The Mahdi's Hijra to Qadīr and His JihāD, Before the Fall of El Obeid 1

[85] After the battle of Abā the Mahdi instructed his Companions, by order of the Prophet, to make the hijra to ‘Jabal Māssa, ⁴ near Jabal Qadīr’. He and the people left the village of Aba on Friday, the day of the battle [16 Ramaḍān 1298/12 August 1881]. They stayed near the river, at a watering-place (mashra‘) called al-Ṭawīla, [86] on the island. The men ferried the women and the children to the west bank [of the Nile], willingly leaving their homes and most of their possessions behind. The author remarks that God facilitated the Mahdi’s hijra and protected him on his way. He sees proof of God’s complete support for those who made the hijra in the safe arrival of the Mahdi and his men at their destination. [87] He interprets the name of [Jabal] Qadīr as a migration to God the Omnipotent, and sees in this a good omen. After the ferrying of the women, the children and the fighters, the Mahdi and his close Companions crossed the river by boat to the west bank, where the Mahdi joined the army, opposite the watering-place of al-Ṭawīla.