Hijra (migration for the sake of religion)

In the technical sense, hijra is leaving the abode of unbelief for the abode of Islam, and it is an act of nearness to God. ¹ The jurists divide it into kinds, the best known being the move from Mecca to Medina. ¹ It was first permitted and then made obligatory for the Muslims, and the jurists then differed on whether it stayed obligatory after the conquest of Mecca. ^{2 6}

Ibn Daqiq al-Id listed five kinds of hijra: the first to Abyssinia; the second from Mecca to Medina; the third, of tribes coming to the Prophet ﷺ to learn the law and then returning to their people; the fourth, of Meccans who had embraced Islam and came to the Prophet and went back; and the fifth, abandoning what God forbids. ¹ Ibn al-Qayyim divided hijra into a bodily move from one land to another and a move of the heart towards God and His Messenger. ⁷ The abode of Islam is any place where the rules of Islam are visible; the abode of war is any place where the rules of unbelief are visible; hijra is the move between them. ¹

The Hijri era dates time from the first year of the Prophet's migration to Medina. ⁷ The encyclopedia reports that Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him) consulted the Companions when letters arrived without a date, and that he chose the migration as the starting point because it separated truth from falsehood; the Companions agreed to begin the year with Muharram. These reports need a second source (needs_source). ⁷ The calendar itself is described in the Hijri calendar.

Before the conquest, hijra passed through two stages: permission, and then obligation. ² At first it was recommended. Later it became obligatory for one who was being tempted away from his religion to leave the abode of polytheism, and one who was too weak to leave was excused. The verses cited for this are Surat al-Talaq (verse 2) and Surat al-Nisa (verse 100). ^{2 8}

Some reports say migration ended with the conquest; others say it continues until the Hour, or as long as jihad or repentance continues. ^{8 6} Three readings reconcile them. The first: the obligatory hijra ended and the recommended one remained, the view of the Hanafis and al-Khattabi. The second: the move from Mecca ended because it had become an abode of Islam, and what remains is the move of one who embraced Islam in an abode of unbelief. The third: the excellent hijra linked to Paradise ended, and what remains is leaving evil deeds. ^{6 9} The schools differ on the ruling after the conquest:

• Shafi'is and Hanbalis: one who can show his religion in the abode of unbelief without fear of temptation has a recommended, not obligatory, hijra. One who cannot show his religion must migrate if able, and if unable he is excused. ^{3 10}
• Hanafis, al-Khattabi and al-Qadi among the Hanbalis: after the conquest hijra is recommended, meaning leaving a land where good is abandoned and wrong spreads, or a land where one has committed a grave sin. ^{10 4}
• Malikis: they divide travel into flight and seeking. Flight covers leaving the abode of war for the abode of Islam, which remains obligatory until the Day of Judgement, leaving a land of innovation, fleeing a land where the unlawful prevails, fleeing harm to body or property, and leaving a plague-stricken land. Seeking covers knowledge, the pilgrimage, jihad, livelihood, trade, and visiting brethren for God's sake. ^{4 11 12}

The encyclopedia cites the case of al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (may God be pleased with him), who is said to have hidden his Islam until the conquest while writing news of Mecca to the Prophet; al-Ramli held that his usefulness to the Muslims outweighed hijra. The encyclopedia notes that al-Dhahabi judged the isnad of this report weak. ¹³

The Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold that a woman who cannot show her religion in the abode of unbelief must migrate, and they differ on whether she needs a mahram. ¹³ The Hanafis say a woman who embraced Islam in the abode of war may leave for the abode of Islam without a mahram. ¹⁴ The Hanafis differ on the waiting period of a migrant woman. Abu Hanifa said a non-pregnant migrant owes no waiting period; Abu Yusuf and Muhammad said she does. Abu Hanifa also said a pregnant woman may not remarry until she gives birth. ¹⁴

Some Hanbalis added the land of rebels and the land of innovation to the abode of war for the duty to migrate. ⁵ The Malikis hold that leaving a land of unlawful things, or of oppression or temptation, is obligatory until the Day of Judgement. ⁵

Hijra is a legal act, so its reward depends on doing it for God's sake. The jurists cite the saying «actions are by intentions»: one whose hijra is to God and His Messenger has that hijra, and one whose hijra is for worldly gain or for a woman has the aim he migrated for. ^{15 16}