BEING A MUHAAJIR- BY PROFESSOR TIMEHIN OLUROTIMI

Alhamdulillah, we are still celebrating the Hijrah year. The Islamic lunar year is so named because Umar bn Khattab (ra) used the Hijrah of the Prophet from Makkah to Madinah as the point of reckoning for the Islamic calendar. 

In our own particular social universe, this is celebrated by Muslims every year. Though there's no doctrinal or juristic justification for this celebration, there is none against it either. It is purely a social construct that has become an identity narrative for Muslims. 

It is, however, instructive that it was Allah Himself that guided Umar bn Khattab in his choice of the period of Hijrah as the beginning of the Islamic lunar calendar. Hijrah, being a turning point in Islamic history, is most suited for this reckoning literally and metaphorically.

A new year, like a new day, is a period of reflection and introspection. It's a period when a rational mind looks into the past to draw lessons for the present and the future. The Hijrah celebrations thus remind you that Prophet Muhammad's migration from Makkah to Madinah God's beyond an ordinary historical and physical event.

In its anthropological tenor, it represents the change in the fortune of the Prophet and his followers and the major transformation in the mission and ministry of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).

It is a profound spiritual metaphor for the journey of the human soul from the domain of ego and material attachments (Makkah) to the abode of divine presence and inner peace (Madinah).

This symbolic journey reflects the essence of Islamic mystical thought, where outward events mirror inward transformations. Hijrah should thus be seen as an inner journey. Not just as relocation, but an inner migration — a leaving behind of the nafs (ego/self) to attain nearness to Allah.

Makkah represents the realm of struggle, persecution, and spiritual trial. It symbolizes the soul's state when still entangled in worldly desires, pride, and self-centeredness.

Madinah, by contrast, is the abode of tranquillity, brotherhood, and divine order — representing *the heart at peace (al qalb us-salim), where the soul lives in harmony with Allah's will. In this way, the Hijrah becomes a metaphor for *tazkiyat un-nafs (purification of the soul).

It also represents entering into the company of the Divine. This divine companionship is captured by Abu Bakr in the Cave of Thawr and the verse:

"Indeed, Allah is with us (Qur’an 9:40)" 

This is interpreted as an indication of divine intimacy (uns). This companionship is not merely physical; it reflects the idea that true spiritual companionship (suhbah) lies in being always aware of Allah's presence, especially in moments of fear and solitude. For the thinking Muslim, the cave of Thawr is the khalwah or i'tikaf (spiritual retreat), and the companionship is with Allah, Al-Haqq (The Ultimate Reality).

Beyond these, Hijrah can also be likened to Fana' (Annihilation of the Self). The physical abandonment of Makkah to embark on a journey fraught with all kinds of danger - pursuers, wild desert animals, bandits, and predators, represents forsaking of worldly attainments, attachments, and attractions that pursue the spiritual wayfarer seeking to overtake and derail him. This experience mirrors the spiritual process of fana’ — the dissolving of oneself in Allah’s Essence.

Just as the Prophet left behind everything familiar — home, wealth, social standing — to serve the divine mission, so too must the seeker on the path of spirituality abandon attachment to dunya (world) and even their own ego to reach baqa’ (subsistence in Divine Essence). This begins with migrating away from unlawful worldly acquisitions until the wayfarer reaches the state of cautious migration away from even lawful acquisitions, not as rejection, but as pragmatic accommodation with devotional purposes.

He, therefore, shuns the unlawful ones with total abhorrence and disregards the lawful ones, acquiring them not for personal pleasure but only to seek Allah’s pleasure.

From the foregoing, Hijrah is a Continuous Spiritual State. This is echoed bythe hadith:

 al Muhaajir man haajara maa nahallaahu anhu

" The Muhaajir (one who does hijrah) is he who forsakes what Allah has forbidden"

This understanding shifts the Hijrah from a one-time event to a lifelong process of transformation — where the seeker is constantly migrating from what is mean to what is noble; from heedlessness to awareness;

from hardheartedness to softness of heart; from selfishness to selflessness, and from stubborn resistance to total submission to Allah, the Almighty.

May Allah grant us all the grace of experiencing true hijrah. May His omnipotence lead us away from everything repugnant to all things that will guarantee for us the attainment of His pleasure. May His Clemency embrace us and guarantee our acceptance by Allah as true Muhaajirun.

Jum'ah Mubarakah...

PROFESSOR TIMEHIN SAHEED OLUROTIMI

- Nigeria