIJRAH, though looks golden at first sight, becomes murky
when subjected to investigation because when Muhammad grew strong, he declared emphatically that
the right to rule belongs to the Quresh i.e. the people of his own tribe! This is the reason that all Arab
caliphs both in the east and the west belonged to Muhammad's clan i.e. the Quresh.

It took the Meccan emigrants eighteen months to settle in Medina. Muhammad was given a
piece of land to build a house for himself. As he gathered power, he became a polygamist after the
death of his first wife, Khadija, who also happened to be his employer. Around this house, eventually,
were built several apartments to accommodate his nine wives and concubines.. As his followers met in
his home to offer prayers, it came to be known as the Mosque of Medina.

Muhammad's followers, both the emigrants and Medinites expected rewards for embracing Is-
lam, " the only true and exalted faith of Allah." The believers quite rightly expected favors from God at
the expense of the Kafirs (unbelievers). The All-knowing Allah, responding to the prayers of the devo-
tees revealed through Muhammad, the doctrine of Jehad i.e. murdering non-Muslims for possessing
their wealth, property and women.
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