وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُم مِّن رَّحْمَتِنَا وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ لِسَانَ صِدْقٍ عَلِيّاً

50. We bestowed upon them (many other gifts) out of Our Mercy, and granted them a most true and lofty renown.¹⁰

10. The Qur'ān mentions Prophet Abraham, upon him be peace, here in particular in order to console the Muslims over their emigration to Abyssinia and to prepare their hearts for a possible, permanent emigration.

Emigration is an important phenomenon in human history. In addition to its general relevance to the establishment of civilizations, it has special significance in connection with the "holy ones," those dedicated to carrying the light throughout the world.

First of all, every individual is a traveler and, therefore, in some sense, an emigrant. Their journey starts in the world of spirits and continues through the stations of their mother's womb, childhood, youth, old age and the grave, and from there to a completely new world. Although a person is one among millions of people, in essence, each individual is born alone, lives their own life, endures their own death, and is bound to be resurrected alone. Likewise, each of those people of high stature who, throughout history, have guided humankind, started their sacred mission from a single being, then disseminated the light from the torch they carried, illuminating the minds and hearts of others, inculcating hope and faith in their followers, and transforming lands once submerged in darkness into lands of light. And each one of these guides had to emigrate from one place to another for the sake of that cause.

Faith, emigration, and striving in God's cause are the three pillars of a single, sacred truth. They are the three "taps" of a fountain from which the water of life flows for people to drink from, allowing them to convey their message without becoming wearied, and, when the opposition is too formidable to overcome, to set out for a new land regardless of their home, property, or family.

Every new idea or message has always been resisted wherever it has appeared, and those who have offered it have usually been welcomed in new places where their pasts were unknown. In every movement of revival, prior to emigration, there are two stages of great importance. In the first stage, a person with a cause develops his character, overflows with belief, and is inflamed by love; and, surpassing his own self, he grows into a passionate servant of the truth. He struggles, at this stage, against the temptations of the carnal soul, to establish his authentic, spiritual character. This is called "the major or greater jihad" – al-jihād al-akbar. Then he rises, in the second stage, to radiate the lights of belief to the world around him. This stage is, in fact, the door to emigration.

Emigration should not, of course, be understood only in the material sense. Rather, a person experiences emigration throughout his life in the spiritual sense. Each inner intellectual or spiritual transformation, from indolence to action, from decay to self-renewal, from suffocation in the atmosphere of sinfulness to exaltation in the realm of the spirit, may be regarded as an emigration. It is my conviction that only those who have been able to actualize these inner emigrations can find in themselves the strength and resolution to leave their homes and families for the sake of a sublime ideal.

Emigration in its two dimensions, spiritual and material, was first represented by the great Prophets, Abraham, Lot, Moses, and Jesus, upon them be peace, who shone like suns on the horizon of humanity, and in its most comprehensive meaning and function, was realized by the greatest of them, namely the Prophet Muhammad, who is the pride of mankind, upon him be peace and blessings. The door to emigration has since been open to all those who walk in his footsteps.

Emigration for the truth's sake is so sanctified that the community of holy ones around the Last Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, who sacrificed their possessions and souls for the sake of the cause they believed in, were praised by God as (and have since been called) "the Emigrants." We can see the importance of this in the fact that the beginning of the sacred era of this holy community was marked, not by the birth of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, or by the first Revelation, or by such victories as Badr or the conquest of Makkah, but by the emigration to Madīnah.

Devout believers who have emigrated for the sake of a sublime ideal will always deeply feel the pressure of the ideal which urged them to emigrate and to design their life according to that ideal. Secondly, they will be freed from potential criticism over some mistakes that they might have made in their childhood or youth. While, in their own land, such devout believers are probably remembered and criticized for their past faults, and, therefore, have little influence upon people, in the land they have emigrated to, they will be known for their spiritual brilliance, unadulterated ideas, pure intentions, and extraordinary sacrifices. For these and other reasons, it has almost always been emigrants who change the flow of history and start new eras in the life of humankind.

Toynbee, the renowned British historian, mentions twenty-seven civilizations founded by nomadic or migrant peoples. No one can overcome such dynamic people. They are not accustomed to ease and comfort; they are ready to sacrifice everything worldly; they are used to every kind of hardship; and they are always ready to march wherever their cause requires them to go (Towards the Lost Paradise, 94–97).