The event of the Prophet's migration and their reasons

Persecutions by the Quraish continued to intensify with more and more conversions at Makkah. Many poor converts, like Bilal and 'Ammar suffered inhuman torture and even the well-off Muslims were not spared. In 616 AD, the Quraish imposed a three-year-long socio-economic boycott on Banu Hashim with a view to isolating the Holy Prophet(ﷺ) and his relatives from the active social life of Makkah. The three years proved quite hard and testing for the small band of Muslims who had to stay in the abandoned property of Abu Talib- the gorge of Abu Talib. They had to live there without any regular meals and often without water.

At the end of the boycott in 619 AD, the Holy Prophet(ﷺ) suffered dual loss as his beloved wife, Khadija, and his caring uncle Abu Talib succumbed to prolonged suffering. The Holy Prophet(ﷺ) felt so saddened over the two deaths that he declared the whole year, 619, as the year of grief ('Am-ul-huzn). After Abu Talib's death, the Holy Prophet(ﷺ) lost the tribal support (Jiwar), so vital for continuing his mission in the tribal society of Makkah. He really felt unprotected as Abu Lahab, his more powerful uncle, was least willing to extend Jiwar to him.

Consequently, the spread of Islam came to a halt and the Holy Prophet(ﷺ) decided to address some other community. Accordingly, he visited the prosperous town of al-Taif, south of Makkah. The town was inhabited by the clan of Bani Thaqeef, a rival tribe to the Quraish. They, however, proved to be more obstinate and insulting to the Holy Prophet(ﷺ)as he tried to convey the message of Islam to them. The Holy Prophet(ﷺ) had to leave al-Taif as a gang of hooligans hurled abuses and stones at him. After his failure at al-Taif, the Holy Prophet(ﷺ) now shifted his attention to the pilgrims from Medina. He would address them successfully between 620 and 622 AD.

In 620 AD, a group of six Medinian (Yathribite) pilgrims of the Khazraj tribe accepted Islam and promised to preach the same to their fellows in Medina. This was encouraging for the Holy Prophet(ﷺ). Next year, in 621 AD, another group of eleven Medinians, two from the Aws tribe, came to the Holy Prophet(ﷺ) and they not only accepted Islam but also pledged to protect him (in peacetime only). This is called the first pledge of Aqabah or the pledge of women since according to the tribal tradition, any document or pledge that did not mention war or fight was associated with women.

Finally, in 622 AD, an even larger delegation met him at Aqabah, accepted Islam, and entered into a more reassuring pledge, the second pledge of Aqabah or the pledge of war. The group included 73 men and two women who offered refuge to the Holy Prophet(ﷺ) and pledged to protect him even in case of an armed conflict with the Makkans. The meeting was convened by Holy Prophet's uncle al-Abbas, a non-Muslim but sympathetic to his nephew. This was a remarkable achievement for the Holy Prophet. After the second pledge, several Muslims began to leave Makka for their new homeland in Madinah.

The Quraishite chiefs, in the meantime, decided to assassinate the Holy Prophet(ﷺ) and appointed a band of youngmen of various tribes to accomplish the ugly mission. The Holy Prophet(ﷺ) was divinely informed of their plot and so, quietly started his journey of Hijrah, in Safar in the 14th year of prophethood, or 622 AD.