The Prophet (SAW) began his mission by secretly preaching to those he trusted the most; it was during this stage of his mission that the most eminent of Muslims – those known as “As-Sabiqunal Awwalun (the ones that preceded others to the faith, the ones who were first to embrace Islam) – embraced Islam. The first person to embrace Islam was Khadijah (RA). The members of the Prophet’s household had become Muslims, the next to accept the Prophet’s invitation to Islam was Abu Bakr (RA). Then people entered into the Faith, one after another until Islam spread throughout Makkah; even every member that became Muslim.

In the next stage of his mission, the Prophet (SAW) was ordered to preach openly to everyone, and not just to those whom he (SAW) trusted. The Prophet (SAW) received this order with the revelation of the following verse: “And warn your tribe (O Muhammad) of near kindred. And be kind and humble to the believers who follow you. Then if they disobeyed you, say,’ I am innocent of what you do.” (Qur’an 26: 214-216)

Ibn Abbas (RA) reported that when “And warn your tribe (O Muhammad) of near kindred” was revealed, the Prophet (SAW) ascended Mount As-Safa and began to call: “O children of Fihr, O children of Adi, these being the various sub-tribes of the Quraish. They gathered together before the Prophet (SAW), and if a man was not able to go himself, he sent a messenger on his behalf to find out what was happening, the Quraish, Abu Lahab (the Prophet’s uncle) included, came, and the Prophet (SAW) said: ‘Suppose I informed you that horses (i.e., behind this mountain), intending to attack you – would you believe me?’ ‘Yes,’ they said, ‘We have experienced nothing from you but truthfulness’, the Prophet (SAW) said: ‘Then I am a warner to you before the time of severe punishment.’” (Bukhari and Muslim)

“Woe to you for the rest of this day!” exclaimed Abu Lahab. “Is it only for this that you gathered us together?” Then Allah (SWT) revealed the following verses, making it clear who it was that was headed for destruction: “Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab, and perish he! His wealth and children will not benefit him!” (Qur’an 111: 1-2)

Abu Lahab was not the only Makkan chieftain who rejected the Prophet’s message; in fact, most others did the same. It was not enough for them to reject the Prophet’s message; nor was it enough for them to hate him, scorn him, and mock him; no, they were not satisfied until they made clear their enmity toward him, persecuting him and his followers with an intensity that grew with the passing of every day. They wanted to accuse the Prophet (SAW) of some defect or evil quality, so as to turn people away from his message. But they had a hard time finding the appropriate accusation to level against him because they knew that, in order to truly turn people away from the Prophet (SAW), their lies about him had to be at least plausible. Therefore, they could not call him a liar or untrustworthy man, for they themselves had – through years of knowing him – given him the title “The Trustworthy One.” Furthermore, deep down inside their hearts they knew that he (SAW) was truthful; it was simply a matter of arrogance that prevented them from accepting the truth. Allah (SWT) said: “It is not you that they deny, but it is the verses (the Qur’an) of Allah that zalimun (wrongdoers) deny.” (Qur’an 6:33).

Quraish leaders knew the Prophet (SAW) for forty years, and they knew for a fact that his character was impeccable. Therefore, the only accusation that was even remotely plausible in their minds was to say that he (SAW) was a soothsayer or magician. This is because one of the main practices for which soothsayers and magicians were known, was to sow seeds of dissension between relatives – between a father and his son, between two brothers, and between husband and wife.

Islam, in their minds, was having the same effect on the families of the Quraish; all families became divided since Islam had spread to every tribe, and since most, if not all, families had a member who was a Muslim. Also, they called the Prophet (SAW) a madman, since, according, to their twisted logic, one had to be a madman if one shunned the practice of worshipping idols.

In spite of the constant persecution he faced, the Prophet (SAW) continued, both patiently and steadfastly, to invite others to embrace Islam. He (SAW) faced many disappointments, and even more hardships, but he (SAW) was comforted by the fact that as sure as day follows night, with every hardship, there is ease. So yes, when he (SAW) went to Taif, he was met with scorn and rejection, but Allah (SWT) comforted him, when, during the return journey to Makkah, a group of jinns embraced Islam at his hands. And when the situation in Makkah worsened, with the polytheists resorting to crueler and harsher methods of persecution, Allah (SWT) comforted the Prophet (SAW) with the journey of a lifetime: a trip to Jerusalem and to the heavens and back in a single night.

(To be continued)

by Sa’eed bin Ali bin Wahf Al-Qahtani