{JUMAT SERMON} HIJRAH: The Turning Point In Islaam

By Imaam Oluwatoyin Yusuf

Hijrah is an Arabic word which simply means “journey” or “trip”.

The Hijrah of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be With Him), which started in the year AD 622, means migration of Prophet Muhammad from Makkah to Medina, which indicates a turning point in the history of Islam.

Before the journey, Muhammad (Allah’s Peace On Him), had faced persecution alongside a sizeable number of converts in Makkah. Some were maimed, some killed and some jailed. Yet, the rest persevered and endured the annihilation, with the hope that victory from Allah was in the offing.

When the persecution became amplified, the Almighty Allah reminded the Prophet that the earth is spacious. So, the Prophet told some of his followers to proceed to Abasha, now Syria, and twice did the Muslims migrate to Syria in different numbers before the final migration to Medina, led by the Prophet himself.

The Muslim calendar came to life with the adoption of this event during the period of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, the second Khaleefah after Prophet Muhammad.

Muslim calendar is Lunar, that is, moon-guided. In each year, there are twelve months which comprise either thirty or twenty-nine days, as found in Quran 9:35.

The precision and divine nature of the Lunar Calendar made it to be adopted by the Yorubas in the ancient years, when the months were referred to as “Osupa”. We heard such clauses as “Osupa keta laa se igbeyawo Akanbi”.

The Lunar corrects and fills the inadequacies of the Solar Calendar, which was introduced by Pope Gregory, hence the name, Gregorian Calendar.

Initially, there was the Roman Calendar, which had 10 months, January to June and September to December excluding July and August.

Each of the months, January to June was named after the Roman gods and goddesses, Janus, Febrous, Mars, Aprillus, etc.

However, when Julius Caesar became the Roman Emperor, a new month, Julio, was introduced in his name. Julio was later Anglicised to July.

After Caesar’s demise, his nephew, Augustus Octovian assumed power and the month Augustos was introduced as the eighth month. The birth of July and August disrupted the mathematical significance of the Roman Calendar such that the original seventh month, Septum, became the ninth, October originally eight became the tenth.

November (Nona) then 9th became 11th and December (Deca) became 12th. The mathematical inadequacies stand till today since it is as a result of human manipulations.

From the story of the migration, it is clear that Islam did not spread by swords, because if the Prophet had wielded the weapon in the first instance, there would have been no need for him to flee from his assailants.

Second, maybe, if the migration had not taken place, the Prophet would not have been able to bring to fruition the prayers of his Patriarch Ibraheem, that Kaabah become the single most important place of worship on the earth, followed by the Prophet’s mosque in Medina and the Great mosque in Jerusalem, Qudus.

Islam, the worship of Allah quickly spread throughout the Arabian countries. Prophet Muhammad became the most powerful, influential and respected noble man in the Arabia.

Third, the lesson in Hijrah is for any Muslim to endure any situation or condition as such will be fleeting instead of abandoning Islam or allow oneself to be deceived out of it.

Muslims are encouraged to be steadfast during the period of adversity, especially during these economic crises facing the whole world, which are occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic. No Muslim should engage in fraud or other unwholesome practices to ease the economic difficulty.

Muslims should also steer clear of all sorts of vices pervading in society: killings, robbery, kidnapping, indecent dressing, smoking, drug abuse, rape and child abuse which retard societal development.

Muslims should embrace good deeds as demonstrated by Prophet Muhammad in his uprightness and probity towards non-Muslims such that many disbelievers accepted Islam through his exemplary characters as an epitome of good neighbourliness and embodiment of openness.

From one man, Muhammad, to close to two billion followers in the world today, Islam is a religion to beat and the Prophet remains the most influential man of all times as a leader, Head of State, Chief Judge, Attorney General, Imam, Finance Minister, Health Minister, husband, father and grandfather, all rolled into one.

May Allaah’s peace and blessings continue pouring on the soul of Prophet Muhammad, his household and Companions and all those who have chosen to hold unto Islam.