What are some important incidents that took place in the first year of the Migration?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Death of the Companions As’ad bin Zurara and Kulthum bin Hidm

Kulthum bin Hidm was an important person from the Ansar. He was very old. He passed away in Quba while the Masjid an-Nabawi was still under construction. (Ibn Abdi’l-Barr, al-Istiab)

Hazrat Gulsum bin Hidm had converted to Islam before the migration. He received the honor of hosting the Supreme Messenger during migration in his house. The Prophet stayed for about fourteen days in his house.

Hazrat As’ad bin Zurara was one of the six people who talked to the Messenger of Allah during the Aqaba Pledge. He was among the nine people chosen to represent the Ansar during the last Aqaba Pledge.

Hazrat As’ad bin Zurara passed away shortly after the death of Kulthum bin Hidm. The Honorable Messenger was by his side when he passed away. He washed and enshrouded him, and conducted his funeral prayer. Then he buried him in Baqi, the cemetery of Medina. The first person from the Ansar to have been buried in Baqi Cemetery was Hazrat As’ad bin Zurara. (Tabaqat, III/612)

Birth of Abdullah bin Zubair

Another happy event for Muslim migrants in the first year of the migration was that Hazrat Zubair bin Awwam had a child named Abdullah. Hazrat Abdullah was the first child to be born into a Muslim migrant family in Medina. His mother, Hazrat Asma the daughter of Hazrat Abu Bakr, gave birth to him in Quba village.

The birth of Abdullah made Muslim migrants very happy. As a matter of fact, the Jews used to say to them: “We have cast a spell on you! You will never have a baby boy from now on!” And the migrants felt deeply upset because of this.

As soon as they heard Abdullah had been born, they showed their happiness by crying out “La ilaha illallah!”, as what the Jews had said was refuted. The Prophet himself named him “Abdullah.”

The Expedition of Abwa*

It was the last month of the first year of the Hijrah. The Honorable Messenger assigned Sa’d bin Ubadah as his deputy and set out from Medina, with a troop of sixty migrants, for the first time.

The reason why the Prophet went into this military expedition* was to encounter the idolaters of Quraish who attacked people nearby and intimidate them, and to make a treaty with Damra bin Sons of Bakr at the same time.

The Honorable Messenger’s white flag was being carried by Hazrat Hamza. The Prophet did not encounter the idolaters at this battle; however, he made a treaty with the sons of Bakr, which was the second reason why he set out. According to the written treaty made with the chief of Damra Tribe:

a) Neither they, nor the Prophet would engage in a combat with the other side.

b) None of the parties would help the other party’s enemy, not even secretly.

c) They would have the Messenger of Allah’s assistance as long as they would not work against Islam, and they would respond positively when the Messenger of Allah called them for assistance against his enemy.

The Prophet returned to Medina fifteen nights later.

These peace treaties made with neighboring tribes had many advantages. Especially, the peace treaty made with tribes living on the Damascus trade route of Mecca was an implementation of the plan to demolish the Quraish financially.

As it can be seen, the Prophet made some treaties with other tribes which did not dispute with the Muslims against the enemy, provisionally though.

* A military expedition in which the Prophet himself took part is called a ghazwa.

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