Who was al-Miqdad?
Al-Miqdad belonged to Kunda’s tribe. He escaped from his tribe and inhabited Makkah.
There he belonged to a man called al-Aswad bin Abid Yaqut al-Zuhry. So, people called him al-Miqdad bin al-Aswad. In connection with al-Miqdad, this verse came down from the sky:
Call them with their fathers’ names
For this reason, people called him al-Miqdad bin al-Aswad.
Islam rose from the top of the Hiraa Mount.
Al-Miqdad became twenty-four years old. He heard about our Master Muhammad’s mission. He hurried to believe in the new religion.
He kept his Islam a secret. He met our Master Muhammad [s] secretly. Thus, he was among the earlier Muslims. He always felt the Muslims’ sufferings.
The Migration
Our Master Muhammad [s] ordered his companions to immigrate to Madina. They immigrated one by one or group by group.
Then Allah, the Glorified, ordered His Apostle to immigrate to Madina.
Al-Miqdad rejoiced at the safety of Allah’s Apostle. He admired the Muslim young man Ali bin Abu-Talib [a] who sacrificed his life to save our Master Muhammad [s] from polytheists’ swords
.
When our Master Muhammad [s] immigrated to Madina, the polytheists attacked and robbed the Muslims’ houses. So, our Master Muhammad [s] thought about threatening the Quraishi trade caravan as a punishment.
Hamza bin Abdul-Muttalib headed the first company and went towards al-Ays area near the Red Sea. There he met the polytheistic troops headed by Abu Jahal.
No fight took place because some Arab leaders mediated between the two parties.
In Shawwal, 1 A.H., another company went out. The number of the company was sixty fighters. Its aim was to get to Rabgh Valley to threaten the Quraishi trade road between Makkah and Shaam.