Which city served as the destination of Muhammad's hijra, becoming the new center of the Muslim community?

Which city served as the destination of Muhammad's hijra, becoming the new center of the Muslim community?

• A. Mecca
• B. Medina
• C. Jerusalem
• D. Cairo

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that the hijra was the migration that transformed Muhammad’s group into a formal, organized community with political leadership. When Muhammad and his followers left Mecca and settled in Yathrib in 622 CE, the city welcomed them and was later renamed Medina, meaning “the city” (often referred to as Madinat al-Nabi, the City of the Prophet). This move established the first Muslim community (the ummah) under Muhammad’s leadership and created a political-religious center for Islam. Medina became the hub where Muslims organized governance, social contracts, and religious practice. Mecca, while the birthplace of Muhammad and the site of the Kaaba, did not become the center of the community after the hijra; the shift of political and communal life occurred in Medina. Jerusalem is associated with other early Islamic events, not the hijra destination, and Cairo was not the center for the hijra era.

The key idea is that the hijra was the migration that transformed Muhammad’s group into a formal, organized community with political leadership. When Muhammad and his followers left Mecca and settled in Yathrib in 622 CE, the city welcomed them and was later renamed Medina, meaning “the city” (often referred to as Madinat al-Nabi, the City of the Prophet). This move established the first Muslim community (the ummah) under Muhammad’s leadership and created a political-religious center for Islam. Medina became the hub where Muslims organized governance, social contracts, and religious practice.

Mecca, while the birthplace of Muhammad and the site of the Kaaba, did not become the center of the community after the hijra; the shift of political and communal life occurred in Medina. Jerusalem is associated with other early Islamic events, not the hijra destination, and Cairo was not the center for the hijra era.