The Message of Islam — Page 29
The Migration 29 reward of one hundred camels. This was widely proclaimed in all directions. The Prophet saw and Abu Bakr ra spent two nights in the cave and on the third left for Madinah accompanied by a trusted serv- ant of Abu Bakr ra and a guide. Ten days after leaving Makkah, the party arrived within sight of Madinah and were joyfully welcomed by the Muslims from Madinah and those from Makkah who had preceded them. The Prophet saw decided to stop for a few days in Quba, a suburb of Madinah, and then proceed to Madinah. On arrival in Madinah, his first act was to purchase the site where his camel had stopped, for the purpose of building a mosque thereon. He then accepted the offer of a Muslim whose house was nearest to the selected site to put him up temporarily, while the mosque and his own quarters next to it were being built. With the arrival of the Prophet saw in Madinah, Islam began to spread rapidly among the two Arab tribes of the town. But, as often happens in a mass movement, not all who declared their adherence to the faith were inspired by sincerity and high ide- als. It was, however, generally felt that the Prophet saw was the most appropriate person, in the conditions and circumstances of Madinah, to take the responsibility of administering the affairs of Madinah. Under his direction, a covenant was drawn up which was subscribed to both by Arabs and Jews. A common citizenship of Madinah was established and conditions were prescribed for the regulation of the affairs of the town as well as for organizing its internal order and external security. It was agreed that the inter- nal affairs of each section would be regulated according to its laws and customs, but that if the security of Madinah was threatened from outside, all sections would co-operate with each other in its