Basics of Religious Education — Page 225
225 225 225 225 225 B ASICS OF R ELIGIOUS E DUCATION - F IFTH E DITION In this year, both his wife Khadijah ra and his uncle Abu Talib passed away one after the other. The Holy Prophet sa was much grieved due to these two great personal losses, and called this year “The Year of the Grief”. The Holy Prophet sa was even more disturbed when he saw that, in Mecca, nobody paid attention to his preaching at that time. He decided to go to Taa’if, a small town near Mecca, for preaching his message. There, too, he faced an extremely difficult situation — vagabonds and street boys pelted him with stones and drove him out of the town. The Holy Prophet sa did not lose heart and continued his preaching. During the season of Hajj, he met twelve newly converted Muslims from the city of Yathrib, at a place called `Aqaba. They all took an oath at the Prophet’s hands, called the First Pledge of `Aqaba (621 A. D. ) During the next Hajj season, another group of 73 people from Yathrib took an oath at the Prophet’s hands and invited him to come to Yathrib. This oath is called the Second Pledge of `Aqaba (622 A. D. ) After the second pledge of `Aqaba, the Muslims in Mecca started to migrate to Yathrib, as advised by the Holy Prophet sa. In the end, when only the Holy Prophet sa and some of his companions were left in Mecca, the Quraish decided to kill the Holy Prophet sa. The Quraish failed in their desperate efforts to arrest the Holy Prophet sa , who escaped Mecca in the company of Hadrat Abu Bakr ra and took refuge in cave Thaur and later, safely reached Yathrib on 27 June, 622 A. D. The Islamic Calendar, called the Hijrah (from emigration), dates from the above event. Also, Yathrib changed its name to Medina-tun-Nabi (The city of the Prophet) and later it was shortened to Medina. On his way to Medina, the Prophet sa stayed at Quba (a village near Medina) for a few days. There, he laid the foundations of the first mosque ever built by the Muslims. The Pledges of `Aqaba (621-622 A. D. , 12-13 A. P) Hijrah (Emigration) to Medina (June 622 A. D: Start of the 1st Year of Hijrah ) The Islamic Calendar, the Hijrah The Year of the Grief and Visit to Taa’if (619 A. D. , 10 A. P. ) 6. 1 6. 1 6. 1 6. 1 6. 1 H H H H H O L O L O L O L O LY Y Y Y Y P P P P P ROPHET ROPHET ROPHET ROPHET ROPHET SA SA SA SA SA A N D A N D A N D A N D A N D S S S S S UCCESSORS UCCESSORS UCCESSORS UCCESSORS UCCESSORS — L — L — L — L — L I F E I F E I F E I F E I F E O F O F O F O F O F H H H H H O L O L O L O L O LY Y Y Y Y P P P P P ROPHET ROPHET ROPHET ROPHET ROPHET SA SA SA SA SA