In the name of Allah the most Merciful Beneficent Migration "And whoever flies in Allah's way, he will find

in the earth many a place of refuge and abundant resources, and whoever goes forth from his house flying to Allah and His Messenger, and then death overtakes him, his reward is indeed with Allah and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." (Holy Quran, 4:100) Migration is movement of humans from one area or region to another. The reasons for migration from a general aspect could be many. It could be to save one's faith, or it could be for economic reason from a developing country towards a developed one, or it could be for shelter etc. The benefits of migration have been proved in many studies conducted on the subject. "The worlds population in 2007 was 6.6 billion, including 4.8 billion people of working force age, which is 15 or older in International Labour Organization data.3 The global work force was 3.1 billion, including 2.9 billion employed and almost 200 million unemployed, yielding a global unemployment rate of 6.2 percent. Almost 20 percent of the worlds workers, 600 million, are in the industrial countries, as classified by the ILO. There are 2.5 billion workers in developing countries, 80 percent, where almost all growth in the worlds labour force is expected. Between 2007 and 2020, industrial country labour forces are expected to remain at about 600 million, while developing country labour forces are projected expand by 500 million. This means that the growth in developing country work forces is expected to almost equal the current industrial labour force. There were 191 million international migrants in 2005, including almost the same number of migrants from developing countries in industrial countries as from one developing country in another. About half of the worlds migrants are in the labour force, making 10 percent of the workers in high-income countries migrants....The World Bank's Global Economic Prospects report advocated more migration from developing to high-income countries in order to increase remittances, reduce poverty, and speed development in the migrants countries of origin (World Bank, 2005).4 A 50 percent increase in developing-to-industrial country migration would add 15 million migrant workers and, according to the World Bank, generate a net global economic gain of $356 billion, or 0.6 percent of global GDP.5 Other estimates of the global economic gains from more labour migration reach similar conclusions (Hamilton and Whalley)-Quoted from UNITED
NATIONS EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC"

The studies on migration done by Philip Martin , a pioneer in this field, show the positive effects of migration for both sending and receiving countries and on over all global GDP increase and growth: "Roughly every 1 million foreigners moving over borders and achieving a net income gain of $10,000 increase global income by $10 billion. " Islam ,a universal system , is an advocate of migration. The migration in Islam has been advised to save one's faith, help the cause of religion of Allah(SWT), to escape exploitation or persecution, or to seek sustenance and grace of Allah(SWT). The holy Quran repeatedly asks us to travel in the land to learn lessons of history or to seek grace of Allah: "Say: Travel in the land, then see what was the end of the rejecters. (Holy Quran, 6:11)" "Have they not travelled in the earth and seen how was the end of those before them? ...(holy Quran, 30:9)"

"And whoever flies in Allah's way, he will find in the earth many a place of refuge and abundant resources..." (Holy Quran, 4:100) Those who lived a life of down trodden and were capable to move from those places but did not undertake migration to save their faiths and escape persecution will meet a gloomy destiny in Hereafter too:
"Surely (as for) those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to their souls, they shall say: In what state were you? They shall say: We were weak in the earth. They shall say: Was not Allah's earth spacious, so that you should have migrated therein? So these it is whose abode is hell, and it is an evil resort Except the weak from among the men and the children who have not in their power the means nor can they find a way (to escape); So these, it may be, Allah will pardon them, and Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving. "(holy Quran, 4:97-99)

There's one more dimension of migration and that is spiritual migration from a spiritually lowly state towards a lofty one. This migration is about internal revolution within us. This aspect of migration which concerns with the migration from sin to repentance and lowliness to loftiness is also very important. Ayatullah Mutaihiri stresses both aspects of migration in following words: "The meaning of migration is the revival of the human personality and combatting a factor which is the main cause of human abjection. A human being should have enough self-respect not to exchange one's freedom and independence for slavery to an environment or to habits and vices. Thus, migration is a necessary factor of selfrefinement. " We conclude our discussion with quoting Ayatullah Mutaihiri's writing on the subject where he recounts the benefits of travel and migration quoting Imam Ali(AS) : "In a poem attributed to the first Imam, we are told to travel in the sea of attainment and eminence and that these are five benefits to be had from journeys. These are as follows: The removal of sorrow from the heart. As long as one sticks to an environment, his mind is full of grief and sadness and for a time at least he feels relieved of their burden. Earning a livelihood. If you are intelligent enough you can gain a living in travel and improve your financial condition beyond what is possible by staying always in one place. Earning knowledge. You can also increase your knowledge by travel, by contact with the learned men of the places you visit, by becoming acquainted with their world and thoughts. Earning experience in manners and customs. Travel makes you familiar with all sorts of customs which may seem to you better than your local customs, thereby improving your conduct by selecting ways which seem desirable and appropriate to you. Earning experience in companionship. There is a special delight of conversation and companionship that is often afforded by travel. This contact with lofty minds may ennoble your spirit."