The Night The Prophet Left Mecca
The Night The Prophet Left Mecca
The Night The Prophet Left Mecca
This verse was revealed to praise Ali ibn abi Talib, when he slept in the bed of the Holy Prophet,
during the night of hijrat.
Immediately after the death of his uncle, Abu Talib, who protected Prophet Muhammad (saw), the
enemies of Islam under held a meeting. It was resolved that one man from every tribe should go
to the Holy Prophet's(saw) house in the darkness of the night and kill him as a group. This would
prevent anyone blaming one individual or tribe. In the dark of the night, the conspirators
surrounded the house of the Holy Prophet (saw) ready to strike. Meanwhile, Allah, the best of
planners, commanded the Holy Prophet (saw) to leave Mecca at once and go to Madina.
The Holy Prophet(saw) informed Ali (as) of the divine plan and asked him to lie down on his bed, in
order to lead the enemies into thinking that it was the Holy Prophet(saw) himself who was
sleeping, thus giving him enough time to leave Mecca unnoticed. Ali (as) asked the Holy Prophet
(saw) if his lying down in his bed would save the Holy Prophet's(saw) life, to which he answered in
the affirmative. So Ali (as) lay down on the Holy Prophet’s (saw) bed, covering himself with his
blanket. Ali(as) made a willing choice of certain death, as the blood-thirsty enemies were lurking
around the house to kill the Holy Prophet(saw) in his bed at any time during the night.
1. In his opinion the life of the Holy Prophet was more valuable than his own;
2. He was absolutely certain that it was the duty of a true believer to obtain the pleasure of Allah
and His messenger, even if one's life has to be bartered;
3. He had the peace of mind which gave him courage to sleep, while just a few feet away, swords
were at the ready to strike him - a singular example of willing surrender to Allah's will.
In the middle of the night, the murderers entered the holy prophet’s (saw) house, approached the
bed and lifted his blanket ready to assassinate. However, they were stunned to find Ali (as) instead
of Muhammad (saw). Confused and bewildered, the assassins rushed out looking for the holy Prophet (saw).
Just like Allah (swt) saved his prophet, our Lord saves us every day from incidents and situations,
some of which we are unaware of. We just need to believe in Allah (swt) and trust him enough to let
him stear the ship of our journey in this world. Source; Tafseer of Agha Mehdi Puya