Summary of Makkan Period of Seerah of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh)

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Indeed all praises are due to Allah, we praise Him, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, and we rely solely on Him. We seek His refuge from the evil in our souls and from our sinful deeds. Whoever Allah guides, no one can misguide. And whoever Allah misguides, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah, and He is One, with no partners; and Mohammad pbuh is His Messenger. O mankind, fear your Lord, the One who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and from them spread many men and women. O People fear Allah, as he should be feared, and always speak the truth. He will direct you to righteous deeds and He will forgive your for your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed achieved a great achievement. To proceed:

First Group: Makkan Period..

• 1.0   History of Arabian Tribes & Genealogy of Prophet Mohammad pbuh
• 1.1   The Arab peninsula was the most appropriate environment for the new Dawah of Islam, considering the political, social and religious map at the time. Explain this map and show how it was suitable for the Dawah
• 1.2   The values and Morals of the Prophet [pbuh] were most suitable for the task ahead. Explain his values and morals standards were compared to others in that society.
• 1.3   Allah SWT said: “Oh you who are wrapped in a mantle, stand up and warn”. Why the Prophet was called “The wrapped up” and what were the stages that he took throughout his life to warn his people and all human race?.
• 1.4   What is the significance of the “Secret Dawah” stage in the life of the Dawahs, and how this applies to the Islamic Dawah?
• 1.5   The Prophet [pbuh] and his companions have been subjected to many hardships and Fitnah in the Mecca era. Explain some of these hardships and how the Prophet [pbuh] planned to face these hardships.
• 1.6   The early years of Dawa the hardest on his personal life. Explain the circumstances that surrounded him in those years.
• 1.7   The factors of Patience and Perseverance that took place in the hearts and minds of the Muslims during the Mecca era.
• 1.8   The idea of Immigration to a safer place was on the mind of the Prophet during the Mecca era, elaborate on the Hijrah (immigrations) that took place in the Mecca era.
• 1.9   The circumstances and steps of the immigration of the Prophet to Maddinah at the 10th year of the Dawah, and mention the lessons that Muslims can learn from it.
  
   

1.0 History of Arabian Tribes & Genealogy of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh)

Arab Tribes

Arab kinfolks have been divided according to lineage into three groups:

• Perishing Arabs: The ancient Arabs, of whose history little is known, and of whom were ‘Ad, Thamûd, Tasam, Jadis, Emlaq, and others.
• Pure Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ya‘rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan. They were also called Qahtanian Arabs.
• Arabized Arabs: Who originated from the progeny of Ishmael. They were also called ‘Adnanian Arabs.

The Pure Arabs العرب العاربـه

The pure Arabic – the people of Qahtan – originally lived in Yemen and comprised many tribes, two of which were very famous:

• Himyar: The most famous of whose septs were Zaid Al-Jamhur, Quda‘a and Sakasic.
• Kahlan: The most famous of whose septs were Hamdan, Anmar, Tai’, Mudhhij, Kinda, Lakhm, Judham, Azd, Aws, Khazraj and the descendants of Jafna — the kings of old Syria.

Kahlan septs emigrated from Yemen to dwell in the different parts of the Arabian Peninsula. The emigrating septs of Kahlan can be divided into four groups:

• Azd: Who, under the leadership of ‘Imran bin ‘Amr Muzaiqbâ’, wandered in Yemen, sent pioneers and finally headed northwards. Details of their emigration can be summed up as follows:
  • Tha‘labah bin ‘Amr left his tribe Al-Azd for Hijaz and dwelt between Tha‘labiyah and Dhi Qar. When he gained strength, he headed for Madinah where he stayed. Of his seed are Aws and Khazraj, sons of Haritha bin Tha‘labah.
  • Haritha bin ‘Amr, known as Khuza‘a, wandered with his folks in Hijaz until they came to Mar Az-Zahran. Later, they conquered the Haram, and settled in Makkah after having driven away its people, the tribe of Jurhum.
  • ‘Imran bin ‘Amr and his folks went to ‘Oman where they established the tribe of Azd whose children inhabited Tihama and were known as Azd-of-Shanu’a.
  • Jafna bin ‘Amr and his family, headed for Syria where he settled and initiated the kingdom of Ghassan who was so named after a spring of water, in Hijaz, where they stopped on their way to Syria.<!--[if !supportLists]-->
    

• Lakhm and Judham: Of whom was Nasr bin Rabi‘a, father of Manadhira, Kings of Heerah.
• Banu Tai’: Who also emigrated northwards to settle by the so- called Aja and Salma Mountains which were consequently named as Tai’ Mountains.
• Kinda: Who dwelt in Bahrain but were expelled to Hadramout and Najd where they instituted a powerful government but not for long , for the whole tribe soon faded away.

The Arabized Arabs العرب المستعاربـه

The Arabized Arabs go back in ancestry to their great grandfather Abraham [AWS] from a town called "Ar" near Kufa on the west bank of the Euphrates in Iraq. Excavations brought to light great details of the town, Abraham’s family, and the prevalent religions and social circumstances.

• Abraham’s wife Hagar (daughter of Pharoh) gave birth to Ishmael. Sarah (Abraham’s first wife) became so jealous of Hagar that she forced Abraham to leave Hagar and her baby away to a plantless valley on a small hill in Hijaz, by the Sacred House (Makkah now)
• He chose for them a place under a lofty tree above Zamzam near the upper side of the Mosque in Makkah where neither people nor water was available, and went back to Palestine leaving with his wife and baby a leather case with some dates and a pot of water. Not before long, they ran out of both food and water, but thanks to Allâh’s favour water gushed forth to sustain them for sometime. The whole story of Zamzam spring is already known to everybody.
• Another Yemeni tribe – Jurhum the Second – came and lived in Makkah upon Hagar’s permission, after being said to have lived in the valleys around Makkah.
• When Ishmael became a young man, he learned Arabic at the hand of the tribe of Jurhum and married to woman from their tribe. He later divorced her on his father (Ibrahim’s) advice, who came to visit him in Makkah (although he did not meet him in person)
• Ishmael then married to the daughter of Mudad bin ‘Amr, chief of the tribe of Jurhum.
• Abraham came again to meet his son, but meeting didn’t take place. He came again third time and finally a meeting between father and son took place.
• This time, father and son built Al-Ka‘bah and raised its pillars, and Abraham, in compliance with Allâh’s Commandment, called unto people to make pilgrimage to it.
• Ishmael had twelve sons from the daughter of Mudad who ultimately formed twelve tribes inhabiting Makkah and trading between Yemen, geographical Syria and Egypt. Later on, these tribes spread all over, and even outside, the peninsula. All their tidings went into oblivion except for the descendants of Nabet and Qidar.
  • The Nabeteans – sons of Nabet – established a flourishing civilization in the north of Hijaz before Romans came eliminated their kingdom. One research concludes that the Aws and Khazraj were not likely to be Qahtanians but rather Nabeteans
  • Descendants of Qidar, the son of Ishmael, lived long in Makkah increasing in number, of them issued ‘Adnan and son Ma‘ad, to whom ‘Adnanian Arabs traced back their ancestry. ‘Adnan is the twenty-first grandfather in the series of the Prophetic ancestry. It was said that whenever Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] spoke of his ancestry he would stop at ‘Adnan and say: "Genealogists tell lies" and did not go farther than him. A group of scholars, however, favoured the probability of going beyond ‘Adnan attaching no significance to the aforementioned Prophetic Hadith. They went on to say that there were exactly forty fathers between ‘Adnan and Abraham [AWS

محمد بن عبد الله بن عبد المطلب ـ واسمه شَيْبَة ـ بن هاشم ـ واسمه عمرو ـ بن عبد مناف ـ واسمه المغيرة ـ بن قُصَىّ ـ واسمه زيد ـ بن كِلاب بن مُرَّة بن كعب بن لؤى بن غالب بن فِهْر ـ وهو الملقب بقريش وإليه تنتسب القبيلة ـ بن مالك بن النَّضْر ـ واسمه قيس ـ بن كِنَانة بن خُزَيْمَة بن مُدْرِكة ـ واسمه عامـر ـ بن إلياس بن مُضَر بن نِزَار بن مَعَدّ بن عدنان

• Having increased in number, children of ‘Adnan, in pursuit of pastures and water, spread out over various parts of Arabia.
  • The tribe of ‘Abdul Qais, together with some septs of Bakr bin Wa’il and Tamim, emigrated to Bahrain where they dwelt.
  • Banu Hanifa bin Sa‘b bin Ali bin Bakr went to settle in Hijr, the capital of Yamama. All the tribes of Bakr bin Wa’il lived in an area of land which included Yamama, Bahrain, Saif Kazima, the sea shore, the outer borders of Iraq, Ablah and Hait.
  • Most of the tribe of Taghlib lived in the Euphrates area while some of them lived with Bakr.
  • Banu Tamim lived in Basra semi-desert.
  • Banu Saleem lived in the vicinity of Madinah on the land stretching from Wadi Al-Qura to Khaibar onwards to the eastern mountains to Harrah.
  • Thaqif dwelt in Ta’if and Hawazin east of Makkah near Autas on the road from Makkah to Basra.
  • Banu Asad lived on the land east of Taimâ’ and west of Kufa, while family of Tai’ lived between Banu Asad and Taimâ’. They were five-day-walk far from Kufa.
  • Zubyan inhabited the plot of and between Taimâ’ and Hawran.
  • Some septs of Kinana lived in Tihama, while septs of Quraish dwelt in Makkah and its suburbs. Quraish remained completely disunited until Qusai bin Kilab managed to rally their ranks on honourable terms attaching major prominence to their status and importance

Arab Tribes and their origins

1.1 The values and Morals of the Prophet [pbuh] were most suitable for the task ahead. Explain his values and morals standards were compared to others in that society

Thanks to its geographical position, the arab peninsula has always maintained great importance.. Considering its internal setting, it is mostly deserts and sandy places, which has rendered it inaccessible to foreigners and invaders, and allowed its people complete liberty and independence through the ages, despite the presence of two neighbouring great empires.
 

Ruler ship in Arabia

When the sun of Islam rose, rulers of Arabia were of two kinds: crowned kings, who were in fact not independent; and heads of tribes and clans, who enjoyed the same authorities and privileges possessed by crowned kings and were mostly independent, though some of whom could have shown some kind of submission to a crowned king. The crowned kings were only those of Yemen, Heerah and Ghassan. All other rulers of Arabia were non-crowned.
 

Religions of the Arabs

• Most of the Arabs had complied with the call of Ishmael [AWS], and professed the religion of his father Abraham [AWS] . They had worshipped Allâh, professed His Oneness and followed His religion a long time until they forgot part of what they had been reminded of. However, they still maintained such fundamental beliefs such as monotheism as well as various other aspects of Abraham’s religion, until the time when a chief of Khuza‘a, namely ‘Amr bin Luhai, who was renowned for righteousness, charity, reverence and care for religion, and was granted unreserved love and obedience by his tribesmen, came back from a trip to Syria where he saw people worship idols, a phenomenon he approved of and believed it to be righteous since Syria was the locus of Messengers and Scriptures, he brought with him an idol (Hubal) which he placed in the middle of Al-Ka‘bah and summoned people to worship it. Readily enough, paganism spread all over Makkah and, thence, to Hijaz, people of Makkah being custodians of not only the Sacred House but the whole Haram as well. A great many idols, bearing different names, were introduced into the area.
• Polytheism and worship of idols became the most prominent feature of the religion of pre-Islam Arabs despite alleged profession of Abraham’s religion. Traditions and ceremonies of the worship of their idols had been mostly created by ‘Amr bin Luhai, and were deemed as good innovations rather than deviations from Abraham’s religion.
• They used to have a deep conviction in the tidings of soothsayers, diviners and astrologers. The soothsayers use to foretell future events, claim secret knowledge, and claimed they control jinns.
• They also believed that the soul of a murdered person would fly in the wilderness and would never rest at rest until revenge was taken.
• Superstition was rampant. Should a deer or bird, when released, turn right then what they embarked on would be regarded auspicious, otherwise they would get pessimistic and withhold from pursuing it.

o   They also, out of a deeply-rooted misconception, denied pilgrims, other than Makkans, access to the food they had brought when they wanted to make pilgrimage or lesser pilgrimage.

o   They ordered pilgrims coming from outside Makkah to circumambulate Al-Ka‘bah in Quraish uniform clothes, but if they could not afford them, men were to do so in a state of nudity, and women with only some piece of cloth to hide their groins. Allâh says in this concern:

"O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes), while praying [and going round (the Tawaf of) the Ka‘bah]. [Al-Qur'an 7:31]

• Judaism managed to play an important role in the pre-Islam political life. When Islam dawned on that land, there had already been several famous Jewish tribes — Khabeer, Al-Mustaliq, An-Nadeer, Quraizah and Qainuqa‘. In some versions, the Jewish tribes counted as many as twenty.
• The migration of the Jews from Palestine to Arabia passed through two phases:

o   First, as a result of the destruction of the their temple at the hand of the King Bukhtanassar (from Babylon). In the year B.C. 587 some Jews left Palestine for Hijaz and settled in the northern areas whereof.

o   The second phase started with the Roman occupation of Palestine under the leadership of Roman Buts in 70 A.D. This resulted in a tidal wave of Jewish migration into Hijaz, and Yathrib, Khaibar and Taima’, in particular.

o   Judaism was introduced into Yemen by someone called As‘ad Abi Karb (who embraced Judaism in Yathrib). After his death, his son Yusuf Dhu Nawas rose to power, attacked the Christian community in Najran and ordered them to embrace Judaism. When they refused, he ordered that a pit of fire be dug and all the Christians indiscriminately be dropped to burn therein. Estimates say that between 20-40 thousand Christians were killed in that human massacre. The Qur’ân related part of that story in Al-Buruj (zodiacal signs).

• Christianity had first made its appearance in Arabia following the entry of the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) and Roman colonists into that country. The Abyssinian (Ethiopian) colonization forces in league with Christian missions entered Yemen as a retaliatory reaction for the iniquities of Dhu Nawas, and started vehemently to propagate their faith ardently.

·         Magianism was also popular among the Arabs living in the neighbourhood of Persia, Iraq, Bahrain, Al-Ahsâ’ and some areas on the Arabian Gulf coast. Some Yemenis are also reported to have professed Magianism during the Persian occupation.

Such was the religious life of the Arabians before the advent of Islam. The polytheists, who faked Abrahamism, managed to leave a serious impact on the religious and socio-political life in the whole of Arabia.

Judaism turned into abominable hypocrisy in league with hegemony and their sole target turned into acquisition of wealth and power even if it were at the risk of losing their religion, or the emergence of atheism and disbelief.

Christianity likewise opened its doors wide to polytheism, and got too difficult to comprehend as a heavenly religion. It exercised no bearing whatsoever on the souls of the Arabs who professed it simply because it was alien to their style of life and did not have the least relationship with their practical life.

Social Life of the Arabs

·         The status of the woman among the nobility recorded an advanced degree of esteem. The woman enjoyed a considerable portion of free will, and her decision would most often be enforced. War can be fought for honour. She was the most decisive key to bloody fight or friendly peace

·         The Family system was wholly patriarchal (A man rules a family, clan, or tribe). The marriage contract rested completely in the hands of the woman’s legal guardian whose words with regard to her marital status could never be questioned

·         Women always accompanied men in their wars. The winners would freely have sexual intercourse with such women, but disgrace would follow the children conceived in this way all their lives.

·         The obscenity of adultery prevailed almost among all social classes except few men and women whose self-dignity prevented them from committing such an act.

·         With respect to his offspring, some Arabs held children dear to their hearts and cherished them greatly, others buried their female children alive because an illusory fear of poverty and shame weighed heavily on them.

·         Another aspect of the Arabs’ life which deserves mention is the bedouin’s deep-seated emotional attachment to his clan. Family, or perhaps tribal-pride, was one of the strongest passions with him. The doctrine of unity of blood as the principle that bound the Arabs into a social unity was formed and supported by tribal-pride.

·         Avarice for leadership, and keen sense of emulation often resulted in bitter tribal warfare despite descendency from one common ancestor.

·         Inter-tribal relationships were fragile and weak due to continual inter-tribal wars of attrition.

We may sum up the social situation in Arabia by saying that the Arabs of the pre-Islamic period were groping about in the dark and ignorance, entangled in a mesh of superstitions paralyzing their mind and driving them to lead an animal-like life. The woman was a marketable commodity and regarded as a piece of inanimate property. Inter-tribal relationships were fragile. Avarice for wealth and involvement in futile wars were the main objectives that governed their chiefs’ self-centred policies.

The Economic Situation

·         The economic situation ran in line with the social atmosphere. Trade was the most common means of providing their needs of life.

o   The trade journeys could not be fulfilled unless security of caravan routes and inter-tribal peaceful co-existence were provided – two imperative exigencies unfortunately lacking in Arabia except during the prohibited months within which the Arabs held their assemblies of ‘Ukaz, Dhil-Majaz, Mijannah and others.

·         Industry was alien to the Arabian psychology. Most of available industries of knitting and tannage in Arabia were done by people coming from Yemen, Heerah and the borders of Syria.

·         Inside Arabia there was some sort of farming and stock-breeding.

·         Almost all the Arabian women worked in yarn spinning but even this practice was continually threatened by wars.

·         On the whole, poverty, hunger and insufficient clothing were the prevailing features in Arabia, economically.

Ethics

·         We cannot deny that the pre-Islam Arabs had such a large bulk of evils. Admittedly, vices and evils, utterly rejected by reason, were rampant amongst the pre-Islam Arabs, but this could never screen off the surprise-provoking existence of highly praiseworthy virtues, of which we could adduce the following:

·         Hospitality: They used to emulate one another at hospitality and take utmost pride in it. Almost half of their poetry heritage was dedicated to the merits and nobility attached to entertaining one’s guest. They were generous and hospitable on the point of fault. They would sacrifice their private sustenance to a cold or hungry guest. They would not hesitate to incur heavy blood-money and relevant burdens just to stop blood-shed, and consequently merit praise and eulogy.

·         Keeping a covenant: For the Arab, to make a promise was to run into debt. He would never grudge the death of his children or destruction of his household just to uphold the deep-rooted tradition of covenant-keeping.

·         Sense of honour and repudiation of injustice: This attribute stemmed mainly from excess courage, keen sense of self-esteem and impetuosity. The Arab was always in revolt against the least allusion to humiliation or slackness. He would never hesitate to sacrifice himself to maintain his ever alert sense of self-respect.

·         Firm will and determination: An Arab would never desist an avenue conducive to an object of pride or a standing of honour, even if it were at the expense of his life.

·         Forbearance, perseverance and mildness: The Arab regarded these traits with great admiration, no wonder, his impetuosity and courage-based life was sadly wanting in them.

·         Pure and simple bedouin life, still untarnished with accessories of deceptive urban appearances, was a driving reason to his nature of truthfulness and honesty, and detachment from intrigue and treachery.

Such priceless ethics coupled with a favourable geographical position of Arabia were in fact the factors that lay behind selecting the Arabs to undertake the burden of communicating the Message (of Islam) and leading mankind down a new course of life.

In this regard, these ethics per se, though detrimental in some areas, and in need of rectification in certain aspects, were greatly invaluable to the ultimate welfare of the human community and Islam has did it completely.

The most priceless ethics, next to covenant-keeping, were no doubt their sense of self-esteem and strong determination, two human traits indispensable in combatting evil and eliminating moral corruption on the one hand, and establishing a good and justice-orientated society, on the other.

1.2 The values and Morals of the Prophet [pbuh] were most suitable for the task ahead. Explain his values and morals standards were compared to others in that society.

·         He was favoured with intelligence, originality of thought and accurate choice of the means leading to accurate goals.

·         His long silence helped favourably in his habit of meditation and deep investigation into the truth.

·         His vivid mind and pure nature were helpfully instrumental in assimilating and comprehending ways of life and people, individual and community-wise.

·         He shunned superstitious practices but took an active part in constructive and useful dealings, otherwise, he would have recourse to his self-consecrated solitude.

·         He kept himself aloof from drinking wine, eating meat slaughtered on stone altars, or attending idolatrous festivals. He held the idols in extreme aversion and most abhorrence.

·         He could never tolerate someone swearing by Al-Lat and Al-‘Uzza. Allâh’s providence, no doubts, detached him from all abominable or evil practices.

·         Even when he tried to obey his instinct to enjoy some life pleasures or follow some irrespectable traditions, Allâh’s providence intervened to curb any lapse in this course. Ibn Al-Atheer reported Muhammad [pbuh] as saying: "I have never tried to do what my people do except for two times. Every time Allâh intervened and checked me from doing so and I never did that again. Once I told my fellow-shepherd to take care of my sheep when we were in the upper part of Makkah. I wanted to go down to Makkah and entertain myself as the young men did. I went down to the first house of Makkah where I heard music. I entered and asked: ‘What is this?’ Someone answered: ‘It is a wedding party.’ I sat down and listened but soon went into deep sleep. I was awakened by the heat of the sun. I went back to my fellow-shepherd and told him of what had happened to me. I have never tried it again."

Al-Bukhari reported on the authority of Jabir bin ‘Abdullah that he said: "While the people were rebuilding Al-Ka‘bah, the Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] went with ‘Abbas to carry some stones. ‘Abbas said: ‘Put your loincloth round your neck to protect you from the stones.’ (As he did that) the Prophet [pbuh] fell to the ground and his eyes turned skyward. Later on he woke up and shouted: ‘My loincloth... my loincloth.’ He wrapped himself in his loincloth." In another report: "His loins were never seen afterwards." [Bukhari Chapter: The Building of Al-Ka'bah, 1/540]

·         The authorities agree in ascribing to the youth of Muhammad [pbuh] modesty of deportment, virtuous behaviour and graceful manners. He proved himself to be the ideal of manhood, and to possess a spotless character. He was the most obliging to his compatriots, the most honest in his talk and the mildest in temper. He was the most gentle-hearted, chaste, hospitable and always impressed people by his piety-inspiring countenance. He was the most truthful and the best to keep covenant. His fellow-citizens, by common consent, gave him the title of Al-‘Ameen (trustworthy). The Mother of believers, Khadijah [R], once said: He unites uterine relations, he helps the poor and the needy, he entertains the guests and endures hardships in the path of truthfulness. [Bukhari 1/3]

1.3 Allah swt said: “Oh you who are wrapped in a mantle, stand up and warn”. Why the Prophet was called “The wrapped up” and what were the stages that he took throughout his life to warn his people and all human race?

The first Revelation sent to the Prophet [pbuh] implied several injunctions, simple in form but highly effective and of serious far-reaching ramifications. The angel communicated to him a manifest Message saying:

\يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ – قُمْفَأَنذِرْ - وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ - وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ – وَالرُّجْزَفَاهْجُرْ - وَلَا تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ - وَلِرَبِّكَ فَاصْبِرْ -

O you (Muhammad [PBUH]) enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn! And your Lord (Allâh) magnify! And your garments purify! And keep away from Ar-Rujz (the idols). And give not a thing in order to have more (or consider not your deeds of Allâh’s obedience as a favour to Allâh). And be patient for the sake of your Lord (i.e. perform your duty to Allâh)!  Surah al-Muzamil: 74:1-7

For convenience and ease of understanding, we are going to segment the Message into its immediate constituents: 

• The ultimate objective of warning is to make sure that no one breaching the pleasures of Allâh in the whole universe is ignorant of the serious consequences that his behaviour entails, and to create a sort of unprecedented shock within his mind and heart.
• ‘Magnifying the Lord’ dictates explicitly that the only pride allowed to nourish on the earth is exclusively Allâh’s to the exclusion of all the others’.
• ‘Cleansing the garments and shunning all aspects of abomination’ point directly to the indispensable need to render both the exterior and interior exceptionally chaste and pure, in addition to the prerequisite of sanctifying the soul and establishing it highly immune against the different sorts of impurities and the various kinds of pollutants. Only through this avenue can the soul of the Prophet [pbuh] reach an ideal status and become eligible to enjoy the shady mercy of Allâh and His protection, security, guidance and ever-shining light; and will consequently set the highest example to the human community, attract the sound hearts and inspire awe and reverence in the stray ones in such a manner that all the world, in agreement or disagreement, will head for it and take it as the rock-bed in all facets of their welfare.
• The Prophet [pbuh] must not regard his strife in the way of Allâh as a deed of grace that entitles him to a great reward. On the contrary, he has to exert himself to the utmost, dedicate his whole efforts and be ready to offer all sacrifices in a spirit of self-forgetfulness enveloped by an ever-present awareness of Allâh, without the least sense of pride in his deeds or sacrifices.
• The last verse of the Qur’ân revealed to the Prophet [pbuh] alludes to the hostile attitude of the obdurate disbelievers, who will jeer at him and his followers. They are expected to disparage him and step up their malice to the point of scheming against his life and lives of all the believers around him. In this case he has got to be patient and is supposed to persevere and display the highest degree of stamina for the sole purpose of attaining the pleasure of Allâh.
  

These were the basic preliminaries that the Prophet [pbuh] had to observe, very simple injunctions in appearance, greatly fascinating in their calm rhythm, but highly effective in practice. They constituted the trigger that aroused a far-ranging tempest in all the corners of the world.
 

The verses comprise the constituents of the new call and propagation of the new faith. A warning logically implies that there are malpractices with painful consequences to be sustained by the perpetrators, and since the present life is not necessarily the only room to bring people to account for their misdeeds or some of them, then the warning would necessarily imply calling people to account on another day, i.e. the Day of Resurrection, and this per se suggests the existence of a life other than this one we are living. All the verses of the Noble Qur’ân call people to testify explicitly to the Oneness of Allâh, to delegate all their affairs to Allâh, the All-High, and to subordinate the desires of the self and the desires of Allâh’s servants to the attainment of His Pleasures.

The constituents of the call to Islam could, briefly speaking, go as follows:

• Testimony to the Oneness of Allâh.
• Belief in the Hereafter.
• Sanctifying one’s soul and elevating it high above evils and abominations that conduce to terrible consequences, besides this, there is the dire need for virtues and perfect manners coupled with habituating oneself to righteous deeds.
• Committing one’s all affairs to Allâh, the All-High.
• All the foregoing should run as a natural corollary to unwavering belief in Muhammad’s Message, and abidance by his noble leadership and righteous guidance.

The verses have been prefaced, in the voice of the Most High, by a heavenly call mandating the Prophet [pbuh] to undertake this daunting responsibility (calling people unto Allâh). The verses meant to extract him forcibly out of his sleep, divest him of his mantle and detach him from the warmth and quiet of life, and then drive him down a new course attended with countless hardships, and requiring a great deal of strife in the way of Allâh:

"O you (Muhammad [pbuh]) enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn." [Al-Qur'an 74:1-2]

Suggesting that to live to oneself is quite easy, but it has been decided that you have to shoulder this heavy burden; consequently sleep, comfort, or warm bed are items decreed to be alien in your lexicon of life. O Muhammad, arise quickly for the strife and toil awaiting you; no time is there for sleep and such amenities; grave responsibilities have been Divinely determined to fall to your lot, and drive you into the turmoil of life to develop a new sort of precarious affinity with the conscience of people and the reality of life.

The Prophet [pbuh] managed quite successfully to rise to his feet and measure up to the new task, he went ahead in a spirit of complete selflessness, relentlessly striving and never abating in carrying the burden of the great Trust, the burden of enlightening mankind, and the heavy weight of the new faith and strife for over twenty years, nothing distracting his attention from the awesome commission. May Allâh reward him, for us and all humanity, the best ending. The following research at hand gives an account in miniature of his long strive and uninterrupted struggle he made after receiving the ministry of Messengership. [Fi Zilal Al-Qur'an 29/168-171,182]

1.4 What is the significance of the “Secret Dawah” stage in the life of the Dawahs, and how this applies to the Islamic Dawah?

Dawah Life Cycle: The Dawah of Prophet Mohammad [pbuh] could be divided into two phases:

• The Makkan phase: nearly 13 years.
• The Madinese phase: fully 10 years.
  

Each of the two phases included distinctive features easily discernible through accurate scrutiny into the circumstances that characterized each of them.

The Makkan phase can be divided into three stages: 

• The stage of the Secret Call: 3 years.
• The stage of the Proclamation of the Call in Makkah: from the beginning of the 4^th year of Prophethood to almost the end of the 10^th year.
• The stage of the call to Islam and propagating it beyond Makkah: it lasted from the end of 10^th year of the Prophethood until Muhammad’s [pbuh] emigration to Madinah.
  

Three years of Secret Call: It is well-known that Makkah was the centre for the Arabs, and housed the custodians of Al-Ka‘bah. Protection and guardianship of the idols and stone graven images that received veneration on the part of all the Arabs lay in the hands of the Makkans. Hence the difficulty of hitting the target of reform and rectitude in a place considered the den of idolatry. Working in such an atmosphere no doubt requires unshakable will and determination, that is why the call unto Islam assumed a clandestine form so that the Makkans should not be enraged by the unexpected surprise.
 

The Prophet [pbuh] declared Tawheed and refuted disbelieved in polytheism, idol worshipping and all other religions, except Islam. By merely doing so, the disbelievers considered it a declaration of enmity towards their very livelihood, religion and existence. Also, by doing so the Prophet [pbuh] declared opposition towards every religion, except Islamic Monotheism. Therefore, the Prophet [pbuh] quietly spread the word of Tawheed
 

The Prophet [pbuh] did secret dawah until following verse was revealed:

The Early Converts: The Prophet [pbuh] naturally initiated his sacred mission right from home and then moved to the people closely associated with him. He called unto Islam whomsoever he thought would attest the truth which had come from his Lord. In fact, a host of people who nursed not the least seed of doubt as regards the Prophet [pbuh], immediately responded and quite readily embraced the true faith. They are known in the Islamic literature as the early converts.

The very early converts included:

• Khadijah, the Prophet’s spouse  خد يجه
• Zaid bin Harithah, His freed slave  زير بن حريثه
• Ali bin Abi Talib, His cousin and youngest to in early converts   علي ابن طالب
• Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (Abu Bakr the truth verifier), His intimate friend  ابو بكر
  

These early converts professed Islam from very first day of the call.

For instance, Abu Bakr, from the first day he embraced Islam, proved to be an energetic and most zealous activist. He was wealthy, obliging, mild and upright. People used to frequent his house and draw nigh to him for his knowledge, amity, pleasant company and business. He invited whomever he had confidence in to Islam and through his personal efforts a good number of people converted to Islam, such as

• ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan Al-Umawi,   عثمان بن عفان العموي
• Az-Zubair bin ‘Awwam Al-Asadi,   الزبير بن عوام السعري
• ‘Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf,  عبد الرحان بن عوف
• Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas, Az-Zuhri and   سد ابن ابي وقاص
• Talhah bin ‘Ubaidullah At-Tamimy.   طلحه ن عبيدالله

Those eight men constituted the forerunners and more specifically the vanguard of the new faith in Arabia.
 

Among the early Muslim were:

• Bilal bin Rabah (the Abyssinian),  بلال بن  رباه
• Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah from Bani Harith bin Fahr (the most trustworthy of the Muslim Nation),ابو عبيده ن الجراح 
• Abu Salamah bin ‘Abd Al-Asad, ابوسلمه ن عبد الاسد
• Al-Arqam bin Abi Al-Arqam from the tribe of Makhzum, الارقم بن ابي الارقم
• ‘Uthman bin Maz‘oun and his two brothers Qudama and ‘Abdullah, عثمان بن مزون
• ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Harith bin Al-Muttalib bin ‘Abd Munaf, عبيده بن الحريث بن المطلب
• Sa‘id bin Zaid Al-‘Adawi  سعد بن الاداوي and his wife Fatimahفاطمه   – (daughter of Al-Khattab and the sister of ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab),
• Khabbab bin Al-Aratt, خباب بن الرات
• ‘Abdullâh bin Mas‘ud Al-Hadhali عبدالله بن مسعود الحادي
• and many others.

These were the Muslim predecessors. They belonged to various septs of Quraish. Ibn Hisham, a biographer, counted them to be more than forty.
 
Ibn Ishaq said: "Then people entered the fold of Islam in hosts, men or women and the new faith could no longer be kept secret." [Ibn Hisham 1/262]

Early verses: The Prophet [pbuh] used to meet and teach, the new converts, the religion in privacy because the call to Islam was still running on an individual and secret basis. Revelation accelerated and continued after the first verses of "O you wrapped in garments." The verses and pieces of Sûrah (chapters) revealed at this time were short ones with wonderful strong pauses and quite fascinating rhythms in full harmony with that delicate whispering setting. The central topic running through them focused on sanctifying the soul, and deterring the Muslims from falling prey to the deceptive glamour of life. The early verses used as well to give a highly accurate account of the Hell and the Garden (Paradise), leading the believers down a new course diametrically opposed to the ill practices rampant amongst their compatriots.

Significance:

• The Prophet [pbuh] avoided direct confrontation with polytheists in the beginning until the Order came from Allah (swt) in Surah Al-Hijr (16:94). By that time Rasulallah had motivated and inspired many Sahabas to the path of Tawheed.
• The Early verses of Qur’an were very short with wonderful strong pauses and fascinating rhythms. This gelled well with Arabic literature and customs of Arabs who were very strong in their poetry. Sahabas were fascinated with the poetry of Qur’an. Even the polytheists were impressed with such fascinating poetry.
• The Message in the beginning was very simple. It was calling to Tawheed and rejecting any other form of Shirk. Since most Arabs still has remanence of Abrahamic religion they quickly understood the meaning of this Message. It was easier to convince individuals on one-on-one basis quietly before proclaiming the message openly.
  

Lessons Learned: The lessons learned from early dawah can be summarized as below:

• When Muslims are not in power and less in number, and if there is a chance of enraging the masses, it is better to make dawah call in low profile, without enraging masses and working on individuals who will listen to the call.
• Dawah starts from home and from friends and social circles, especially to trusted friends and relatives.
• Having your close friends and relatives helping you in dawah activities helps in many ways. Also it is much easier to convince them then others.
• It also shows that number does not matter, it’s the quality that matters. All the Shabas that accepted Islam in the beginning were the best in their conduct and understanding of Tawheed. And these Shabas later became the mountain of knowledge who spread Islam far and wide.
• In the beginning the dawah should focus on Tawheed and Tazkiyaah, and the explanation of Allah swt and the reward and punishment of heaven and hell.

1.5.   The Prophet [pbuh] and his companions have been subjected to many hardships and Fitnah in the Mecca era. Explain some of these hardships and how the Prophet [pbuh] planned to face these hardships

When the verses came (15:94) to proclaim the Message openly, RasulAllah [s] then commenced discrediting the superstitious practices of idolatry, revealing its worthless reality and utter impotence, and giving concrete proofs that idolatry per se or taking it as the media through which an idolater could come in contact with Allah, is manifest falsehood.
 
The Makkans, on their part, burst into outrage and disapproval. Muhammad’s [pbuh] words created a thunderbolt that turned the Makkan time-honoured ideological life upside down. They could ill afford to hear someone attaching to polytheists and idolaters, the description of straying people. They started to rally their resources to settle down the affair, quell the onward marching revolution and deal a pre-emptive strike to its votaries before it devours and crushes down their consecrated traditions and long standing heritage.

An Advisory Council to debar Pilgrims from Muhammad’s Call:

• When RasulAllah started to proclaim the Message openly, it was the time when the season of pilgrimage was soon to come.
• Quraish agreed within themselves that its critical to alienate the incoming pilgrims from receiving the Message preached by Mohammad.
• They went to see Al-Waleed bin Al-Mugheerah to discuss this issue. Some suggested to call Him (the Prophet) a kahin, i.e. soothsayer. Other suggested to call Him Majnun, i.e. possessed by jinn. Some suggested to call Him a poet and others suggested to call Him practicing witchcraft.
• At the end they agreed that he was a magician so powerful and commanding in his art that he would successfully alienate son from father, man from his brother, wife from her husband and man from his clan.
• It is noteworthy in this regard to say that Allâh revealed sixteen verses as regards Al-Waleed and the cunning method he contemplated to manipulate the people expected to arrive in Makkah for pilgrimage. Allâh says:
  

Attempts made to check the Onward March of Islam:  Having fully perceived that Muhammad [pbuh] could never be desisted from his Call, Quraish, in a desperate attempt to quell the tidal wave of the Call, resorted to other cheap means acting from base motives
 

• Scoffing, degrading, ridiculing, belying and laughter-instigating cheap manners, all of which levelled at the new converts in general, and the person of Muhammad [pbuh] in particular, with the aim of dragging the spirit of despair into their morale, and slackening their ardent zealotry. They used to denounce the Prophet [pbuh] as a man possessed by a jinn, or an insane person:
  

"And they say: O you (Muhammad [pbuh]) to whom the Dhikr (the Qur’ân) has been sent down! Verily, you are a mad man." [Al-Qur'an 15:6]

•  
  • or a liar practising witchcraft,
    

"And they (Arab pagans) wonder that a warner (Prophet Muhammad [pbuh]) has come to them from among themselves! And the disbelievers say: "This (Prophet Muhammad [pbuh]) is a sorcerer, a liar." [Al-Qur'an 38:4].

•  
  • Their eyes would also look at the good man as if they would ‘eat him up’, or trip him up, or disturb him from the position of stability or firmness. They used all sorts of terms of abuse ‘madman’ or ‘one possessed by an evil spirit’, and so on:
    

"And verily, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes through hatreds when they hear the Reminder (the Qur’ân), and they say: Verily, he (Muhammad [pbuh]) is a madman!" [Al-Qur'an 68:51]

•  
  • Amongst the early converts, there was a group who had unfortunately no strong clan at their back to support them. These innocent souls were ridiculed and jeered in season and out of season. Referring to such people, the highbrow Quraish aristocrats used repeatedly to ask the Prophet [pbuh], with jest and scorn:

"Allâh has favoured from amongst us?" [Al-Qur'an 6:53]

And Allâh said:

"Does not Allâh know best those who are grateful?" [Al-Qur'an 6:53]

• The wicked used to laugh at the righteous in many ways:

•  
  • They would inwardly laugh at their Faith, because they felt themselves so superior.
  • In public places, when the righteous passed, they used to insult and wink at them,
  • In their own houses, they would run them down.
  • Whenever and wherever they saw them, they reproached and called them fools who had lost their way. In the Hereafter, all these tricks and falsehoods will be shown for what they are, and the tables will be reversed. Allâh had said:

"Verily! (During the worldly life) those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed; and whenever they passed by them, used to wink one to another (in mockery); and when they returned to their own people, they would return jesting; and when they saw them, they said: ‘Verily! These have indeed gone astry!’ But they (disbelievers, sinners) had not been sent as watchers over them (the believers)." [Al-Qur'an 83:29-33]

• Distorting Muhammad’s teachings, evoking ambiguities, circulating false propaganda; forging groundless allegations concerning his doctrines, person and character, and going to excess in such a manner in order to screen off any scope of sound contemplation from the public. With respect to the Qur’ân, they used to allege that it was:

"Tales of the ancients, which he (Muhammad [pbuh]) has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon." [Al-Qur'an 25:5]

•  
  • The iniquitous went on ceaselessly inculcating in people’s ears that the Qur’ân was not a true Revelation:

"This (the Qur’ân) is nothing but a lie that he (Muhammad [pbuh]) has invented, and others have helped him at it." [Al-Qur'an 25:4]

•  
  • The wicked would also attribute to men of Allâh just such motives and springs of action as they themselves would be guilty of in such circumstances. The pagans and those who were hostile to the revelation of Allâh and Islam, could not understand how such wonderful verses could flow from the tongue of the Prophet [pbuh] without having someone to teach, and claimed:

"It is only a human being who teaches him." [Al-Qur'an 16:103]

•  
  • They also raised another baseless and superficial objection:

"Why does this Messenger (Muhammad [pbuh]) eat food and walk about in the markets (like ourselves)?" [Al-Qur'an 25:7]

•  
  • They were sadly ignorant and painfully at fault for they could not perceive that a teacher for mankind is one who shares their nature, mingles in their life, is acquainted with their doings, and sympathises with their joys and sorrows.
    

The Noble Qur’ân has vehemently refuted their charges and allegations and has explained that the utterances of the Prophet [pbuh] are the Revelations of the Lord and their nature and contents provide a bold challenge to those who attribute his Prophetic expressions to some base origin, at times to the mental throes of a dreaming reformer, at others to the effusion of a frenzied poet or the incoherent drivelling of an insane man.

• Contrasting the Qur’ân with the mythology of the ancients in order to distract people’s interests from Allâh’s Words.

•  
  • It is narrated that An-Nadr, at a later stage, headed for Heerah where he got conversant with the traditions of the kings of Persia and the accounts of people like Rustum and Asphandiar, and then returned to Makkah. Here he would always shadow the Messenger’s steps in whatever audiences the later held to preach the new faith and to caution people against Allâh’s wrath. An-Nadr would directly follow the Prophet [pbuh] and narrate to the same audience long tales about those people of Persia. He would then always append his talk with a question cunningly inquiring if he did not outdo Muhammad [pbuh].[Ibn Hisham 1/299,300,358; Tafheem-ul-Qur'an 4/8,9].
  • Ibn ‘Abbas [R] related that An-Nadr used to purchase songstresses who would through their bodily charms and songs entice away from Islam anyone developing the least attachment to the Prophet [pbuh]; in this regard, Allâh says:

"And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing, etc.) to mislead (men) from the Path of Allâh." [Al-Qur'an 31:6] [Tafheem-ul-Qur'an 4/9]

• Revelation of Surah al-Kafroon: In a fresh attempt to dissuade Muhammad [pbuh] from his principled stand, Quraish invited him to compromise on his teachings and come to terms with their pre-Islamic practices in such a way that he quits some of his religion and the polytheists do the same. Allâh, the All-High says:

"They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you." [Al-Qur'an 68:9].

•  
  • On the authority of Ibn Jareer and At-Tabarani, the idolaters offered that Muhammad [pbuh] worship their gods for a year, and they worship his Lord for a year. In another version, they said: "If you accept our gods, we would worship yours."
  • Ibn Ishaq related that Al-Aswad bin Al-Muttalib, Al-Waleed bin Al-Mugheerah, Omaiyah bin Khalaf and Al-‘As bin Wa’il As-Sahmy, a constellation of influential polytheists, intercepted the Prophet [pbuh] while he was circumambulating in the Holy Sanctuary, and offered him to worship that they worshipped, and they worship that he worshipped so that, according to them, both parties would reach a common denominator. They added "Should the Lord you worship prove to be better than ours, then it will be so much better for us, but if our gods proved to be better than yours, then you would have benefit from it." Allâh, the Exalted, was decisive on the spot and revealed the following Chapter:
    

"Say: "O Al-Kâfirûn (disbelievers in Allâh, in His Oneness, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, in the Day of Resurrection, in Al-Qadar, etc.)! I worship not that which you worship, nor will you worship that which I worship. And I shall not worship that which you are worshipping, nor will you worship that which I worship. To you be your religion, and to me my religion (Islamic Monotheism). [Al-Qur'an Surah al-Kafiroon 109]

Behaviour of Abu Lahab and His family: Quraish under the leadership of Abu Lahab formed an elected committee of 25 noble men of Quraish to organize a full-scale opposition campaign against Muslims.
 

• Abu Lahab himself took the initiative in the new series of persecutions and mete out countless aspects of harmful deeds, hatred and spite against Muhammad [pbuh].
  • He threw stones at Him [pbuh],
  • He forced his two sons to divorce their wives Ruqaiya and Umm Kulthum, the Prophet’s daughters.
  • He gloated over Him [pbuh] on his second son’s death calling him ‘the man cut off with offspring’,
  • His wife, Umm Jameel bint Harb used to tie bundles of thorns with ropes of twisted palm-leaf fibre and strew them about in the paths which the Prophet [pbuh] was expected to take, in order to cause him bodily injury.
  • Hadith about Abu Lahab:

The most wicked of them was the sworn enemy of Islam and Muhammad [pbuh] , Abu Lahab, who would shadow the Prophet’s steps crying aloud, "O men, do not listen to him for he is a liar; he is an apostate." Nevertheless, Muhammad [pbuh] managed to create a stir in the whole area, and even to convince a few people to accept his Call. [At-Tirmidhi; Masud Ahmad]

Abu Jahl and His friend’s behaviour and curse of RasulAllah on him:

• Throwing dirty foetus of camel on the Prophet’s back [pbuh].

Al-Bukhari, on the authority of Ibn Mas‘ud, narrated that once when the Prophet [pbuh] was prostrating himself while praying in Al-Ka‘bah, Abu Jahl asked his companions to bring the dirty foetus of a she-camel and place it on his back. ‘Uqbah bin Abi Mu‘ait was the unfortunate man who hastened to do this ignoble act. A peal of laughter rose amongst the infidels. In the meanwhile, Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet [pbuh], happened to pass that way. She removed the filth from her father’s back. The Prophet [pbuh] invoked the wrath of Allâh upon them, especially upon Abu Jahl, ‘Utbah bin Rabi‘a, Shaibah bin Rabi‘a, Al-Waleed bin ‘Utbah, Omaiyah bin Khalaf and ‘Uqbah bin Mu‘ait. It is recorded that all of them were killed in the battle of Badr. [Bukhari 1/37]
 

• Ubai bin Khalaf ordered his friend ‘Uqbah to spit in the Prophet’s holy face, and he shamelessly did it. Ubai did not spare any thinkable way to malign the Prophet [pbuh]; he even ground old decomposed bones and blew the powder on Him [pbuh].
  

Abu Jahl wanted to debar the Prophet (pbuh) from the Noble Sanctuary. It happened once that the Prophet [pbuh] was praying within the precinct of the Sacred House, when Abu Jahl proceeded threateningly and uttering abusive language. The Prophet [pbuh] chided him severely to which Abu Jahl answered back defiantly claiming that he was the mightiest in Makkah; Allâh then revealed:

"Then, let him call upon his council (of helpers)." [Al-Qur'an 96:17]

In another version of the same incident, the Prophet [pbuh] took Abu Jahl by his neck, rocked him severely saying:

Persecution of Sahabas:

• The uncle of ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan used to wrap ‘Uthman in a mat of palm leaves, and set fire under him.
• When Umm Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair heard of her son’s conversion, she put him to starvation and then expelled him from her house. He used to enjoy full luxurious easy life, but in the aftermath of the tortures he sustained, his skin got wizened, and he assumed a horrible physical appearance.
• Bilal, the slave of Omaiyah bin Khalaf, was severely beaten by his master when the latter came to know of his conversion to Islam. Sometimes a rope was put around his neck and street boys were made to drag him through the streets and even across the hillocks of Makkah. At times he was subjected to prolonged deprivation of food and drink; at others he was bound up, made to lie down on the burning sand and under the crushing burden of heavy stones. Similar other measures were resorted to in order to force him to recant. All this proved in vain. He persisted in his belief in the Oneness of Allâh. On one such occasion, Abu Bakr was passing by; moved by pity, he purchased and emancipated him from slavery.
• Ammar bin Yasir, a freed slave of Bani Makhzoum. He, along with his mother and father, embraced Islam in its early phase. They were repeatedly made to lie on the burning sand and were beaten severely. ‘Ammar was at times tossed up on embers. The Prophet [pbuh] was greatly moved by the atrocities which were being perpetrated upon ‘Ammar and his family. He always comforted them and raised his hand in prayer and said: "Be patient, you will verily find your abode in the Paradise
  • Yasir, his father died because of repeated tortures.
  • Sumaiyah, ‘Ammar’s mother was bayoneted to death by Abu Jahl himself, and thus merited the title of the first woman martyr in Islam
• Abu Fakeeh, Aflah, a freed slave of Bani ‘Abd Ad-Dar was the third of those helpless victims. The oppressors used to fasten his feet with a rope and drag him in the streets of Makkah.
• Khabbab bin Al-Aratt experienced exemplary torture and maltreatment. The Makkan polytheists used to pull his hair and twist his neck, and made him lie on burning coal with a big rock on his chest to prevent him from escaping.
• Zanirah, An-Nahdiyah and her daughter, Umm ‘Ubais and many others had their full share of persecution at the hand of the oppressors.
  

Abu Bakr, a wealthy believer, purchased and freed some of those she-slaves, just as he did with regard to Bilal and ‘Amir bin Fuheirah

The House of Al-Arqam

In the light of these inhuman persecutions, the Prophet [pbuh] deemed it wise to advise his followers to conceal their conversion, in both word and deed. He took the decision to meet them secretly lest Quraish should get to know of his designs, and so take measures that might foil his goals. He also had in mind to avoid any sort of open confrontation with the polytheists because such a thing at this early stage would not be in the interest of the newly-born Call, still vulnerable and not fully fledged. Once, in the fourth year of Prophethood, the Muslims were on their way to the hillocks of Makkah to hold a clandestine meeting with the Prophet [pbuh], when a group of polytheists did observe their suspicious movement and began to abuse and fight them. Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas beat a polytheist and shed his blood and thus recorded the first instance of bloodshed in the history of Islam. [Ibn Hisham 1/263]

The Prophet [pbuh], on the other hand, used to proclaim the Islamic Faith and preach it openly with deep devotion and studious pursuit, but for the general welfare of the new converts and in consideration of the strategic interest of Islam, he took Dar Al-Arqam, in As-Safa mountain, in the fifth year of his mission, as a temporary centre to meet his followers secretly and instruct them in the Qur’ân and in the Islamic wisdom
 

The First Migration to Abyssinia (Ethiopia)

• The persecutions that started by the 4^th year of prophethood steadily accelerated and worsened day by day and became very severe by 5^th year.
• Muslims started to think ways to avert painful torture meted out to them. Verse of Qur’an were revealed to help:
  • Sûrah Al-Kahf (Ch 18, The Cave) was revealed comprising definite answers to the questions with which the polytheists of Makkah constantly pestered the Prophet [pbuh].
  • Story of Al-Khidr (The Teacher of Arabia) and Moses. (i.e. war waged against the Muslims would in the future assume a different turn, and the tyrannous oppressors would one day come to suffer).
  • Story of Dhul-Qarnain (The Two Horned One), the powerful ruler of west and east. This story says explicitly that Allâh takes His righteous servants to inherit the earth and whatever in it. It also speaks that Allâh raises a righteous man every now and then to protect the weak against the strong.
  • Sûrah Az-Zumar (Ch 39 - The Crowds) was then revealed pointing directly to migration and stating that the earth is spacious enough and the believers must not consider themselves constrained by the forces of tyranny and evil.

 “Good is (the reward) for those who do good in this world, and Allâh’s earth is spacious (so if you cannot worship Allâh at a place, then go to another)! Only those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full without reckoning." [Al-Qur'an 39:10]

• The Prophet [pbuh] had already known that Ashamah Negus, king of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), was a fair ruler who would not wrong any of his subordinates, so he permitted some of his followers to seek asylum there in Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
  • A group of twelve men and four women left for Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Among the emigrants were ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan and his wife Ruqaiyah (Prophet’s [pbuh] daughter).
    

Other details during the hard times of Makkan Period

• The conversion of two reduced the torture of Muslims in Makkah
  • Conversion of Hamza ibn Muttalib, when Abu Jahl hit RasulAllah with stone.
  • Rasulallah’s prayer for conversion of ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab

1.7 The factors of Patience and Perseverance that took place in the hearts and minds of the Muslims during the Mecca era.

It is normal to wonder how those people managed to tolerate unspeakable persecutions, and stand fast in the face of tyrannical tortures. Those underlying reasons were:

Unshakable Belief in Allâh: The first and foremost factor is no doubt, unshakable Belief in Allâh Alone coupled with a wonderful degree of perception of His Attributes. A man with this Belief deeply averred in his heart will look at those foreseen difficulties as triflings and can under no circumstance compare with the sweetness of Belief:

"Then, as for the foam, it passes away as scum upon the banks, while that which is for the good of mankind remains in the earth." [Al-Qur'an 13:17]

Wholeheartedly-loved leadership: The love of Sahabas for RasulAllah is unmatched. “We listen and we Obey”..

His friends and companions held him dearest to them, and he occupied the innermost cells of their hearts. They were always ready to defend him and secure his well-being even at the risk of their lives. One day, Abu Bakr bin Abi Quhafa was severely beaten by ‘Utbah bin Rabi‘a, a terrible polytheist. His whole body was almost bleeding and he was on the verge of death, yet when his people took him back home extremely indignant at his misfortune, he swore he would never eat or drink anything until they had told him about the well-being of his noble Companion, Muhammad [pbuh]. That was the spirit of selflessness and sacrifice that characterized the behaviour of those early Companions.

The sense of responsibility: The early Companions were fully aware of the daunting responsibility they were expected to shoulder. They were also convinced that those charges were inescapable even though they were being persecuted for fear of the far-reaching ramifications, and the horrible impact that humanity would suffer in case they shirked their obligations.

Unwavering Belief in the truth of the Hereafter: This was the corner-stone that strengthened their sense of responsibility. There was a deep certainty established through the light of their religion that one day they would have to rise on the Day of Resurrection and account for all worldly deeds, small or big. They were sure that their future in the other world would depend wholly on their acts in their provisional life on earth, either to everlasting Garden (Paradise) or perpetual chastisement in Hell. Their whole life was divided between hope for Allâh’s mercy and fear of His punishment.

The Qur’an: The verses and chapters of the Noble Qur’ân were attractively, forcefully and successively revealed at that gloomy and critical stage, supporting and advancing arguments on the truth and soundness of the principles of Islam.

They constituted the immune basis upon which the best and most wonderful Divinely decreed society was to be established. The Qur’ânic verses also served to strengthen the believers on their course of patience and endurance and introduce them to the most purposeful examples and suggestive instructions:

"Or think you that you will enter Paradise without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, ‘When (will come) the Help of Allâh?’ Yes! Certainly, the Help of Allâh is near!" [Al-Qur'an 2:214]

"Alif-Lam-Mim. Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: ‘We believe’, and will not be tested. And We indeed tested those who were before them. And Allâh will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, (although Allâh knows all that before putting them to test)." [Al-Qur'an 29: 1-3]

• Mere lip profession of Faith is not enough. It must be tried and tested in the real turmoil of life.
• The test will be applied in all kinds of circumstances, in individual life and in relation to the environment around us to see whether we can strive constantly and put the Lord above self.
• Much pain, sorrow and self-sacrifice may be necessary, not because they are good in themselves, but because they will purify us, like fire applied to a goldsmith’s crucible to burn out the dross.

These verses also constituted an irrefutable answer to the false allegations of the disbelievers, and a clear ultimatum that smacked of the horrible consequences that would ensue in case they persisted in their disbelief. 

On the other hand, the Noble Qur’ân was leading the Muslims to a new world and enlightening them as to its features, the beauty of Lordship, the perfection of Godship.

Glad Tiding of Success: Ever since the Muslims accepted Islam they knew that is not merely a hardship. They understood that the call to Islam has one goal, i.e termination of pre-islamic practices and destroying its iniquitous system, and extending the influence of Islam all over the earth and holding firm control of political situation worldwide to lead humanity along a course conducive to Allâh’s Pleasure.

·         The News of Glad tiding of Success was revealed many times, some time explicitly and other times implicitly, in a manner relevant to situation.

o   When the Muslims were forced to undergo constraints, or when their life was kept under continual restraint, there would be revealed verses telling identical stories of past Prophets with their people and the sufferings and pains they had experienced.

o   The verses included suggestive clues to the final tragic end of the Makkan disbelievers envisaging their final perdition

o   The verses also revealed Glad tidings to the believers and promising the true servants of vicegerency on earth to go with absolute success, and victory to attend the Islamic Call and its proponents

"And, verily, Our Word has gone forth of old for Our slaves, — the Messengers, that they verily would be made triumphant. And that Our hosts, they verily would be the victors. So turn away (O Muhammad [pbuh]) from them for a while, and watch them and they shall see (the punishment)! Do they seek to hasten on Our torment? Then, when it descends into their courtyard (i.e. near to them), evil will be the morning for those who had been warned." [Al-Qur'an 37:171-177]

In the same context, Allâh told His Prophet [pbuh] :

"Their multitude will be put to flight, and they will show their backs." [Al-Qur'an 54:45]

He also said:

"They will be a defeated host like the confederates of the old times." [Al-Qur'an 38:11]

During the season of ‘Ukaz forum, and other such occasions, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] himself would communicate not only glad tidings pertinent to the Garden (Paradise) but also news of promising prospects for the true believers in the Call of Islam. He would openly tell them that they would surely prosper, rule the whole of Arabia and subdue Persia if they professed the most serious pillar of Islam, i.e. the Oneness of Allâh.[At-Tirmidhi] 

Khabbab bin Al-Aratt once urged the Messenger to call upon Allâh to shield him against the adversities he was suffering at the hand of the polytheists. The Prophet’s face reddened and he remarked that the true believer must not precipitate things, it was incumbent upon a believer to undergo all the odds of life as much as he could, fearing nobody except Allâh until the religion was established, which would surely happen. The Prophet [pbuh] in this regard, referred to the perseverance that the Muslims had to show and the hardships they had to undergo in order to establish the land of Islam where peace and security would prevail all over it.

The Prophet [pbuh], on his part, would always maintain and sustain his followers’ souls with the light of belief, sanctify them through inculcating the Qur’ânic wisdom in their hearts and cultivate their minds deeply with the spirit of Islam that would elevate them to a state of noble spirituality, pure heartedness and an absolute degree of freedom from the yoke of materialism, a high morale powerful enough to resist worldly lusts and consequently lead them from darkness to light. He would constantly teach them to be tolerant, forgiving and overpowering over their selves in order to get well established in their religion, disdain lust, and devote themselves to attaining the Pleasure of Allâh, yearning for the Garden (Paradise), enthusiasm in sciences relating to their faith, calling themselves to account, subordinating fleeing whims, holding under firm control all rage-provoking incidents and finally observing sobriety, patience and gravity.

1.8. The idea of Immigration to a safer place was on the mind of the Prophet during the Mecca era, elaborate on the Hijrah (immigrations) that took place in the Mecca era.

The First Migration to Abyssinia (Ethiopia)

• The persecutions that started by the 4^th year of prophethood steadily accelerated and worsened day by day and became very severe by 5^th year.
• Muslims started to think ways to avert painful torture meted out to them. Verse of Qur’an were revealed to help:
  • Sûrah Al-Kahf (Ch 18, The Cave) was revealed comprising definite answers to the questions with which the polytheists of Makkah constantly pestered the Prophet [pbuh].
  • Story of Al-Khidr (The Teacher of Arabia) and Moses. (i.e. war waged against the Muslims would in the future assume a different turn, and the tyrannous oppressors would one day come to suffer).
  • Story of Dhul-Qarnain (The Two Horned One), the powerful ruler of west and east. This story says explicitly that Allâh takes His righteous servants to inherit the earth and whatever in it. It also speaks that Allâh raises a righteous man every now and then to protect the weak against the strong.
  • Sûrah Az-Zumar (Ch 39 - The Crowds) was then revealed pointing directly to migration and stating that the earth is spacious enough and the believers must not consider themselves constrained by the forces of tyranny and evil.

 “Good is (the reward) for those who do good in this world, and Allâh’s earth is spacious (so if you cannot worship Allâh at a place, then go to another)! Only those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full without reckoning." [Al-Qur'an 39:10]

• The Prophet [pbuh] had already known that Ashamah Negus, king of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), was a fair ruler who would not wrong any of his subordinates, so he permitted some of his followers to seek asylum there in Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
  • A group of twelve men and four women left for Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Among the emigrants were ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan and his wife Ruqaiyah (Prophet’s [pbuh] daughter).

•  
  • They sneaked out of Makkah under the heavy curtain of a dark night and headed for the sea where two boats happened to be sailing for Abyssinia ( Ethiopia ), their destination. News of their intended departure reached the ears of Quraish, so some men were despatched in their pursuit, but the believers had already left Shuaibah Port towards their secure haven where they were received warmly and accorded due hospitality.

Quraish’s Machination against the Emigrants

Quraish could not tolerate the prospect of a secure haven available for the Muslims in Abyssinia ( Ethiopia ), so they despatched two staunch envoys to demand their extradition.

• They were ‘Amr bin Al-‘As and ‘Abdullah bin Abi Rabi‘a — before embracing Islam
• They took valuable gifts for the king and his clergy, and won some of the courtiers over to their side
• Their envoys claimed that the Muslim refugees should be expelled from Abyssinia ( Ethiopia ) and hand over to them, on the ground that they had abandoned the religion of their forefathers, and their leader was preaching a religion different from theirs and from that of the king

The king (Najashi) summoned the Muslims to the court and asked them to explain the teachings of their religion.

• Muslim emigrants decided to tell the whole truth regardless of consequences.
• Ja‘far bin Abi Talib was chosen to address the king.
• Ja’far bin Abi Talib’s famous words:

"O king! we were plunged in the depth of ignorance and barbarism; we adored idols, we lived in unchastity, we ate the dead bodies, and we spoke abominations, we disregarded every feeling of humanity, and the duties of hospitality and neighbourhood were neglected; we knew no law but that of the strong, when Allâh raised among us a man, of whose birth, truthfulness, honesty, and purity we were aware; and he called to the Oneness of Allâh, and taught us not to associate anything with Him. He forbade us the worship of idols; and he enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our trusts, to be merciful and to regard the rights of the neighbours and kith and kin; he forbade us to speak evil of women, or to eat the substance of orphans; he ordered us to fly from the vices, and to abstain from evil; to offer prayers, to render alms, and to observe fast. We have believed in him, we have accepted his teachings and his injunctions to worship Allâh, and not to associate anything with Him, and we have allowed what He has allowed, and prohibited what He has prohibited. For this reason, our people have risen against us, have persecuted us in order to make us forsake the worship of Allâh and return to the worship of idols and other abominations. They have tortured and injured us, until finding no safety among them, we have come to your country, and hope you will protect us from oppression."

• The king was very much impressed by these words and asked the Muslims to recite some of Allâh’s Revelation. Ja‘far recited the opening verses of Sûrah Maryam (Chapter 19 — Mary) wherein is told the story of the birth of both John and Jesus Christ, down to the account of Mary having been fed with the food miraculously.
• Thereupon the king, along with the bishops of his realm, was moved to tears that rolled down his cheeks and even wet his beard. Here, the Negus exclaimed: "It seems as if these words and those which were revealed to Jesus are the rays of the light which have radiated from the same source." Turning to the crest-fallen envoys of Quraish, he said, "I am afraid, I cannot give you back these refugees. They are free to live and worship in my realm as they please."
• Later the two envoys again went to the king and said that Muhammad [pbuh] and his followers blasphemed Jesus Christ. Again the Muslims were summoned and asked what they thought of Jesus. Ja‘far again stood up and replied: "We speak about Jesus as we have been taught by our Prophet [pbuh] , that is, he is the servant of Allâh, His Messenger, His spirit and His Word breathed into Virgin Mary." The king at once remarked, "Even so do we believe. Blessed be you, and blessed be your master." Then turning to the frowning envoys and to his bishops who got angry, he said: "You may fret and fume as you like but Jesus is nothing more than what Ja‘far has said about him." He then assured the Muslims of full protection. He returned to the envoys of Quraish, the gifts they had brought with them and sent them away. The Muslims lived in Abyssinia ( Ethiopia ) unmolested for a number of years till they returned to Madinah. [Ibn Hisham 1/334-338]

1.9.   The circumstances and steps of the immigration of the Prophet to Maddinah at the 10th year of the Dawah, and mention the lessons that Muslims can learn from it.

Visit to Taif: After the 10^th year of revelation, the Prophet [pbuh] visited Taif (60 km from Makkah) his freed slave Zaid bin Haritha inviting people to Islam.

·         Contrary to his expectation, the people of Taif were very hostile towards him.

·         For ten days he stayed there delivering his message to several people, one after another, but all to no purpose.

·         Stirred up to hasten the departure of the unwelcome visitor, the people hooted him through the alley-ways, pelted him with stones and obliged him to flee from the city pursued by a relentless rabble. Blood flowed down both his legs; and Zaid, endeavouring to shield him, was wounded in the head.

·         The mob did not desist until they had chased him two or three miles across the sandy plains to the foot of the surrounding hills. There, wearied and exhausted, he took refuge in one of the numerous orchards. He then prayed to Allah for help.

Allah’s help and support.

·         Heart-broken and depressed, Muhammad [pbuh] set out on the way back to Makkah. When he reached Qarn Al-Manazil, Allâh, the Almighty sent him Gabriel together with the angel of mountains, who asked for His permission to bury Makkah between Al-Akhshabain, the two mountains flanking Makkah. RasulAllah’s reply was “I would rather have someone from their loins who will worship Allâh, the All–Mighty with no associate” (Buhkari)

·         RasulAllah stayed in Wadi Nakhlah for a few days. Allâh sent him a company of jinns who listened to him reciting the Noble Qur’ân. [Al-Qur'an 46:29-31], [Al-Qur'an 72:1,2].

Return to Makkah.

·         Sahabas advised him not to return to Makkah, but RasulAllah said that Allah will support Him and Islam.

·         Al-Mut‘im bin ‘Adi, a notable in Makkah volunteered to give shelter and protection to Prophet [pbuh].

o   He asked his people to prepare themselves fully armed and then asked Muhammad [pbuh] to enter into the town and directly into the Holy Sanctuary. The Prophet [pbuh] observed a two-Rak‘a prayer and left for his house guarded by the heavily-armed vigilant ‘Adi’s.

o   The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] never forgot Mut‘im’s favour. At the conclusion of the battle of Badr, he declared publicly that if Mut‘im had been still alive and asked for the release of the Quraishite captives, he would not deny him his request.

Resume of Dawah in Makkah.

·         RasulAllah resumed His dawah activities in makkah and to pilgrims

·         Some of Sahabas who accepted Islam at this time were: Swaid bin Samit, Eyas bin Mu‘adh, Abu Dhar Al-Ghifari, Tufail bin ‘Amr Ad-Dausi, Dhumad Al-Azdi.

A New hope from Madinah (yathrib).

·         During the pilgrim season of 11^th year of revelation, the Prophet [pbuh] met 6 men of Khazraj and Aws Tribe from Madinah. As‘ad bin Zurarah, ‘Awf bin Harith, Rafi‘ bin Malik, Qutbah bin ‘Amir, ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amir and Jabir bin ‘Abdullah. (Last two from Aws).

o   These were jews, and jews use to believe that a prophet is about to rise.

o   The Prophet [pbuh] presented to them an expose of Islam, explained its implications, and the responsibilities that fell upon the men who accepted it.

o   These handfuls of men went back to Madinah and propagated Islam to their people.

o   They preached the Islam with full zeal and devotion with the result that they succeeded in winning adherents for Islam from amongst their fellow citizens and hardly was there a house in Madinah not talking curiously and enthusiastically about the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh].

Other Events

·         RasulAllah’s marriage to Aisha in same year.

·         Al-Isra’ and Al-Mi‘raj

The First ‘Aqabah Pledge (12^th year of Prophethood)

·         The six Madinese who left earlier returned back the following year with group of 12 disciples. Five of them were same who met the Prophet last year and seven others.

·         They took the pledge, which is known as first Aqabah pledge :

They avowed their faith in Muhammad [pbuh] as a Prophet and swore: "We will not worship any one but one Allah; we will not steal; neither will we commit adultery, nor kill our children; we will not utter slander, intentionally forging falsehood and we will not disobey you in any just matter." When they had taken the pledge, Muhammad [pbuh] said: "He who carries it out, Allâh will reward him; and who neglects anything and is afflicted in this world, it may prove redemption for him in the Hereafter; and if the sin remains hidden from the eyes of the men and no grief comes to him, then his affair is with Allâh. He may forgive him or He may not." [Bukhari 1/550; 2/727; 2/1003]

Muslim Envoy to Madinah

• After the first Aqabah Pledge the Prophet [pbuh] sent Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair Al-‘Abdari [r] to teach Islam to Madinese.
• Mus‘ab stayed in Madinah carrying out his mission diligently and successfully until all the houses of Al-Ansar (the future Helpers) had Muslims elements, men and women. One family only stood obdurate to the Islamic Da‘wah (Call). They were under the influence of the poet Qais bin Al-Aslat, who managed to hold them at bay and screen off the Call of Islam from their ears until the year 5 A.H.
• Shortly before the approach of the following pilgrimage season, i.e. the thirteenth year of Prophethood, Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair returned to Makkah carrying to the Prophet [pbuh] glad tidings about the new fertile soil of Islam in Madinah, and its environment rich in the prospects of good, and the power and immunity that that city was bound to provide to the cause of Islam.

The Second ‘Aqabah Pledge (13^th year of Prophethood)

• Over 70 converts from Madinah came for pilgrim to Makkah.
• They wanted to provide protection to RasulAllah in Madinah
• Shortly after arrival, they conducted clandestine contacts with the Prophet [pbuh] and agreed to meet him secretly at night in mid Tashreeq Days (11^th – 13^th Dhul Hijja) in a hillock at Al-‘Aqabah, the last year’s meeting place.
• The Messenger of Allah [pbuh] came in the company of his uncle ‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul Muttalib who (though himself not a Muslim at that time), was reluctant to allow his nephew to migrate away from the protection of his own kindred unless we were there were prepared to defend him. He spoke to Ansars (helpers) :

"O you people of the Khazraj — the Arabs used to call the Ansâr (Helpers) Khazraj, whether from Khazraj or Aws — you all know the position that Muhammad holds among us. We have protected him from our people as much as we could. He is honoured and respected among his people. He refuses to join any party except you. So if you think you can carry out what you promise while inviting him to your town, and if you can defend him against the enemies, then assume the burden that you have taken. But if you are going to surrender him and betray him after having taken him away with you, you had better leave him now because he is respected and well defended in his own place."

• Ka‘b bin Malik Al-Ansari asked RasulAllah to take the pledge from them. The Ansâr (Helpers) asked the Messenger of Allâh about the principles over which they would take a pledge. The Prophet answered:
  • To listen and obey in all sets of circumstances.
  • To spend in plenty as well as in scarcity.
  • To enjoin good and forbid evil.
  • In Allâh’s service, you will fear the censure of none.
  • To defend me in case I seek your help, and debar me from anything you debar yourself, your spouses and children from. And if you observe those precepts, Paradise is in store for you.

• Then ‘Abul Haitham At-Taihan interrupted and said: "O Prophet of Allâh! Between us and the Jews, there are agreements which we would then sever. If Allâh grants you power and victory, should we expect that you would not leave us, and join the ranks of your people (meaning Quraish)?" The Prophet [pbuh] smiled and replied:

"Nay, it would never be; your blood will be my blood. In life and death I will be with you and you with me. I will fight whom you fight and I will make peace with those with whom you make peace."

• After the negotiations concerning the conditions of allegiance had ended, and all of the audience were unanimously agreed to ratify it.
• The Prophet [pbuh] then asked the group to appoint twelve deputies to preach Islam to their people in Madinah, to shoulder the responsibility of implementing the articles of this pledge and to guide the respective men of their own tribes in matters relating to the propagation of Islam. The deputies elected were nine from Al-Khazraj, three others were from Al-Aws.
• That is the story of the Second ‘Aqabah Pledge, later known as the Great ‘Aqabah Pledge, effected in an atmosphere of love, allegiance and mutual support between Madinese believers and weak Makkan Muslims.

The Migration to Madinah

• After the endorsement of Second Aqabah Pledge, the Prophet [pbuh] allowed Muslims to migrate to madinah.
• The Muslims began to migrate, while the polytheists spared no effort in hindering and debarring them.
• Despite all efforts from polytheists, the believers still managed to escape in successive groups and so rapidly that within two months of the Second ‘Aqabah Pledge, entire quarters of Makkah were deserted. Almost all the followers of Muhammad had migrated to their new abode, except Abu Bakr, ‘Ali, the Prophet [pbuh] himself, and those helpless noble souls who had been detained in confinement or were unable to escape.
• The Prophet [pbuh], together with Abu Bakr and ‘Ali, had made all the necessary preparations for migration but was waiting for leave from Allah.

In An-Nadwah (Council) House they plot to kill the Messenger [pbuh]

• The polytheists were paralysed by the carefully planned and speedy movement of Muhammad’s followers towards their new abode in Madinah.
• Approx. two and a half months after the Great ‘Aqabah Pledge. On that day, "the Parliament of Makkah" held the most serious meeting ever, with one item on the agenda: How to take effective measures with a view to stopping that tidal wave.
• There were lengthy discussions and several proposals, but in vein. Abu Jahl bin Hisham finally gave a proposal that was accepted to every one. He suggested that a band of young men, one from each tribe, should strike Muhammad simultaneously with their swords so that the blood-money would be spread over them all and therefore could not be exacted, and his people would seek a mind-based recourse for settlement.

Migration of the Prophet [pbuh] to Madinah

• Revelation to migrate:

When the iniquitous decision had been made, Gabriel was sent down to Muhammad [pbuh] to reveal to him Quraish’s plot and give him his Lord’s Permission to leave Makkah. He fixed to him the time of migration and asked him not to sleep that night in his usual bed. At noon , the Prophet [pbuh] went to see his Companion Abu Bakr and arranged with him everything for the intended migration. Abu Bakr was surprised to see the Prophet [pbuh] masked coming to visit him at that unusual time, but he soon learned that Allâh’s Command had arrived, and he proposed that they should migrate together, to which the Prophet [pbuh] gave his consent.[Bukhari 1/553]

• The Prophet [pbuh] told ‘Ali to sleep in his bed and cover himself with his green mantle and assured him full security under Allâh’s protection and told him that no harm would come to him. The Prophet [pbuh] then came out of the room and cast a handful of dust at the assassins and managed to work his way through them reciting verses of the Noble Qur’ân:

"And We have put a barrier before them, and a barrier behind them, and We have covered them up, so that they cannot see." [Al-Qur'an 36:9]

He proceeded direct to the house of Abu Bakr who, immediately accompanied him and both set out southwards, clambered up the lofty peak of Mountain Thawr, and decided to take refuge in a cave.[Ibn Hisham 1/483; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/52]

• Quraish were quite baffled and exasperated when the news of the escape of the two companions was told to them.
• They brought ‘Ali to Al-Ka‘bah, beat him brutally to query from him the where about of the the Prophet and his companion, but to no avail.
• Abu Jahl slapped Abu Bakr’s daughter (Asma) so severely that her earring broke up, but she didn’t gave any information.
• Quraish blocked all avenues leading out of Makkah and imposed heavy armed surveillance over all potential exits. A price of 100 camels was set upon the head of each one.
• The Prophet [pbuh] and abu Bakr stayed in the Cave for three days while Quraish continued their frantic efforts to get hold of them. They even once reached the mouth of the cave but Allah protected them.
• There were number of miracles that happened during this journey; stumbling of Suraqah’s horse; the goat of Umm Ma‘bad Al-Khuza‘iyah got milk when the Prophet touched it; Abu Ma’bad recited a poem which whole Makkah heard etc.
• The number of people accepted Islam, those who met the Prophet, those included Suraqah, Abu Buraidah along with his seventy men.