Emigration—From Makkah to Madinah

EMIGRATION— FROM MAKKAH TO MADINAH T he Prophet’s emigration from Makkah to Madinah was the most important event in Islamic history. That is why the companions marked the beginning of the Islamic calendar with this event. But to understand the real significance of emigration, it is necessary to remove the dust of legends and fairy tales that have, over the years, accumulated over the glass case of history. One of these myths has grown over the Prophet’s stay in the Cave of Thawr on his way from Makkah to Madinah. The Quraysh were hot on his heels, and he took refuge in the cave to hide from them. The story goes that God commanded a spider to weave a web at the cave door after the Prophet entered. Then He commanded a dove to come and lay an egg on top of the web, thus—providentially— giving the impression that the cave was uninhabited. But as is usual with such events, the facts of the Prophet’s emigration to Madinah have been exaggerated and distorted beyond recognition. This is clear from the actual historical version of what happened. As the historian Ibn Kathir has pointed out, the most reliable account of events is that Imam Ahmad gave on