Seerah · Chronology

The Hijrah

622 · 5 events

The Hijrah

622

Eylül 622 (Safer sonu) Hijrah #48

The assassination plot at Dar al-Nadwah

age 52 Makkah – Dar al-Nadwah

Fearing that the Muslims would grow strong in Madinah, the Quraysh gathered in their council hall, Dar al-Nadwah. On Abu Jahl’s proposal they decided that one young man from each clan would attack together and kill the Prophet ﷺ; in that way the blood guilt would be spread across all the clans and the Banu Hashim would be forced to accept blood money. Verse 30 of Surah al-Anfal describes this plan: “They plotted to imprison you, kill you or drive you out; they plotted, but Allah brought their plot to nothing.” Jibril (Gabriel) told the Prophet ﷺ not to sleep in his bed that night.

Eylül 622 Hijrah #49

The night of the Hijrah and the Cave of Thawr

age 52 Makkah – Cave of Thawr

The Prophet ﷺ had Ali lie down in his bed so that he could return the items people had entrusted to him, and then, reciting Surah Ya-Sin, he walked out through the young men surrounding the house. Together with Abu Bakr he took refuge in a cave on Mount Thawr, south of Makkah, where they stayed for three days. The Quraysh who pursued them came right up to the mouth of the cave; when Abu Bakr said, “If they just looked at their feet they would see us,” the Prophet ﷺ replied, “Do not grieve, Allah is with us” (al-Tawbah 40). A spider that spun its web over the cave’s entrance and a dove that nested there turned the pursuers away. Amir ibn Fuhayrah wiped out their tracks with his flock of sheep, and Abdullah ibn Urayqit served as their guide.

Eylül 622 Miracle #50

The pursuit by Suraqah ibn Malik

age 52 The road from Makkah to Madinah

The Quraysh offered a reward of a hundred camels to whoever captured the Prophet ﷺ. Suraqah ibn Malik tracked the small party travelling along the coastal road, but as he drew near, his horse’s legs sank into the sand twice. At that he gave up the chase and asked for safety; the Prophet ﷺ gave him the glad tidings of the day when the bracelets of Chosroes (Kisra) would be placed on his arms. Suraqah turned back and misled the other pursuers as well. This promise came true years later, in the time of Umar, when Persia was conquered.

20 Eylül 622 (8 Rebiülevvel) Hijrah #51

Arrival at Quba, the Quba Mosque and the first Friday prayer

Hijri 1 age 52 Quba

After a journey of eight days the Prophet ﷺ reached the village of Quba, south of Madinah, where the people of Madinah, who had been waiting for him for days, welcomed him with joy. Staying at the house of Kulthum ibn Hidm in Quba, the Prophet ﷺ had the Quba Mosque, the first mosque of Islam, built, laying its foundation with his own hands; the Quran praises it as “the mosque founded on piety.” Ali, after returning the entrusted items to their owners, caught up with him in Quba three days later. On Friday, as he set out for Madinah, he led the first Friday prayer and delivered the first khutbah in the valley of Ranuna, in the settlement of the Banu Salim ibn Awf.

24 Eylül 622 (12 Rebiülevvel) Hijrah #52

Entry into Madinah

Hijri 1 age 52 Madinah (Yathrib)

The Prophet ﷺ entered Madinah on his camel Qaswa, and the city rang with the song “Tala‘a al-badru alayna” (The full moon has risen over us). Every clan wanted to host him in their homes; he said, “Leave the camel, she is under command.” Qaswa knelt in the quarter of the Banu Najjar, in front of the plot where the Prophet’s Mosque would later be built. Until the mosque and its rooms were completed, the Prophet ﷺ stayed for seven months as a guest in the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. From then on Yathrib was known as Madinat al-Nabi (the City of the Prophet), and in the time of Umar the Hijrah was adopted as the starting point of the Islamic calendar.

About this chronology

The events are ordered by the dates widely accepted in the classical Seerah sources (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Hisham, al-Waqidi, Ibn Sa’d) and in the Encyclopedia of Islam of the Turkish Diyanet Foundation (TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi). The year of some events in the Meccan period differs by a year or two between sources; in such cases the most common date is given, marked “civarı” (circa) where needed. Hijri years are shown for events of the Medinan period; ages follow the lunar calendar.

You can read the same chronology offline in the Dua Kitaplığı app; events shared from the app link to the matching event on this page.

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