From the time of the Holy Prophet's migration i.

From the time of the Holy Prophet's migration i.e. from 1 A.H. the people of Madina i.e. the Ansar and the Muslims of the tribes of Aws and Khazraj had made extreme sacrifices for the sake of the Holy Prophet. It was the same city which received the Prophet of Islam with devotion and sincerity and opened its gates before him when all other gates were closed for him, and also provided quarters to the Muhajirs and homeless Muslims who migrated from Makkah and the regions of the Hijaz.

The Prophet, too, who had at one time migrated to this place only to comply with the Command of Allah, developed so much love for it that even after the conquest of Makkah in 8 A.H. he did not choose to reside in Makkah and returned to Madina after the Battles of Hunayn and Taif were over, and spent the remaining part of his life there. He went to Makkah only in 10 A.H.

to perform Haj and to teach the Muslims the ceremonies connected therewith and even then he returned to Madina after performing Haj. Madina was the birth-place of Imam Husayn and most of his brothers and sisters. Fifty seven years of his life had been spent in Madina excluding the period of four years and four months of the caliphate of his father and his brother Imam Hasan when he remained in Iraq.

Madina was the city which provided favorable atmosphere for the Prophet's call to Islam and at a time when Makkah had virtually become a prison for him it was this city which made his message reach the people of the world. Imam Ali hints in one of his sermons at the facilities which Madina provided for the spread of Islam. He says: "The Prophet of Allah was born in Makkah but migrated to Madina.

It was from there that he communicated the message of Islam to different parts of the world".[^1] The near relations of the Prophet of Allah were hostile to him. They fought against him and made him leave his home. However, the two tribes of Aws and Khazraj accepted him, brought him to their city and sacrificed their lives and wealth to spread his call.

This is the fact which Ali has mentioned in one of his aphorisms; he says: "When the relatives and near ones of a person desert him and do not render him assistance, others come forward to help him and Allah prepares them to take the place of his near relations". The same thing happened in the case of the Prophet of Allah.