Hijrah Exhibition in Riyadh: True Storyteller of the Prophet’s Noble Journey to Medina

Hijrah (Immigration) of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was the most important historical event that formed the beginning of Islam. To know more about this journey, you should pay a visit to a unique interactive exhibition titled [Hijrah]: –In the Footsteps of the Prophet– that has been taking place till now since last July inside the Saudi National Museum.

The exhibition presents the journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina which lasted for eight days and 400 kilometers.

The exhibition was curated by Ithra’s in-house team, Idries Trevathan and Kumail Al Musaly. At the same time, the Prophet’s biographer Dr Abdullah Al Kadi contributed with his research and knowledge of the Hijrah route.

Sections of the exhibition showcase numerous artifacts collaborating with the National Museum of Saudi Arabia, the House of Islamic Arts, The King Abdulaziz Complex for Endowment Libraries, and The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund.

Inside the exhibition, you will explore the stages of the prophetic journey that changed the details of Arab society and the human landscape.

Moreover, you will experience the stations from the historical era that embraced the dawn of Islam from the plains of Mecca to the palm trees of Medina.

The exhibition presents the prophetic march in a narrative style rich in information with collectibles, telling in a narrative sequence the events of migration, through 14 historical angles and stations, in which the latest audio and video technologies and interactive experiences are used.

What is Hijrah?

Hijrah, meaning migration, is a seminal point in Islamic history. It occurred in 622 C.E. when the Prophet Mohammed and his companion Abu Bakr fled Makkah to Madinah (then Yathrib) upon invitation by the city’s leaders to escape persecution by Makkah’s ruling Quraysh tribe.

Fearing for their lives, more Muslims eventually made a similar journey and, as a result, the first Muslim society was born. Madinah also became the stage from which the Prophet Mohammed and their followers would return to conquer Makkah in 629.

The migration of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina is considered the most important event in Islamic history, as it represents an inspiring journey that marked the beginning of Islamic history, and the launch of a civilization that changed the history of the world and contributed to the emergence of a society that includes more than 1.5 billion people.

2^nd Version of The Hijrah Exhibition

The exhibition is currently running its second edition in partnership with the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture – (Ithra) and the Saudi National Museum as part of steps to boost cultural cooperation and integration, to enhance the historical and cultural dimension of the Kingdom.

The exhibition covers the journey of the Prophet’s noble journey through 14 interactive points that include a group of archaeological pieces and collectibles that will be presented in a new, unusual, and unprecedented manner, in addition to a documentary film and a book that tells the story of this great migration.

The exhibition covers a wide range of topics that explore the various aspects of migration and presents it as a global social and cultural phenomenon through the historical narrative of the Prophet’s noble journey, and the challenges associated with it.

[ The Hijrah Exhibition] also includes prominent exhibits and dazzling works of art that show the importance of immigration through the use of relevant artifacts, and art collections that address the topics of immigration and travel, in addition to historical documents that tell stories and personal testimonies of immigrants.

The visitors’ experience at the exhibition will be full of interaction and knowledge, as the exhibition offers interactive activities, workshops, and scientific seminars to its visitors throughout its stay, based on the Saudi National Museum’s keenness to present the topic of migration using various creative and cognitive methods and tools.

The exhibition relied heavily on the work and research conducted by researchers Ateq Al-Biladi and Dr. Abdullah Al-Qadi, as they studied previous migration narratives very carefully, and integrated fieldwork with traditional literary research, to provide a comprehensive and in-depth vision of migration narratives by collecting information from various sources and tools.

Their output has been presented objectively and innovatively, with the participation of specialized artistic and technical teams.

These teams worked in an integrated manner to provide a distinctive experience for visitors, over three years of hard work in which more than 70 researchers and artists participated, in an image that highlights the joint efforts between the Saudi National Museum and “Ithra”.

All of these joint efforts come to explore and shed light on the subject of the Hijra of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a contemporary manner.

The show presents it to the public in a way that connects the past with the present, addresses the knowledge gap on the subject of the noble Prophet’s migration, and highlights its cultural legacy that is deeply rooted in the Arabian Peninsula.