Migration to Medina
According to one narration, the last individuals to migrate to Medina were Hazrat Ali (ra) and Hazrat Suhaib (ra) bin Sinaan, who migrated in the middle of Rabi‘ al-Awwal [third month in the Islamic calendar]. The Holy Prophet (sa) was staying in Quba and had not yet set off for Medina.
(al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 172, Suhaib bin Sinaan, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2017)
In one narration, it is mentioned that when Hazrat Suhaib (ra) set off to migrate towards Medina, a party of idolaters pursued him. He subsequently dismounted, emptied his quiver and said, “O party of the Quraish! You know that I am among your most skilful archers. By Allah! You will not be able to reach me until I fire all of my arrows at you. I will then fight you with my sword until I am left empty handed. Therefore, you may do as you please. If it is my wealth you desire, I will tell you where it is and you may then leave my path.” These people replied in the affirmative.
Hence, Hazrat Suhaib (ra) told them [where his wealth was] and when he presented himself before the Holy Prophet (sa), the Holy Prophet (sa) said that this deal had been profitable for Abu Yahya”, i.e. it had been beneficial for him.
The narrator says that upon this, the following verse was revealed:
وَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ یَّشْرِیْ نَفْسَہُ ابْتِغَآءَ مَرْضَاتِ اللّٰہِ وَاللّٰہُ رَءُوْفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ
“And of men there is he who would sell himself to seek the pleasure of Allah; and Allah is Compassionate to [His] servants.” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.208)
(al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, pp. 171-172, Suhaib bin Sinaan, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2017)
According to one narration, Hazrat Suhaib (ra) went to the Holy Prophet (sa) after migrating from Mecca to Medina. At the time, the Holy Prophet (sa) was in Quba and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat Umar (ra) were with him. At the time they all had fresh dates in front of them, which were brought by Hazrat Kulthum (ra) bin Hidam. On the way, Hazrat Suhaib (ra) contracted an eye infection (he had an ailment of the eye), but was also suffering from starvation and tiredness due to the journey. When Hazrat Suhaib (ra) rushed towards the dates, Hazrat Umar (ra) said, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah, look at Suhaib (ra); he has an eye infection and is eating the dates”. The Holy Prophet (sa) replied in a lighthearted manner saying, “You are eating the dates despite your eye infection?”, i.e. he had swollen eyes with tears running down. Hazrat Suhaib (ra) submitted, “I am eating whilst using the side of my eye which is healthy”. Upon hearing this, the Holy Prophet (sa) smiled. Hazrat Suhaib (ra) turned to Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and said, “You promised me that you would take me with you in the migration, but you went without me.” He then turned to the Holy Prophet (sa) and said, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah, you also promised to take me along with you on the migration, but you also left without me. The Quraish captured me and detained me, so I had to buy my freedom and that of my family by giving up my wealth.” The Holy Prophet (sa) replied, “This was a very beneficial deal indeed.”
Thereafter, God Almighty revealed the verse:
وَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ یَّشْرِیْ نَفْسَہُ ابْتِغَآءَ مَرْضَاتِ اللّٰہِ وَاللّٰہُ رَءُوْفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ
“And of men there is he who would sell himself to seek the pleasure of Allah; and Allah is Compassionate to [His] servants.” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.208)
Hazrat Suhaib (ra) said, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah, I took with me one mudd [approximately 0.5kg] of flour as provisions for my journey, which I had prepared at Abwah until I reached you.”
(al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 172, Suhaib bin Sinaan, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2017)
This was all he had to eat on this journey.
In this regard, Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) writes:
“Suhaib (ra) was a prosperous merchant and in Mecca he was considered a reputable person, but despite the fact that he was wealthy and was no longer a slave, the Quraish continued to beat him even after his release to the extent that he would pass out. When the Holy Prophet (sa) left Mecca and migrated to Medina, Suhaib (ra) also wanted to migrate, but the Meccans stopped him from doing so. They said that he was not permitted to take the wealth he had earned in Mecca with him. Suhaib (ra) offered to surrender all his property and earnings and asked whether they would then let him go. The Meccans accepted the arrangement. Suhaib (ra) handed everything over to them and reached Medina empty-handed and met the Holy Prophet (sa). The Holy Prophet (sa) said to him, ‘Out of all the transactions you have ever made, this was the best.’ In other words, he previously used to earn money by trading goods, but this time he traded money in return for his faith.”
(Dibacha Tafsir-ul-Quran, Anwarul Ulum, Vol. 20, pp. 194-195)