Hijra - Migration

October 14 was the beginning of a new Hijjra year, 1437.  Today is the third day of Muharram.  The Hijjra calendar started with the migration of Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, from Makkah to Madinah, in year 622/623 A.D.  Early scholars said it was in the month of Rabih Al Awal (the third month of the year). 

On Monday, October 12 we also observed Columbus Day, which also has something to do with migration.  The discovery of North America by the Spanish led to the coming of European immigrants to this land to start a legacy that ended with the creation of this great nation of ours.  I have been thinking about Hijjra the whole week, and about what it means to me.

Traditionally, in Friday khutbahs  at the beginning of the Hijjra year, we talk about lessons learned from the migration of Prophet Muhammad from Makkah to Madinah.  But I have not been thinking so much about Prophet Muhammad’s hijjra, as about my own.  I too have a hijjra story, from which I have learned many lessons.  My hijjra was from Egypt to America 30 years ago.  I left the land where I grew up and had many memories of childhood, adolescence and early adulthood.  As it was hard for Prophet Muhammad to leave Makkah, it was hard for me to leave Egypt.  He had to leave, not by choice, but because of hardship, persecution, harassment, and hostility.  I too had to leave Egypt due to hardship.  I was one of many thousands of Muslim activists in Egypt who suffered after the assassination of Sadat in 1981.  Many of us were jailed, lost their jobs, and suffered harassment by state police. 

Thirty years ago America became my home, not Egypt any more.  Thirty years later, America continues to be my beloved home.  Prophet Muhammad was always grateful to the Ansar, the Arab tribes who supported him in Madinah, who welcomed him and his followers when they migrated from Makkah to Madinah.  Prophet Muhammad used to say

“If I had not emigrated from Makkah, I would have liked to be one of the Ansar.”

After the conquest of Makkah, the Ansar were afraid that Prophet Muhammad might choose to relocate back to Makkah, his homeland for 53 years.  He did not.  He told them

“If Al Ansar choose to walk a path, I will choose to walk with them on that path.”  He preferred to go back to Madinah to live the last four years of his life there, until he died.  He was also buried there, in the house where he lived in Madinah.

After the Arab tribes in Makkah were defeated by the Muslims, some other tribes surrounding Makkah decided to form an alliance to fight the new Makkan Muslims.  When the Prophet found out about this, he decided to march towards them in Al Taef.  This was the famous battle of Hunein.  The Muslims won the battle, and there were abundant spoils of war.  Prophet Muhammad decided to give most of the spoils to the Muslims of Makkah who had recently converted to Islam after his conquest of their land.  This was a gesture of generosity and to gain their allegiance.  The Ansar did not get anything, and they were upset.  He gathered them and said, “Do not be upset.  Every one of them is going to go home with something from the spoils of war, but you get to take me home with you – so take me home!”

For Prophet Muhammad, Madinah became his home.  For me, and many other millions of Muslims, America has become our home.  We all came from our countries of origin for all kinds of reasons – political persecution, like myself, better economic opportunities, escape from injustice, etc.  For me, and I am sure for many others, America has been a safe haven.  As Madinah was good for Prophet Muhammad, America has been good to me.

I visit Egypt every year, and have been for thirty years.  Although I have dual citizenship, and still carry an Egyptian passport, every time I travel to Egypt, I enter the country as an American, using my American passport.  Why?  Because I feel safer this way.  It is ironic that I feel safer in the country I adopted than in the country where I grew up.  For me, and for millions of other Muslims, America has been our Madinah.  And for me, I feel I have been surrounded by my own Ansars – my in-laws, my friends, and my colleagues in this country.  My in-laws welcomed me into their family from the first day, in spite of all the differences between me and them, in culture, language and above all faith.  They are all Christian, some of them are devout Christians, but they never stopped giving me love and support.  When my wife was pregnant with our daughter, I had a talk with my father-in-law.  The discussion led to raising children.  He, without any hesitation, said “Of course you are going to raise her as a Muslim.”  I then asked if that would bother him.  He said, “Not at all, because that is what you want her to be.  You are going to raise her as a Muslim, and a good one, just like you.”  Or my brother-in-law, who asked me to carve the turkey at my first Thanksgiving dinner with the family, saying “Since you are now one of our family, we will give you the honor.”

My Ansar were also all our friends, and not just our Muslim friends.  Our Christian, Jewish and Agnostic friends always gave me love and support over the years, although they know I am a devout Muslim.  My Ansar were also my mentors during my training, most of whom were Jewish.   They still mentor me until now, and have had a significant impact on my professional development.  Finally, my Ansar are my colleagues and co-workers, most of whom are non-Muslims.  Without their support and trust, my career would have taken a different path. 

I go back to what the Prophet said,

“If I had not emigrated from Makkah, I would have liked to be one of the Ansar.”  I understand now what he meant.  His migration to Madinah had a significant impact on him as a person, as a human being.  He meant every word he said.  He was trying to assure the Ansar that he had become one of them.  He then said something very profound,

“If the Ansar choose to walk a path, I will walk that path with them.”  When I reflect on my own hijjra, I can also say, “Where my Ansar go, I will go.”  What I mean is that my cultural identity has transformed through the past thirty years.  I truly have become an American Muslim, or a Muslim American, depending on the point of reference.  But I definitely am NOT just a Muslim in America.  This is where home is.  This is the place to which my cultural identity has evolved. 

Thanksgiving

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 in the Plymouth Colony in New England.  The governor of the colony, William Bradford invited about 90 Native Americans (or as the Canadians call them, First Nation people) to a feast where they shared a meal together.  The new settlers, later called the Pilgrims, had a tradition of dedicating three days of prayer to thank the Lord for all his blessings.  That year, the Pilgrims had a good harvest, thanks to the Native Americans who had taught them how to farm the land and grow corn.   So the three days of festivities and prayer were dedicated to thank the Lord for the harvest.

The Pilgrims were devout Christians.  They were Puritans who had disagreed with the Puritans in England.  The Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England.  The Pilgrims, who were called separatists, did not believe the Church of England could be reformed.  They separated themselves from it and wanted to have their own church.  The group suffered persecution in England around 1600.  Some of their leaders were executed for sedition in 1593.  In the late 1500s and early 1600s the Church of England was not tolerant of any religious diversity.  In 1559 under Queen Elizabeth I, the Act of Uniformity was issued.  It made non-attendance of the official Church of England religious services illegal, and imposed a fine of a shilling for each missed service on Sunday.  Anyone who conducted an unofficial service was punished by imprisonment.  That was England around 1600, when the Pilgrims decided to emigrate, first to the Netherlands.  They settled in Leyden.  Years later they realized that it was important to retain their English identity and culture, and that they could not integrate into the Dutch culture.  Then came the idea of emigration to North America.  The first group came on the Mayflower, with the early settlers.  They were supposed to go to Virginia, but the rough sea made them land at Cape Cod in New England.  From there they established a new colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  They befriended the Native Americans who taught them how to farm the land.

As a Muslim who values the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, I find his story similar to the Pilgrims’ story.  The Hijjra (migration from Makkah to Madinah) is a similar story – the Sahabah (his early followers) had to leave Makkah due to religious persecution by the Arab tribes in Makkah.

Before the Hijjra to Madinah, there was an earlier Hijjra.  When the early Muslims suffered persecution by the Arabs in Makkah, Prophet Muhammad advised them to emigrate to Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), where they lived for several years.  Although they settled there and enjoyed religious freedom, they could not integrate into the culture.  They all waited for the right time to go back to Arabia.  Some of them came back to Makkah way before the Hijjra, like the Prophet’s daughter Ruqayya and her husband Othman ibn Affan.  Others came back to Madinah later, after the Treaty of Hudaybiyya, like the Prophet’s cousin Jaffar ibn Abu Taleb.  They all came to Madinah, and not just befriended the Ansar (the Muslims of Madinah), but together they all formed a new community of believers.  As the Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to farm the land, Al Ansar taught Al Muhajireen (the Muslims from Makkah) how to farm in their new land.

When I reflect on the story of Thanksgiving as an American Muslim, I realize that as this holiday has become part of the American culture, it has become part of my own narrative.  Islam is new to America.  Some of the first generations of Muslims who came to America left their country of origin because they were unable to practice their faith freely.  Some of them (including myself) suffered and were persecuted because of their beliefs.  They had to leave their homeland, culture, families and friends, to come to a new land.  They all have enjoyed freedom of religion and practiced their faith with no fear or persecution.

Thanksgiving has become not just an American tradition, but an Islamic holiday.  We as American Muslims should embrace it and celebrate it as part of our own narrative.  The spirit of Thanksgiving is Islamic in nature.  On our two major holidays, Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha, we start our celebration with a prayer, a prayer to thank Allah for His blessings, the blessing of fasting the month of Ramadan, and the blessing of the Abrahamic tradition and foundation of Tawhid, monotheism.

The story of the Pilgrims, the story of the Muhajireen, is our story – the blessings of the new land and new home are the blessings of Thanksgiving. 

As Prophet Muhammad said when he came to Al Madinah,

“Ya Allah, grant Al Madinah double the blessings you granted Makkah.”

“Ya Allah, make us love Al Madinah more than we loved Makkah.”

Ramadan Khutbah

I want to talk today about Ramadan and fasting.  I know you are thinking, “One more Khutbah about Ramadan?  Please…”  But my focus is a little different this time.  I’d like to talk more specifically about our practice of fasting here in America, and how we can look to the history of our faith for “clues” about how we understand its meaning.

I will begin with a story about the journey of fasting in my own family.  I am taking the liberty, with my wife’s permission, of sharing her experience with this pillar of the faith over the years.  She has struggled with fasting since adopting Islam over thirty years ago.  Every year she has tried to fast, and it has been almost impossible for her to abstain from eating and drinking all day, especially in summer, with its 17-18 hours days.  She always felt discouraged and frustrated.  She would be almost incapacitated by dehydration.  Her body physiology was not used to the practice of abstaining, especially from water.  The challenge was not just physical, but also psychological.  The concept of fasting ran counter to everything she had always been taught about the need stay hydrated, especially in summer, and that eating small amounts of food every few hours was the best way to maintain energy and productivity.  On days when she had to work full time, she could not fast.  In spite of all that I encouraged her to fast to the best of her ability – not fast all day, drink water once or twice during the day – whatever she needed to do to get through and function.  She tried different ways over the years, but she always tried to fast.  And Alhamdulillah, to her surprise, she is finally able to fast all day, even in the summer. 

This journey is not unique to her.  We have to think of others who probably struggle with fasting like she has – other converts to Islam in America, children growing up, especially when they see that other people around them do not have to suffer like they do.  We should even think about other Muslims who decided to leave the faith for a time, but then come back to it, and who might find Islamic rituals difficult to follow, especially fasting and praying regularly.  We can go further and say that even for those of us who are used to fasting all our lives, we might find it challenging to keep the tradition while maintaining regular working hours, with everyone expecting us to perform “business as usual,” Ramadan or not.  Muslims in Islamic countries deal with the challenges of Ramadan by changing their life style and work expectations.  In Egypt, for example, no one is expected to do much during Ramadan.  For them, everything is “Baad il Eid,” which means, “After Eid.”  I wish we could do that here, but we cannot, and honestly, we should not.  I remember when I fasted Ramadan for the first time in America, I felt that I had never fasted before in Egypt.  It was so easy in Egypt.  No struggle, it was fun.  But here, having to work long the same long hours every day, it was a challenge.

This leads to the second part of my Khutbah.  Is there anything in the experience of the first Muslims that we can refer to, to inspire us through our challenges with fasting in America?  The concept of fasting in Ramadan as we now know it developed over time in Madinah.  When Prophet Muhammad, pbuh came to Madinah, he found that the Jews were fasting the day of Passover to celebrate the exodus of Prophet Mousa and his followers from Egypt.  He said, “Mousa is our prophet too,” so he decided to fast that day and asked his followers to fast as well.  Sometime during the first year in Madinah, Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad Ayat 183-184 of Surat Al-Baqara, asking the Muslims to fast three specific days –the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th days of every month.  (This later became a tradition of the Prophet for fasting outside of Ramadan.)  Allah also mentioned in these ayat that those who find it difficult to fast do not have to fast, and they could provide a meal to a needy person in Madinah instead.  The rule was general, without any limitations.  It was left up to each Muslim to decide for himself or herself whether or not they could fast.  Allah also mentioned that if someone was sick or traveling, they should not fast, and make up those days later, after Ramadan, whenever possible.

Sometime later, within the first two years in Madinah, Ayah 185 was revealed, asking the Muslims to fast the entire month of Ramadan.  The ayah confirmed to everyone that those who find it difficult should not exhaust themselves by fasting.

It was the month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was first bestowed from on high as a guidance unto man and a self-evident proof of that guidance, and as the standard by which to discern the true from the false.  Hence, whoever of you lives to see this month shall fast throughout it; but he that is ill, or on a journey, shall fast instead for the same number of other days.  God wills that you shall have ease, and does not will you to suffer hardship; but He desires that you complete the number of days required and that you extol God for His having guided you aright, and that you render your thanks unto Him. [2:185]

What a beautiful ayah – a beautiful concept.  Allah wants us to fast, but not to have hardship.  Why?  Because fasting, like all Islamic rituals, has a purpose.  The rituals are not just “Faraid,” - rules to be followed - they are pathways to Allah.  They are there to help us stay on that path.  Hardship might compromise that concept, making us focus more on getting through it at any price, with the risk of losing perspective.  It is worth pointing out here that “fasting” in Arabic - sawm - means literally “to abstain from something.”  For example, in Surat Maryam, God conveyed to Maryam that she should tell the people  

“Behold, abstinence from speech have I vowed to the Most Gracious; hence I may not speak today to any mortal.” [19:26]

When the Muslims began fasting in Madinah, they followed different rules from those we follow today – this was the third phase of fasting.  They ate at sunset.  They were allowed to eat and drink as long as they stayed awake, but if they went to sleep, they would not eat or drink until the next day at sunset.  Some of the commentators say that they believed that was the way the other people of the book, (Jews and Christians) fasted at that time, as Allah said in Ayah 183:

O You who have attained to faith!  Fasting is ordained for you as it was ordained for those before you, so that you might remain conscious of God. [2:183]

Most of the Muslims went to sleep after they prayed Isha, especially when they prayed with the Prophet, in order to be able to get up early for Fajr prayer.  Some of the Muslims could not follow that rule, and were not strict in observing it (including, believe it or not, Omar ibn Khattab).  One day, one of the Prophet’s companions named Sarma ibn Malik, who was a farm worker, inspired another revelation regarding fasting.  He came home at the end of the day with some dates from the field where he worked.  He told his wife, “I do not want to eat dates tonight.  Dates have ‘burned my stomach.’   Take these dates and trade them for something warm to eat.”  He was too tired to stay awake, so he fell asleep.  When his wife came back she woke him up to eat, but he was afraid to, not wanting to violate the rule.  The next day he went to work.  At the end of the day, Prophet Muhammad saw him at the mosque and asked him “What happened to you, you look pale and sick.”  So Sarma ibn Malik told him what happened.  That night, Gibrael came to Prophet Muhammad with Ayah 187 from Surat Al-Baqara, revising the rule of fasting, telling the Muslims that they can eat and drink whenever they want from sunset to dawn.  What is more intriguing in this ayah (Al Baqara 187), is that Allah stated that He knew some of the Muslims were, literally, “cheating” (“takhtanouna anfusakum”).

Allah was not angry with them, but merciful.  He forgave them and lifted that hardship.  There is a wonderful story from the Seerah which illustrates this forgiveness as practiced by the Prophet.  A man came to Prophet Muhammad and said “I am burning in hellfire.  I intentionally broke my fast during the day yesterday.  What should I do?”  The Prophet waited for awhile, according to his companions, waiting for an answer from Allah (as was the case many times in Seerah).  Then he asked for the man to come back to him.  The Prophet had a good sense of humor as well.  He said, “Where is the man on fire?”  The man came back.  The Prophet then said, “Here is what you have to do.  Ask Allah for forgiveness, free a slave.”  The man answered, “I do not have any.”  The Prophet answered, “Then fast for two successive months.”  The man answered, “I cannot.”  The Prophet then said, “Then feed 60 needy people from Madinah.”  The man said, “I cannot.”  The Prophet waited a little bit.  Then a man came with a pot full of dates and gave them to the Prophet to give to the man as a Sadaqa (act of charity).  The Prophet gave it to him and said, “Find 60 needy people in Madinah and feed them these dates.”  The man finally said, “Prophet Muhammad, in this city I am poorer than anyone else.”  Prophet Muhammad laughed out loud and told him, “Go home and feed your family with these dates.”  Just like that.  No hardship, absolute forgiveness and mercy.  Prophet Muhammad understood this poor man’s good intention and solid faith, and never questioned it.

The last thing I want to mention is a fun and interesting fact.  If you think that fasting these past few years has been hard because Ramadan has been in the summer, I would say that it could have been worse.  Ramadan could have fallen during the summer every year.  Let me explain.  Ramadan, in Arabic, is from the root word “Ramada” which literally means “sizzling hot.”  Before Islam, in the time of Jahiliyya, Ramadan correlated with the middle of summer, when it was extremely hot in Makkah.  Before Islam, the Arabs used a lunisolar calendar, just like the Jewish calendar now.  They intercalated the calendar by adding three months every seven years (3, 6, 8) to make up the difference between the solar year and the lunar year.  They did that because it was to their advantage to correlate the months with the seasons.  The most important month for them was the season of Hajj, in the month of “Thor Al Hijja.”  They wanted Hajj to be in the fall season, after their summer trading journey to the north, which was the most important one. They wanted the trade season to precede the Hajj season so they would have goods to trade during Hajj, a big commercial event.  In the year 9 Hijra, Surah At-Tawba (#9) was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, especially Ayah 37, where Allah prohibited the Muslims from doing any future intercalation.  Since then, the months of the Hijjra calendar rotate through the different seasons.  Ramadan now falls in summer, spring, winter and fall.