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made with the Prophet. On one occasion, there was only one
camel between six of them. They used to take turns to ride on it.
The skin began peeling off their feet from incessant walking, and
they used to bind them with rags. That was why the expedition
came to be known as
Zatul-Riqa’ah, riqa’ah
meaning rags or patches.
Food rations ran so low that people would suck dates rather than
eat them. Acacia leaves and locusts would make up the rest of their
diet. Added to this the Emigrants had to contend with a drastic
change of diet. In Makkah they had been used to consuming meat
and milk. In Madinah dates constituted the major portion of their
diet. One day, according to Tabarani, when the Prophet came to
take the Friday congregational prayer, a MakkanMuslim called out
to him: “Prophet of God, these dates have burnt our intestines.”
The emigration to Madinah was a watershed in Islamic history.
From a practical point of view, Islam emerged from a purely
missionary phase and entered a period of active confrontation.
During the period when he was solely concerned with preaching,
the Prophet used to work according to one hard-and-fast principle.
He used to steer clear of all controversial political, economic and
tribal issues and concentrate entirely on giving good news of the
joys of paradise, and warning of the punishment of hell. When he
preached the message of Islam to the Bani ‘Amir ibn Sasa’a tribe in
the fair of Ukaz, he assured them at the same time that all he would
do was pursue his preaching work in a peaceful manner; he would
not raise any extraneous issue. “I am God’s prophet,” he said. If
I come amongst you, will you protect me so that I can continue
to communicate my message? I will not force you on any matter.”
(Abu Na’eem,
Dala’il Al-Nubuwwah,
p. 100)
In Madinah preaching work still remained the basic purpose
of the Prophet’s mission. But the spectrum had broadened, and
now Islam had to take account of social issues as well. The policy
adopted by the Prophet at this juncture was aimed at softening
people’s hearts towards Islam, so that the purpose of his mission
could be achieved without conflict.
The second way in which people were brought closer to the
