The Concept of Hijrah

Some lessons follow from the hijrah. Number one, the concept of hijrah. There are two types of hijrah: there is figurative hijrah, and there is literal hijrah. The figurative hijrah is, as was mentioned in a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in al-Nasāʾī, an tahjura mā kariha rabbuka ʿazza wa jal — hijrah is to leave what Allah (swt) dislikes. So this is a figurative hijrah: it is to emigrate from the state of sin to the state of obeying Allah (swt). And Allah (swt) says in the Qurʾān:

Stay away from impurities, make hijrah from impurities, from idol worshiping, from evil. And this type of hijrah is mandatory on everyone; everyone has to leave the state of sin to the state of obedience. Then there is the literal hijrah, and that is to move from one land to another — to move from the land of evil to the land of good. Examples of that are the hijrah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the Ṣaḥābah, or the hijrah of the man from the Children of Israel who killed a hundred people, who then went to consult a scholar — he was told that Allah would accept his repentance, but he had to move from that town, because it is a town of evil, and go to that other town, because there he would find people who would support him in worshiping Allah (swt).