Istijarah (Arabic: إستجارة, Istijārah) is an Islamic term for asylum, accepting a person at risk as a member of own tribe.
[1] A system of clan protection existed in Pre-Islamic Arabia, and people without a clan would stand without protection.
Such a person could request for Istijarah (asylum) from a person already having a clan association in order to receive protection from that person.
This was a common practice in Arabia,[1] this was used by some Muslims who returned from the first Migration to Abyssinia,[2] and Muhammad himself requested Istijarah from Mut'im ibn Adi after his return to Mecca from the visit to Ta'if.
[1] The term is also used in the Qur'an.