The Hijrah was more than a migration; it was the birth of a nation.

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 622 CE, Muhammad fled persecution in Mecca for the oasis of Medina. This journey, known as the Hijrah, did more than save a prophet; it established the first Muslim sociopolitical entity. It remains the epoch of the Islamic calendar, marking the moment faith transformed into a governing community.

The Hijrah, or migration, was a response to escalating hostility in Mecca. Following the death of his protector, Abu Talib, and facing an assassination plot by Meccan leaders, Muhammad sought refuge elsewhere. He found an opening in Yathrib, later renamed Medina, a city defined by its agricultural wealth and deep-seated tribal tensions. The city was home to Jewish clans and two feuding Arab tribes, the Aws and the Khazraj, who had been locked in conflict for nearly a century.

Muhammad’s path to Medina was paved through a series of clandestine meetings at al-Aqabah. By 622 CE, he had secured a pledge of support from 75 Medinese converts, including a commitment to defend him as they would their own kin. Upon his arrival, Muhammad negotiated the Constitution of Medina, a landmark agreement that unified the local clans and established the Muslim community as a distinct sociopolitical body. This pact transformed the migrants, known as the muhājirūn, and their Medinese hosts, the anṣār, into a cohesive force.

The significance of the Hijrah extends beyond its immediate political impact. In 639 CE, the second caliph, ʿUmar I, designated the year of the migration as the starting point of the Islamic era. This calendar, initially lunar, anchored the Muslim identity in time. The term hijrah itself evolved, eventually describing any emigration for the sake of faith, from the early followers who fled to Abyssinia to those who later left lands under Christian rule. The muhājirūn were held in high esteem, praised in the Qurʾān for their early conversion and the hardships they endured during their flight from Mecca.

While the Hijrah is a cornerstone of Islamic history, its legacy is complex. The anṣār, who provided the bulk of the early Muslim army—including three-fourths of the forces at the 624 CE Battle of Badr—eventually saw their influence wane after Muhammad's death. The event also highlights the fluidity of historical interpretation; for instance, the Ottoman government later adopted a solar calendar alongside the traditional lunar one, creating distinct dating systems that persist in the study of the era.

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