English translation
2297. Narrated 'Aishah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا, wife of the Prophet ﷺ: Since I reached the age when I could remember things, I have seen my parents worshipping according to the right faith of Islām. Not a single day passed but Allāh's Messenger ﷺ visited us, both in the morning and in the evening. When the Muslims were persecuted, Abū Bakr set out for Ethiopia as an emigrant. When he reached a place called Bark-al-Ghimād, he met Ibn Ad-Daghina, the chief of the Qāra tribe, who asked Abū Bakr, "Where are you going?" Abū Bakr said, "My people have turned me out of the country and I would like to tour the world and worship my Lord." Ibn Ad-Daghina said, "A man like you will not go out, nor will he be turned out as you help the poor earn their living, keep good relation with your kith and kin, help the disabled (or the dependents), provide guests with food and shelter, and help people during their troubles. I am your protector. So, go back and worship your Lord at your home." Ibn Ad-Daghina went along with Abū Bakr and took him to the chiefs of Quraish saying to them, "A man like Abū Bakr will not go out, nor will he be turned out. Do you turn out a man who helps the poor earn their living, keeps good relations with kith and kin, helps the disabled, provides guests with food and shelter, and helps the people during their troubles?" So, Quraish allowed Ibn Ad-Daghina's guarantee of protection and told Abū Bakr that he was secure, and said to Ibn Ad-Daghina, "Advise Abū Bakr to worship his Lord in his house and to offer prayer and read what he liked and not to hurt us and not to do these things publicly, for we fear that our sons and women may follow him." Ibn Ad-Daghina told Abū Bakr of all that. So, Abū Bakr continued worshipping his Lord in his house and did not offer Salāt (prayer) or recite Qur'an aloud except in his house. Later on Abū Bakr had an idea of building a mosque in the courtyard of his house. He fulfilled that idea and started offering Salāt (prayer) and reciting Qur'an there publicly. The women and the offspring of the Mushrikun(1) started gathering around him and looking at him in astonishment. Abū Bakr was a softhearted person and could not help weeping while reciting Qur'an. This horrified the Mushrik chiefs of Quraish. They sent for Ibn Ad-Daghina and when he came, they said, "We have given Abū Bakr protection on condition that he will worship his Lord in his house, but he has transgressed that condition and has built a mosque in the courtyard of his house and offered his Salāt and recited Qur'an in public. We are afraid lest he mislead our women and offspring. So, go to him and tell him that if he wishes he can worship his Lord in his house only, and if not, then tell him to return your pledge of protection as we do not like to betray you by revoking your pledge, nor can we tolerate Abū Bakr's declaration of Islām (his worshipping) in public." 'Aisha' added: Ibn Ad-Daghina came to Abū Bakr and said, "You know the conditions on which I gave you protection, so you should either abide by those conditions or revoke my protection, as I do not like to hear the Arabs saying that Ibn Ad-Daghina gave the pledge of protection to a person and his people did not respect it." Abū Bakr said, "I revoke your pledge of protection and am satisfied with Allāh's Protection." At that time Allāh's Messenger ﷺ was still in Makkah and he said to his Companions, "Your place of emigration has been shown to me. I have seen salty land, planted with date-palms and situated between two mountains which are the two Harra." So, when the Prophet ﷺ told it, some of the companions migrated to Al-Madīna, and some of those who had migrated to Ethiopia returned to Al-Madīna. When Abū Bakr prepared for emigration, Allāh's Messenger ﷺ said to him, "Wait, for I expect to be permitted to emigrate." Abū Bakr asked, "May my father be sacrificed for your sake, do you really expect that?" Allāh's Messenger ﷺ replied in the affirmative. So, Abū Bakr postponed his departure in order to accompany Allāh's Messenger ﷺ, and fed two camels which he had with the leaves of Samur trees for four months.