The Prophet (s.

The Prophet (s.a.w.w.) spent three days in the cave, during which Imam Ali (a.s.) sometimes brought food for them and at other times, Abu Bakr's son Abdullah came with the provisions. It was on one of these nights that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w.) asked Imam Ali (a.s.) to return all the Amanat (trust) of the people that had been left with him and to bring them camels to continue their travels with.

After three days, they set out towards Medina, travelling at night and resting during the day so the spies would not catch them. On their way, one of the Quraysh spies suddenly caught up with them. He wanted to stop the Prophet (s.a.w.w.), who raised his hands and prayed to Allah (S.W.T.): " O Rahmaan! Who takes care of His own servants. O Rahim, Who shows Mercy to His own believers, we praise no one but You. I do worship none but You; You are the only one Whom I seek assistance from.

Oh my Lord, I am migrating towards You, protect us from the evil and take care of us. Indeed, You are the one Who is All-Powerful." As soon as he finished this du'a, the horse which was galloping towards them, threw its rider off. The rider quickly got back on the horse but it threw him off again.When it did this the third time, he suddenly realized that this was a message for him that was he was planning to do was wrong.

He was immediately ashamed and went towards the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) asking for forgiveness. The Prophet (s.a.w.w.) accepted his apology and asked him to help them by making sure that no one else followed them. The man eagerly agreed to do this. In the meantime, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w.) made his way towards Yathrib. The people of Yathrib were so keen to meet him that they - together with the Muhajireen who had already migrated to Medina - rushed out to greet him.

They saw him approach at a small village outside Medina called Quba. Here the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) stopped and waited for Imam Ali (a.s.), who was also bringing the women of the Prophet (s.a.w.w.)'s household, to join him. When Imam (a.s.) arrived, the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) then entered Medina with him and began to establish his base there amongst his sincere followers.

This Hijrat is one of the greatest events in Islam and marks a turning point in the history of the Prophet (s.a.w.w.)'s mission.It is however, important to understand that the Hijrat that Islam encourages us to perform applies at this time, not as a physical movement but as spiritual one.