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Having satisfactorily accomplished these responsibilities entrusted to him and having arranged for the safe departure of the Prophet's family members to Medina, Ali hastened forward on foot to Medina, travelling only in the night and hiding himself in the day, lest he should fall into the hands of the Quraish. He reached Qoba three days after the arrival of the Prophet, with his feet sorely lacerated and bleeding. The Prophet, overjoyed at seeing him, received him with open arms, and finding him tired and exhausted, shed tears manifesting his fondness and affection for him; he subsequently applied the moisture of his mouth to the wounds of Ali's feet with his own hands and prayed for him. This produced instantaneous relief.

The converts at Qoba desired the Prophet to lay the foundation stone of a mosque for them. The Prophet asked some of his companions to ride on his camel and to make a circuit round the place. It was his intention to build a mosque in the place where the camel stopped. Some of his companions mounted on the back of the camel, but it refused to budge. Then the Prophet asked Ali, his vicegerent, to make the attempt. As soon as Ali set foot in the stirrups, the camel stood up and the Prophet directed Ali to let the animal go by itself without guiding it. Ali let loose the rein, and the camel went round a small piece of ground and came back to its starting point and knelt down. The Prophet marked the site and fixing the position of Qibla, he laid the foundation stone for the mosque. There is a mention of this mosque in the Quran vide Sura IX-109 last portion.

 

This was the last halt of the Prophet before he set out for Medina. Qoba is situated only two miles to the south of Medina, and is remarkable for its beauty and fertility.

The Holy Prophet left Qoba on Friday the 16th Rabi I., corresponding (according to Mr. Caussin de Perceval) with the 2nd of July 622 1.

Boreida b. Al Hasib with his seventy neophytes (new converts) formed a procession, carrying as standard his lance with a piece from his turban fastened to its upper end.

 

It being Friday, the Prophet stopped at Raanawna, a place midway between Qoba and Medina, and performed his Friday Prayers, followed by a sermon to the Muslims present. This Friday Service and the Sermon were the first, to be observed always thereafter.

 

When the Prophet after the Service, was proceeding to Medina, the whole spectacle with its ceremonial solemnity looked really grand, like a triumphal procession headed by a monarch, increasing in its majestic grandeur as it approached the City, where thousands of spectators had assembled to have a look at the great Prophet of Islam. History of the world records no greater example of the triumph of truth.

 

Each tribe, which he passed through, desired the honour of his presence and requested him to take up his abode with them. The Prophet, refusing all these offers, said that the camel, which he rode on, was inspired and would take him to the proper quarter. The camel proceeded on to the eastern sector and knelt down in the open courtyard of the Banu Najjar, near the house of Khalid b. Zaid, known in history as Abu Ayyub Ansari, the then head of the Banu Najjar family-the family to which Muhammad's grand father Abd-al-Mottalib's mother Selma belonged. He was delighted to be fortunate to have the honour of the Prophet's presence.

After his arrival in Medina, one of the first acts of the Holy Prophet was to establish the brotherhood, individually between the people of Medina (known as AnsarsHelpers) and the emigrants of Mecca known as Mohajirs, and_to lay the foundation of the Prophet's mosque known as Masjid-e-Nabavi.

The Prophet inculcated the fundamental principle that brotherhood depended not on blood but on faith alone. The rights of family inheritance within Islam, were expressly valid and sacred. These mandates resulted in a considerable extension of the Muslim community.

 

His own brotherhood the Prophet bestowed upon Ali, his cousin, as previously he had done in Mecca, declaring according to Suyuti, "Thou art My Brother in this world and in the next".

 

The Muslims were sympathetic and considerate to one another after the brotherhood was enjoined. They were so zealous in their faith that nothing else came before Islam; and anything outside of it was looked upon as unholy. In fact, they were animated with a strange spirit of firmness in their adherence to the Prophet and of cohesiveness to hold together. Gibbon gives the account in the following words : "To eradicate the seeds of jealousy. Muhammad judiciously coupled his principal followers with the rights and obligations of brethren; and when Ali found himself without a peer, the Prophet tenderly declared that he would be the companion and brother of the noble youth. The expedient was crowned with success; the Holy fraternity was respected in peace and war, and the two parties vied with each other in a generous emulation of courage and fidelity." W. Smith's p. 460. The ordinance of brotherhood is given thus in the Quran : "Verily those who believe and have emigrated and have tried with their substance and their souls for the cause of God, and those who have given them shelter and been helpful, shall be near of kin (heirs) the one to the other." Sura VIII-73 2.

The Holy Prophet took up his temporary residence in the house of Abu Ayub Ansari for seven months, until the Masjid-e-Nabavi, with proper quarters for himself, was built in the courtyard where the camel had stopped.

 

The construction work was distributed among the Mohajirs and the Ansars-the Prophet, too, had his share of the work. But he was seldom allowed to work, as Ammar Yasir used to accomplish the Prophet's share of work in addition to his own. Ammar Yasir was the first and foremost to begin the foundation of the mosque, and Ali was the first to offer his services as a labourer working alongside with the other members of the fraternity, shovelling the earth when the foundations were being laid and later carrying on his shoulders, baskets of mortar and brick which he passed on to the masons. While thus labouring, Ali used to recite the following verse :

 

Whosoever builds a mosque
And works whether sitting or standing
Puts up with the pain of labour
While others shirk work
For fear of dust and pain
Both of these verily
Cannot equal each other.

When the mosque and residential houses were ready, the Prophet and Ali, (his chosen companion) shifted from their temporary residence to the permanent ones.

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1 Caussin de Perceaval Vol. iii. pp. 17-20; Ibn-Hisham p. 335. 18

2 Taliquat Ibn-e-Saad Vol. III page 13, Riazunnazarah Vol. II page 1, Usdul Ghalia Vol. I page 269, Muntakheb Kanz-ul Ummal page 145, Kunuz-ul-Haquaiq page 20.

Adapted from: "Ali, The Magnificent" by: "Yousuf N. Lalljee"