The Hijra

In 622 AD, the Prophet Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to the oasis city of Yathrib, soon to be known as Medina. The journey, called the Hijra, marked a turning point in the early history of Islam. It moved the small Muslim community from a position of persecution to one of political leadership, and it was later adopted as the starting point of the Islamic calendar, whose Year 1 corresponds to this migration.

Mecca was then a prosperous trading town and a center of pilgrimage, home to the Kaaba and to the worship of many deities. Muhammad, a member of the Quraysh tribe, had begun preaching around 610 that there is only one God and that people must submit to him. His message drew a modest following but also hostility from Meccan elites, who saw it as a threat to both traditional religion and the commercial benefits of pilgrimage. Muslims faced boycotts, harassment, and in some cases violence. The deaths of Muhammad's wife Khadija and his uncle Abu Talib, who had offered him protection, left him more vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Yathrib was troubled by long-running feuds among its Arab clans, and several of its residents, impressed by Muhammad's teaching, invited him to serve as an arbiter. After pledges of support were made, his followers began leaving Mecca in small groups. Muhammad departed later, accompanied by his companion Abu Bakr. Traditional accounts describe them hiding in a cave outside Mecca to evade pursuers before continuing north. Details of the journey, including the exact dates, come mainly from later Muslim sources, though the migration itself is not seriously disputed.

In Medina, Muhammad worked to unite the newcomers (the Muhajirun) with their local supporters (the Ansar). A document often called the Constitution of Medina, whose precise date and composition historians still debate, appears to set out mutual obligations among the city's Muslim, Jewish, and other groups. Medina became the base from which the community organized, defended itself against Meccan opposition, and gradually expanded its influence. Within about a decade, Muhammad had returned to Mecca and much of Arabia had come under Muslim authority.

The Hijra's significance was formalized a few years after Muhammad's death, when the caliph Umar is traditionally said to have established a calendar counting years from the migration rather than from Muhammad's birth or first revelation. This choice emphasized the founding of a community, not just a personal religious experience. The Islamic calendar is lunar, so its years are shorter than solar years, and it remains central to religious observance, including Ramadan and the timing of the pilgrimage, for Muslims around the world.