The Reaction of the Koraysh

The Koraysh were deeply angered that the Prophet (sa) had slipped through their fingers. They searched Mecca from beginning to end but there was no sign of him, nor could anyone throw light upon his whereabouts. Abu Bakr had left his daughters, Ayesha, who was now seven years old, and her elder sister Asma with his wife Umm Ruman in Mecca.

Eventually several members of the Koraysh, including Abu Jahl, suspected that Abu Bakr might have accompanied the Prophet (sa) so they went to his house to demand his whereabouts. Ayesha answered the door and when she told them that she did not know where her father was, Abu Jahl struck her with such force that her earring flew off. Abu Jahl and his companions failed to extract the information they sought and so they left in the hope that they would be more successful elsewhere.

In the meantime, the Koraysh chieftains offered a substantial reward of no less than one hundred camels for his capture. The lure of owning such a herd encouraged many parties to set off on the road to Yathrib in search of him. Three days had now passed but this time when Abdullah and his sister Asma brought provisions they also brought news of the reward that had been offered.

Abu Bakr then told his son that the next time he came he should bring Abdullah, Arkat's son to guide them on to Yathrib and that they should also bring enough provisions for the journey and their camels. Although Abdullah, Arkat's son had not yet embraced Islam, Abu Bakr knew him to be not only reliable but trustworthy, and was confident he would never betray them.

The Scorpion

There were many caves in Mount Thawr and when they found one which was suitable, Abu Bakr had entered first on that eventful first day of the migration. However, as he entered he had noticed there were several holes in both its walls and floor and feared they might be home to snakes or other poisonous insects, or even reptiles, so he looked around the cave and found some stones to plug them.

He had almost finished plugging them when he ran out of stones. He searched for some more but there were none to be found so he tore pieces of cloth from his garment and pushed them deep down into the holes. When the Prophet (sa) entered he lay down and rested his head upon Abu Bakr's lap and slept. Only one hole remained unplugged, as there had be insufficient cloth with which to plug it so Abu Bakr lodged his elbow in it to seal the hole. As the Prophet (sa) slept, a scorpion that had been hiding in that very hole bit Abu Bakr.

The bite was extremely painful, yet Abu Bakr, whose manners where of such high quality, did not move, nor yet did he cry out in pain as he feared he might disturb the Prophet (sa) whilst he slept. The pain increased as the flesh around the bite became red and very swollen as the poison took effect. At last a tear fell from Abu Bakr's eye onto the Prophet (sa) before he could catch it and the Prophet (sa) awoke.

When he saw the very pained expression on his face he was troubled and asked what ailed him whereupon Abu Bakr told him of the scorpion's bite. Prophet Muhammad (sa) said, "Bismillah" and treated the bite with his salvia and breath and immediately, both the pain and swelling left him -- Abu Bakr had been blessed with a miraculous cure.

A Change of Direction

By now the search parties had exhausted the roads leading to Yathrib so they started to look in other directions so it wasn't surprising that one such party decided to search the caves of Mount Thawr. As they neared Mount Thawr. Allah caused yet another miracle to occur, a spider spun a huge web across the entrance of the cave, and a pair of pigeons gathered some twigs from a nearby tree, then built a nest beneath the web on the ledge.

When the search party reached the Mount they explored the caves thoroughly and as they neared the cave the female pigeon settled herself on the nest and laid her eggs whilst her mate perched nearby. The shouts and tramping of footsteps grew nearer and nearer.

Soon, footsteps could be heard on the ledge directly above the cave. Abu Bakr became alarmed at the thought of being discovered and whispered to the Prophet (sa), "If they look under their feet they will see us!" In his gentle, reassuring manner, Prophet Muhammad (sa) consoled him saying, "What do you think of two people who have Allah with them as their third?" When Abu Bakr heard these words peace descended upon him and his fear vanished. Shortly after, one of the search party noticed the cave underneath the ledge on which he was standing and peered over to take a better look at it.

When he saw the spider's web and the pigeon sitting on its nest he told the others that it would be a complete waste of time and effort to climb down to check the cave as he was sure it must be empty on account of the nest and the spider's web. Another peered over the ledge and agreed saying the cob-web was so old that it must have been spun before the Prophet (sa) had even been born!

The bounty hunters agreed and left not knowing how close they had been to the Prophet (sa) and his companion. As for the pigeons, their descendants are those that fly around Ka'ba today. That night Abdullah and his sister Asma, accompanied by Amir, the shepherd, who came without his flock this time, and Arkat's son Abdullah, made their way with the camels to the cave where they were awaited. When they reached the mountain, Abdullah and his companions waited for the Prophet (sa) and Abu Bakr to descend its slope.

Asma had packed a bag full of provisions for the journey, however, in her haste she had forgotten to bring a rope to secure them on to the camel's back. Being a resourceful young lady, she untied the rope belt from around her waist, divided it in two and tied the bag securely onto the camel then used the remainder as her belt, from that time onward she was often referred to with tenderness as "she of the pair of belts.”

And so the Prophet (sa), Abu Bakr and their guide set out on the second stage of their migration to Yathrib, soon to be renamed Medina, whilst his children and the shepherd returned in safety to Mecca.

The Journey to Yathrib

Abdullah, Arkat's son, knew the trails of the desert well for he was a very experienced guide. It was decided that it would be more prudent not to go straight on to Yathrib, but to make an extensive detour and so Abdullah led the holy party across the desert to the sea near a village called Usfan.

Umm Mabad

At a place called Kudayd they met an old lady named Umm Mabad, and asked if she would sell them some milk and meat. Meanwhile Prophet Muhammad (sa) had noticed a weak goat lagging behind the others in the herd, it was evident that its udder was dry, so he went to it, massaged its udder then miraculously milked it. There was so much milk that it filled a large jug and they all took their fill whilst Umm Mabad looked on in amazement. After they had enjoyed the milk, the Prophet (sa) massaged its udder again and filled the jug to the brim with milk and gave it to Umm Mabad, then they continued on their journey.

From that time onward the goat never ceased to produce milk in the morning and night, and lived up until the caliphate of Omar, the son of Khattab. Later, when Umm Mabad's husband returned she told him how a blessed man happened to have passed by and showed him the jug of milk then related what had happened. Her husband asked her to describe the man whereupon she described him in detail and her husband exclaimed, "By Allah, this is the companion of the Koraysh, if I see him I will follow him!"

Umm Mabad had no idea she had been in the company of the Prophet (sa) and had not been shy to observe his features; it is through her observations and another like her that we receive a detailed account of his physical description. During their migration they were to encounter a slave shepherding his master's flock, when they asked if they might buy some milk the slave told them that none yielded milk and that the one that lambed the year before way now dry. Once again, the Prophet (sa) gently took the sheep, milked it three times and the shepherd embraced Islam.