“The time for migration has passed for those to whom it applied; I accept his pledge for Islam and for jihad.”

I afterwards met Abū Maʿbad and asked him about it, and he said, “Mujāshiʿ has spoken the truth.” Ḥālid likewise reported—from Abū ʿUthmān, from Mujāshiʿ—that he had come with his brother Mujālid.

Al-Bukhārī (1) relates: ʿAmr ibn Khālid narrated to us; Zuhayr narrated to us; ʿĀṣim narrated to us; from Abū ʿUthmān, who said: Mujāshiʿ told me, “I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with my brother after the Day of the Conquest and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I have brought my brother so that you may take his pledge for migration.’ He replied, ‘Those who have already migrated have taken with them all that migration entailed.’ I said, ‘For what, then, will you take his pledge?’ He answered, ‘I take his pledge for Islam, faith, and jihad.’ Later I met Abū Maʿbad, who was the elder of the two, and asked him; he said, ‘Mujāshiʿ has spoken the truth.’”

Al-Bukhārī (2) also reports: Muḥammad ibn Bashār narrated to us; Ghundar narrated to us; Shuʿbah narrated to us; from Abū Bishr; from Mujāhid, who said: “I said to Ibn ʿUmar, ‘I want to migrate to Syria.’ He replied, ‘There is no migration, but there is jihad. Go forth, present yourself, and if an opportunity arises take it; otherwise return.’” al-Naḍr added: “Shuʿbah narrated to us; Abū Bishr narrated to us; I heard Mujāhid say: I said to Ibn ʿUmar, and he replied, ‘There is no migration today—or after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ— …’ and he related the same.”

(3) Isḥāq ibn Yazīd narrated to us; Yaḥyā ibn Ḥamzah narrated to us; Abū ʿAmr al-Awzāʿī told me, from ʿAbdah ibn Abī Lubābah, from Mujāhid ibn Jabr, that ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar said: “There is no migration after the Conquest.”

Al-Bukhārī (4) says: Isḥāq ibn Yazīd narrated to us; Yaḥyā ibn Ḥamzah narrated to us; al-Awzāʿī narrated to us; from ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, who said: “I visited ʿĀʾishah with ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, and he asked her about migration. She replied, ‘There is no migration today. Formerly a believer would flee with his religion to Allah, Mighty and Exalted, and to His Messenger ﷺ, fearing that he might be persecuted for it; but today Allah has given Islam the upper hand, and a believer worships his Lord wherever he wishes—yet what remains is jihad and intention.’”

These ḥadiths and reports show that migration—whether in its complete or its general sense—ceased after the Conquest of Mecca, for people then entered the religion of Allah in multitudes, Islam became manifest, and its pillars and foundations were firmly established, so migration was no longer incumbent. The only exception is when circumstances make it necessary—such as living among hostile unbelievers and being unable to practice one’s religion openly—in which case migration to a land of Islam becomes obligatory; on this point the scholars are unanimous. Even so, this migration is not like the migration before the Conquest, just as striving in Allah’s cause and spending for His sake remain legislated and encouraged until the Day of Resurrection, yet they are not on the same level as striving and spending before the Conquest of Mecca.

Allah the Exalted says:
“Not equal among you are those who spent and fought before the conquest; they are greater in rank than those who spent and fought afterwards. Yet to each Allah has promised the best reward.” (al-Ḥadīd 57:10)