The Decision to Emigrate

Many of us, for various reasons, have decided to travel and leave our country to start a new life in a new country. Often, that life is different from what we were accustomed to in our home country. There, the culture and customs differ, and perhaps even appearance and clothing. Even language and religion may differ.

 Integration and Identity

From here begins the difficult equation between the integration of a person into the new society and coexisting with it, along with his family, while maintaining their identity and clinging to the religion, culture, and customs they lived with before their expatriation. Each of us remains in a state of intense confusion between considering their new life in exile as a temporary phase that should pass quickly until they return to their homeland. As a result, expatriates may disregard the importance of integrating with the new society and engaging with its cultures, arts, and politics. Consequently, the isolation increases over the years, and things become more complicated as children enter the stages of adolescence and then maturity in the new society.

 Fascination with the New Society

On the other hand, some express fascination with the new society and eagerly seek to merge into it with full force, perhaps motivated by the misery of the reality they experienced in their homeland and their desire to change their way of life. However, they encounter many challenges that begin from the very first day, regarding the acceptance of the new society, as well as the possibility of losing their identity over time, especially in the second and third generations of their children.

Historical Insights

Studying history, specifically the biography of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and understanding it correctly is one of the most important means to answer many questions and situations that arise in our lives. This has led to searching through the pages of his biography for the closest events and periods that can be referred to as a reference and guide in understanding the details of the life of the emigrants.

Migration to Medina

The migration to Medina was a migration to establish the emerging Islamic state in a new community that shared the same culture, language, and religion. Everyone who migrated there was aware that this was a new phase in their lives and not a temporary displacement. Therefore, it does not apply to what we are searching for or to the reality we are currently facing, in which some are fleeing from their homelands in search of a better life in terms of safety and stability.

Migration to Abyssinia

As for what closely resembles the state of alienation that many people experience in our time, it is the migration to Abyssinia. A group of Muslims emigrated after their homelands became narrow for them; it was difficult for them to continue their lives in Mecca, as the doors were closed, and safety was lost. They were besieged and restricted in their daily sustenance. Here came the indication from the noble Prophet, peace be upon him: "If you go to the land of Abyssinia, there is a king there under whom no one is wronged," which initiated the journey of migration to a country that is completely different in terms of customs, culture, language, and religion. You can imagine how many years the Muslims lived in Abyssinia—not just one year, nor five, nor even ten years, but a full fifteen years living and coexisting in a state and society completely different from the reality of Muslims in Mecca.

Questions About Integration

We start with the famous position of the Negus with our master Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, and there are many unanswered questions that we will try to address through this series. For example: Did the migrants integrate into the new Abyssinian society, or did the differences in language, culture, and religion remain a barrier to integration? Where did the migrants reside in Abyssinia? What type of work did they engage in to earn their living? And how were their sources of income?

Challenges of Exile

Do they learn the language of the land of exile (Abyssinian), or did they consider their presence in Abyssinia to be a temporary station and therefore unnecessary? Did they maintain their traditional attire or change it to align with the new society? To what extent did they engage with the political system of the host country? Did Muslims leave an impact on the new society? How did Muslims in Abyssinia respond to the two attempts to overthrow the ruler of the state (the Negus)? And what was their political vision for dealing with the developments of events?

Difficulties and Consequences

Suppose we know that there were Muslims who emigrated to Abyssinia who renounced Islam and returned to Christianity. In that case, this gives a clear indicator of the scale of the challenges and difficulties faced by Muslims in exile, and of the pains of alienation and its impact on the expatriate. We might expect that after Muslims continued in Abyssinia for more than fifteen years, there would be a large number of Abyssinians who embraced Islam. However, the surprise is that those numbers remained limited and there was no real expansion of Islam in the land of Abyssinia. What is the reason for that? Did the Najashi, the king of Abyssinia, really convert to Islam? If the answer is yes, isn't that an opportune opportunity to spread Islam throughout the entire state and to take advantage of the influence and power of the ruler?

The objective of the Series

Those questions and others will be addressed in detail, with the primary goal being to derive lessons and insights from that unique experience in Islamic history, which has not received its due attention in writing and research. In fact, one of the greatest difficulties facing those who seek knowledge and wish to learn more about this period is the scarcity of historical sources. The well-known books of biography did not cover the details of the Muslims' lives in Abyssinia as they did with other events in Mecca and Medina. This may be due to the geographical distance, and perhaps the difficulty of communication. However, this necessitated further research into the biographical sources and both Arab and foreign historical references that dealt with that period to obtain as much information as possible, in addition to a thorough investigation in the references and biographies of each of the eighty-seven emigrants, whose emigration to Abyssinia is agreed upon in the books of biography, to delve into the details of their lives, and to search between the lines in their diaries, to extract any additional information that may help in understanding that period of our history. All of this is aimed at drawing lessons and insights that can assist us in gaining a deeper understanding of our present, particularly in terms of the jurisprudence of life in exile.

Upcoming Episodes

If we want to know the beginning of the journey of sailing to Abyssinia, where it settled, the challenges of the new diaspora that began from the first day of migrating to Abyssinia, the story of the bribery that accompanied the ascension of the Negus to the throne, and whether the migration to Abyssinia was for the poor and oppressed fleeing from the oppression of Quraysh, or whether it included the wealthy and prominent figures to achieve other goals? This is what we will attempt to reveal in more detail in the upcoming episode of the series, God willing.

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