Emigration—From Makkah to Madinah

EMIGRATION—FROM MAKKAH TO MADINAH Whenever there is a disagreement about something, the matter should be referred to God Almighty and Muhammad.149 This decree amounted to a political initiative that, most tactfully and ingeniously, introduced the Islamic constitutional government to Madinah. Instead of appeasing the Quraysh, the Prophet’s departure to Madinah aroused their anger to new intensity levels. They saw the Muslims gathering in one place and becoming stronger. Only two years elapsed before the Prophet decided whether to meet the Quraysh army outside the city or allow them to enter Madinah and cast the newly built nest of Islam into disarray. The Quraysh had 950 men in their army, while the Muslims numbered only 313. But the Prophet’s insight told him that solely negative impulses moved the Quraysh. Hatred of the Muslims, and jealousy of the Prophet, lay behind their aggression. The Muslims, on the other hand, were moved by the most positive and noble instincts. They had faith in God to spur them on and the certainty that they were fighting for a genuine cause. The Muslims, then, were immeasurably more strongly motivated than their foes. Besides this, Arab warfare was a personal affair. Every warrior sought to make a name for himself by exhibiting his bravery. Faith in God had removed this weakness from the Muslims. The Prophet was the first person in Arab history to command his forces to pursue a united course