The Coastal Route to Madīna

Significance

When they left the cave they took the coastal route to Madīna — an unfamiliar path — to avoid Quraysh. They hired ʿAbd Allāh ibn Urayqiṭ, a trustworthy polytheist, as their guide. On this road Surāqa ibn Mālik overtook them, and his horse's hooves sank into the ground — he later embraced Islam.