The Night of Hijra and Self-Sacrifice by ‘Ali (as) Only a...

The Night of Hijra and Self-Sacrifice by ‘Ali (as) Only a few Muslims were left behind in Mecca. Some had migrated to Abyssinia and some others had migrated to Medina before the Prophet (S). So nobody was left in Mecca except Muhammad (S), ‘Ali (as), Abu Bakr, and a few women or some prisoners. Suppression had reached to its highest degree in Mecca. A number of Muslims were in prison, being repeatedly lashed.

If there were some youth who secretly loved Muhammad (S) and Islam, they would not dare to express it. Muhammad (S) had decided to migrate to Medina and had told the secret only to ‘Ali (as), i.e., his best confidant. ‘Ali (as) was supposed to sleep in place of the Prophet (S) at that horrible night and to cover himself with the Prophet (S)’s green striped sheet and act in a way that the Quraysh would not have the slightest suspicion of what was going on.

The criminal youth of Quraysh were lingering around the house of the Prophet (S) to commit the crime. A silence was pervading over the whole city. The unsheathed swords were glittering. The young traitors rushed to the sleeping room of the Prophet (S). Is that Muhammad or ‘Ali? They wondered. Is he asleep or awake? What should they do? … Muhammad (S) had by then gotten out of their reach! They put ‘Ali (as) under pressure to reveal to them the hiding place of Muhammad (S).

They threatened to kill him but all he said was that Muhammad (S) had left Mecca. ‘Ali (as) stayed in Mecca to do as he was advised to do by the Prophet (S). He returned what had been entrusted to him to their owners. Then, together with some men and women, he set out for Medina. The whole self-sacrifice and hardship was for the sake of God and the Prophet (S).

Muslims, numbering seven hundred, and the Quraysh infidels, consisting of three thousand horsemen and two thousand foot-soldiers with full equipment entered the battle field. In this battle ‘Ali (as) killed many of the infidels with his piercing sword. Every time the resentful enemy encircled the Holy Prophet (S), ‘Ali (as) would disperse them.