Uqba ibn Amir RADramatizedWording is illustrative; the conversion itself and its setting are attested.
Life event
Embraced Islam at Aqaba, one of six men of the Khazraj to accept the call to tawhid.
In the 10th year of his mission, the Prophet ﷺ was going around the pilgrims' camps at Mina, looking for a tribe that would support him. Near Aqaba he came across a small group of six men without even a tent. He asked who they were, and they said they were from the Khazraj. He asked whether they were the Khazraj who lived as neighbors of the Jews, meaning the people of Yathrib (later called Madinah), and they said yes.
Yathrib was home to three main groups. Two were Arab tribes, al-Aws and al-Khazraj. The third was made up of Jewish tribes, including Banu al-Nadir, Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Qurayza. Because they lived beside the Jews, the Aws and Khazraj were the only Arabs in the region who understood the idea of one God, prophets and a revealed scripture. During their wars, the Jews used to boast that a prophet was about to come, and that when he came they would defeat the Arabs completely.
The Prophet ﷺ sat with the six men and explained the oneness of Allah (tawhid), warned them against worshiping others besides Him (shirk), and recited the Qur'an. He spoke with the same care and passion that he gave to the largest tribes. All six accepted Islam. Among them were Uqba ibn Amir al-Juhani, Jabir ibn Abdillah and As'ad ibn Zurarah. They went home and spread the message, and within a few months everyone in Yathrib had heard of it.
This small meeting planted the seed from which the people of Yathrib would come to Islam and, within a few years, invite the Prophet ﷺ to emigrate to them. It was the turning point that led to the Hijrah. The Prophet ﷺ had not expected help to come from Yathrib. He later said, "When I was in Makkah, Allah showed me (in a dream) I would be emigrating to another land with greenery and palm trees. And I thought it might be in Yemen; but rather, it turned out to be Yathrib."
Other events recorded around the same time. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
Embraced Islam at Aqaba, one of six men of the Khazraj to accept the call to tawhid.
Embraced Islam at Aqaba, one of six men of the Khazraj to accept the call to tawhid.
Embraced Islam at Aqaba, one of six men of the Khazraj to accept the call to tawhid.
Allah showed me in a dream that I would emigrate to another land with greenery and palm trees; and I thought it might be in Yemen.
A later reflection on this period, before it became clear the land was Yathrib.
“Although they used to pray for victory [by means of the Prophet] over the polytheists (the Arabs), when there came to them a Book from Allah which they recognized (the Quran), confirming the Scripture they had [in their hands], they rejected it.”
Cited to explain how the Jews of Yathrib, who had long anticipated a prophet, rejected him once he came from among the Arabs.
Cited regarding the Arabs never having received a prophet or a scripture before.
“Whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them,”
Cited reflecting the unexpected growth of support that eventually came from Yathrib.
“and provide for them from sources they could never imagine.”
Cited reflecting the unexpected growth of support that eventually came from Yathrib.