Welcome back to Road to Hajj — where we explore the rituals of Hajj, their meanings, and the mysteries behind them.
Tonight, though, we’re going to take a step back from the rituals themselves. Instead, we’re diving into an incredible historical moment — one that didn’t just shape the Hajj… it changed the course of Islamic history forever.
This moment happened on the last night of Hajj, 1,447 years ago.
It was the spark that led to the Hijrah — the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. And as we know, the Hijrah wasn’t just a journey; it was the turning point. So important, in fact, that the Companions later decided to mark it as year one in the Islamic calendar.
To really appreciate what happened that night, we need to rewind the story a bit — back two years before the Hijrah.
Rewinding to the Nights of Mina
As you may know, during Hajj, the pilgrims spend the 11th, 12th, and 13th nights of Dhul-Hijjah in Mina. Even today, that practice continues.
But let’s go back to the 11th year of Prophethood, a couple of years before Islam had a home in Madinah.
Every year during Hajj, tribes from across Arabia would travel to Mecca. And every year, the Prophet ﷺ would walk among them, calling people to Islam.
But that year, something was different.
The Prophet wasn’t just doing da’wah — he was also searching for a tribe that would adopt and protect him. Why? Because just a year earlier, in the 10th year of Prophethood, the Prophet ﷺ had lost his greatest worldly protector — his uncle Abu Talib.
Abu Talib, the chief of Banu Hashim, had shielded the Prophet from the worst of Quraysh’s violence. While others like Bilal, Sumayyah, and Abdullah ibn Mas’ud were tortured — often brutally — the Prophet was relatively protected due to Abu Talib’s status.
But when Abu Talib passed away, his successor was Abu Lahab — a man who refused to support or protect Rasulullah ﷺ.
With no protection left in Mecca, the Prophet ﷺ went to Ta’if, hoping its people might offer refuge. But they rejected him and humiliated him.
Eventually, he returned to Mecca under the protection of Mut’im ibn ‘Adi, a nobleman from another tribe. It was only temporary — the Prophet knew he couldn’t count on Mut’im forever.
So he started reaching out to other tribes.
He approached Banu Kindah, a once-powerful tribe. They were interested… but they wanted power. They asked, “If we support you, will we be rulers after you?” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “That’s not for me to promise — that is for Allah to decide.”
Their intentions weren’t sincere, so he moved on.
A Small Encounter with Big Consequences
And then — walking through Mina — the Prophet ﷺ noticed a small group: just six young men.
He asked them, “Who are you?”
They replied, “We are the Khazraj.”
The Prophet asked, “The same Khazraj who live near the Jews in Yathrib?”
They said, “Yes, we are from Yathrib.”
That caught the Prophet’s attention.
You see, the people of Yathrib had lived alongside the Jews for generations. They were familiar with the concept of prophethood, scripture, and divine revelation. And, at that time, Yathrib was suffering from ongoing tribal conflictbetween two Arab tribes — the Aus and the Khazraj. Many of their elders had been killed. The city was fractured, desperate for unity.
The Prophet ﷺ spoke to them about Islam — with the same sincerity and passion he had shown the big tribes.
And something clicked.
They didn’t pledge allegiance that year, but they said:
“Let us return to our people and speak to them. If it’s good, we’ll come back to you next year.”
Year 12 of Prophethood: Bay‘at al-‘Aqabah (1)
The next year, 12 people came back — most from Khazraj, some from Aus. They met the Prophet at night during the days of Mina and pledged allegiance.
This was the first Bay‘at al-‘Aqabah — named after the valley near Jamrat al-‘Aqabah, where the meeting took place. Today, that area has changed, but back then it was where the Hajj tents stood.
This first pledge was spiritual — they promised:
Not to associate partners with Allah
Not to steal or commit zina
Not to kill
To obey the Prophet in goodness
After that, they requested the Prophet ﷺ to send someone back with them to teach them Islam.
The Prophet chose Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr — a young, eloquent, wise man from Mecca. Mus‘ab went to Yathrib and taught, preached, built the foundation for what was to come.
Year 13: Bay‘at al-‘Aqabah (2)
A year later, they came again — this time, with 75 people.
It was the 13th of Dhul-Hijjah, 13 years after revelation began.
They came by night, secretly, when all the other pilgrims were asleep. This time, they didn’t just want to learn Islam. They invited the Prophet ﷺ to migrate to their city, to Yathrib.
They said:
“It is unfair for us to be living in peace while our Prophet is being persecuted. Join us. Let us protect you.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“If I migrate to you, this pledge must not be just religious. It must also be political. You must defend me like you defend your own families.”
One of them asked:
“When Islam succeeds, will you leave us and return to Mecca?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“Your blood is my blood. Your destruction is my destruction. We are one.”
And one by one, all 75 pledged their allegiance.
Then they all heard a loud scream from the middle of the desert.
Rasulullah ﷺ said:
“That scream you just heard — that was the scream of Iblis. He is furious that Islam has found a way out of Mecca.”
The Road Opens
From that point, the Prophet ﷺ began advising Muslims to migrate, one group at a time. Quietly, Muslims left Mecca and made their way to Yathrib.
Eventually, the Prophet ﷺ himself made hijrah. He left Mecca a few months later, in Rabi‘ al-Awwal, and arrived in Yathrib — soon to be renamed al-Madinah al-Munawwarah.
This moment changed everything.
Islam went from being an oppressed minority to a rising force of justice — spreading across Arabia, and soon, to much of the world.
That night — the 13th of Dhul-Hijjah, 1,447 years ago — in the small valley of Mina, the road to hijrah began.
It wasn’t part of the Hajj rituals —
But it was written into the destiny of this Ummah.
That’s all for tonight’s episode of Road to Hajj.
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