The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 8
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 8 to return everyone’s trusts, and quickly reach Madīnah. As such, the Holy Prophet sa had only been in Qubā’ for three days when Ḥaḍrat ‘Alī ra also reached there, safely. However, until then the family members of the Holy Prophet sa were still in Makkah. Arrival at Madīnah and the First Friday Prayer The Holy Prophet sa was perhaps still in Qubā’ when the Muslims of Madīnah began to discuss whose home the Holy Prophet sa would stay at. Every family desired the honour of hosting the Holy Prophet sa. When the Holy Prophet sa heard of this disagreement, he said, “I will stay with the maternal relations of ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib, the Banū Najjār. ” 1 This was a very wise decision of the Holy Prophet sa , whereby the possibility of unbecoming emotions of enmity arising amongst the various tribes was prevented. Everyone was satisfied with this decision of the Holy Prophet sa. Although everyone was equivalent in faith and sincerity, the Banū Najjār definitely possessed the additional distinction that Salamah, the mother of ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib, who was the paternal grandfather of the Holy Prophet sa , was from this family. After a stay of more than ten days 2 in Qubā’, on Friday, the Holy Prophet sa set out for the heart of the city. A large party from among the Anṣār and Muhājirīn accompanied the Holy Prophet sa. The Holy Prophet sa was riding a camel, and Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra was behind him. Slowly but surely, this caravan slowly began to advance towards the city. The time for Friday prayers arrived en-route. The Holy Prophet sa stopped in the neighborhood of the Banū Sālim bin ‘Auf. He delivered a sermon to his Companions, and led the Friday Prayer. Historians write that, although the Friday Prayer had already begun 3 , this was the first prayer service which the Holy Prophet sa led himself. 4 After this, the Friday Prayer service formally began. In actuality, Friday is an ‘Īd for the Ṣalāt , just as ‘Īdul-Fiṭr is the ‘Īd for the fasting of Ramaḍān , 5 and ‘Īdul-Aḍḥā is the ‘Īd for Ḥajj. It is for this reason that the Friday Prayer has been given 1 Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim, Kitābuz-Zuhdi War-Raqā’iq, Bābu Fī Ḥadīthil-Hijrah, Ḥadīth No. 7522 2 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābu Manāqibil-Anṣār, Bābu Hijratin-Nabiyyi sa Wa Aṣḥābihī Ilal-Madīnah, Ḥadīth No. 3906 3 Sunanu Abī Dāwūd, Kitābul-Jumu‘ati, Bābul-Jumu‘ati Fil-Qura, Ḥadīth No. 1069 4 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 349, Hijratur-Rasūli sa Khurūjuhū Min Qubā’ Wa Safaruhu Ilal-Madīnah, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 5 The ninth month of the Islamic Calendar [Publishers]