One may wonder, “Why would the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Muslims leave their hometown, Makkah, to a very distant place like Madinah?”
The straightforward answer is: because he and the Muslims were not able to worship Allah in Makkah and they had been tortured by the Makkans.
While that was absolutely true, this may have been the cause of migrating to Abyssinia as a few of the companions did a few years back.
Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) and the rest of the believers could have joined their fellow Muslims there. They would have the opportunity to worship in peace over there.
In fact, right before the death of his uncle, Abu Talib, the leaders of Makkah offered the Prophet (PBUH) to let him worship the way he wanted on the condition that he would not get involved in the public life: no more calling to Allah, no more values Islam promotes, no more involvement in their “business.”
The Prophet (PBUH) could have accepted this offer and saved himself and his companions the trouble of migration.
A Mission beyond individual rituals
It was clear that the Prophet was not looking for a place where he could do his rituals in peace. He was not looking for just a quiet place.
Rather, he was looking for a place where he could fulfill his mission of conveying his message to the whole world. He was entrusted with this message and he was required to convey it to the world.
The mercy that Islam came with is not exclusive to the Prophet or the few people around him. The world had the right to know this message, to experience its mercy, and have the ability and the freedom to embrace it.
The Prophet wanted to do so in a world full of tyrants, kings, and regimes that oppressed people and would not make his job easy.
What took place in Makkah was just an example of what he would face afterwards. With a place as hostile as Makkah, it was almost impossible to fulfill his responsibility.
The Prophet tried and hoped for Makkah to be this home, this support, and the nucleus that would spread the light of Islam to the world. You can see this in his words to the leaders of Makkah.
When the Prophet found out that Makkah was no longer this place, he started looking outside. He traveled to At-Taif, another big city not far from Makkah, and came home with no success.
He talked to many tribes and individuals during the season of Hajj with no one accepting his message.
It was very clear in his message to these tribes and groups that he was not simply asking them to believe in him. He was explicitly demanding their support to his message and to his cause.
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