The Concept of Muhājirūn – and Its Potential Significance for the Piety of the Seventh-Century Qurʾānic Movement

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the Qurʾānic references to al-muhājirūn as an expression of a world renouncing current in the early Qurʾānic movement. Throughout the Qurʾān the muhājirūn are idealized for their willingness to leave their homes, wealth, and families behind in order to emigrate in the path of God. Traditionally, these emigrants have been interpreted through the lens of later Muslim exegesis as referring to the early believers who accompanied Muhammad on his emigration from Mecca to Medina in 622. In general, however, there is little evidence to suggest that the Qurʾān is referring to a specific historical emigration event. Based on the theoretical framework of Peter Sloterdijk and Mary Douglas, this article argues that the Qurʾānic employment of the root h-j-r basically centers on an ascetic distancing from worldly attachments, and that this uprooting into a new mobility denotes a central aspect of the piety of the early Qurʾānic movement.