Stage 5 of 8
The Hijrah
A plot, a cave, a desert road and a welcome. The migration from which the Islamic calendar is counted.
Stage overview
The Hijrah
By 622 CE, the Muslims of Makkah had been slipping away to Yathrib for some time, a few at a time. The Quraysh now feared that the Prophet ﷺ would follow, and their leaders met to decide how to stop him.
What happened next is one of the best-loved sequences in the seerah. He left in the dark with Abu Bakr, but turned south, away from Madinah, and hid for three nights in a cave on Mount Thawr while the Quraysh searched. Then came the long road north, through desert that few travellers used, with pursuers behind and a guide ahead.
The chapters end at Quba, where the first masjid was built, and at the edge of Madinah, where people were already watching the road for him. This is the hijrah, the migration. The Islamic calendar counts its years from it, which is why 622 CE is 1 AH.
Five chapters
The chapters of this stage
Read them in order, or open the one you need. Each chapter is short, sourced and reviewed.
The plot in Makkah
The Quraysh meet to stop him, as most Muslims have already left for Yathrib.
Three nights in the Cave of Thawr
Hidden with Abu Bakr while the search passed by, and the plan held.
The road to Madinah
A hidden route along the coast, a guide, and pursuers who turned back.
Quba
The first masjid in Islam is founded on the edge of Madinah.
Arrival in Madinah
The people of Madinah welcome him, and the first days of a new home begin.
Next stage · 06Building Madinah
A new city, and a community to build.
ContinueThe map
Where the stage happened
The route ran south out of Makkah, then north along the Red Sea side of Arabia to Madinah, a long road taken with care.
- Cave of Thawr Three nights hidden here
- Quba Site of the first masjid
- Madinah The city that welcomed him
The cave on Mount Thawr south of Makkah, the road north along the Red Sea side of Arabia, and Quba on the approach to Madinah.
This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.