– Syed Azharuddin
Travel, in its best form, is an invitation to widen one’s vision – of people, history, nature, and ultimately, God’s earth. The Qur’an compels believers to travel through the earth and observe, and asks: have they not travelled through the land so that hearts may reason and ears may hear? These verses are not calling to adventure for fashion or leisure alone. Travel in the Qur’an is presented as a profound pedagogy – one that transforms observation into knowledge, and knowledge into a reverent understanding of divine truth.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ made travel central to his life and mission – not to accumulate comfort, but to carry forward revelation, to negotiate, to teach, to migrate, and to fulfil prophetic visions. His journeys were tangible signs of his message and methods, and they offer powerful examples for Muslims today who wish to travel not just for escape, but for deep learning and spiritual elevation.
Travelling with Purpose: Lessons from the Seerah
Early Trade Journeys and Cultural Exposure: Before his Prophethood, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ accompanied caravans to Syria and Yemen, serving as a merchant for Khadijah (RA). These journeys were more than commerce: they exposed him to Christians, Jews, and pagans; they taught him about loss, negotiation, trust, languages, and cultural variance. Biographers such as Ibn Hisham note how these merchant travels sharpened his observation – he saw poverty and wealth; power and humiliation – and these early experiences shaped his later compassion and justice.
Migration (Hijrah): Strategic Relocation
The Hijrah from Makkah to Madinah was the most crucial journey of the Prophet’s life. But it did not happen in a vacuum. The people of Madinah – Aws and Khazraj – were exhausted from decades of rivalry and the Battle of Bu‘āth (c. 617CE) had decimated leadership. Ayesha (RA) narrates that this civil strife was part of Allah’s preparation for Islam, paving the way for a neutral leader to unify them (Sahih al-Bukhari). Hijrah was not just flight – it was state-building, political reorientation, and spiritual renewal.
Envoys, Delegations, and Da‘wah across Lands
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ commissioned companions to travel for multiple missions:
Musʿab ibn Umair was sent to Yathrib (Madinah) to teach Qur’an and guide people spiritually and morally, preparing the social ground for Hijrah.
The Prophet sent letters to emperors and leaders – Heraclius in Byzantium, Khosrow in Persia, and others in Egypt and Yemen – to invite rule by higher principles (ʿAdl, mercy, monotheism). These were diplomatic emissaries, encouraging both transformation and peace.
One famous tradition is the Hadith of Constantinople, in which the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “Verily, you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful army will that army be, and what a wonderful leader will that conqueror be.” (Ibn Abd al-Barr, An-Namari, al-Haythami, al-Suyuti among others acknowledge the narration).
This prophecy inspired generations of companions such as Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who left their comfort, fought, campaigned, and eventually when the conquest was achieved centuries later, their efforts bore spiritual fruit. In addition, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari’s life reflects long-term commitment: although elderly, he wished to be martyred near Constantinople and participated as much as his capacity allowed. His grave outside Istanbul (Eyüp) stands testimony to journeys inspired by prophetic vision.
The Qur’anic Framework: Travel, Knowledge, and Transformative Awe
The Qur’an invites believers to travel through the earth and learn: “Have they not travelled through the land so that hearts may reason and ears may hear?” (Al-Ḥajj 22:46) and “Travel through the earth and observe how He began creation” (Al-ʿAnkabūt 29:20). Here, travel is inseparable from reflection. The ruins of once-great civilizations warn against arrogance and injustice; the harmony of nature displays balance and measure; encounters with diverse peoples nurture humility and gratitude.
Sayyid Qutb, in his celebrated Fī Ẓilāl al-Qur’ān, explains that the command in 29:20 is not an invitation to mere sightseeing but to intellectual and spiritual exploration. He writes that Allah urges the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the believers “to contemplate how creation began” so that they may recognise His absolute power to resurrect life after death. For Qutb, this journey is a movement of both body and mind, “a call to reason and to witness the signs scattered across the horizons.”
Al-Rāzī notes in his Tafsīr al-Kabīr that the verse instructs believers to “travel with the eye of the heart,” observing not only landscapes but the moral lessons etched into history. Ibn Kathīr similarly highlights that these journeys reveal “the consequences of those who denied the messengers,” turning travel into a living classroom of divine justice.
Syed Raghib Hassan observes, the Qur’an presents safar (journeying) as a means to cultivate taqwā: a reverent awareness of God that arises not from fear of harm but from insight, observation, and moral responsibility. The Qur’an itself declares, “Only those who have knowledge truly fear Allah” (Fāṭir 35:28). This “fear” (khawf) is not panic; it is the trembling humility that comes when one recognises the vastness of creation and one’s own place within it. Travel, in the Qur’anic vision, is far more than movement from one place to another – it is a spiritual discipline and a path to wisdom.
Thus, in the Qur’anic framework, travel provides the raw material of observation; observation, when processed by heart and intellect, yields knowledge; and knowledge blossoms into taqwā, the enlightened reverence that steadies the soul. To journey in this way is to fulfil a divine pedagogy: moving across the earth to move closer to the Creator.
Why Modern Travel Often Misses Its Potential
In contemporary times, many people, Muslims included, travel frequently, but often for luxury, leisure, status, or escape rather than learning. There is comfort in exotic photos, but little growth in spiritual or intellectual dimension. Many diaspora communities settle into enclaves, rarely interacting beyond their circles or using their travel experiences as means of service, learning, or growth.
This stands in contrast with prophetic travel, which was deeply intentional. It always carried at least one of these goals: daʿwah (calling to God), justice, knowledge, establishment of good communities, or fulfilment of prophecy.
Even modern biographers of the Prophet have recognised this union of travel and contemplation. Karen Armstrong remarks in Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time that Muhammad’s early trade journeys “opened his mind to the wider world and deepened his sense of the sacred in the ordinary,” while Montgomery Watt observes that such journeys “trained his powers of observation and reflection, qualities that would later mark his leadership.”
Encouragement for Individuals, Families, & Groups
To reclaim the prophetic spirit of travel, here are some recommendations rooted in Seerah and Qur’anic teaching:
- Travel with an intention: whether to learn about history, serve communities, or deepen one’s faith.
- Document observations: reflect on what you see – ruins, peoples, cultures – as reminders of impermanence and of Allah’s signs.
- Combine travel with acts of service: help, charity, learn local languages, understand challenges of others.
- Include family in travel: journeys become more meaningful when shared – teaching children, elders, sharing reflections.
- Maintain humility: carry little, serve much. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ travelled with few belongings, prioritised simplicity, and exemplified service wherever he went.
Walking the World with a Prophetic Heart
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was not simply a Messenger; he was a traveller in the deepest sense – spiritually, socially, politically, and intellectually. Every path he took, every road he sent companions on, was part of a vision: to witness God’s creation, to spread justice, to build communities rooted in beauty, mercy, and knowledge. Qur’anic verses like 29:20 and 22:46 show that traveling with purpose is woven into Islam’s fabric.
Today, people journey across the globe more than ever, yet often without intention – seeking luxury, entertainment, or a momentary escape. But travel, like every human action, follows its intention (niyyah). If the intention is shifted – from display to discovery, from indulgence to reflection – the very same journey becomes an act of worship and a path of learning. When purpose is aligned with the higher aims of knowledge, service, and gratitude, travel itself becomes a means to walk the road that the Prophet ﷺ charted for humanity.
To travel with such consciousness is to reclaim the prophetic example: to see the world as a living classroom of God’s signs, to expand the heart through encounters with creation and history, and to return home wiser, humbler, and closer to the One who made the journey possible.
