After a journey of eight days, stopping at different places en-route, the Holy Prophetsa reached near Madīnah on 12 Rabī‘ul-Awwal of 14 Nabawī, equivalent to the 20th of September 622 A.D.1 The people of Yathrib had received news of the departure of the Holy Prophetsa from Makkah, therefore, they would come to the outskirts of Madīnah on a daily basis to welcome him and would wait upon him for long periods of time. But when the sun would begin to intensify, they would return home disappointed. On that day, they had also come to welcome the Holy Prophetsa, but since the afternoon had grown long, they had returned to their homes. When they had just reached their homes, suddenly, a Jew who was standing at an eminent position in his small fort noticed the Holy Prophetsa and his companions shining in white clothes from afar. He loudly shouted, “O People of Arabia! The one you wait upon has come!” As soon as this voice reached the ears of this devout community, in the ecstasy of their joy and fervour, the Muslims quickly took their arms and dashed out of the city.2
1 * Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Muḥammad bin ‘Abdul-Bāqī Az-Zarqānī, Volume 2, p. 152, Bābu Khātimati fī Waqā’i‘i Mutafarriqati Ḥuṣilat fil-Hijrah, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)
* Maḥmūd Pāshā Miṣrī
* Taqwīmut-Tārīkhī, By ‘Abdul-Quddūs Hāshmī, p. 1, Idāra-e-Taḥqīqāt-e-Islāmī, Pakistan (1965) (Publishers)
* Based on the investigation of some research scholars the date was 8 Rabī‘ul-Awwal
2 Among the Arabs, to go out and welcome someone in arms was thought of as an indication that the host is even prepared to sacrifice his life for the sake of his guest. (Author)