Twelve important men from Yathrib went to Mecca to meet the Prophet
(pbuh) and promised faithfully to serve him and Islam. In return, the
Prophet (pbuh) sent one of his friends, Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr, with them
to teach the Koran and instruct them in their new religion. Another
year passed and still more Muslims came from Yathrib to Mecca for the
pilgrimage. On this occasion a secret meeting with the Prophet (pbuh)
was arranged to be held at night. Seventy-three men and one woman from
Yathrib came, and the Prophet (pbuh) arrived with his uncle,
al-'Abbas. During this meeting the men from Yathrib offered to protect
and defend the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers if they would come to
live in Yathrib. This promise of protection came to be known as the
Treaty of 'Aqabah.

The treaty was most fortunate for even though Islam was growing in
Yathrib, the Muslims in Mecca were still suffering. The Prophet (pbuh)
therefore told his friends and followers to go to Yathrib where they
would be safe,
and most of them took this opportunity to leave. Despite all this
suffering the Prophet (pbuh) was not allowed to fight his enemies, for
Allah had told him to forgive those who insulted him or would not
listen to his message. But the Quraysh had closed their minds so
utterly to the word of Allah, and grew so hard-hearted towards the
Prophet (pbuh)and his followers, that Allah gave permission to the
Prophet (pbuh) to fight those who tried to harm him or his
companions.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
"Permission is given unto those who fight because they have been
wronged; And Allah is surely able to give them victory; Those who have
been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said: Our Lord
is Allah".(Koran xxii.39-40)
Quraysh began to fear the Prophet (pbuh) for they realised that he was
now strong enough to fight them and had been given leave to do so by
Allah. They also knew that he now had the people of Yathrib to help
and protect him.

Seeing that the Muslims were leaving the city, they decided to kill
the Prophet (pbuh), before he, too, left Mecca to join his followers
in Yathrib. In this way they hoped to put an end to Islam once and for
all.
Al-Hijrah
The Breaking of All Connections with One's Home, for the Sake of Allah
Alone. After his companions had left for Yathrib, the Prophet (pbuh)
stayed in Mecca, waiting for permission from Allah to leave the city.
Abu Bakr and Ali stayed with him. There were also some Muslims whom
Quraysh had not allowed to leave. Abu Bakr kept asking the Prophet
(pbuh) to allow him to go to Yathrib, but the Messenger of Allah
(pbuh) kept saying, 'Do not be in a hurry; it might be that Allah will
give you a travelling companion.' The leaders of Quraysh assembled in
the house of their ancestor, Qusayy, as was customary when they had an
important decision to make. They had to find a way of getting rid of
the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),

before he was able to join his friends in Yathrib. As they were busy
arguing, the Devil appeared at the door in the form of a noble and
handsome old man. When they saw this elderly gentleman standing there,
they asked him who he was. He said he was a Shaikh from the mountains
who had heard what they meant to do and thought he might be able to
help or advise them. They thought he looked like a wise man, so they
invited him in.
Each leader then started to put forward ideas about what should be
done, but none of them could agree about which was best, until AbuJahl
told them his plan. This was that each clan should provide a strong,
young warrior, each of whom would be given a sword. All the young
warriors would then wait outside the Prophet's house and together
attack him as he came out. In this way they would be rid of him but as
the blame for killing him would fall on all the clans, the Prophet's
family would not be able to seek revenge.
When he heard this,
the Devil in the disguise of the old man, said, 'That man is right; in
my opinion it is the only thing to do!' The leaders of Quraysh then
left to carry out their plan to murder the Prophet (pbuh).
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
"And when the unbelievers plot against thee, to confine thee, or kill
thee, or to drive thee out, they were plotting, But Allah was (also)
plotting; and Allah is the best of plotters". (Koran iii.30)
Before the night fell, on which Muhammad (pbuh) was to be killed, the
Archangel Gabriel came to him and said, 'Do not sleep tonight in your
own bed.' The Prophet (pbuh) understood what was going to happen, so
he told 'Ali to lie in his bed and wrap himself in the blanket that
the Prophet (pbuh) normally used, promising that no harm would befall
him.With the coming of darkness the young men of Quraysh had gathered
outside the Prophet's house, waiting for him to come out. After he had
made sure that 'Ali was safe,
the Prophet (pbuh) left the house. At that very moment Allah took away
the sight of the warriors so that they could not see the Prophet
(pbuh), who took a handful of dust, sprinkled it on their heads and
recited these verses:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
"Ya Sin By the Wise Koran, Thou art truly among those sent On the
straight path; A Revelation of the All-mighty, the All-wise, That thou
may warn a people whose fathers were never warned, so they are
heedless. The Word has already proved true of most of them, yet they
do not believe. Lo! We have put on their necks collars of iron up to
the chin, so that they are made stiff-necked. and We have put before
them a barrier; and We have covered them so they do not see". (Koran
xxxvi.1-9)
The young men waited the whole night and were furious when, in the
morning, they saw 'Ali instead of the Prophet (pbuh) coming out of the
house.They realised that their plan had failed completely. In the
meantime,
the Prophet (pbuh) went to Abu Bakr's house and told him, 'Allah has
told me that now is the time for us to leave Mecca.' 'Together?' asked
Abu Bakr. 'Together', the Prophet (pbuh) replied. Abu Bakr wept for
joy, because now he knew that the travelling companion he had been
promised was the Prophet (pbuh) himself.
Then he said,'O Messenger of Allah, these are the two camels which I
have kept ready for this.' And so, the two of them left for a cave in
Thawr, a mountain to the south of Mecca where they intended to hide.
When they were out of the city the Prophet (pbuh) looked back and
said, 'Of all Allah's earth, you are the dearest place to Allah and to
me and if my people had not driven me out I would never have left
you.'
When Quraysh found out that the Prophet (pbuh) and his companion had
gone, they set out after them, searching in every direction. Three
days later they finally reached the cave where the Prophet (pbuh) and
Abu Bakr were hiding, but a strange and wonderful thing had happened.