Emigration—From Makkah to Madinah

make up the rest of their diet. Additionally, the Muhajirun had to contend with a drastic diet change. In Makkah, they had been used to a diet of meat and milk. In Madinah, dates constituted the major portion of their diet. Tabarani had related an incident one day when the Prophet came to take the Friday congregational prayer. A Makkan Muslim called out to him: “Prophet of God, these dates have burnt our intestines.”143 The emigration to Madinah was a watershed in Islamic history. From a practical point of view, Islam emerged from a purely missionary episode and entered a period of active confrontation. During the period when he was solely concerned with preaching, the Prophet used to work according to one hard-and-fast principle. He used to steer clear of all controversial issues and concentrate entirely on giving the good news of the joys of paradise and warnings of the punishment of hell. He would avoid any discussion of political, economic and tribal affairs. When he preached the message of Islam to the Banu ‘Amir ibn Sa’sa’ah tribe at the fair of ‘Ukaz, he assured them at the same time that all he would do was peacefully pursue his preaching work; he would not raise any extraneous issue. “I am God’s Prophet,” he said. “If I come amongst you, will you protect me so I can continue communicating my message? I will not force you on any matter.”144 In Madinah, preaching work remained the primary purpose of the Prophet’s mission. But the spectrum had