Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
12. Emigration—From Makkah to Madinah
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Umm Habibah, the daughter of Abu Sufyan, a
prominent member of the Quraysh, and her
husband Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh accepted Islam and
emigrated to Abyssinia. There, however, the
husband became a Christian. Not long after that he
died. Hearing of this, the Prophet made
arrangements to marry Umm Habibah by proxy.
After the death of Abu Jahl on the field of Badr,
Abu Sufyan had become the most prominent leader
of the Quraysh. The Prophet would now be his son-
in-law. The marriage had to be completed by proxy,
for it was feared that if Umm Habibah returned to
Makkah, her father would not allow the marriage.
The ceremony was then conducted by Najashi, King
of Abyssinia, and the bride left immediately for
Madinah. With this relationship now established,
Abu Sufyan’s enmity to the Prophet mellowed, and
he converted to Islam one day before the conquest
of Makkah.
The other aspect of this policy was that of “striking
terror” into the hearts of the enemies of Islam. This
consisted of mustering up enough strength and
making such a show of it that there would be no
need to use it. The defeat of the Muslims at Uhud
