HIJRA

Minggu lepas aku berbincang dengan Abang.

'So Abu Bakar was the only one who followed Mohammad to Madinah?', tanya Abang.

'Well, he was the one who accompanied the Prophet when he left Mekah. But, most Muslims had already left by the time Mohammad decided to leave', jawab aku sambil mengingat-ingat pelajaran sejarah Islam masa sekolah menengah.

Abang diam sekejap. 'So, he was not really running away and abandoning his followers behind?', tanya Abang lagi.

Aku angguk,' In fact, the Hijrah was an important factor that strengthen the movement and I personally think that it was the beginning of the new, stronger and more compact Islamic community, less the persecution'.

'Hah?', mulut Abang ternganga.

'Well after the Hijrah, Islam became strong, gradually. In a few years, the people in Madinah had managed to challenge the supremacy of the Meccans. The fought battles and won, they forged new partnerships and alliances, they developed their own economy that could challenged the long established trading economy of Mecca. Finally. they conquered Mecca and after that, as they always say, is history', aku cerita ke Abang lagi.

'So Hijrah is good. Moving places is good?', saja Abang bertanya lagi.

'Well, at this age, Hijrah doesn't mean only the physical movement of one from one location to another. It could refer to one turning over a new leaf, adopting a different new approach to life, looking at things in a new and hopefully better perspective... like that. And taking up a new challenge.. for better or the worse', kata aku menghabiskan cerita.

Abang mengganguk-angguk.'So, new challenges are good, eh?', Abang sebut sambil terus mengganguk.

Aku mengganguk sama.