On account of his honesty, several people had entrusted their valuables to the Prophet (sa) for safekeeping. Now that permission to migrate had been given he could no longer take charge of them so he asked Ali to remain behind and return them to their rightful owners then to come to Yathrib as soon as he had discharged his duty. Later that night, Ali wrapped himself up in the Prophet's cloak and slept soundly on the Prophet's bed.

The Plan Is Hatched

It was the month of Safar and in the still of the night warriors from each branch of the Koraysh concealed themselves around the Prophet's house and lay in wait for him to come out. Some time later during the night the Prophet (sa) emerged from his house and as he did he recited the following verses from the Koran:

"Ya Seen. By the Wise Koran, you (Prophet Muhammad) are truly among the Messengers sent upon a Straight Path. The sending down of the Mighty, the Most Merciful so that you may warn a people whose fathers were not warned, and so were heedless. The Phrase has become obligatory upon most of them, yet they do not believe. We have bound their necks with fetters up to their chin, so that their heads are raised and cannot be lowered. We have set a barrier before them and a barrier behind them, and, We have covered them so that they do not see." (Koran 36:1-9)

As he stooped down he picked up a handful of dust and cast it over them. Immediately, a deep sleep descended upon the warriors and the Prophet (sa) passed through their midst without anyone seeing him. The warriors slept on outside the house of the Prophet (sa) until someone came and woke them asking why they were still there.

When they replied they were waiting for the Prophet (sa) to come out, the man rebuked them telling them that he had seen the Prophet (sa) elsewhere in the City, and told them of the dust in their hair. The warriors refused to accept the possibility that the Prophet (sa) had escaped without their knowledge so they entered the house and found Ali, who they mistakenly took to be the Prophet (sa), sleeping peacefully wrapped in the Prophet's green cloak.

After having satisfied themselves that the Prophet (sa) was still in the house they continued to wait outside. When Ali awoke they realized that the man had been correct and pandemonium reigned -- the Koraysh plan had been thwarted -- and the warriors returned to their chieftains to raise the alarm.

The First Stage of the Migration

Upon the noon of that same day, the Prophet (sa) made his way to the house of his dear companion, Abu Bakr. It was unusual for him to visit Abu Bakr at that time of day so instinctively he knew there must be an important reason for his visit. After the exchange of greetings the Prophet (sa) informed him that Allah had given him permission to migrate from Mecca.

Abu Bakr asked whether they were to migrate together and when the Prophet (sa) told him they were, he was so overcome with joy that tears rolled down his cheeks. Abu Bakr had hoped that Allah would permit him to accompany the Prophet (sa) so in anticipation he had purchased two strong camels and set aside some provisions for the journey.

Abu Bakr offered the Prophet (sa) the finest of the camels, however, on account of the importance of the occasion he declined his generosity saying, "I shall only ride a camel that belongs to me," so the Prophet (sa) bought one from Abu Bakr. In the past, the Prophet (sa) had accepted several gifts from his good friend, but this occasion was different from that of the others.

The Prophet (sa) named his camel "Kaswa" and of all the camels he was to own, Kaswa was his favorite. At the back of the house, Abu Bakr had the camels prepared and asked his son Abdullah to accompany them to a cave in Mount Thawr, which lies to the south of Mecca, in the opposite direction to Yathrib. He also asked the shepherd Amir, Fuhayrah's son, whom he had freed from service sometime before, to follow behind them with his flock to obliterate their tracks for the desert.

Arabs were expert trackers and the camel's hoof prints might easily be detected. It was time to depart so Prophet Muhammad (sa), Abu Bakr with Abdullah riding pillion behind his father mounted their camels and set off for Mount Thawr and left Mecca undetected. After they had been riding for a while, the Prophet (sa) brought his camel to a halt and looked back in sadness at his beloved City and said, "Upon all the earth of Allah, you are the dearest place to me, and the dearest to Allah, had my people not driven me out from you I would not have left you."

When they reached the caves of Mount Thawr, Abu Bakr told his son to return to Mecca with both camels and instructed him to pay attention to any plot he might hear. Abu Bakr also told his son to return only when he felt it was safe to do so and to bring fresh supplies. It was common place to see camels being driven into Mecca so Abu Bakr felt his son would not be in any immediate danger, also, it was logical to suppose the Koraysh would be searching for the Prophet (sa) on the road to Yathrib and not on the road to Yemen, at least for a while.