The Angel of Revelation, Gabriel, informed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) of the Quraysh's sinister plot to assassinate him and commanded him to migrate. To foil the pursuers' plan, it was decided that someone would sleep in the Prophet's bed so that the polytheists would believe he was still at home and had not yet departed. As a result, they would focus all their attention on surrounding the house rather than monitoring the roads and outskirts of Mecca.

The benefit of this strategy was that, while the guards remained preoccupied with watching the Prophet's house, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) would have the opportunity to leave Mecca and hide in a safe place without being noticed by those lying in wait to kill him.

The question then arises: Who volunteered to sleep in the Prophet's bed, sacrificing himself to protect the Messenger of Allah with his own life?

The answer is obvious. The one who had been the first among all Muslims to believe in the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and who had defended him from the very beginning of his mission, was naturally the one most worthy of making such a sacrifice. That selfless defender was none other than Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). This conclusion is both reasonable and correct.

No one but Ali was suited for such a dangerous mission.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said to Ali (peace be upon him):

"O Ali, Quraysh has gathered together to plot against me and kill me. My Lord has revealed to me that I must leave the land of my people. Sleep in my bed and cover yourself with my green Hadrami cloak so that your presence will conceal my departure from them. What do you say? Will you do this?"

Ali (peace be upon him) replied:

"Will you be safe if I sleep in your place, O Messenger of Allah?"

The Prophet answered:

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Ali smiled joyfully and happily. He immediately prostrated himself in gratitude to Allah after the Messenger informed him that he would remain safe. When he raised his head, he said:

"Go forth and carry out what you have been commanded. May my hearing, my sight, and the core of my heart be sacrificed for you. Command me as you wish, and I shall gladly fulfill your desire. My success comes only through Allah."

Ali (peace be upon him) then lay down in the Prophet's bed and wrapped himself in the Prophet's green Hadrami cloak.

When part of the night had passed, the Quraysh's watchmen—forty armed men with drawn swords—surrounded the Prophet's house. They waited for the moment to attack, occasionally peering through the doorway to make sure the Prophet was still lying in his bed. Seeing someone covered by the cloak, they assumed the sleeping figure was the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).

At that moment, the Prophet intended to leave his house.

Although his enemies had surrounded his home from every direction and carefully watched every movement, it was Allah's irresistible will that His Messenger should escape from their hands. The Prophet recited Surah Ya-Sin, appropriate to the circumstances, until he reached the verse:

"...so they cannot see." (Qur'an 36:9)

He then left through the door without the Quraysh guards assigned to kill him noticing his departure and proceeded to the place where he had planned to hide, as will be explained later.

How exactly the Messenger of Allah managed to pass through the tight human cordon surrounding his house without being noticed is not known with certainty.

However, a narration reported by the renowned Shi'i commentator Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Qummi in his commentary on the verse:

"And among the people is he who sells himself seeking the pleasure of Allah." (Qur'an 2:207)

states that the Quraysh were asleep, waiting until dawn before attacking the Prophet's house, never imagining that he had already learned of their conspiracy.

Other historians and biographers, however, maintain that those surrounding the Prophet's home remained awake until the moment of the planned attack and that the Prophet left the house miraculously, unseen by any of them.

The possibility of such a miracle is certainly not impossible. Nevertheless, one may ask whether such a miracle was actually necessary.

A careful study of the migration (Hijrah) as a whole strongly suggests that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) had learned of the conspiracy before his house was surrounded and had devised a practical and natural plan for his escape. There was no need to rely upon a miraculous intervention.

His purpose in having Ali (peace be upon him) sleep in his bed was precisely to ensure his own escape through ordinary means rather than through supernatural intervention.

Accordingly, the Prophet could have anticipated the siege and left his home before the Quraysh surrounded it, even before sunset.

It is possible, however, that there was a reason for his remaining in the house until the time of the siege—a reason that is no longer known to us.

For this reason, the claim that the Prophet left his house during the night is not accepted unanimously. Some scholars maintain that he departed before the siege was imposed and before sunset.