The Hijrah (Migration to Medina)

Historical overview

In 1 AH (622 CE), escalating persecution in Mecca and an assassination plot by Quraysh leaders prompted the historic migration (Hijrah) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to Yathrib (Medina). Leaving Ali ibn Abi Talib in his bed as a decoy, the Prophet and Abu Bakr al-Siddiq covertly departed Mecca at night and concealed themselves inside a cave at Jabal Thawr for three days. Quraysh search parties offered heavy bounties and tracked them south, but failed to discover the cave entry. Guided by Abdullah ibn Urayqit along an unconventional, rugged coastal route, the migrants evaded bounty hunters, including Suraqa ibn Malik whose horse repeatedly stumbled in the sand. Resting briefly at the camp of Umm Ma'bad at Kudayd, they safely arrived at Quba on the outskirts of Medina. The Hijrah established the first Islamic state and marks the start of the Hijri calendar.

Historical context and how to read this record

This record presents The Hijrah (Migration to Medina), dated in the archive as 1 AH / 622 CE and associated with Jabal Thawr to Medina, Hijaz. The date, place, summary, named groups, terrain features, and references shown here come from the bundled or published event record. They provide a concise entry point for study, while the linked source notes remain the place to check what each historical or religious text actually reports. A label in the archive is not, by itself, proof that every chronology, number, or interpretation is agreed across historians.

The timeline on this page is deliberately limited to information attached to the record: its displayed event date and era, its named location, and the geographic markers that the map author normalized for the scene. These map markers are not a minute-by-minute sequence of movements. They do not claim to reconstruct every decision, speech, or formation. Where historians preserve differing accounts, the distinction matters: a conventional date can help readers orient themselves, but a date recorded in a database should not be mistaken for a universally settled day or for a primary-source quotation.

The terrain is a deterministic educational model. A shared height function keeps water, formations, landmarks, and ground visually aligned; the normalized coordinates make the same record render consistently when the optional cloud archive is unavailable. This approach supports comparison of broad relationships—such as a camp in relation to a water feature, a fortified settlement against a highland, or a route beside a valley—without presenting synthetic elevation as archaeological survey data. Lighting, camera angle, and visual scale are choices for legibility, not evidence about the historical scene.

Read the forces and commanders panel as a record of the labels supplied for this map, not as an independently verified census. Estimates in classical narratives can differ because authors preserve separate transmissions, use rounded totals, or describe groups in different ways. This page keeps uncertainty notes attached to the relevant record when they are available. A missing strength estimate means the archive does not make one here; it should not be filled by inference from the size of a marker or from the appearance of the 3D scene.

The source dossier names the references bundled with this event, including Qur’anic passages or classical works where supplied. Numbering, chapter divisions, translations, and pagination can vary by edition, so a careful citation should identify the edition and translator consulted. A source title in the list is a research lead, not a claim that the entire event is established by that work alone. Compare the passages in context, separate a source’s wording from later commentary, and consult qualified scholarship when a question concerns creed, law, or a contested historical conclusion.

For an efficient study sequence, begin with the short overview, note the event date and place, then select each geographic marker in the dual reader. The camera will move to the schematic coordinate while the corresponding source note is brought into view. Next compare the land and water features, read any force labels and their uncertainty notes, and return to the source dossier before drawing conclusions. This order helps distinguish what the archive records, what the visualization illustrates, and what a reader may need to verify in a primary edition. The purpose is source-aware orientation and respectful learning, not a substitute for historical fieldwork or a scholar’s judgment.

Record timeline and tactical markers

1. Archive date: 2026-10-03 · 1 AH / 622 CE
2. Recorded setting: Jabal Thawr to Medina, Hijaz
3. Map feature 1: Jabal Thawr cave peak
4. Map feature 2: Rugged coastal desert route
5. Map feature 3: Valleys of Kudayd
6. Map feature 4: Oasis outskirts of Quba
7. Schematic marker 1: The Prophet & Abu Bakr (with Guide) · Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) · 4 individuals
8. Schematic marker 2: Quraysh Search Parties · Quraysh Tribal Chiefs · Multiple tracker bands (~50-100 horsemen/trackers)
9. Schematic marker 3: Suraqa ibn Malik's Detachment · Suraqa ibn Malik al-Mudlaji · Single armed rider & attendants

Marker ordering is a reading aid, not a chronological claim about the event.

Forces and commanders

• The Prophet & Abu Bakr (with Guide) — Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) (4 individuals)
• Quraysh Search Parties — Quraysh Tribal Chiefs (Multiple tracker bands (~50-100 horsemen/trackers))
• Suraqa ibn Malik's Detachment — Suraqa ibn Malik al-Mudlaji (Single armed rider & attendants)

Geography: water and landscape

• Well of Kudayd (Umm Ma'bad) (oasis)
• Bir Quba (well)
• Jabal Thawr cave peak
• Rugged coastal desert route
• Valleys of Kudayd
• Oasis outskirts of Quba

Sources

• Ibn Hisham, Sirat Rasul Allah, Vol. 1, pp. 480-495
• al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, Vol. 2, Hijrah Events
• Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Manaqib al-Ansar, Hadith 3905

More 3D maps

• Karbala · The Plain of 61 AH
• Battle of Badr · Wells and Two Slopes
• Khaybar · Basalt Harrat and Fortified Oases
• Hijrah Route · Makkah to Madinah
• Najaf & Kufa · The Historic Plain
• Siffin · Euphrates Campaign Landscape