Route of the Hijra

Stops

1. Makkah: starting point of the Hijra

   The Prophet ﷺ left his house at night and went to Abu Bakr's house; according to the sira, the two left through an opening at the back of Abu Bakr's house. The exact location of the houses is not known with certainty.

2. Cave of Thawr

   The Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr stayed three nights in this cave to escape the pursuit of the Quraysh. The cave is one of the best-known stations of the Hijra.

   Revelation

   إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ثَانِىَ ٱثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِى ٱلْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَٰحِبِهِۦ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَنَا ۖ فَأَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُۥ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُۥ بِجُنُودٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ٱلسُّفْلَىٰ ۗ وَكَلِمَةُ ٱللَّهِ هِىَ ٱلْعُلْيَا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

   Quran 9:40–40

   Meaning translation (AI-assisted), not the Quran text itself

   If you do not help him, God has already helped him: when those who disbelieved drove him out as the second of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion, 'Do not grieve; indeed God is with us', God sent down His tranquility upon him and supported him with armies you did not see.

   During the Hijra the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr hid in the Cave of Thawr; when Abu Bakr was anxious, the Prophet ﷺ said: 'Do not grieve, God is with us.' Exegetes link this verse to this event (Ibn Kathir).

   • Tafsir Ibn Kathir 9:40
   • Ibn Hisham, al-Sira al-Nabawiyya

   HadithSahih

   Sahih al-Bukhari 3653

   Meaning summary

   Abu Bakr said that if one of them looked down at his feet, he would see them. The Prophet ﷺ replied: What do you think of two whose third is Allah?

   Conversation in the cave while the Quraysh were searching for them. The hadith records the Prophet's answer to Abu Bakr's fear at this station of the Hijra.

   • sunnah.com/bukhari:3653

3. Qudayd: Umm Ma'bad's tent

   The sira reports that the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr stopped at the tent of Umm Ma'bad of the Khuza'a and asked for food and milk. The name and exact location of the place are not certain.

4. Encounter with Suraqa ibn Malik

   Suraqa ibn Malik pursued them for a reward offered by the Quraysh. When his horse sank into the ground, he asked the Prophet ﷺ for forgiveness; the Prophet ﷺ prayed for him and Suraqa turned back. The sira does not fix the exact place.

5. Quba Mosque

   According to the sira, the Prophet ﷺ stayed a few days in Quba before entering Madinah and founded a mosque there. The Quba mosque is counted among the earliest mosques in Islam.

   Revelation

   لَا تَقُمْ فِيهِ أَبَدًا ۚ لَّمَسْجِدٌ أُسِّسَ عَلَى ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ مِنْ أَوَّلِ يَوْمٍ أَحَقُّ أَن تَقُومَ فِيهِ ۚ فِيهِ رِجَالٌ يُحِبُّونَ أَن يَتَطَهَّرُوا۟ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُطَّهِّرِينَ

   Quran 9:108–108

   Meaning translation (AI-assisted), not the Quran text itself

   A mosque founded upon piety from the first day is more worthy of your standing in it. In it are men who love to purify themselves, and God loves those who purify themselves.

   The context contrasts the Mosque of Harm (Masjid al-Dirar), built by hypocrites, with a mosque founded on piety. Many exegetes identify it with Quba; others also apply it to the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah.

   • Tafsir Ibn Kathir 9:108
   • al-Wahidi, Asbab al-Nuzul

6. Masjid al-Jumu'ah (Banu Salim valley)

   According to the sira, on his way to Madinah the Prophet ﷺ led the first Friday prayer in the valley of the Banu Salim. The place is remembered as the site of the first Friday prayer after the Hijra.

7. Masjid an-Nabawi

   According to the sira, the Prophet's ﷺ camel knelt at the place that later became the site of the Prophet's Mosque, which was built there together with the Prophet's ﷺ own dwelling.