(Laylatul-Mabeet)
The Prophetic Migration and the Night of Lying in Wait
A review of its historical, contemporary, spiritual, and continuous aspects.
This is the first sermon of the two Friday sermons, 21 August 2020
By the honorable Sheikh Tamam Ahmad
In one of the noblest events that occurred in Islam—without which Islam would not have stood upright, nor would the shoot of faith have turned green—namely the event known as the Night of Lying in Wait (Laylatul-Mabeet): it is the night in which the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib , sacrificed himself for the Messenger of Allah and lay in his bed, after Quraysh had resolved upon a plot to extinguish the light of Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He), and to eradicate Islam and uproot it by silencing the voice of truth and assassinating His Prophet . They had exhausted all the means they possessed: they offered him wealth, and he refused; they offered him prestige, and he refused; and he said his famous statement:
“Even if they were to place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, in order for me to abandon this matter, I would not abandon it until Allah makes it clear—or until He makes it manifest—or I perish without it.”
This statement caused the opponents of the Prophet among the polytheists of Quraysh to lay in wait for him and seize any opportunity to stop this call (to Islam). When his supporters increased, they tortured them, and he allowed them to emigrate to a safe place. And when the polytheists failed to retrieve the emigrants from Abyssinia, they resolved to devise a scheme to stop Islam and uproot it.
Many opinions were proposed: among them, some said: “Let us throw him into a structure from which he cannot escape until he dies.” Others said: “Rather, let us tie him to a camel and abandon him in the desert until he perishes.” Then, they ultimately agreed upon gathering one man from each tribe so that, when they attack together, his blood would be lost (i.e., untraceable), and no one could demand vengeance for it.
When they gathered and agreed upon this matter, Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, revealed to His Prophet ﷺ, in His saying: And [remember, O Muhammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners. (Surah Al-Anfal, 8:30)
He is the One who will alert you to their scheme. He is the One who will save you from their plot. He is the One who will relieve you from their treachery. So, the Messenger of Allah summoned the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib , and informed him of what Allah, Glorified and Exalted, had revealed to him. Then our master, the Commander of the Faithful , said: “Will you be safe by my lying in your bed, O Messenger of Allah?”
And he replied: “Yes.”
The response of the Commander of the Faithful was to prostrate in gratitude to Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, for honoring him with this favor—that He made him sacrifice himself for this message, which is the light of Allah among His creation, and which is the continuation of the message of the Prophet of Allah, Ibrahim (Abraham) , who was the first to establish Islam. It continues to be renewed in every era and in every age whenever its traces are erased or its landmarks fade, until it was renewed by the Seal of the Prophets .
And the migration happened—just as many of us know—through the guide he had hired, whose name was Abdullah ibn Uraiqit, who led him across the desert. And how he entered the cave with Abu Bakr—the cave known as Thawr, named after Thawr ibn Manat.
Then, how those pursuing him from among the polytheists of Quraysh came to the entrance of the cave and found a spider’s web at its mouth, and found dove chicks at its entrance. Thus, they knew that no one could have entered that place. It was a miracle from Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, through these things that deluded and misled them, and because of which the Prophet and his companion were saved—such that none of his enemies or opponents could reach him.
On this matter, many writers and poets have spoken to summarize this state, among them:
Honored is the one who accompanied the Chosen One, comforting him,
And in the bed of the Chosen One, he lay.
Until the enemies of the Prophet came to his place,
And found in it a lion awaiting them.
So they despaired and went off in pursuit,
Following in the footsteps of the Messenger of Allah—where had he gone?
The spider had spun its web,
So one of them said: “You will catch no one.”
And when they stood at the cave, they found nothing
But doves nestled upon their chicks.
Had someone entered here, nothing would remain
Of what the spiders had spun, and the birds would have flown away.
Do you not see the spider weaving its threads,
While the dove sings sweetly with its voice?
They believed, and turned back, returning,
Dying in their rage over what they saw, grief-stricken.
This is the story that contains countless lessons and signs—too many to be fully encompassed in a sermon or in a single discourse.
Among the blessings of the Messenger of Allah in this event is that he came upon the tent of Umm Ma‘bad on his way. She had nothing but a weak goat left behind by fatigue—she had nothing that could sustain her or satisfy the hunger of those with her. Then Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, blessed her in that goat: it produced milk, and he drank, and he gave his companions to drink.
The collection of events mentioned in the Hijrah of the Messenger of Allah point to signs and yield lessons. Among those lessons is that truth never dies, no matter how much its enemies restrict it.
The position of the Messenger of Allah in Mecca—economically, among its merchants, and among its wealthy—was among the weakest of people. Were it not for the wealth with which he traded on behalf of his wife, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, he would have been one of the weakest of people. And his followers were among the poorest of people. For that reason, the rich of Quraysh grew arrogant over them.
The concept of Islam in this context was to fight this classism that divided people into free men and slaves, and made of them bondwomen and noblewomen.
The message of Islam was the erasure of this classism—that which some today express using the term “socialism,” which some even attribute to Abu Dharr. This was the message of Islam: to eliminate this class divide, this class disparity.
It is these class distinctions that placed people on different levels and allowed some of the powerful and wealthy to exploit the weak and to treat them as though they were their slaves.
The first message of Islam was the liberation of the human being—his liberation from the worship of materialism, represented by slavery markets and the institution of enslavement.
It was the liberation of the human being from the bondage of human-to-human servitude, and his release so that he may be a servant of Allah alone. Free people from being slaves to other humans, so that they may be slaves to Allah, the Almighty, (Do not be a slave to another when Allah has created you free.).
This bondage imposed by social injustice—the very first message of Islam was to destroy this classism and to make wealth among people more socially shared. Not that everyone would equally possess it, but that the class disparity between people would decrease.
The second matter—the second lesson and benefit—is that when the earth becomes constrained for a person in a certain place, they should not confine themselves to residing in it. "The best land is that which carries you."
“Had Mecca remained favorable to Muhammad, he would not have left it
He would not have sought a pulpit in Yathrib.”
For truth is not confined to a location, and provision is not restricted to a place.
Among the things that each of us must learn from the Hijrah (the Prophetic Migration) is that when a place becomes constricted for someone, and they find people of truth in another place, they must know that Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, does not favor one land over another except by the deeds of its people.
That one should leave the place of hardship and distress to a place of ease, provision, and goodness.
Among the benefits of this is that if a person obeys his Prophet, he is, at that time, called a "muhajir" (emigrant), and the one who was in Yathrib and supported the Prophet was called one of the Ansar (supporters). This is the group that the Messenger of Allah united—he established brotherhood between the Ansar and the Muhajirin (emigrants). Upon what basis?
He united them upon truth and mutual support, that none of them should wrong the other, and that no one among them should take possession of something while seeing his brother in faith more in need of it. For this reason, Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, made Islam built upon brotherhood. And before the revelation of the noble verse: But those of (blood) relationship are more entitled (to inheritance) in the Book of Allah (Surah Al-Anfal 8:75 and Surah Al-Ahzab 33:6),
which abrogated inheritance based on faith alone, in the early days of Islam, inheritance was established between believers—between a Muslim and his brother in Islam and in faith. So, when the Prophet established brotherhood between the Muhajirin and the Ansar, he also made inheritance between them. Then these rulings were abrogated, and inheriting through blood kinship replaced them.
Today, if we look into the history of this Hijrah and examine its historical side, what remains for us is to look into its contemporary, spiritual, and ongoing dimension.
Where is this Hijrah now? In the Prophetic hadith:
"The true emigrant is he who abandons evil deeds.”
Today, after the Hijrah of the Messenger of Allah , the emigrant is the one who abandons his sins, abandons his misdeeds, abandons his errors. “The true emigrant is the one who abandons wrongdoing.”
Whoever is able to abandon sin and disobedience—he is a muhajir in the way of Allah, a follower of the Messenger of Allah , one who transitions from a place of hardship to a place of ease, from a place of oppression to a place of justice, departing from one state to another—from being unjust and materialistic to becoming just, fair, and spiritual.
This is the Hijrah we must seek and reflect on—how to undertake it.
"Indeed, the true emigrant is the one who abandons evil."
This is the Hijrah that must take place every day of our lives—that each of us be a muhajir to Allah and to His Messenger.
To be a muhajir to Allah and to His Messenger means to depart from every constraint that prevents him from this Hijrah: to obey Allah, and to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
From what did the Seal of the Prophets flee? He fled from Mecca, from constriction, from the deniers, from the ignorant, from harm, and he went to Medina.
Likewise, the Muslim must be—he must be a follower of the Messenger of Allah. He must flee with his religion from oppression, harm, evil, and indecency, until he reaches a place of justice and freedom, and thus becomes a muhajir to Allah and to His Messenger.
We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, to make us and you among those who listen to the word and follow the best of it.
O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, a blessing through which You accept our prayers, respond to our supplications, forgive our sins, erase our misdeeds, enrich our poverty, and mend our brokenness. Truly, You are capable of all things.
O servants of Allah,
Indeed, Allah commands justice, and good conduct, and giving to relatives; and forbids immorality, bad conduct, and oppression. He admonishes you that you may be reminded. (Surah An-Nahl 16:90)
O Allah, make us among those who remember when reminded, who refrain when warned, who listen when addressed, and who see when shown.
I say this and seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you.
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