Migration to Medina
When Hazrat Bilal (ra) migrated to Medina, he stayed at the home of Hazrat Sa‘d bin Khaithamah (ra). The Holy Prophet (sa) established a bond of brotherhood between Hazrat Bilal (ra) and Hazrat Ubaidah bin Harith (ra); according to another narration, the Holy Prophet (sa) established the bond of brotherhood between Hazrat Bilal (ra) and Hazrat Abu Ruwaiha Khathami (ra).
(Ibn Sa‘d, Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 3, Bilal bin Rabah [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2017] 176)
When the Holy Prophet (sa) arrived in Medina, some Companions were beginning to fall ill. Among them were Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), Hazrat Bilal (ra) and Hazrat Aamir bin Fuhaira (ra). Hazrat Aisha (ra) narrates that when the Holy Prophet (sa) arrived in Medina, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat Bilal (ra) developed a fever. When Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) had a fever, he would recite an Arabic couplet, the translation of which is, “Whenever a person wakes up in their home, he is given the greeting of ‘good morning’, though he is in a state where death is nearer to him than the laces of his shoes.” When Hazrat Bilal’s (ra) fever would subside, he would cry loudly and read the following couplet; the translation of which is, “If only I could know, if I will ever spend a night in Mecca, where I will be surrounded by idhkir and jalil [fragrant grass] or if I will ever go to Majannah and drink its water.”
Majannah is located a few miles away from Mecca, near Marruz Zahran. During the time of jahiliyyah [time of ignorance before the advent of Islam] there was a famous festival held by the Arabs in Marruz Zuhran after the festival of Ukaz. After the festival of Ukaz, the Arabs would move to Majannah and stay there for 20 days. In any case, Hazrat Bilal(ra) wondered whether he would ever drink the water there and said, “Will my eyes ever behold the mountains of Shaamah and Tafil again?” He was saying this in the form of a poetic couplet. Tafil is a mountain located approximately 10 miles away from Mecca and there is another mountain near it which was known as Shaamah. Then Hazrat Bilal (ra) would say, “O Allah! Cursed be Shi‘bah bin Rabi‘ah, Utbah bin Rabi‘ah and Umayyah bin Khalf, for they have driven us away from our land towards a land inflicted by disease.” Upon hearing these words of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat Bilal (ra), the Holy Prophet (sa) prayed, “O Allah! Make Medina just as beloved to us as Mecca, or even more than that. O Allah! Bestow Your blessings in our sa‘ and our mudd.” Sa‘ and mudd were the names of common units of measurement. “… and make Medina a place which affords us health and send its illness towards Juhfa.” Juhfa is another city in the direction of Mecca.
Hazrat Aisha (ra) relates, “We arrived in Medina, and it was a place most afflicted with disease in Allah’s earth.” She said, “Some water flowed in the Buthan stream, but even that water had a foul smell.” Buthan is the name of a valley in Medina.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Fada‘il al-Madinah, Bab Karahiyyat al-Nabi (sa) an Ta‘ra al-Madinah, Hadith 1889) (Sayyid Fadl al-Rahman, Farhang-i-Sirat [Karachi, Pakistan: Zawwar Academy Publications, 2003] 58, 180, 259) (Shama‘il al-Nabi (sa), p. 76, footnote) (Sharh Zurqani ala al-Mawahib al-Laduniyyah, Vol. 2, p. 172, [Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut])
During the migration from Qadian, Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) particularly gave the Ahmadis advice with reference to the migration to Medina, saying, “We should not be made to worry due to this migration”. At the time, whilst referring to the incident of Hazrat Bilal (ra) and mentioning the instruction of the Holy Prophet (sa), Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) said to his community, “I do not know about others and I cannot say anything to them,” i.e., the non-Ahmadi Muslims who have migrated, “but to the Ahmadis I say that you should abandon the thought that you have suffered loss,” i.e., you have migrated here and have lost everything. “The Holy Prophet (sa) would pity those muhajireen [companions migrating] who lamented the loss of their home and possessions.
“When the Holy Prophet (sa) migrated to Medina, it was known as Yathrib, and malaria was widespread there. Malaria began to spread and the muhajireen caught a fever. On one hand, the Muslims were hurting due to the separation from their homeland and some of them began wailing and weeping whilst remembering Mecca. One day, Hazrat Bilal (ra) also caught the fever, so he started to cry out some couplets he had formed. When the Holy Prophet (sa) looked at him, he expressed his disappointment and said, ‘Is this all you have come here to do?’ In other words, they had migrated and thus there was no need to express grief.”
At the time, Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) advised the Ahmadis who had migrated from India to Pakistan, “I also say to you, remain happy. Do not focus upon what you have lost. Focus on Who you have lost it for. If whatever you have lost is solely for the sake of God Almighty and for the success of Islam, then let this be a source of happiness and do not become despondent. Your faces should not show signs of sorrow, rather the signs of joy should be visible upon them.”
(Qadian se Hamari Hijrat, Anwar al-Ulum, Vol. 21, p. 379)
Thus, Ahmadis had this mind-set [upon migrating] and this was the advice of the Khalifa of the time, that our migration was for the sake of Allah and for the service of Islam. Today, the very people who were against the establishment of Pakistan claim to be those who have laid the foundation for Pakistan. And through lies and deception, they are depriving Ahmadis of their basic rights in that same country for which Ahmadis rendered the greatest sacrifices.