Emigration هاجروا (haajaru)

According to Merriam-Webster's definition: em·i·grate

Function:

intransitive verb

Etymology:

Latin emigratus, past participle of emigrare, from e- + migrare to migrate

Emigrate: to leave one's place of residence or country to live elsewhere

I was talking the other day with my friend from Iran, Reza. He really has a beautiful mind and spirit mashallah. May Allah give him the success. We were talking about the science competition he did when he was younger which he won first prize in all of Iran. He had the chance to meet the son of Mahmoud Hessabi, the father of physics in Iran that day. Hessabi was a prominent Iranian scientist, researcher and distinguished professor of the University of Tehran. He was also the only Iranian student of Albert Einstein. I had not heard of him so Reza forwarded his biography to me. He pointed out that like me, Hessabi went to live in an Arabian country where he learned the Quran in good way, and went to an American university in an Arabian country.

Reza was telling me how it is a good thing to emigrate for the sake of Allah. He was saying that all great people have traveled, including of course Mohammad (saaws) who emigrated from Mecca to Madinah. He said we should be willing to leave everything we have, everything, and get out of our comfort zone, leave behind what we know, and then gather the new. You really cannot do that without a journey and remaining in another place, and through that journey for Allah's sake we have the hope of obtaining His (swt) mercy and forgiveness.
For example, I took this journey to live in the middle east and to study in Kuwait in order to grow as a Muslim and further development my relationship with Allah (subhana wa ta'ala).

He went on to say there is an aya in the Quran that talks about this idea. In Surat Baqarah (2:218) -

ان الذين امنوا والذين هاجروا وجاهدوا في سبيل الله اولئك يرجون رحمة الله والله غفور رحيم
Transliteration	Inna allatheena amanoo waallatheena hajaroo wajahadoo fee sabeeli Allahi ola-ika yarjoona rahmata Allahi waAllahu ghafoorun raheemun
Literal	That those who believed and those who emigrated and struggled/exerted in God's way/sake ,those hope/expect God's mercy , and God (is) forgiving, most merciful .
Yusuf Ali	Those who believed and those who suffered exile and fought (and strove and struggled) in the path of Allah,- they have the hope of the Mercy of Allah: And Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
Pickthal	Lo! those who believe, and those who emigrate and strive in the way of Allah, these have hope of Allah's mercy. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Arberry	But the believers, and those who emigrate and struggle in God's way -- those have hope of God's compassion; and God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
Shakir	Surely those who believed and those who fled (their home) and strove hard in the way of Allah these hope for the mercy of Allah and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Sarwar	The believers and the Emigrants from Mecca who fight for the cause of God, indeed have hope in receiving the mercy of God; God is All-forgiving and All-merciful.
Khalifa	Those who believe, and those who emigrate and strive in the cause of GOD, have deserved GOD's mercy. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
Hilali/Khan	Verily, those who have believed, and those who have emigrated (for Allahs Religion) and have striven hard in the Way of Allah, all these hope for Allahs Mercy. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful.
H/K/Saheeh	Indeed, those who have believed and those who have emigrated and fought in the cause of Allah those expect the mercy of Allah. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Malik	Surely those who are believers, and migrated and struggled in the path of Allah, they can hope for the mercy of Allah; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."[218]
QXP	Those who attain belief and those who emigrate in the Cause of Allah and struggle to establish the Divine Value System, can rightfully hope for the Grace of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Absolver of imperfections, Merciful.
Maulana Ali	Those who believed and those who fled (their homes) and strove hard in Allah's way -- these surely hope for the mercy of Allah. And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Free Minds	Those who believe, and those who have immigrated and strived in the cause of God; these are seeking God's mercy, and God is Forgiving, Merciful.
Qaribullah	But those who believe and those who migrate and struggle in the way of Allah, those, have hope of the Mercy of Allah. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
George Sale	But they who believe, and who fly for the sake of religion, and fight in God's cause, they shall hope for the mercy of God; for God is gracious and merciful.
JM Rodwell	But they who believe, and who fly their country, and fight in the cause of God may hope for God's mercy: and God is Gracious, Merciful.
Asad	Verily, they who have attained to faith, and they who have forsaken the domain of evil and are striving hard in God's cause - these it is who may look forward to God's grace: for God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

When he gave me this verse, I noticed that in the original Arabic, the word being translated most commonly into emigrate is the word haajaru. It sounded a lot like the word for the Haaj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is the spiritual and physical journey all Muslims try to take at some point in their lives according to the Quran. I wanted to look deeper into the meaning of the root that both words Haaj and Haajaru come from, so I looked at all of the translations of this verse from the Quran and then went to my dictionary. I found that it does mean a type of a journey, of shedding things we hold onto and venturing out leaving the old behind and taking on new things.
The definition for the root of the word هاجروا (haajaru) - " هجرhajara/hijraan هجران " in the Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Arabic is:
to emigrate; to dissociate o.s., separate, part, secede, keep away (from), part company, part with, to give up, renounce, forgo, avoid (something), to abandon, surrender, leave behind (something), relinquish, leave, give up, vacate something in favor of something else II to induce s.o. to emigrate III to emigrate; to migrate, drift away (from an area); to be carried away, be in ecstasy, be out of this world (because of, by) IV to leave, abandon, give up (something); to talk nonsense, talk through one's hat VI to desert one another, part company, separate, break up

هجر - hajr: abandonment, forsaking, leaving, separation; avoidance, abstention; separation from the beloved one; hottest time of the day

هجرة - hijra: departure, exit; emigration, exodus; immigration (to); abandonment, giving up (of sth), renunciation (of); الهجرة the hijra, the emigration of the Prophet Mohammad (saaws) from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD; الهجرة من الريف rural exodus, migration from rural areas

هجرى - hijri: of the Hegira, pertaining to Mohammad's (saaws) emigration (sana) a year of the Hegira, a year of the Muslim Era (beginning with his emigration)


هجرة - hujra/hijra: agricultural settlement of the Wahabi Ikhwan in Nejd

مهجر (mahjar) - place of emigration, retreat, refuge, sanctuary; emigration; settlement, colony


I highly recommend living some place different from your own. It is such a great learning opportunity and a humbling experience. It has really contributed to my spiritual growth and of course the best of any emigration is the one you do for the sake of Allah and forsaking the bad in your life.

By the way, this is a great link for finding various English translations of the Quran - http://islamawakened.com/Quran/