At a glance
Stage 5When the Quraysh plotted to kill the Prophet ﷺ, he was told to leave, and he walked out past the men waiting at his door while Ali stayed behind in his bed.
- When
- Late Safar to early Rabi' al-Awwal, c. September 622 CE (accounts differ on the exact night)
- Where
- Makkah
- Key people
- Prophet Muhammad ﷺ; Ali ibn Abi Talib; Abu Bakr as-Siddiq; Asma bint Abi Bakr; Aisha bint Abi Bakr; Abu Jahl
- Key places
- Makkah; Dar an-Nadwa; the house of Abu Bakr
- Read time
- 5 minutes
Part oneThe meeting at Dar an-Nadwa
By the summer of 622 CE, most of the believers of Makkah had left for Yathrib. This was the hijrah, the migration: leaving one's home for the sake of Allah. They went in small groups and often by night, leaving homes, businesses and in some cases their families behind. Abu Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) was among the first. His wife's family held her back, and his own clan pulled their small son away from her so roughly that they dislocated the child's arm. Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) later said she went out to the valley every day for almost a year and wept, until her clan let her go. She set out alone with the boy. On the road she met Uthman ibn Talhah, who was not yet a Muslim. He would not let her travel alone, and led her camel all the way to Quba, walking ahead and turning away whenever she mounted or dismounted. She said she never met a more honourable companion. Those who stayed in Makkah were few. The Prophet ﷺ was still in the city, along with Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and his household, and a few believers who were being held back by their relatives.
He was waiting for permission from Allah to leave. Abu Bakr had asked to go, and the Prophet ﷺ told him not to hurry, because perhaps Allah would give him a companion. Abu Bakr understood what that might mean. He kept two riding camels and fed them on acacia leaves for four months, ready for the day.
The leaders of the Quraysh saw what was happening. Yathrib was far enough away to be out of their reach, and now it held many Muslims. If their leader joined them, the Muslims would be free to organise, and the Quraysh's trade road to Syria ran close to the oasis. So they met at Dar an-Nadwa, the old council house beside the Kaaba, built generations earlier by Qusayy ibn Kilab, an ancestor of the Prophet ﷺ. It was where the clans decided matters of war, trade and honour.
They discussed three courses. One was to lock him up. Another was to drive him out of Makkah. The third was to kill him. The first two were set aside, since a prisoner could be freed by his kin, and an exile would only carry his message to others. Abu Jahl proposed the third, with a twist. Each clan would give one young man, and together they would strike him at once, so that the blame would be shared by all and the Banu Hashim could not take revenge on any single clan.
The Quran refers to this plot. It says that the unbelievers schemed to imprison him, kill him or drive him out, and that Allah's plan prevailed.
From the Quran
وَإِذْ يَمْكُرُ بِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِيُثْبِتُوكَ أَوْ يَقْتُلُوكَ أَوْ يُخْرِجُوكَ ۚ وَيَمْكُرُونَ وَيَمْكُرُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ خَيْرُ ٱلْمَـٰكِرِينَ ٣٠
And ˹remember, O Prophet,˺ when the disbelievers conspired to capture, kill, or exile you. They planned, but Allah also planned. And Allah is the best of planners.
Part twoThe night of the Hijrah
Allah informed the Prophet ﷺ of the plot and gave him permission to leave. He usually came to Abu Bakr's house morning and evening. That day he came at midday, with his head covered, an hour when he never visited. When he told Abu Bakr that he had been given permission, Abu Bakr asked if he would be his companion on the road. The Prophet ﷺ said yes. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who was still a girl, remembered that she had never before seen anyone weep from joy until she saw her father that day.
Abu Bakr offered one of his two camels. The Prophet ﷺ would take it only if he paid for it. According to the biographers, this was al-Qaswa, the she-camel he would ride for years to come, on the day he entered Madinah and long after.
From the hadith
Narrated 'Aisha:
[…] One day, while we were sitting in Abu Bakr's house at noon, someone said to Abu Bakr, "This is Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) with his head covered coming at a time at which he never used to visit us before." Abu Bakr said, "May my parents be sacrificed for him. By Allah, he has not come at this hour except for a great necessity." So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came and asked permission to enter, and he was allowed to enter. When he entered, he said to Abu Bakr. "Tell everyone who is present with you to go away." Abu Bakr replied, "There are none but your family. May my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)!" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "i have been given permission to migrate." Abu Bakr said, "Shall I accompany you? May my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)!" Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Yes." Abu Bakr said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! May my father be sacrificed for you, take one of these two she-camels of mine." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) replied, "(I will accept it) with payment." So we prepared the baggage quickly and put some journey food in a leather bag for them. Asma, Abu Bakr's daughter, cut a piece from her waist belt and tied the mouth of the leather bag with it, and for that reason she was named Dhat-un-Nitaqain (i.e. the owner of two belts). […]
Asma (may Allah be pleased with her), Abu Bakr's elder daughter, packed provisions for the road. She had no cord to tie the bag, so she tore her waistband in two and used half of it. She came to be known as the woman of the two waistbands.
That evening, the young men chosen by the Quraysh gathered outside the Prophet ﷺ's house and waited for him to come out. Inside, he asked his cousin Ali, still a young man, to sleep in his bed. Ali knew the danger. He agreed anyway. He also had a second task that says much about the character of the Prophet ﷺ. The people of Makkah had left valuables with him for safekeeping, even though they treated him as an enemy, because he was known as the trustworthy one. Ali's job was to return every item to its owner after the Prophet ﷺ had gone.
Then the Prophet ﷺ left the house, and the men waiting outside did not see him pass. Allah had veiled their sight. He went to Abu Bakr's house, and the two left the city that night by a back way, heading in the opposite direction to the one the Quraysh would expect.
In the morning the men burst in and found Ali instead. He said he did not know where the Prophet ﷺ was, and they turned to hunt for the one they really wanted. Ali stayed in Makkah for three days to hand back what had been entrusted, and then followed on foot to join him.
Ali knew the danger. He agreed anyway.
More on How to Muslim
WatchLectures for this chapter
The mapWhere it happened
- Dar an-Nadwa
- the house of the Prophet ﷺ
- the house of Abu Bakr
- the road south
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.
SourcesSources for this chapter
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