Hijra Time to Make Tracks
By Bilal Philips | 2026-01-15T18:10:43.641821+00:00 | Topic: Time
Hijra: Time to Make Tracks
Dr. Bilal Philips
Opening
"Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh"
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."
"All praise is due to Allah and may Allah's peace and blessings be on the last Prophet and righteousness until the last day."
Introduction: The Importance of Community
The topic hijra, time to make tracks, addresses essentially community, the Muslim community. The community is made up of individuals but ultimately those individuals make up the community by which Islam is implemented in its fullest.
We know all of the various commandments of Islam call us to community, whether it is salah in jama'ah, our daily prayers done in congregation, whether it is the fasting in Ramadan where the community fast together, those who seek to find out when the month begins, when the month ends, are doing so for the benefit of the community as a whole.
"When it is seen that all of you together should fast. Similarly the giving of zakah, for it to be done properly, it must be done on a community base. To try to do it on an individual level, of course we do this if there is no organized approach to it, but the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad was that of doing it as a community. And so on and so forth, hajj, etc. All of the pillars of Islam, even the very rites of birth and death, all of it calls to community.
The aqiqah, the community sharing in the birth. The janazah, community sharing in the burial. All of Islam calls to community.
So the concept of hijrah addresses fundamentally the maintenance of the Muslim community. That is what is at the bottom of it. For us to be able to effectively implement Islam, we need to be a part and a parcel of the community.
Hadith: The Command to Adhere to Community
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had said in a hadith narrated by al-Harith al-Ash'ari:
"I command you to do five things. The very first one is to adhere to the community. To listen, to obey, to make hijrah and to fight in Allah's cause."
(Narrated by al-Harith al-Ash'ari)
He who secedes from the community as much as a palm's width, has cast aside the bonds of Islam unless he returns. He who breaks off from the community, goes off by himself, a palm's width, the width of a palm, from the community, this is metaphorically speaking. Then he has cast off the bonds of Islam from himself.
And he doesn't regain that until he returns to the community. Because on his own, there are many other narrations, where Prophet (peace be upon him) gave the imagery of the community being like a flock, a flock of sheep. And the stray sheep is the one that the wolf can easily devour.
Satan, satanic forces, the forces of misguidance, are easily able to overcome that individual who goes off on his own. So, the concept of hijrah as I said, is primarily one of protecting the community, of maintaining the ummah. The ummah in all of its versions, whether it is the greater ummah, or it is the lesser ummah of Muslims in given areas of the world.
Quranic Foundation of Hijrah
Now, the Quran lays the foundation of hijrah from the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), in the fourth chapter known as Surah An-Nisa, verse 97, where Allah says:
Allah refers to in different parts of the Quran as self-oppression, because obviously in our disobedience we cannot harm Allah, we cannot oppress Allah, so who do we oppress? We oppress people around us, and in oppressing people around us we oppress ourselves the most, because in the end we will have to face the major consequence. Whatever harm we do to people in this life, it is oppression, but it is nothing like the consequence of that harm coming back on us in the next life. So that sin, whatever sin we do, is ultimately oppression of ourselves.
So those who the angels take in the state of disobedience to Allah, living lives of disobedience to Allah, the angels would ask them at the time of taking their souls:
Those people would say:
And the angels would respond to them saying:
Wasn't Allah's earth expansive, wide, that you could have made hijra in it? You could have emigrated, moved out of that situation?
For those, their abode will be hell. An evil end.
Understanding the Obligation of Hijrah
Hell, as a consequence for having not made hijra, while being in a state of oppression. We know according to sharia, that whenever the consequence of an act is hell, then that act, if you don't do it, this act must be wajib, so that if you don't do it, the consequence is hell. Or the act is haram, that if you do it, the consequence is hell. This is a basic principle in sharia, important for us to understand. How do the scholars get to the point of saying, hijra is wajib, is fard, is obligatory?
If you don't make hijra, then you are in sin. You are committing haram. How do they arrive at that? It is from the texts of the Qur'an and the sunnah itself. It is not done, like some people mistakenly think, that how the scholar or the mufti arrives at it, is he has a bottle sitting on his desk. And inside of that bottle, he has pieces of paper, five pieces of paper. On one piece it says, wajib. On another piece it says, sunnah. Another piece it says, mubah. Another one it says, makruh. And another one it says, haram. So when people call him up, he takes the phone and they ask him for a fatwa, he puts his hand in the bottle, he pulls out a paper, haram. Puts it back. Next call, puts his hand in, he pulls it out again, sunnah. Next call. No.
It's not done like this. It's not arbitrary. It is based on the text of the Qur'an and the sunnah.
So, this text here, which tells us for those people, and these people who were themselves oppressed, these were oppressed people in the land, who had the opportunity to make hijrah, and they didn't. They instead chose to stay where they were, in disobedience to Allah, by not fulfilling Allah's commands in a variety of different ways. So their consequence is hell.
That is the punishment for that act. So that is telling us, that the issue of hijrah is a critical issue. It is not something we can deal with lightly. We have to look at it very seriously.
Exceptions and Hope for Forgiveness
In verses, of course, when we look at the verses of the Qur'an, we have to look at them in a context. So, going on to verses 98 and 99, Allah gives the exceptions, because of course Allah is merciful. He will not punish those, who truly had no choice. So, He said, except those really weak and oppressed, men, women and children, who have no means in their power, nor can they find any escape. For them there is hope, that Allah will forgive. For Allah erases sins, and He is Oft-Forgiving. There is hope. Hope for them, that Allah will forgive them.
Promise of Opportunity Through Hijrah
Then He goes on, in the 100th verse, to complete the thought. Removing the doubts, where people will say, but if we make hijrah, where can we go? Is it really better than this situation? Or, you know, all kinds of excuses people have for hijrah. Allah goes on to say:
Whoever makes hijrah, for the sake of Allah, he will find a variety of opportunities, for him or her in the land. He will find them. This is matching the same verse:
He will find a way open for them.
And he will be provided for, from where he didn't expect it. That's Allah's promise. Once we make the niyah, once we make that intention, for hijrah, for the sake of Allah, then the way will become clear. We will have the opportunity.
So, whoever leaves his home, for hijrah, for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, and death catches him on the way, then his reward is guaranteed by Allah, and forgiveness is his. This is the promise of Allah.
So, it is calling us to make an effort. That is what Allah requires of us, to make the intention for the sake of Allah and then make the effort.
Hadith: Hijrah Until the Last Day
Now, we have a statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in which he said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
That there is no hijrah after the conquest of Mecca. And all that remains is, jihadun, fighting, struggling for the sake of Allah, and niyyah, and having the correct intention in our acts. So, some people say, okay, hijrah is finished, end of story. That command, that wajib, hijrah which was wajib, was the hijrah in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Reality, of course, is that hijrah is on different stages.
The first hijrah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), his companions that is, was to Ethiopia, in the Meccan period. To Ethiopia, some of his companions fled. They fled, why? Because of oppression. Oppression which was taking place in Mecca. So they fled for the sake of their religion. Those who were able, did so. Those who could not, remained. So at that point, it was a recommended hijrah. It wasn't an obligation. It was recommended for those who could. Then, of course at that time, most people were too weak to do it. So, the obligation was not placed on the community in that way.
However, once Medina was established, because going to Abyssinia meant crossing the Red Sea. It wasn't an easy journey, it was a major journey. But once Medina was established, with the hijrah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), then, hijrah to Medina became an absolute obligation. Everybody who could, was supposed to go. To not do so and be able, was to be in sin. And this verse came as the reminder of that obligation. To make hijrah to Medina. Of course, there were still some in Mecca who couldn't. But they became the exception.
The rest of the people of Medina left, leaving their property behind, because leaving property is not an excuse for not making hijrah. Say, if I make hijrah, then I'm going to lose out. I bought a home, I have to sell it, prices of the property has dropped due to the financial crisis, etc. I'm not going to get my money, my profits. No. If it is time for hijrah, then it is time for hijrah. This can't hold you, this is not an excuse. So those of Mecca left.
They left their properties. The Meccans would not allow them to take their property with them. They just had to flee with whatever they could, with the clothes on their backs. They left husbands, left wives, wives left husbands, and they went.
However, once Mecca was conquered, then the obligation for Muslims in Mecca, to make hijrah to Medina, was lifted. It was no longer an obligation to move to Medina. Because Mecca had now become a part of Darul Islam. People could practice. It was cleaned up of idolatry. Tawheed was established. So, the obligation was no longer there.
However, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), left behind instructions, indicating that in fact, though the obligation of hijrah to Medina is no longer there, the obligation of hijrah remains in the Muslim community, as a principle, till the last day of this world.
In a hadith narrated by Muawiyah, he quoted the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying:
"Hijrah will not end until the acceptance of repentance ends. And, repentance will not stop being accepted until the sun rises from the west. Until the sun rises from the west. That is one of the major signs of the last day."
So, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) here, confirms that hijrah is ongoing. It didn't end with Fath, the conquest of Mecca. The hijrah to Medina ended. But the concept of hijrah remains.
Living Among the Believers
So when he said:
(Sunan Abu Dawud and Sunan al-Tirmidhi)
"I absolve myself from all those who live in the midst of the mushriks, the idol worshippers, the pagans. He absolves himself from us. Saying, this is not the way to live. It is not proper that a Muslim lives in the midst of the idolaters. He will not be aided by the intercession of the Prophet (peace be upon him) on the day of judgment. Because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, I'm innocent of him or her.
In other narrations he mentions, that you should not see their fires, nor should they see yours. Of course in those days it had to do with setting up your tent or your house and fires was what was used to illuminate the houses at night. Lamps. Meaning that your neighbors, those who live around you, should be Muslims. You should not live and all of your neighbors front, back, sides are non-Muslims. That is not the way to live. That is wrong. It is wrong, it is not permissible for a Muslim to live like that. As long as he or she is capable of living otherwise. Of course, we have exceptions. Exceptional circumstances. But, we don't make those exceptions the rules.
See people, anytime we look at these kinds of issues, people always say, but what about me? Well, ok. You, maybe there is an exception in your case. But we don't deal with the exceptions. There is always excuse for the few exceptions. But for the majority, where there is no exception, we have to deal with the command of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Establishing Muslim Communities Today
So, it is an obligation for Muslims to live in a community. That's what this is calling to. As I said in the very beginning, the principle of hijrah is a principle of community. Establishing communities.
Now, the title was, Hijrah, time to make tracks. Now, people normally assume when we say hijrah, it means Mecca. You know. Get on the next plane and out of here. But, we have to understand, look at the hijrah in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The hijrah from Mecca to Medina, was that out of Arabia? No. The most fundamental hijrah was right within Arabia itself. The hijrah to Ethiopia was the first one which wasn't the obligatory one. That was when they had no other choice. But when they had a choice, then the hijrah, which became an obligation on all the Muslims, was one to Medina. 700 kilometers to the north. In Arabia. Still, Arabia was a land of disbelief. It was Darul Haram.
So, hijrah doesn't necessarily mean leave the UK. It means establishing here, first and foremost, where you are. Muslim town. You heard of Chinatown? Well, you need to think about Muslim town. Yes, people could say, that's Bradford. We have one already. No, no. Bradford is not a place of hijrah. Bradford is by default. Right? Muslims gathered there by default. This was not something deliberate where they chose to make hijrah for the sake of Allah.
Because remember when we're talking about hijrah, Prophet (peace be upon him) had said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
That whoever's hijrah is for the dunya...
The people who came and settled in Bradford, was this for the sake of Allah? No, it was for the dunya. They left Pakistan for the dunya. So, Bradford, we don't consider Bradford and the other Bradfords around the UK. We don't consider those to be truly Muslim town. It's a place where people collected, but now you can see in Bradford and similar towns, all of the corruption that exists in the rest of the society. In the jails, how many Muslims are there? Youths, young people in the jails.
Even, as one brother told me, who works with the jails across the northern part here of the UK, that in virtually every single jail, there are huffadh. Huffadh. And they didn't become huffadh in jail. They're huffadh as kids who ended up in jail. This is the consequence. The consequence of not establishing Muslim community for the sake of Allah.
The Call to Action
This is what Muslims have to do. To make the hijrah here in the UK, to choose various towns, cities, whatever, and congregate there. Become the majority. Be able to influence what takes place in that city. Eradicate corruption and establish within the overall framework of British society and its legal system. Establish Islamic order.
This is something possible. And this is the challenge that we face today. These conferences bring us together for a moment. But imagine if we all actually lived around here. What the difference would be. What we could do here. That this is the regular, this is the norm for Salatul Jumu'ah. That our masjid is filled to the rafters. Salatul Fajr. Salatul Isha. And the Muslim institutions that would arise in this community. These are the things that we have to consider.
If we cannot do it, if we find that we have tried, we can't find people who will do it, then we seriously need to think of moving elsewhere. There is other communities in the UK. In Leicester for example, where Muslims have congregated there. An element of hijrah has already taken place. The numbers are increasing. You see the Muslim stores, etc. in the middle of the Muslim community. Muslim school there. They are developing.
Then we need to seriously consider what is happening. We need to seriously consider what is happening to our families, our children, ourselves. If we continue to live as we live now.
Lessons from Somalia
The Muslim community protects its members. The classical example is in the case of Somalia. Somalia where missionaries tried their hardest for years to convert. Maybe two families converted and they left and went to Kenya. But once Somalis were transported here to the UK, to US, to Canada, to Europe, now we have Hershey, Alice and others boldly coming out, rejecting Islam, calling to the complete opposite, converting. I know in Toronto, how many cases of Somali girls, boys, converting to Christianity.
Happening. Something which was unheard of in the history. Because they came into a society scattered amongst disbelievers, not knowing Islam properly and became prey to the missionary activities. It's a classical case. There are many other cases. But this is the most recent and most blatant one that is in front of us.
So we can see what happens. And of course before, Somalis were Pakistanis who came here from Pakistan and India. First generation remained nominal Muslims that they were in Pakistan. Second generation, then you saw the community starting to fall apart. Third generation, now we have all kinds of problems. Problems about which I spoke. And all of this is a result of not implementing the prophetic blueprint of Hijra.
Which remains in front of us as the example. And this is something I've spoken about on numerous occasions here in the UK at different times. And people, when I speak about it, they say, It's true, it's true. But, no movement. People are still where they were. Because that fear of Allah, that fear of standing before Allah and answering for the consequence of continuing to live as we live, it's not really there.
So we're not motivated to make the kind of sacrifices necessary to create Muslim towns all over Britain. We have the numbers. Other communities do it. Agahanis, Hindus, Sikhs. We have in Toronto, there's an area that is basically Sikh town. They all migrated into that area. Even the street names are named after their gurus and Guru Nanak Street and so on. Why don't we have Abu Bakr Street here and Omar and Uthman and Ali? Why
don't we have any streets named like this? Why not? We've been here long enough. We have enough people here. Why not? Because, we don't have that principle that drive for community. It is not there. We're comfortable living as we do.
Watching our children slowly drift away. And when they finally drift away, we cry, we say, Astaghfirullah. We ask Allah's forgiveness. We pray Allah guide them. But they're misguided. Misguided. Why? Because we put them in that situation. We didn't do what was necessary to preserve their Islam.
Addressing Concerns About Muslim Communities
I know some people object and they say, Well, you know, you're talking about making a Muslim ghetto. You know, a Muslim ghetto where the Muslims, you know, they're all on themselves. They don't let anybody else in. And then the society starts to look at them more suspiciously.
We say, No. Does not have to be a ghetto. Like the Jewish ghettos, etc. No. Our community is still open. Open for the society to see what is the impact of Islam on a community when it practices Islam together. To see a community free of drugs. No prostitutes. No drug dealers. No discos. Bars. Strip joints. No magazines being sold. The third page, nakedness. None of that.
To see a wholesome, clean community. This is the biggest dawah that we can give here. To show them what Islam can do for you.
Internal Hijrah: Leaving Sin
So, this is the challenge that we're faced with today. One of hijrah. Hijrah within the UK itself. And hijrah within our homes. Wherein the Prophet (peace be upon him) had said:
(Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
"That the Muslim is one from whose hand and tongue Muslims are safe."
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
"And the true muhajir, the one who truly emigrates, makes hijrah for the sake of Allah, is the one who abandons, leaves, goes away from what Allah has forbidden. So the hijrah begins in the heart.
It begins with a desire to want to abandon, to leave, to emigrate from what Allah has prohibited. And that drives the individual to want to do the same for his family, or her family. And in order to do it, they need to seek the
help of other families. And ultimately they need to come together in Muslim town, or actually leave.
If it can't happen, if the iman of our children is being challenged and threatened, then we have to seriously consider leaving. Seriously. And believe that ultimately when we leave, even though as people say, but what Muslim land will accept us? They have all kinds of requirements, and visas, and all this, and all kinds of issues. Know that if you make your intention, Allah will find a way for you. Of course, if you want to leave here, and go and find another place where you can stay at home, and be on the dole, well, you'll have trouble.
If you go to any part of the Muslim world, they don't have this dole system, where you get taken care of. You can be a beggar in comfort. It doesn't work. Elsewhere you go to the Muslim world, either you get out there and work, and take care of yourself, or you starve. So if you are serious about trying to serve Allah in your life, and you're prepared to make effort, to strive and to sacrifice, then:
"Is Allah's earth not wide and expansive, that you can make hijrah in it? That question remains. And that is one we have to deal with until we face Allah."
بَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِيكُمْ
Questions and Answers
As I said, this topic is really a topic about community. About building a truly Islamic community. It can be done. It is really just a matter of people deciding, let's do it. Then we figure out the hows, where's, the when's. But, Allah would not put this on us if it were not possible. It would not remain an obligation until the last day, if it was in fact something impossible. Because Allah is just.
Question: Should one clear debts before making hijrah?
One should clear one's debts before making hijrah. Like, debts before hajj. We're doing this thing for the sake of Allah. We don't use hijrah as an excuse to run away from obligations. So one should clear it or get permission from those who one owes money to, to allow you to go ahead. But as I said, primarily hijrah should be looked at as something to be done here. Not necessarily going overseas. It's because people, as I said, they always think hijrah means first plane out of here. No. We can do it here. It requires effort. It requires sacrifice. But we can do it here.
Question: What are the conditions for individual hijrah?
Well, you know, the scholars put hijrah into five different categories. They said hijrah from the land of disbelief to the land of Islam. Hijrah from the land of bid'ah. Hijrah from the land dominated by haram to one less
dominated by haram. Hijrah where one's life, health, property, etc. are threatened. And lastly, hijrah from whatever Allah has prohibited. So wherever one falls in these categories, then the obligation of hijrah is on him or her.
Question: Is there any city in the UK where Muslims set up a community for the sake of Allah?
At the moment, there is no city in the UK where Muslims set up a community for the sake of Allah. As I said, I don't think that is true. In Leicester, from my experience there over the years, especially in the 90s, this idea where we spoke about hijrah quite often there, people took this as a point that they should struggle with and strive for. And an effort has been made to set up a community. I don't know what has happened over the years, but I know they were striving to do that.
Question: What Muslim countries would you suggest Muslims make hijrah to?
Well, whatever country one can move to where one can better practice Islam. Because there are different levels. In some countries you can do more than others. So one has to find out information regarding the various countries and make their choices accordingly.
Personally, myself, after accepting Islam in Canada, I'm a Canadian, I went to Medina to study, graduated from Medina. My intention originally was to go, just study, get the information and go back. But then after seeing what was happening for my children in Medina and what was happening to my friends who had accepted Islam around the same time as me in America, I decided it was better for me to stay and further my studies, continue to have my children be raised in a Muslim environment.
So that's a choice I made. And I stayed on there for 20 years in Saudi Arabia, then 10 years in the Emirates, and then 6 years in Qatar. However, one of my goals was to establish Islamic institutions, which are modern Islamic institutions, which would teach and integrate Islamic teachings with modern teachings.
So, trying to do that in the Gulf, I didn't find support. And Alhamdulillah, I found support in southern India, in Chennai. So now I have basically moved with my family to Chennai. So some people might say, Oh, you went from the land of the Muslims now to the land of the Kuffar. You know, it's the other way around. But the point is that India, in spite of what we know of its domination by Hindus, it's difficult to call really Hindu the land of the Kuffar.
Muslims ruled India for a thousand years. And they're still there. They didn't leave. They were defeated. Rule taken away from them. But it's not like Spain. Spain where Muslims were driven out to a last man. So, in India you have communities where Islam is quite dominant. You have laws, the Indian constitution recognizes Sharia law for Muslims in the country.
There are a lot of things there that you will not find actually even in some Muslim lands. You know, the legal system there protects and provides for the rights of Muslims on levels that you may be hard pressed to find in
Muslim lands. So, I moved there, moved there to a Muslim community in Chennai because of the project of setting up an Islamic university institution.
That was the goal. Alhamdulillah, this is what I'm working on. So, Hijrah can be also out of what may appear to be a Muslim country to one which appears to be a non-Muslim country. But in fact, you're moving from one level of Islamic work to another level of Islamic work.
Question: What are the key components of Muslim town?
Well, the key components of Muslim town of course is first and foremost that people are going there for the right intention to create that town, that community. Secondly, that all of your educational institutions need to be there. So, schooling, etc. All of your medical facilities, etc. need to be there. All of the components that are necessary for a community to function. They're the same components. Only they're being guided and practiced from an Islamic perspective. That's the main difference.
Question: What qualifies as a Muslim land?
A land where Muslims are the majority. We're talking difference between Islamic state and Muslim lands. Islamic state, then you have Islamic law in place, all these type of things. But a Muslim land is one where you'll have a majority Muslims. In some Muslim lands, majority Muslims, Muslims may be oppressed. You can't practice Islam hardly. In some Muslim lands, there's much more freedom one is able to practice.
Closing
جَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا
End of Khutbah