PLANNING The Prophet (peace be upon him) showed us the importance of planning.

He was meticulous in his planning and in that wa! he taught those around him how important it is to plan one"s course of action. #ne good e$ample of this was how he planned his emigration from %ecca to %adinah. He decided on the route he was going to ta&e set a date for his departure and he made sure to ha'e a reliable guide and sufficient pro'isions. He arranged the matter with Ab( )a&r and made sure that the! could lea'e from %ecca undetected. All of this planning and all of the precautions that the Prophet (peace be upon him) too& did not contradict with his utmost reliance upon Allah in an! wa!. This is because a %uslim is supposed to ta&e all the lawful and practical steps a'ailable and then place all of his or her trust in Allah to bring about the desired results. That is the true meaning of rel!ing on Allah. *hen the Prophet (peace be upon him) was as&ed whether it is better to tie up one"s camel or trust in Allah to &eep it from running off the Prophet (peace be upon him) replied+ ,Tie up the camel and trust in Allah., -Sunan al-Tirmidh (./01)2 The Prophet (peace be upon him) had the utmost faith in Allah but this ne'er pre'ented him from planning sensibl! for what he wanted to achie'e. This is a lesson for those who wish to disseminate the message of Islam to others. It is 'ital to ha'e a well3thought3out program before embar&ing upon this noble wor&. In doing so we are following our Prophet"s e$ample. The worst thing we can do is simpl! react to what goes on around us responding to those who critici4e Islam without planning or forethought. It is imperati'e that we understand the circumstances we are dealing with and thereb! respond 5udiciousl! and producti'el! to what ta&es place in the world. *e need to ta&e a long 'iew. *e can see how the Prophet (peace be upon him) too& the long 'iew when he went to the cit! of T6"if to spread the message of Islam. After presenting Islam to the leaders of the cit! in a polite and respectful manner the cit!"s elders replied b! setting the street urchins upon him commanding the urchins to dri'e him out of town b! pelting him with stones. He bore this patientl! and merel! continued in his plan to call the 'arious tribes of Arabia to Islam. %embers of these tribes were alwa!s coming to %ecca for the pilgrimage and he would present himself to them during the pilgrimage season. In spite of the persecution that he and his followers were facing dail! in %ecca he persisted in representing Islam to all the tribes of Arabia. He &ept to his plan until finall! he met with a delegation from the tribe of 7ha4ra5 coming from the cit! of %adinah. The members of this delegation recogni4ed him to be the %essenger of Allah. This would lead ultimatel! to the emigration of the %uslims from %ecca to %adinah. The Prophet"s foresight had surel! paid off. *hen he had seen how his own people 8 the tribe

of 9ura!sh in %ecca 8 were so 'iolentl! opposed to his message he reali4ed the need for a practical plan that would bring him the support that he needed. He carefull! planned how and when he would meet with each of the tribes in spite of the fierce opposition of 9ura!sh and he succeeded in meeting with all of them. Li&ewise after gaining the support of the delegation from 7ha4ra5 e'en more careful planning was needed in order for him to meet with a subse:uent delegation from %adinah representing both of its tribes the other being the tribe of ;Aws. This second meeting which too& place duringthe pilgrimage season of the following !ear included se'ent!3fi'e citi4ens of %adinah representing men and women from both tribes. The! pledged their lo!alt! and support for the Prophet (peace be upon him) and in'ited him and his followers to come to %adinah. Arri'ing at this goal too& man! !ears of persistence and planning. It meant the end of persecution for the %uslims and the beginning of a new era.