The Troubles Begin
Three years passed and one day the Archangel Gabriel came to the
Prophet (pbuh) and ordered him to start preaching openly to everyone. So
the Prophet (pbuh) told the people of Mecca that he had something very
important to tell them. He stood on a hillside in Mecca, called Safa, and
they gathered around to hear what he had to say. He started by asking
them if they would believe him were he to say that an army was about to
attack them. They answered that indeed they would, because he never
lied. He then told them that he was the Messenger of Allah, sent to show
them the right way, and to warn them of terrible punishments if they did
not follow him in worshipping only Allah and none other. Abu Lahab,
one of the Prophet's uncles who was among the listeners, suddenly stood
up and said, 'May you perish! Did you call us here just to tell us this?' At
this, Allah sent to the Prophet (pbuh) the following Surah:
In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful
“The Power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish. His wealth
and gains will not save him. He shall roast at a flaming fire, And his wife,
the carrier of firewood Will have upon her neck a rope of palm-fibre”.
(Qur'an 111.1-5)
Then the crowd dispersed and the Prophet (pbuh) was left alone. A
few days later the Prophet (pbuh) tried again. A feast was prepared in his
house for all of his uncles. After the meal he spoke to them and said, 'O
sons of 'Abd al-Muttalib! I know of no Arab who has come to his people
with a better message than mine. I have brought you the best news for
this life and the next. Allah has ordered me to call you to Him. So which
of you will help me?' All the men kept silent. Then 'Ali, his cousin,
jumped up and said: 'O Prophet of Allah! I will help you.' Then the men
all got up and left, laughing as they went because only one young boy had
agreed to help the Prophet (pbuh).
His message ignored by most of the people and his uncles, the Prophet
(pbuh) continued to meet his friends secretly in a house near the hill of
Safa. There they prayed together and he taught them about the religion of
Islam. But even though they kept to themselves, they were sometimes
abused by those who would not believe. From one such incident,
however, an unexpected conversion to Islam took place. One day, when
the Prophet (pbuh) was returning home, speaking with his followers, he
met Abu Jahl, a leader of Quraysh, who hated the Prophet (pbuh) and his
teachings. Abu Jahl started to insult him and to speak spitefully of Islam,
but the Prophet (pbuh) made no reply and went on his way.
Later, Hamzah, one of the Prophet's uncles, who was a strong and
brave warrior of whom people were quite afraid, heard how his nephew
had been insulted. Filled with rage, he ran straight to the Ka'bah where
Abu Jahl was sitting among the people and struck him a violent blow in
the face with his bow. Hamzah then shouted, 'Will you insult him when I
follow his religion, and I say what he says? Hit me back if you can!'
Some people got up to help Abu Jahl but he stopped them saying, 'Leave
Hamzah alone, for by Allah, I have insulted his nephew badly. 'From that
moment on Hamzah followed the teachings of the Prophet (pbuh) and
with his conversion to Islam Quraysh realized that the Prophet (pbuh) had
a strong supporter and so for a while they stopped persecuting him. Soon,
however, the leaders of Quraysh became angry again, when they saw that
the Prophet (pbuh) was going ahead with his teaching. A group of them
went to his uncle, Abu Talib, who had promised to protect him. They told
him to ask the Prophet (pbuh) to stop attacking their gods and their way
of life, and in return they would let him do as he wished with his religion.
After a time they saw that there was no change, so they went back to
Abu Talib and this time they told him that if he did not stop his nephew,
they would fight them both. Abu Talib was very upset by this quarrel
among his people, but he could not break his word to his nephew. He sent
for the Prophet (pbuh) and told him what had happened, saying, 'Spare
me and spare yourself; do not put a greater burden on me than I can bear.'
The Prophet (pbuh) thought that his uncle might abandon him and that he
would no longer have his support, but nevertheless he answered, '0 my
uncle, by Allah, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my
left in return for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up until
Allah makes Truth victorious, or I die in His service. Abu Talib was
deeply moved by this answer. He told the Prophet (pbuh) that he would
support him for as long as he lived and encouraged him to go on
spreading Allah's message. From that time on, however hard the leaders
of Quraysh tried to convince Abu Talib to stop protecting his nephew, he
always refused to listen to them. In order to get rid of the Prophet (pbuh)
and his followers, his enemies started persecuting those Muslims who
were poor or weak, or had no powerful friends. One such person was
Bilal, the slave of Umayyah ibn Khalaf. His master would take him out
into the desert, tie him up, and leave him in the sun with a large stone on
his chest. Fortunately Abu Bakr was passing by one day and saw
Umayyah torturing Bilal, so he bought him from his master for a large
sum of money and then set him free. But not all persecuted Muslims were
as fortunate as Bilal. Many suffered, but all of them endured it patiently,
knowing that they were doing the right thing and that their reward in the
life to come would be greater' than any happiness they could find on
earth.
Three years passed and one day the Archangel Gabriel came to the
Prophet (pbuh) and ordered him to start preaching openly to everyone. So
the Prophet (pbuh) told the people of Mecca that he had something very
important to tell them. He stood on a hillside in Mecca, called Safa, and
they gathered around to hear what he had to say. He started by asking
them if they would believe him were he to say that an army was about to
attack them. They answered that indeed they would, because he never
lied. He then told them that he was the Messenger of Allah, sent to show
them the right way, and to warn them of terrible punishments if they did
not follow him in worshipping only Allah and none other. Abu Lahab,
one of the Prophet's uncles who was among the listeners, suddenly stood
up and said, 'May you perish! Did you call us here just to tell us this?' At
this, Allah sent to the Prophet (pbuh) the following Surah:
In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful
“The Power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish. His wealth
and gains will not save him. He shall roast at a flaming fire, And his wife,
the carrier of firewood Will have upon her neck a rope of palm-fibre”.
(Qur'an 111.1-5)
Then the crowd dispersed and the Prophet (pbuh) was left alone. A
few days later the Prophet (pbuh) tried again. A feast was prepared in his
house for all of his uncles. After the meal he spoke to them and said, 'O
sons of 'Abd al-Muttalib! I know of no Arab who has come to his people
with a better message than mine. I have brought you the best news for
this life and the next. Allah has ordered me to call you to Him. So which
of you will help me?' All the men kept silent. Then 'Ali, his cousin,
jumped up and said: 'O Prophet of Allah! I will help you.' Then the men
all got up and left, laughing as they went because only one young boy had
agreed to help the Prophet (pbuh).
His message ignored by most of the people and his uncles, the Prophet
(pbuh) continued to meet his friends secretly in a house near the hill of
Safa. There they prayed together and he taught them about the religion of
Islam. But even though they kept to themselves, they were sometimes
abused by those who would not believe. From one such incident,
however, an unexpected conversion to Islam took place. One day, when
the Prophet (pbuh) was returning home, speaking with his followers, he
met Abu Jahl, a leader of Quraysh, who hated the Prophet (pbuh) and his
teachings. Abu Jahl started to insult him and to speak spitefully of Islam,
but the Prophet (pbuh) made no reply and went on his way.
Later, Hamzah, one of the Prophet's uncles, who was a strong and
brave warrior of whom people were quite afraid, heard how his nephew
had been insulted. Filled with rage, he ran straight to the Ka'bah where
Abu Jahl was sitting among the people and struck him a violent blow in
the face with his bow. Hamzah then shouted, 'Will you insult him when I
follow his religion, and I say what he says? Hit me back if you can!'
Some people got up to help Abu Jahl but he stopped them saying, 'Leave
Hamzah alone, for by Allah, I have insulted his nephew badly. 'From that
moment on Hamzah followed the teachings of the Prophet (pbuh) and
with his conversion to Islam Quraysh realized that the Prophet (pbuh) had
a strong supporter and so for a while they stopped persecuting him. Soon,
however, the leaders of Quraysh became angry again, when they saw that
the Prophet (pbuh) was going ahead with his teaching. A group of them
went to his uncle, Abu Talib, who had promised to protect him. They told
him to ask the Prophet (pbuh) to stop attacking their gods and their way
of life, and in return they would let him do as he wished with his religion.
After a time they saw that there was no change, so they went back to
Abu Talib and this time they told him that if he did not stop his nephew,
they would fight them both. Abu Talib was very upset by this quarrel
among his people, but he could not break his word to his nephew. He sent
for the Prophet (pbuh) and told him what had happened, saying, 'Spare
me and spare yourself; do not put a greater burden on me than I can bear.'
The Prophet (pbuh) thought that his uncle might abandon him and that he
would no longer have his support, but nevertheless he answered, '0 my
uncle, by Allah, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my
left in return for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up until
Allah makes Truth victorious, or I die in His service. Abu Talib was
deeply moved by this answer. He told the Prophet (pbuh) that he would
support him for as long as he lived and encouraged him to go on
spreading Allah's message. From that time on, however hard the leaders
of Quraysh tried to convince Abu Talib to stop protecting his nephew, he
always refused to listen to them. In order to get rid of the Prophet (pbuh)
and his followers, his enemies started persecuting those Muslims who
were poor or weak, or had no powerful friends. One such person was
Bilal, the slave of Umayyah ibn Khalaf. His master would take him out
into the desert, tie him up, and leave him in the sun with a large stone on
his chest. Fortunately Abu Bakr was passing by one day and saw
Umayyah torturing Bilal, so he bought him from his master for a large
sum of money and then set him free. But not all persecuted Muslims were
as fortunate as Bilal. Many suffered, but all of them endured it patiently,
knowing that they were doing the right thing and that their reward in the
life to come would be greater' than any happiness they could find on
earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment