In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
The Prophet's public call to Islam, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
When Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, revealed His words:
"O you wrapped in garments,"
"Arise and warn!"
"And your Lord magnify!"
"And your clothing purify!"
"And uncleanness avoid!"
"And do not confer a favor expecting more,"
"And for your Lord be patient."
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, began openly calling people to monotheism.
That was because Allah, the Blessed and Exalted,
summoned him away from sleep, wrapping himself in garments, and comfort,
toward struggle, striving, and hardship.
So He said:
"O you wrapped in garments,"
"Arise and warn!"
It was as if he were being told:
"He who lives only for himself may live in ease and rest;
as for you who carry this immense burden,
what business have you with sleep?
What business have you with rest?
What business have you with a warm bed?
Stand up for the grand mission that awaits you,
and the heavy burden prepared for you!
Stand up for exertion, fatigue, toil, and labor!
The time for sleep and rest has passed,
and from this day onward, there is only continuous sleeplessness
and a long, arduous struggle.
Rise, prepare yourself for this mission, and be ready!"
This was how Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, commanded His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
to stand up and openly declare the call to Allah.
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated to us
the beginning of the Prophet's public call and how he openly proclaimed it,
saying:
"When this verse was revealed:
'And warn your closest relatives,'
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, summoned Quraysh,
and they gathered.
He addressed them both generally and specifically,
saying:
'O children of Ka'b Ibn Lu'ayy,
save yourselves from the Fire!
O children of Murrah Ibn Ka'b,
save yourselves from the Fire!
O children of Abd Shams,
save yourselves from the Fire!
O children of Abd Manaf,
save yourselves from the Fire!
O children of Hashim,
save yourselves from the Fire!
O children of Abd al-Muttalib,
save yourselves from the Fire!
O Fatimah,
save yourself from the Fire!
For I possess nothing from Allah for you,
except that you have bonds of kinship that I will tend to properly.'"
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, narrated:
"When this verse was revealed:
'And warn your closest relatives,'
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went out
until he climbed Mount al-Safa and called out:
'Ya Sabahah!' [O disaster of the morning!]
They said:
'Who is that calling out?'
They replied: 'It is Muhammad.'
So they gathered around him,
and he said:
'O children of So-and-so!
O children of So-and-so!
O children of So-and-so!
O children of Abd Manaf!
O children of Abd al-Muttalib!'
Thus they assembled before him,
and he said:
'Tell me, if I were to inform you
that cavalrymen were emerging at the foot of this mountain,
would you believe me?'
And in another narration:
'If I told you that behind this valley
an army was coming to attack you in the morning,
would you believe me?'"
By Allah, even if they had simply said to him, "We believe you,"
that would have been sufficient.
However, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, willed
that they testify to the truth in explicit terms,
making a statement that would stand as evidence against them,
testifying to their arrogance, stubbornness,
and turning away from the truth they well recognized.
So they said:
"We have never experienced any falsehood from you."
In this manner, the people of Mecca bore witness for the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—
according to the well-known history, after forty-three years—
that they had never known him to lie.
This will come up again in the story of Abu Sufyan,
when Heraclius questioned him
at the beginning of the seventh year after the Hijrah:
"Did you ever accuse Muhammad of lying before he said what he said?"
He replied, "No."
Then the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Truly, I am a warner to you ahead of a severe punishment."
Thereupon, the Prophet's uncle, Abu Lahab, stood up
and said:
"May you perish!
Is it for this alone that you gathered us?"
Then he walked away.
So Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, revealed verses defending His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
saying: "May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and may he perish!"
“The power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish.” (111:1)
“His wealth and gains will not exempt him.” (111:2)
“He will be plunged in flaming Fire,” (111:3)
"And his wife, the carrier of firewood."
“Will have upon her neck a halter of palm-fibre.” (111:5)
After that, the open call to Islam began in earnest.
Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, commanded His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
three years after the start of his prophethood,
to proclaim openly what he was commanded
and to endure the harm inflicted by the polytheists.
Whenever the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, wanted to pray,
they would retreat into the mountain passes
to conceal their prayers from their people.
While Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas and a small group were praying in one of the mountain passes of Mecca,
some polytheists suddenly appeared before them.
They denounced them and initiated a fight with them.
Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas struck one of the polytheists with a camel's jawbone, splitting his head open.
That was the first blood shed in Islam.
People then began entering the religion of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted.
Abu Bakr, Ali, Zaid, Bilal, and Khadijah had already embraced Islam.
Then Ammar Ibn Yasir accepted Islam,
as did Uthman, al-Zubayr,
Ibn Awf, Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas, and Talhah Ibn Ubayd Allah.
Then Abu Ubaydah embraced Islam,
along with Abu Salamah Ibn Abd al-Asad,
al-Arqam Ibn Abi al-Arqam,
Uthman Ibn Maz'un,
Sa'id Ibn Zayd,
Khabbab Ibn al-Aratt,
Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud,
and Fatimah bint al-Khattab.
All of these individuals had embraced Islam in secret.
But after Allah revealed His words: "Proclaim what you are commanded,"
“So proclaim that which thou art commanded, and withdraw from the idolaters.” (15:94)
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, stood up
to denounce the superstitions and nonsense of polytheism,
exposing the true nature of idols
and the reality of their worshippers,
explaining that idols do not deserve to be prostrated to
or worshipped beside Allah, the Blessed and Exalted.
He began exposing their foolish ideas and making clear their misguidance,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
On the authority of Khabbab Ibn al-Aratt, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"I was a blacksmith,
and al-As Ibn Wa'il owed me a debt.
I went to him to demand payment,
but he said: 'No, by Allah,
I will not pay you back until you disbelieve in Muhammad!'
I said: 'No, by Allah, I will never disbelieve in Muhammad
until you die and are resurrected!'
He replied: 'Then when I die and am resurrected,
come to me; I will have wealth and children there, and I will pay you back.'
So Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, revealed:
“Hast thou seen him who disbelieveth in Our revelations and saith: Assuredly I shall be given wealth and children?” (19:77)
'Have you seen him who disbelieved in Our verses and said: "I will surely be given wealth and children?"
Has he looked into the unseen, or has he taken a covenant with the Most Compassionate?'"
“Nay, but We shall record that which he saith and prolong for him a span of torment.” (19:79)
“Nay, but We shall record that which he saith and prolong for him a span of torment.” (19:79)
“And We shall inherit from him that whereof he spake, and he will come unto Us, alone (without his wealth and children).” (19:80)
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, began
calling people openly to Allah, the Blessed and Exalted,
a group of the prominent nobles of Mecca went to Abu Talib,
the uncle of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
They said: "O Abu Talib!
Your nephew has reviled our gods,
ridiculed our intellects,
criticized our religion, and declared our forefathers misguided.
Either restrain him from us,
or step aside and let us deal with him,
for you share the same beliefs as us in opposition to him, so we will spare you the trouble."
Abu Talib spoke to them with gentle words
and turned them away courteously,
so they departed from him.
Then Abu Talib went to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to reason with him,
but he did not yield to him,
and he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, persevered in his mission.
When the pilgrimage season approached,
the disbelievers and leaders of Mecca gathered around al-Walid Ibn al-Mughirah,
asking: "What shall we say to the arriving pilgrims?"
Al-Walid said to them:
"Agree on a single opinion regarding him;
do not differ among yourselves lest you contradict one another,
and one of your statements invalidates the other."
They said to him:
"Rather, you offer the opinion and we will listen."
He said: "No,
you give your suggestions and I will listen."
They said: "We will say he is a soothsayer."
He replied: "No, by Allah, he is not a soothsayer.
We have seen soothsayers,
and his words bear no resemblance to the murmurs or rhymed prose of a soothsayer."
They said: "Then we will say he is possessed."
He replied: "He is not possessed.
We have seen madness and we know it well;
he exhibits no choking, seizures, or demonic whisperings."
They said: "Then we will say he is a poet."
He replied: "He is not a poet.
We know all forms of poetry—its light meters, rhymed poems,
"And its measured verses, both concise and extended—
It is certainly not poetry."
They said, "Then we shall say he is a sorcerer!"
He said, "He is not a sorcerer;
We have seen sorcerers and their sorcery,
And his words bear no resemblance to their murmurs or their knots."
They asked, "What then shall we say?"
So he said to them,
"By Allah, his speech possesses a sweet sweetness,
Its base is firmly rooted,
Its branches bear abundant fruit,
And whatever you claim about him,
Will surely be recognized as false.
Yet the closest thing you can say is that he is a sorcerer—
That he came with speech that acts like magic,
Severing a man from his father,
A man from his brother,
And a man from his wife and his clan."
So they dispersed around him upon agreeing to that.
But did matters remain as such?
No; Allah, Blessed and Exalted, defended His Prophet,
Saying regarding al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah and those with him:
“Leave Me (to deal) with him whom I created lonely,” (74:11)
“And then bestowed upon him ample means,” (74:12)
﴿And sons standing present before him,﴾
﴿And I spread everything out for him smoothly;﴾
﴿Then he covets that I should add more. By no means!﴾
﴿Indeed, he has been stubbornly opposed to Our verses.﴾
﴿I shall overwhelm him with a daunting climb.﴾
﴿Indeed, he pondered and plotted.﴾
﴿So destroyed be he! How he plotted!﴾
“Again (self-)destroyed is he, how he planned! -” (74:20)
Then he frowned,
Then he scowled and showed disgust,
Then he turned his back and grew arrogant,
And said, "This is nothing but sorcery handed down!"
“This is naught else than speech of mortal man.” (74:25)
﴿I shall drive him into Hellfire!﴾
“- Ah, what will convey unto thee what that burning is! -” (74:27)
He also attacked the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
And his Companions with accusations and insults,
Forming groups to mock
Islam and its followers. Allah Exalted says:
Allah Exalted says:
"And they say, 'O you upon whom
The Reminder has been sent down, indeed you are mad!'"
And he was branded with sorcery and falsehood.
Allah Exalted says:
Likewise, they began glaring at him with intense hatred,
Seeking through these glares to strike him down with their evil eyes
And ruin him out of sheer envy.
Allah Exalted says:
They also accused him of being taught by two young boys from Najran,
So Allah revealed:
“And We know well that they say: Only a man teacheth him. The speech of him at whom they falsely hint is outlandish, and this is clear Arabic speech.” (16:103)
“And We know well that they say: Only a man teacheth him. The speech of him at whom they falsely hint is outlandish, and this is clear Arabic speech.” (16:103)
They also mocked his Companions,
And said, "O you upon whom..."
They kept staring at him intently,
And said, "O you upon whom..."
And they mocked his Companions as well.
Allah Exalted says:
“Yet they were not sent as guardians over them.” (83:33)
And regarding the Noble Qur'an, they said:
﴿And they say, "Fables of the ancients which he has written down!"﴾
“And they say: Fables of the men of old which he hath had written down so that they are dictated to him morn and evening.” (25:5)
And they said:
"This is nothing but a fabrication he invented!"
“Those who disbelieve say: This is naught but a lie that he hath invented, and other folk have helped him with it, so that they have produced a slander and a lie.” (25:4)
Out of their ignorance, they wanted
To counter the Noble Qur'an with the fables of the ancients.
Whenever the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Spoke to the people,
Called them to Allah, Blessed and Exalted,
And recited the Qur'an to them,
And then stood up to leave,
Al-Nadr ibn al-Harith would come
And sit in the exact spot of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
And say:
"By Allah, Muhammad tells no better stories than I do!"
He would then recount to them tales of the Persian kings,
And ask them:
"In what way are Muhammad's stories any better than mine?"
They also attempted compromise,
As Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says:
﴿So do not yield to the deniers;﴾
﴿They wish that you would compromise, so they too would compromise.﴾
Secondly:
Persecution and harm.
This was of two types:
The first type:
Psychological abuse.
The earliest instance of this harm
Came from Abu Lahab—may Allah disgrace him—
Who had married his two sons, 'Utbah and 'Utaybah,
To the two daughters of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum, prior to the Prophetic mission.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, was commissioned
And began calling people to Allah, Blessed and Exalted,
Proclaiming the message openly,
Abu Lahab ordered his two sons to divorce them,
And so they divorced them both.
Abu Lahab's wife, Umm Jamil,
Whose name was Arwa bint Harb,
Was no less hostile to the Prophet, peace be upon him, than her husband.
She used to carry thorny branches
And place them directly in the path of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
And at his doorstep by night.
She was a foul-mouthed woman,
And when she heard the Qur me revealed concerning her and her husband—
“The power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish.” (111:1)
“His wealth and gains will not exempt him.” (111:2)
“He will be plunged in flaming Fire,” (111:3)
﴿And his wife, the carrier of firewood!﴾—
“Will have upon her neck a halter of palm-fibre.” (111:5)
She came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
While he was sitting in the Mosque near the Ka'bah
Accompanied by Abu Bakr,
Holding a handful of stones in her hand.
She stood right beside them,
But Allah took away her sight,
So she could not see the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him;
She saw only Abu Bakr.
She said:
"O Abu Bakr!
Where is your companion?
It has reached me that he satirizes me!
By Allah, if I find him,
I will strike his mouth with this stone!
By Allah, I am indeed a poet!"
Then she recited:
"A censured man (*Mudhammam*) we defy,
His command we deny,
And his religion we pass by!"
Then she departed, and Abu Bakr said:
"O Messenger of Allah,
Did you see that she did not see you?"
He replied:
"She did not see me,
For Allah took her sight away from me."
And how remarkable it is
That Allah, Almighty and Majestic,
Just as He veiled her eyes from His Prophet,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
He likewise diverted her tongue from him,
So she said "Mudhammam" (the censured one)
And could not even pronounce "Muhammad" (the praised one)!
The second type:
Physical harm.
On the authority of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him:
While the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Was praying near the House (the Ka'bah)
And Abu Jahl and his companions were sitting nearby,
One of them said to the others:
"Which of you will go bring the abdominal entrails of the slaughtered camel of such-and-such clan
And place them on Muhammad's back when he prostrates?"
The most wretched of the people stepped forward—
Who was 'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt—
Brought it,
Bided his time,
And when the Prophet, peace be upon him, prostrated,
Placed it on his back between his shoulders.
'Abdullah said:
"I was watching, unable to do anything,
Lacking any power to protect him."
They burst out laughing, leaning against one another in amusement,
While the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Remained in prostration, unable to raise his head,
Until Fatimah came
And threw it off his back.
Thereupon, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, raised
His head and said:
"O Allah, take vengeance upon Quraysh!"
Repeating it three times,
Invoking Allah against them.
His invocation weighed heavily upon them,
For they believed that supplications in that sacred city were answered;
Indeed, they knew well that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was truthful
And that he was truly a prophet,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Just as Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says:
“We know well how their talk grieveth thee, though in truth they deny not thee (Muhammad) but evil-doers flout the revelations of Allah.” (6:33)
﴿For indeed, they do not deny you;﴾
﴿For indeed, they do not deny you;﴾
“We know well how their talk grieveth thee, though in truth they deny not thee (Muhammad) but evil-doers flout the revelations of Allah.” (6:33)
He said:
"O Allah, take Abu Jahl!
O Allah, take 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah,
Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah,
Al-Walid ibn 'Utbah,
Umayyah ibn Khalaf,
And 'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt!"
And he named a seventh person—
'Abdullah said:
"Whose name I do not recall."
'Abdullah continued, "By Him in Whose hand is my soul!
I saw every single one of those whom the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, named slain and thrown into the well—
The well of Badr."
Similarly, Muslim recorded
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
Abu Jahl asked:
"Does Muhammad rub his face in the dust among you?"
They replied, "Yes."
He said, "By al-Lat and al-'Uzza!
If I see him doing so, I will surely trample his neck and rub his face in the dust!"
So Abu Jahl approached the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
While he was praying,
Intending to trample his neck.
Suddenly, they saw him retreating on his heels, shielding himself with his hands!
The people asked him:
"What is the matter with you, O Abu al-Hakam?
What happened?"
He replied, "Indeed, between me and him is a trench of fire, terror, and wings!"
Abu Hurayrah said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Had he come closer to me,
the angels would have torn him limb from limb."
And on the authority of 'Urwah Ibn al-Zubayr, who said:
"I asked 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr Ibn al-'As
to inform me of the worst thing the polytheists did to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
'Abdullah replied:
'While the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was praying in the courtyard of the Ka'bah,
'Uqbah Ibn Abi Mu'ayt came forward,
wrapped his garment around his neck,
and choked him severely.
Abu Bakr came rushing over,
seized him by the shoulders, pushed him away from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
and shouted:
“And a believing man of Pharaoh's family, who hid his faith, said: Would ye kill a man because he saith: My Lord is Allah, and hath brought you clear proofs from your Lord? If he is lying, then his lie is upon him; and if he is truthful, then some of that wherewith he threateneth you will strike you. Lo! Allah guideth not one who is a prodigal, a liar.” (40:28)
This is what happened to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
As for what befell his Companions, it was immense.
Among them was 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan;
his uncle used to wrap him in a mat of palm leaves
and then ignite smoke beneath him.
Mus'ab Ibn 'Umayr—
when his mother learned of his conversion to Islam,
she expelled him from her house and starved him,
even though he had been among the most pampered of people.
Bilal Ibn Rabah—
Umayyah Ibn Khalaf would take him out at the heat of noon,
throw him onto the sun-baked valleys of Makkah,
and then order a massive boulder to be placed upon his chest.
He would then say:
'By Allah, you will remain like this until you die,
or disbelieve in Muhammad and worship al-Lat and al-'Uzza!'
Bilal would only reply: 'He is One! He is One!'
Such was Umayyah's torture of Bilal.
Yet Umayyah himself
suffered a torment far greater than this torture,
caused by Bilal's steadfast proclamation: 'He is One! He is One!'
For it was harder on Umayyah than the physical torture was on Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him).
One day, Abu Bakr passed by while they were subjecting him to this,
so he purchased him (may Allah be pleased with him).
It is said that when Abu Bakr came to buy him, he asked:
'For how much will you sell him?'
They said: 'You name a price.'
He said: 'Will you sell him for five hundred?'
Umayyah said: 'I have sold him to you.'
So Abu Bakr purchased him,
and Umayyah remarked:
'Even if you had offered less than this, we would have given him to you.'
Thereupon Abu Bakr replied,
demonstrating Bilal's immense worth in the sight of Allah, Blessed and Exalted:
'Had you demanded even more than this, I would have paid it.'
'Ammar Ibn Yasir, his mother, and his father
were dragged out to the sun-baked valleys and tortured.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would pass by them and say:
'Be patient, O family of Yasir,
for your promised reward is Paradise.'
So Yasir died,
and Sumayyah, the mother of 'Ammar, died under torture—
and she is considered the first female martyr in Islam.
The persecution reached its absolute peak,
to the extent that Khabbab Ibn al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
'I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
while he was reclining on his cloak in the shade of the Ka'bah,
at a time when we were suffering intense persecution from the polytheists.
I said: "Will you not pray to Allah for us?"
He sat up, his face flushed, and said:
"Among those who came before you,
a man would have iron combs driven
beneath his flesh into his bones and sinews,
yet that would not turn him away from his religion.
A saw would be placed upon the middle of his head and he would be sawn in two,
yet that would not turn him away from his religion.
By Allah, Allah will surely complete this cause,
until a traveler can ride from Sanaa to Hadhramaut
fearing nothing except Allah, Almighty and Glorious,
and the wolf for his sheep;
but you are being hasty."'
Yet despite all this persecution,
Allah, Blessed and Exalted, was ever with His allies,
as He stated.
“Lo! Allah defendeth those who are true. Lo! Allah loveth not each treacherous ingrate.” (22:38)
When the harm intensified,
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) returned
to preaching secretly
in the house of al-Arqam Ibn Abi al-Arqam.
The house of al-Arqam was located on Mount al-Safa,
secluded from the eyes and gatherings of the tyrants.
So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) chose it
as a meeting place
for his followers (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
These persecutions took place
at the beginning of the fourth year
of the call of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.