The Migration of Hazrat Umar (ra)
With regard to Hazrat Umar’s (ra) migration to Medina, Hazrat Abdullah (ra) bin Abbas narrates that Ali (ra) bin Abi Talib said to him:
“From among the Muhajireen, I do not know anyone who did not migrate discreetly, except for Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (ra). When he decided to migrate, he took his sword, hung his bow across his shoulder, held arrows in his hand and went towards the Ka‘bah.
“The leaders of the Quraish were present in the vicinity of the Ka‘bah. Hazrat Umar (ra) calmly performed seven circuits of the Ka‘bah, and then went to Maqam-e-Ibrahim and offered his prayers with ease. He then went to each tribe individually and said to them, ‘May the faces become disfigured and their noses be rubbed in the dust! Whoever wishes for their mother to be separated from him, for their children to become orphaned and for their wives to become widowed, should meet me beyond this valley.’”
Hazrat Ali (ra) then stated, “Aside from a few weak and helpless Muslims, nobody went after Hazrat Umar (ra). Hazrat Umar (ra) imparted information to them and having guided them, he set off on his journey.”
(Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 3, Umar bin al-Khattab (ra) Hijratuh [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Fikr, 2003], pp. 648-649)
Hazrat Umar (ra) openly declaring that he was about to migrate has only been mentioned in this narration by Hazrat Ali (ra), whereas the majority of biographers hold a different view to this.
Muhammad Husayn Haykal has written a book about the life and character of Hazrat Umar (ra). In his book, he has argued that with regard to the migration, the Holy Prophet (sa) had instructed to migrate from Mecca quietly and discreetly, lest the opponents became aware of it and tried to stop them or hinder them. Therefore, in light of this clear instruction, how could it be that Hazrat Umar (ra) would disobey this instruction, especially given that in Al-Tabaqat by Ibn Saad and Ibn Hisham, it is written that Hazrat Umar (ra) migrated secretly along with the rest of the Muslims?
Nonetheless, if one deems the narration of Hazrat Ali (ra) to be correct, then it could be the case that Hazrat Umar (ra) made this announcement, but did not migrate at that time; i.e. he announced before the leaders of the Quraish in the vicinity of the Ka‘bah that he would migrate and so whoever wished to stop him could try, but then he did not migrate at the time.
Then later, when it was time to migrate, he migrated quietly. Nevertheless, what Haykal has mentioned is also significant and as mentioned earlier, Ibn Saad in Al-Tabaqat and Ibn Hisham have also stated this. It seems that in accordance with the command of the Holy Prophet (sa), Hazrat Umar (ra) also migrated quietly along with the other Muslims, because given the situation of Mecca at the time, it was not possible to migrate by announcing their intentions. In fact, we find that until the Conquest of Mecca, anyone who migrated had to do so in secret.
Nonetheless, if the narration of Hazrat Ali (ra) is to be deemed correct, then it could be an action from his own part, but the apparent evidence suggests that this [narration] is not correct.
(Muhammad Husain Haikal, Al-Faruq Umar, Vol. 1, Bab fi Suhbat al-Nabi (sa), [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2007], pp. 53-54)
Hazrat Bara bin Aazib (ra) narrates:
“The first from among the Muhajireen to reach us was Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair, who belonged to the Banu Abd al-Dar tribe, followed by Hazrat Ibn Umm Maktum, who was blind and belonged to the Banu Fihr tribe. After them, it was Hazrat Umar (ra) bin Khattab, along with 20 people on horseback. We enquired from them about the Holy Prophet (sa), to which they said that he was behind them”, i.e. that he would come after a while. “Then after some time, the Holy Prophet (sa) came and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) was with him.”
(Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 4 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2003], p. 145)
If this narration is correct, then it is very possible that Hazrat Umar (ra) would have mentioned his migration before a gathering and vehemently announced that if anyone wished, they could try to stop him, but then he migrated quietly because in this narration, it is stated that 20 people migrated with him. Nevertheless, Allah knows best. Upon arrival in Medina, Hazrat Umar (ra) stayed in Quba with Rifa‘a bin Abdil Munzir.
(Sheikh Shah Moinuddin Ahmad Nadvi, Siyar al-Sahabah, Vol. 1 [Karachi, Pakistan: Dar al-Isha‘ah, 2004], p. 93)
Quba is an elevated area situated three miles from Medina and at the time, some families of the Ansar had settled there. The most eminent from among those families was that of Amr bin Auf. The leader of this family was Kulthum bin Hidam, with whom the Holy Prophet (sa) stayed when he arrived in Quba.
(Sayyid Fadl al-Rahman, Farhang-i-Sirat [Karachi, Pakistan: Zawwar Academy Publications, 2003], p. 230)