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Fatwa CenterNumber of Muslims in Makkah and Madeenah before and after Hijrah
Question
How many were the Muslims before the Hijrah (migration of Muslims from Makkah to Madeenah)? Why was the number of Muslims in Makkah so little compared to their large number in Al-Madeenah?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
We did not know the exact number of Muslims before the Hijrah (migration of Muslims from Makkah to Madeenah). However, it was little compared to their large number after the Hijrah, when the Ansar and many others embraced Islam. The reason why the number of Muslims was little in Makkah compared to their large number in Madeenah is clear. Although the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had first received the Divine Revelation in Makkah, the polytheists of Quraysh persecuted the Muslims and tried to make them leave Islam. This forced some Muslims to migrate, first to Abyssinia and then to Madeenah. This was not the case in Madeenah after the Ansar had entered Islam and the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, migrated to it. Later on, Madeenah became the abode of Islam and the destination of the immigrant Muslims, where they found dignity and respect. Then people started to ceaselessly came to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in order to embrace Islam. In Mukhtasar As-Seerah by Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Al-Wahhab 
he said:
When the Ansar embraced Islam, the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered the Muslims in Makkah to migrate to Madeenah. They indeed migrated and Allah Almighty gave them honor after humiliation. Allah says (what means): {And remember when you were few and oppressed in the land, fearing that people might abduct you, but He sheltered you, supported you with His victory, and provided you with good things – that you might be grateful.} [Quran 8: 26]
Allah knows best.
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