The Land of Homesickness and Fever

The Muhājirūn who moved from Makkah to Madīnah were feeling homesick, and they wanted to go back to Makkah. Bilāl (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say, "May Allah curse ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah and Shaybah ibn Rabīʿah and Umayyah ibn Khalaf, who have driven us out of Makkah to this land of diseases." Madīnah had swampy land, and because of this there was a fever — some scholars today say it might have been malaria, because of the stagnant water that was in these swamps — and Madīnah was known for this: people who went there would catch a fever.

ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that her father, Bilāl and ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayrah caught this fever, so she went to visit them. She said, "O my father, how are you?" and he did not respond back, he was just reciting lines of poetry. She went to Bilāl and said, "Bilāl, how are you?" — the same thing. To ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayrah — the same thing. ʿĀʾishah said, "These men do not know what they are saying," and she went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and told him about what Abū Bakr was saying and what Bilāl was saying, reciting these lines of poetry. Some of what Abū Bakr and Bilāl were saying: Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, would say, "Every man might arise among his family, yet his death is closer than his sandal straps" — he was speaking of death, thinking he might die because of this fever. ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayrah was saying, "I have found death before tasting it. A coward has his demise right above him. Every man struggles hard with Allah's power, as a bull protects its skin with its horns." And Bilāl, may Allah be pleased with him, would say, "Oh, how happy I would be to spend the night in a valley covered with fresh grass and verdure. Will I ever again descend to Makkah's waters, or see Shāmah and Ṭafīl?" — Shāmah and Ṭafīl are two hills in Makkah. All of these men were homesick; they wanted to go back to Makkah. Bilāl, as mentioned, was saying, "Oh, Allah, curse ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah and Shaybah and Umayyah alike, for having forced us out into the land of pestilence."

Anyone who has experienced being a foreigner in a land — and not as a tourist, since the feeling of being a tourist is different, but driven out of home, forced out of home, and living in a place that was not really chosen but forced upon one — knows it is a horrible feeling. Add to that becoming sick, with family not around and nobody to take care of one, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was feeling very sorry for the Companions. When ʿĀʾishah came to her husband, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and told him about the condition of Bilāl, ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayrah and her father Abū Bakr, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "O Allah, make us love Madīnah like we love Makkah, or more. And make it healthy, and bless for us our food, and drive out the fever of Madīnah to al-Juḥfah" — al-Juḥfah being another place. By the blessing of this supplication of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the Muhājirūn ended up loving Madīnah more than anywhere else on the face of the earth. When Makkah was opened, did any one of them choose to move back to Makkah? Where did Abū Bakr choose to stay? In Madīnah. ʿUmar remained in Madīnah. ʿUthmān remained in Madīnah. Bilāl did not go back to Makkah. Because of the supplication of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), they ended up loving Madīnah more than anywhere else, and everyone who has faith in his heart would love Madīnah. Until this day, there is a special feeling that a believer has on going to the city of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Going into Makkah, there is a feeling of magnificence: driving through the streets of Makkah for the first time, and then catching sight of the huge pillars of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, one feels the greatness, the magnificence, of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām. But going to Madīnah, which is flat, unlike Makkah, which is mountainous, and seeing al-Masjid al-Nabawī from the distance, gives a different feeling — it is not a feeling of the magnificence of the place, it is a feeling of tranquillity, a beloved place to any believer. This was due to the blessing of the supplication of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).