. J '-Ɵ  (cont.)

Allah has permitted this kind of action. This was done by Prophets Abraham and Moses. Again, if a person escapes bodily harm so that he will be able to worship Allah to his fullest potential, this will be an act of worship. (5) Making hijrah from a land in which one fears bodily disease or has become ill. This was the case during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he allowed those people who became ill in Madinah to leave the city. 1 Recorded by Abu Dawood. According to al-Albaani, it is sahih. Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al­ Albaani, sahih Sunan Abi Dawood (Riyadh: Maktab al-Tarbiyah al-Arabi Ii-Daul al-Khaleej, 1989), vol. 2, p. 470. 2 Quoted in Husain al-Uwaayisha, al-Fast al-Mubeen fl Masalah al-Hijrah wa Mufaariqah al­ Mushrikeen (Amman, Jordan: Daar Usaid, 1993), p. 40. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi (6) Making hijrah due to fear of harm to one's property and wealth. Wealth and property are inviolable. It is considered permissible to leave one land for another out of fear that his property may be confiscated and so forth. Obviously, though, this does not mean fleeing to the lands of the disbelievers just for economic benefit, but it means fleeing to another portion of the Islamic lands. Otherwise one should bear it patiently. A Different Concept of Hijrah According to al-Mudaabaghi, the word hijrah in this hadith refers to any kind of hijrah, physical or spiritual. There is a type of hijrah that is obligatory upon all Muslims at all times. This kind of hijrah, obviously, must be or can only be performed for the sake of Allah. It is described in the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "The Muhaajir [one who makes hijrah] is the one who avoids what Allah has prohibited." (Recorded by al-Bukhari.) "He whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his migration was for that for which he migrated." The Prophet (peace be upon him) belittled the goal of the person who migrated for some worldly purpose by stating, "Then his migration is for it," without explicitly stating what was being referred to.1 Also, the migration for the sake of Allah and His Messenger is done with one purpose in mind. There are numerous other reasons that may lead one to migrate but there is no call to mention them; therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not mention them. Meaning of the Word Dunya The word dunya (this worldly life) may have the meaning of al-adna or "the closest". 2 It is given this name because it is the closest life as it comes before the life of the Hereafter. Another possible reason why this worldly life has been given the name dunya is that it is close to perishing. Some even say that it dunya comes from al-dina'a (•"w.ill) which means something base, low, 1 Although that is common English parlance, it is only done in Arabic for a purpose, such as the rurpose stated above: to belittle what is not explicitly mentioned. Hence, the people who are seeking this world only are, in reality, short sighted as they are seeking the closest and the easiest life to achieve. However, they fail to realize that the important life, like many things in this world itself, is the one that one has to work and strive for in order to achieve it. Hadith #1 : All Actions are but by Intentions . . . vile, contemptible or despicable. 1 However, the first two are the most common explanations. As for what it refers to, it seems that the strongest opinion is that it covers everything on this earth and its environment that has occurred, is occurring or shall occur before the Day of Judgment. The past century has witnessed a kind of hijrah that has been very harmful to Muslims and it has been for the sake of dunya. Scores of Muslims moved from Muslim lands to the land of the disbelievers of the West. In general, the main or only purpose for this migration was economic betterment or, in the words of this hadith, dunya. Many times this has occurred at the expense of their religion as they moved to the West and lost virtually all semblance of Islam. Even if they preserved part of their Islam, in numerous cases, their children lost all of their Islam and became completely assimilated into the non-Muslim society. Moving from one locale to another for economic betterment, given no change in the Islamic environment and atmosphere, is something permissible in Islamic Law. However, when hijrah or emigration is undertaken for the sake of dunya at the expense of one's Islam or if it puts one's Islam at risk, it then becomes forbidden. Indeed, this defeats the very purpose of the concept of hijrah wherein one moves from one locale to another to improve and better his practice of the religion. Unfortunately, though, that is the power and the pull of this dunya.