HUMANITY’S MORNINGTIDE
WHEN THE APOSTLE reached his fortieth year, the world stood on the brink of an abyss of fire, or, to be more exact, one could say that the entire human race was bent upon self-destruction. It was at this darkest moment in the history of mankind when the first blush of the fragrant breath of morn announced a brightening future for humanity. The opening eyelids of prophethood rang down the curtain on the dark destiny of the unfortunate, dying world. The settled law of the Merciful God is that when the darkness of man’s own doing drives him to despair, a star of hope appears again as the parent of faith, of hope and cheerfulness, to wipe away his tears.
The forces of darkness and ignorance, superstition and paganism had thrown their weight around the world and crushed the soul of man under an iron heel. It was but natural that the emptiness of life and the corrupt faith of the people around the Apostle had made him agitated and restless, and he sought a higher aim, a glimmer of guidance from the Lord Most High. It seemed as though some celestial voice summoned him to wakeful nights in preparation for the great responsibility about to be thrust upon him. Often, he was seen wandering through the countryside, far from the bustling city of Makkah, lost in introspection and the solitude of his own soul, which imparted in him a sense of peace and contentment. Often he betook himself to the barren desert and the wild mountains that had many caverns where no habitation was in sight, and when he passed through them, he clearly heard the salutation: ‘Peace unto you,
O Apostle of Allah, but when he turned to his right and left and looked behind him he saw naught but trees and stones. [1] The first signs of his prophethood were true dreams, he never dreamt a dream but the truth of it shone forth like the dawn of the morning. [2]
IN THE CAVE OF HIRĀ’
Very often the Apostle preferred the solitude of the cave of Ḥirā’ where he remained for as many days as the provisions with him sufficed, spending his nights in vigils and prayers, in the manner he thought resembled the way of Ibrāhīm. [3]
It was the 17th of Ramaḍān (6th August, 610 AD) of the year following the fortieth year of the Prophet. [4] The Apostle of God was wide-awake and fully conscious when the angel Gabriel came to him and said,
‘Read!’ The Apostle answered truthfully, ‘I cannot read. ’ The Prophet relates that the angel took hold of him and pressed him until he was distressed, after which he let him go and said again, ‘Read!’ The Prophet replied for the second time, ‘I cannot read’, he took him and pressed him tightly a third time in the same manner. He then let the Prophet go and said:
Read in the name of thy Lord who created, Createth man from a clot. Read: and thy Lord is the Most Bounteous: Who teacheth by the pen, Teacheth man that which he knew not. [5]
Indeed, this moment marked the first day of his prophethood, and these were the first revelations of the Qur’ān. [6]
BACK HOME
He was left dizzy and frightened by the strange and unfamiliar experience; he had not heard the like of it before, for it had been a long time since the Arabs were sent any prophecy. The Messenger of God came back with the verses, his heart trembling, and went to Khadijah and said: ‘Wrap me up, wrap me up,’ for he still felt fear for himself.
Khadijah asked the reason for the Prophet’s distress, and he told her what had passed. Khadijah was intelligent and prudent and had heard a great deal about the messengers of God, prophethood, and angels from her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who had embraced Christianity and read the Torah and Gospels. She was herself dissatisfied with the pagan cult of the Makkans, like several other enlightened persons who had broken away from the idol worshippers.
Khadijah was the wife of the Prophet. She had spent many years with him as his closest companion and knew him intimately. Through this union, Khadijah knew best the noble character of her husband. The worthiness of his moral fiber had convinced her that the Lord’s aid would in any case be there for such a man. She was certain that the good grace of God could never suffer one so high-minded, truth-loving, trustworthy, and upright as her husband was, to be possessed by a jinn or a devil, and so she assured him with self-confidence: ‘By no means! I swear to God that He would never shame you. You join the family ties, you speak the truth, you bear people’s burdens, you help the destitute, you entertain guests, and you mitigate the pains and grief suffered for the sake of truth.’ [7]
THE PREDICTION OF WARAQAH IBN NAWFAL
Khadijah had tried to comfort and encourage her husband on account of what she thought to be correct or on the basis of her own knowledge and understanding. But the matter was serious and pressing. She knew no peace until she had consulted someone knowledgeable of the revealed religions, their history and scriptures, and the life of earlier prophets of God. She wished to know for sure what had befallen her husband.
Khadijah knew that Waraqah ibn Nawfal was the man who could be of help in the matter. She took the Apostle to Waraqah, and when the Prophet told him what he had seen and heard, Waraqah cried out, ‘Verily by Him in whose hand is Waraqah’s soul, lo, you are the Prophet of this people. There has come unto you the greatest Namus, [8] who came unto Moses before. A time will come when you will be called a liar, your people will mistreat you, cast you out, and fight you.’ The Apostle was surprised to hear Waraqah’s forebodings, for he had always been received with courtesy and was well regarded by his fellow citizens. They addressed him as the trustworthy and honest. Holding his breath in amazement, he demanded of Waraqah, ‘What! Will they expel me?’ ‘Yes’, replied Waraqah, ‘for no man has ever brought the like of what you have without being opposed and fought by his people—this has always been so. If I live to see that day, I shall stand by you.’ [9]
The Prophet waited, day after day, but for a long time no revelation came. Then, it came again to the Apostle, and so the revelations of the Qur’ān began to come again in quick succession and lasted for a full twenty-three years.
KHADIJAH ACCEPTS ISLAM
Khadijah, the Apostle’s wife, was the first believer in the new faith. She had had the opportunity of being his companion and helper, his consort and defender. She stood behind him, consoling and supporting him against all those who denied and scorned him. She tried to relieve his apprehensions and to encourage him by placing her trust in him.
ALI IBN ABI TALIB AND ZAYD IBN HARITHAH
Ali ibn Abi Talib was the next to enter the fold of Islam. He was then a youth of ten, and had been brought up in the care of the Prophet since early childhood. The Apostle had taken the charge of Ali from his uncle, Abu Talib, and kept him as a member of his family after a grievous famine had struck the Quraysh. [10] The third accession to Islam was made with the conversion of Zayd ibn Harith [11], who was a freedman of the Prophet and whom he had adopted as his son.
ABU BAKR ACCEPTS ISLAM
The acceptance of the Prophet’s faith by Abu Bakr ibn Abi Quhafah, after Zayd, was of no mean significance. This merchant of sociable nature was known for his moderation and prudence, good character and kindliness, and enjoyed yet greater reputation for his wide knowledge of the genealogy of Quraysh, and his experience in trade. He began to preach to all those whom he relied upon and who associated with him or came to seek his company, the truth that he had attested to. [12]
THE FLOWER OF QURAYSH FINDS FAITH
The persuasive businessman began to win over the elite of the Quraysh to place their trust in the mission of the Prophet. Those who accepted Islam at the invitation of Abu Bakr included Uthman ibn Affan, Az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, and Talhah ibn Ubaydillah. Abu Bakr brought them to the Apostle at whose hands they accepted Islam. [13]
Slowly, the mission of the Prophet was made known to other respectable citizens of Makkah, and a number of them joined their faith to Islam. Some of these elect of the Quraysh who came after the first eight were: Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, Al-Arqam ibn Abi'l-Arqam, Uthman ibn Madhun, Ubaydah ibn al-Harith ibn Abd al-Muttalib, Said ibn Zayd, Khabbab ibn al-Aratt, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Ammar ibn Yasir, Shu'ayb ibn Sinan, and others.
People now began to accept Islam in large numbers; they came in bands from different tribes and families until the news spread throughout the city, and it began to be talked about everywhere that Muhammad (ﷺ) taught some new sort of faith. [14]
ON MOUNT SAFA
Three years had elapsed from the time the Apostle had received the first revelation, but he had remained a silent preacher. He was now commanded to announce it openly:
So proclaim that which you art commanded, and withdraw from the idolaters [15]
And warn thy tribe of near kindred, and lower thy wing (in kindness) unto those believers who follow you. [16]
And say: Lo! I, even I, am a plain warner. [17]
It was an order to show himself to the peoples of the world. The Apostle ascended the heights of Mount Safa and cried aloud: ‘Ya Sabahah’. The Arabs were already familiar with the call, which was meant to summon them to face a surprise attack by the enemy. The alarming call made the whole of Quraysh gather quickly round the Apostle, while those who were unable to go themselves sent others to deputize for them. Looking down at the men who waited with their eyes strained at him, the Messenger of God said to them:
O sons of 'Abd al-Muttalib! O sons of Fihr! O sons of Ka'b! If I tell you that horsemen were advancing to attack you from the other side of this hill, would you believe me?
The Arabs were practical-minded, possessing a keenly logical outlook that admitted of no ifs or buts. They saw the man whom they had always found, on every occasion, truthful, honest, and dependable, standing on the summit, having a full view of both sides of the hill. They had, on the other hand, the back of the hill concealed from their view. Their intelligence and understanding, their experience with the man addressing them, and their own sane and sound thinking led them to one conclusion only. They unanimously replied. 'Oh, yes, we would certainly believe you.'
A COGENT ARGUMENT
The absolute truthfulness and dependability of a messenger of God constitutes the first and the most essential factor for acceptance of his mission. The question posed by the Prophet was thus meant to obtain a confirmation of these qualities from his audience. This done, he said to them, 'Well, I am a warner to you before a severe chastisement overtakes you.'
The Prophets of God are endowed with the knowledge of minute realities which are neither perceptible nor can be explained in human parlance. The method the Prophet used to convey to them the concept and essence of apostleship was the most incisive and effective possible. This was certainly the easiest as well as the most effective method to convey the accurate weight and significance of prophethood; the allegorical mode of expressing a profound reality is unparalleled in the teachings of any other prophet or religious founder. Thus in this instance, the Apostle of God warned the Quraysh of a far greater enemy than an advancing army. His counsel was against a hidden enemy residing in the souls, of the snare of idolatry and following one's whims above the boundaries set by the Creator and Cherisher of this universe. The words of the Apostle so struck Quraysh that they stood silent and still. Abu Lahab eventually had the audacity to exclaim: "May you perish! Is it for this that you have brought us here?" [18]
BEGINNING OF PERSECUTION
The Apostle of God preached Islam openly in the streets of Makkah, yet the Quraysh remained cool and indifferent to him; they neither turned against him nor felt any danger to their religion. They did not even care to confute the Prophet until he started speaking disparagingly of their gods, when they felt offended and decided to oppose him. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would have been at the mercy of the firebrands of the merchants’ republic of Makkah, but Abū Tālib, the Prophet’s uncle, continued to treat him kindly and stood up in his defense. And, the Prophet (ﷺ), equally determined to strenuously propagate his new faith, continued to call the people to Islam. Nothing could stop the Prophet (ﷺ) from preaching the commands of his God, and nothing could dissuade Abū Tālib from withdrawing his protection from the nephew whom he loved more than his sons.
ABŪ TĀLIB’S ANXIETY
The Apostle ﷺ was now a much-discussed problem among the Quraysh. They conferred and consulted one another on how to face the danger which the Prophet (ﷺ) with his sweet tongue represented to them. At last, the leading men of Quraysh approached Abū Tālib and said to him, “O Abū Tālib, you are old and we hold you in high esteem. We asked you to restrain your nephew, but you did nothing. By God, we cannot tolerate any longer that our fathers should be denounced, that we should be called ignoramuses and frivolous, and our gods insulted. Either you must stop him, or we will fight both of you, until one of us perishes.” [19]
The old leader of Makkah remained deep in thought, distressed by the rift with his people and their hostility, but he was not willing to desert his nephew and hand him over to his enemies. He sent for the Apostle and said, “Son of my brother, your people came to me and threatened me with dire consequences if you continue to preach your religion. Spare my life and yours and do not impose on me a burden greater than I can bear.” The Apostle thought that his uncle was no longer willing to shield him, intending to give him up. He answered, “O my uncle, by God, if they were to place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, and ask me to abandon this course, I would not turn from it until God makes it victorious or I perish therein.”
Tears came to the eyes of the Prophet. Weeping, he got up to depart. But Abū Tālib could not look at his nephew’s sorrow. Before he had reached the threshold, Abū Tālib cried out, “Come back, my nephew.” And when he returned, Abū Tālib said, “Go where you please and say what you will. By God, I will never deliver you to your enemies.” [20]
PERSECUTION BEGINS
The Apostle continued to preach the message of God as vigorously as before. The Makkans were now despaired of forcing Abū Tālib to give up Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), and there was nothing that they could do to stop him. Their anger grew and grew. They started inciting the tribes against those who had accepted Islam but were without a protector. Every tribe fell on the Muslims amidst it, beating and putting them in chains, denying them food and water, and forcing them to lie on the burning sand in the scorching sun of Arabia.
Bilāl was a slave who had embraced Islam. Umayyah ibn Khalaf, his master, used to bring him out at noon and throw him on his back on the burning sand. He ordered a great rock to be placed on Bilāl’s chest, and then he would say to him, “No, by God, you will lie here till you die or deny Muhammad and worship Al-Lât and Al-Uzzā.” Bilāl endured the affliction, crying, “One. One.”
Abū Bakr saw Bilāl being tortured by his master, and so brought a powerful black slave, tougher and stronger than Bilāl, to exchange for Bilāl and set him free. [21]
Ammār ibn Yāsir and his parents had accepted Islam. Banū Makhzūm used to take them out in the full glare of the sun at the hottest part of the day and then take them to task for their faith. The Prophet would say to them whenever he passed them: “Patience, O family of Yāsir, patience. Your destination is paradise.” They endured all kinds of persecutions until Ammār’s mother was killed by Banū Makhzūm for she refused to accept anything but Islam. [22]
Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr was the most well-dressed young man of Makkah. Mus‘ab’s mother, who possessed a handsome fortune, had brought him up in the lap of luxury. He would wear the costliest clothes perfumed with the finest scents and always had his shoes imported from Hadramawt, then famous for its manufacturing of leather goods. The Apostle is reported to have once remarked about him: “I had not seen any young man in Makkah more handsome and more well-dressed or who had been brought up in more ease and comfort than Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr.” He came to know that the Apostle preached a new religion in the house of Arqam. Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr’s curiosity took him there, and he returned a true believer in Islam. He did not, however, declare his faith, and he continued to meet the Apostle secretly. 'Uthmān ibn Talhah once saw him performing the prayer and disclosed his secret to his mother and other tribesmen. The result was that he was seized and imprisoned, and remained in fetters until the Muslims first migrated to Abyssinia. When he returned from Abyssinia along with other refugees, he was a completely changed man. His daintiness and elegance had given place to such a rugged simplicity that his mother had to leave him alone instead of rebuking him. [23]
There were others who, afraid of the violent temper then prevailing against Muslims in Makkah, had sought the protection of their friends who were still polytheists. One of them was 'Uthmān ibn Maz'ūn, who was under the protection of Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, but as he felt ashamed of being shielded by anyone other than God, he renounced the protection of Walīd. Shortly thereafter, he had a heated wrangle with an idolater who struck him so hard on his face that he lost an eye. Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah was present on the occasion; he said to 'Uthmān, "By God, O son of my brother, your eye was once secured against this injury and you were well-protected". "Nay, by God," replied 'Uthmān ibn Maz'ūn, "The eye that is still unhurt longs for what has happened to the other for God's sake. O 'Abd ash-Shams, I am here in the vicinity and in the shelter of One who is exceedingly superior to you in honor and glory." [24]
When 'Uthmān ibn 'Affān accepted Islam, his uncle Ḥakam ibn Abī 'I-Ās ibn Umayyah tied him securely with a rope and said, "Have you renounced the faith of your fathers for a new religion? By God, I will not release you until you abandon this new belief." 'Uthmān firmly replied, "By God, I will never renounce it." The firmness of 'Uthmān in his conviction ultimately led Ḥakam to unshackle him." [25]
Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt, a companion of the Prophet (ﷺ), related his own story: "Some louts of the Quraysh came one day and seized me. Then they kindled a fire and dragged me into it, while a man kept me down by placing his foot on my chest." Khabbāb ﷺ then bared his back, which had white scars. [26]
ILL-TREATMENT OF THE PROPHET ﷺ BY HIS PEOPLE
The efforts of Quraysh to dissuade the Prophet's Companions (ﷺ) from their religion failed miserably, nor did they succeed in stopping the Prophet (ﷺ) from preaching his religion fearlessly. The Quraysh were first annoyed and agitated, and then dismayed by the growing community of Muslims. They stirred up some louts and riff-raff against the Apostle, who raised a hue and cry against him, calling him a liar, a sorcerer, a diviner, and a poet; they insulted and abused him and started harassing him on every pretext.
The notables of Makkah assembled one day in the Hijr [27] when the Prophet was suddenly seen coming into the holy sanctuary. As he passed them, walking round the Ka’bah, they sneered at him and made caustic remarks. They offended him similarly for the second time, and then for the third time, he passed by them. Now, the Prophet stopped and said, “Will you listen to me, O Quraysh? By Him who holds my life in His hand, I bring you a great slaughter.” These words stupefied all of them; some even addressed him graciously to make amends for their rudeness.
The next day, when they had assembled in the Hijr, the Prophet appeared again. The Quraysh, who felt ashamed because of the occurrence the day before, fell upon him as one man. While they mobbed him thus, one of them pulled the sheet of cloth hanging round his neck, which nearly choked his throat. Abū Bakr, who was present at that moment, thrust himself in between them and the Prophet (ﷺ), and with tears in his eyes, he cried, “Would you kill a man simply because he says: Allah is my Lord?” They left the Prophet but fell upon Abū Bakr, dragging him by his hair and beard.
Another time, the Apostle had to face a far greater ordeal through the course of a whole day. Whoever he met, free or slave, cursed or vilified him or tried to hurt him in some way. He returned to his house and wrapped himself up because of the torments he had to endure that day. Then it was that when God revealed to him the opening verses of “The Enshrouded One”: “O you wrapped up in thy cloak, arise and warn.” [28]
THE SUFFERING OF ABŪ BAKR
One morning, Abū Bakr dared to invite a gathering of the idolaters to the true faith in God and His Apostle, but they fell upon him furiously and beat him mercilessly. ‘Urbah ibn Rabī’ah inflicted such severe injuries to his face with a pair of shoes that one could not distinguish the eyes from the nose of his swollen face.
Abū Bakr fell unconscious and was taken to his house by Banū Taym, his kinsmen. In a precarious condition, his life hanging by a thread, he regained consciousness late in the afternoon, but the first thing he asked was whether the Prophet (ﷺ) was well and safe! His relations rebuked him (for his concern for the Prophet (ﷺ), on whose account he had to suffer so grievously). Then, hardly raising his voice, he repeated his question to Umm Jamil, who had also accepted Islam. Umm Jamil motioned towards his mother, who was standing near her, but Abū Bakr insisted on knowing about the Prophet, saying that there was no harm in telling him in her presence. At last, Umm Jamil said to him that the Prophet was well, but Abū Bakr would not be satisfied until he had seen the Apostle himself. He said, “I have taken a vow that I would not taste any food or drink anything until I have seen the Prophet myself.” The two women waited until everybody had departed, and then they brought Abū Bakr to the Prophet, who was moved to see his pitiable condition. The Prophet (ﷺ) prayed for his mother and invited her to accept Islam. It is reported that she readily pledged her trust in the Apostle of God. [29]
QURAYSH IN A FIX
As the enmity of persecutors increased, so did the number of the Apostle’s followers. The Quraysh were unsure of how to stop the people from taking the Prophet (ﷺ) and his teachings seriously; how to make them turn a blind eye to him and snub him. Makkah was a commercial center frequented by tribes from far and near, and during the Hajj, which was near at hand, more of them were to come again. The people coming to Makkah had somehow to be kept at a distance from the Apostle, lest they should hear his sermons and swallow his words. They went to Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, who was old and a man of standing, to seek his advice. He said, “O people of Quraysh, the time of Hajj has come round when delegations of the Arabs will come here. They have all heard about this man (the Prophet), so agree upon something so that you do not contradict one another and each one of you says the same thing.” Different suggestions were put forward, but Walīd remained unsatisfied. At last, he was asked to suggest some way out. He said, “The most convincing thing in my opinion would be that all of you present him as a sorcerer. You should say that he has brought a message by which he creates a rift between father and son, brother falls out with brother, husband parts company with wife, and families break up under his influence.”
The Quraysh came back, agreeing to the stratagem suggested by Walīd. They sat on different paths when the time of Hajj commenced, warning everyone to keep clear of Muḥammad, repeating what they had already agreed to tell them. [30]
HEARTLESSNESS OF THE QURAYSH
The persecutors of the Apostle were consumed by a rancor that disregarded every consideration of humanity and kinship; their torture was made bitter by the refinements of cruelty, and their demeanor was lax enough to pollute the sacred asylum held as the holiest sanctum by the Arabs.
One day, while the Apostle (ﷺ) was praying at the Kaʿbah, a company of Quraysh occupied their places in the sanctuary. ʿUtbah ibn Abī Muʿīṭ brought the fetus of a camel from somewhere, and when the Apostle prostrated in prayer, he laid it on his back and shoulders. The Messenger of God remained in prostration until his daughter Fāṭimah came running and threw it off him. She called down evil upon the man who had done it, and the Prophet also joined her in the imprecation. [31]
ḤAMZAH ACCEPTS ISLAM
Once, Abū Jahl happened to pass by the Prophet near Mount Ṣafā. He insulted the Apostle and heaped all manner of indignities upon him, but the Apostle of God did not answer him back. Meanwhile, Ḥamzah had returned from the chase with his bow hanging by his shoulder. Ḥamzah was essentially a warrior, the bravest and the most courageous amongst Quraysh. A slave woman belonging to ʿAbdullāh ibn Jadʾān told him what had happened to his nephew. Ḥamzah angrily turned back to the holy Mosque where Abū Jahl was sitting with his friends. Going straight to Abū Jahl, Ḥamzah proceeded to strike his bow upon his head, saying, “Dare you insult and abuse him when I follow his religion and say what he says?” Abū Jahl kept quiet while Ḥamzah, returning to his nephew, declared himself a convert to Islam. The Quraysh were put to a great loss by the conversion of a man of unquestionable character and legendary courage. [32]
PROPOSAL OF ‘UTBAH TO THE PROPHET
The number of the Prophet’s followers increased day by day, threatening to turn the tide against Quraysh; they felt the situation highly embarrassing, but were unable to do anything to stem the tide of Islam. ‘Utbah ibn Rabīʿah, the old and wise patrician of Quraysh, realized that he must find a way to patch up the differences with the Apostle. He consulted Quraysh to make some concessions to the Apostle so that he might give up his mission. The Quraysh thought it to be a workable proposition and allowed him to negotiate with the Prophet on their behalf.
‘Utbah went to the Apostle and sat by his side. He said, “O my nephew, you know the worthy position you enjoy among us. But you have created a rift in your people by ridiculing them, insulting their gods as well as their religion, declaring their forefathers heathens and denying their customs. Now, listen to me, I will make some suggestions, haply you may find one of these acceptable.”
“O Abū ’l-Walīd,” [33] replied the Prophet, “go on, I am listening.” ‘Utbah continued, “My nephew, if you wish to profit from what you preach, we will collect enough that you will be the richest of us; if you desire honour, we will make you our chief and leave every decision to your choice; if you aspire to kingship, we will recognise you as our monarch; and if you are possessed of a ghost or a jinn of which you have no remedy, we will find a skilful physician for you and spend our wealth lavishly until your health is completely restored.”
The Apostle listened patiently. When ‘Utbah had finished, he asked, “Is it all that you have to say?”
“Yes,” replied ‘Utbah.
“Now listen to me,” said the Prophet, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. . .” and he continued to recite Sūrah Fuṣṣilat, [34] ending the recitation at a place of prostration. [35] When ‘Utbah heard the revelation, he listened with rapt attention, putting his hands behind him and leaning on them. The recitation ended, the Prophet prostrated and then said to ‘Utbah, “Abū ’l-Walīd, you have heard what you have heard, now it is for you to decide.”
When Quraysh saw ‘Utbah returning, they said, “I swear by God, he comes with an altered expression on his face.” And, when he came near, they asked him what had happened.
“I have heard a discourse the like of which I have never heard before. I swear, by God, O Quraysh, that it is neither poetry, nor spells, nor witchcraft. Take my advice and let this man be.”
The Quraysh reviled ‘Utbah and said, “You have been bewitched by his tongue.”
“This is my opinion,” replied ‘Utbah, “Now you may do whatever you see fit.” [36]
MUSLIMS MIGRATE TO ABYSSINIA
The Apostle saw his followers stand their ground despite persecution, and his heart was laden with grief. And since he could do nothing to protect them, he advised them to migrate to the country of the Christian ruler, Negus of Abyssinia, who was known to be just and kind-hearted. It was a friendly country, said the Apostle, where the Muslims could remain until such time as God relieved them of their distress.
Thereupon, a group of Muslims left Makkah for Abyssinia, comprising a total of ten men and four women; this was the first migration in the history of Islam. ‘Uthmān ibn Maẓʿūn was elected leader of this first group of emigrants, who included the Apostle’s daughter Ruqayyah and her husband ‘Uthmān ibn ʿAffān. After them, Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib departed from Makkah, then a number of Muslims withdrew, one after another. Some went alone, others took their families with them. A total of eighty-three persons are reported to have fled to Abyssinia. [37]
Fleeing the persecution of Quraysh was not the sole objective, but it also provided an opportunity to spread the message of Islam and lessen the fears of the Apostle for his Companions. Indeed, the amalgam of both the rich and the poor, the young and the old, men and women among these first emigrants, portrays the power of Islam to overcome social divides and thereby highlights its universal and inclusive message.
QURAYSH PURSUE THE MUSLIMS
The news that Muslims were living in peace in Abyssinia reached Makkah, and the faces of Quraysh darkened. They decided to send ‘Abdullāh ibn Abī Rabīʿah and ‘Amr ibn al-ʿĀṣ ibn Wā’il as their emissaries, laden with the choicest presents of Makkah for the Negus, his nobles and chiefs, to bring the exiles back from Abyssinia. The agents of Quraysh first bribed the courtiers of the Negus with their presents to espouse their cause before the king. Then they took their presents to the Negus and said:
"Some foolish young men of our people have taken refuge in your majesty's country. They have abandoned their own religion but neither accepted yours, and have invented a new faith of which we know nothing, nor do you. Our nobles, who are their elders and guardians, have sent us to your majesty to get the exiles back from you, for they are nearer to them and know their faults." The courtiers of the Negus who had his ear came out with one voice, "They are correct, surrender the refugees to them". But the Negus was enraged; he disliked to forsake those who had sought his shelter. He said, "No, by God, I will not surrender them." Thereafter, he summoned the Muslims to his court, where his bishops were present, and asked the Muslims, "What is that religion for which you have forsaken your people, and neither accepted my religion nor any other?"
JAʿFAR'S PORTRAYAL OF ISLAM AND IGNORANCE
Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib, the cousin of the Prophet, then rose to answer the king's query. He said:
"O King, we were an unenlightened people plunged in ignorance. We worshipped idols, we ate carrion, and we committed abominations; we broke natural ties, we ill-treated our neighbors, and our strong devoured the weak. We thus lived until God raised among us an Apostle, of whose noble birth and lineage, truthfulness, honesty, and purity we were aware. He invited us to acknowledge the Unity of God and to worship Him, and to renounce the stones and idols we and our forefathers used to venerate. He enjoined us to speak the truth, to redeem our pledges, to be kind and considerate to our kin and neighbors; he bade us refrain from every vice, bloodshed, shamelessness, untruth, and deceit; and asked us not to encroach upon the property of orphans nor to vilify chaste women. He commanded us to pay divine honors to Allāh alone and associate naught with Him; he ordered us to offer prayers, spend in charity, and to observe the fast [thus enumerating other injunctions of Islam].
We acknowledged his truth and believed in him; we followed him in whatever he brought from God; and we worshipped only One God, associating naught with Him. We treated as unlawful what he forbade and accepted what he made lawful for us. Hence, our people were estranged; they persecuted us, tried to seduce us from our faith, and forced us to take the idols back in place of our God; and they pressed us to return to the abominations we used to commit before. So when they tortured us and grinded us under their tyranny and stood between us and our religion, we fled to your country, having chosen you above others as our refuge. We have come here, O king, to your country seeking your protection, and we do hope that we shall not be dealt with unjustly."
Negus listened patiently to Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib. Then he asked Jaʿfar if he had something brought by his Prophet from God. Jaʿfar replied in the affirmative. Negus asked him to recite it, and thereupon Jaʿfar recited the opening verses of Sūrah Maryam.[38] Negus wept until his beard was wet; the bishops wept until their scrolls were wet with their tears.
Indeed, the wise words of Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib before this King reveal the astuteness of the Apostle’s Companions, which could only be derived from a heavenly source aiming to aid this religion and make it triumph above all others. To speak pertinent words of advice and truth, especially when one is in the minority, is far more challenging than any debate. [39]
DISCOMFITURE OF THE QURAYSHITE EMISSARIES
“Of a truth, this and what Jesus brought are radiations from the same Heavenly light”, said the Negus. Then, turning to the envoys of the Quraysh, he continued, “You may go. By God, I shall never give them up to you.”
Now, the shrewd poet ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ flung his last shot—and a deadly shot, too—for he said, “O king, they assert a dreadful thing about Jesus which is even unwholesome to repeat before you.”
Negus demanded from Jaʿfar, “What do you say about Jesus?” Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib replied, “We say about him that which our Prophet has taught us. He was a creature of God and His Prophet, and His Spirit, and His Word, which was cast unto the blessed Virgin Maryam.”
Negus took a straw from the ground and said, “By God, Jesus, son of Mary, does not exceed what you have said by the length of this straw.”
Negus treated the Muslims with honor and pledged his protection to them. Both the crestfallen envoys of Quraysh had to leave Abyssinia in great shame, while the Muslims lived there in peace and security. [40]
The migration of the Muslims to Negus took place in the fifth year of prophethood. Jaʿfar and a number of Companions remained there until 8 AH. He returned to the Apostle’s side for the Battle of Khaybar, thus remaining in Abyssinia for fifteen long years. In that time, the Muslims came to the aid of Negus in times of war, never forgetting his favor on them [41] and hence showing them the good moral character of those who submit to God. Their presence in the land was one way of propagating Islam in one of the most tolerant lands of Christianity at the time. Unfortunately, there are no records of the events that occurred there during this period.
ʿUMAR EMBRACES ISLAM
Islam was then strengthened by the conversion of ʿUmar to the truth brought by the Apostle of God. ʿUmar was one of the nobles of Quraysh, broad-shouldered, tall, and brave. He was feared and respected by all. The Apostle wished that he should accept Islam, for he often prayed to God to show him the right path.
Fāṭimah bint al-Khaṭṭāb, the sister of ʿUmar, accepted Islam, and shortly thereafter, her husband, Saʿīd ibn Zayd, too, followed suit. But both kept it a closely guarded secret since they feared the violent bent of ʿUmar’s nature. They knew that ʿUmar was a zealous adherent of the religion of his forefathers and carried a bitter aversion to the new faith in his bosom. Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt secretly taught the Qur’ān to Fāṭimah bint al-Khaṭṭāb after her conversion.
ʿUmar planned one day to murder the Apostle. He sallied forth, with a sword hanging from his neck, to find out the house near Mount Ṣafā where the Apostle and his Companions were reported to have assembled. Nuʿaym ibn ʿAbdullāh, who belonged to ʿUmar’s tribe of Banū ʿAdī and had already acknowledged faith in the Prophet, happened to see ʿUmar on the way, armed and fiercely excited. He asked, “ʿUmar, where are you going?’’
“I seek Muḥammad,” was ʿUmar’s reply, “and I will slay him. He has forsaken our religion, shattered the unity of Quraysh, ridiculed them, and vilified their gods. Today I will settle the affair once and for all.”
“Anger has blinded you,” retorted Nuʿaym, “would it not be far better to put your own family in order?”
ʿUmar was taken aback. He asked, “And who are they in my family?”
Nuʿaym replied, “Your brother-in-law and cousin Saʿīd ibn Zayd and your sister Fāṭimah. They have given faith to Muḥammad and accepted his religion. Better deal first with them.”
ʿUmar forthwith hurried on to the house of his sister. Khabbāb was at the time reading Sūrah ṬāHā [42] to the couple from a manuscript he had with him. When they heard the footsteps of ʿUmar, Khabbāb hid himself in a small room inside, and Fāṭimah hurriedly concealed the manuscript beneath her thigh. But as ʿUmar had already heard Khabbāb reciting the scripture, he demanded on entering the house, “What was that gabble I heard?” “Nothing,” said both, “what have you heard?” “Yes, I have heard,” rejoined ʿUmar angrily. “I know that both of you have joined the sect of Muḥammad.” With these words, ʿUmar threw himself upon his brother-in-law. Fāṭimah rushed in to save her husband, but ʿUmar struck her hard and wounded her. All this had come off abruptly, but now both husband and wife boldly asserted: “Yes, we are Muslims. We believe in Allāh and His Apostle. Do whatever you will.”
ʿUmar saw the blood flowing from the wound he had inflicted on his sister. His anger gave place to shame, coupled with admiration for her courage. Cooled down, he asked for the manuscript which he had heard Khabbāb reading. He said, “Show me the manuscript. I want to know what Muḥammad has brought.” ʿUmar knew the art of reading and writing. Fāṭimah, however, replied, “I fear what you might do with it.” ʿUmar promised with solemn assurances not to destroy it. Fāṭimah, too, thought that he might change his views after reading the scripture. She said to him politely but firmly, “My brother, you are unclean because of your polytheism, and only the pure can touch it.” ʿUmar rose and took a bath. His sister then gave him the pages on which Sūrah Ṭāhā was written. He had read only a few lines when he exclaimed in amazement, “How noble and sublime is this speech!”
Thereupon, Khabbāb came out of his concealment and said, “O ʿUmar, by God, I hope that Allāh would bless you with His Apostle’s call; for I heard him but last night imploring God earnestly: ‘O Allāh, strengthen Islam by Abū ’l-Ḥakam [43] or ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb.’ Now, ʿUmar, have some fear of God.”
ʿUmar asked Khabbāb to lead him to the Apostle so that he might accept Islam. Khabbāb told him that the Apostle was in a house at Ṣafā with his Companions, and ʿUmar immediately took his sword and made for the Apostle. When ʿUmar knocked at the door that Khabbāb had indicated to him, one of the Companions got up and looked through a chink in the door to make sure of the newcomer. Finding ʿUmar girt with his sword, he hurried back, frightened to report, “O Apostle of Allāh, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb is here with his sword.” Ḥamzah intervened to say, “Let him in. If he comes with peaceful intent, it is alright; if not, we will kill him with his own sword.” The Apostle gave the word to let ʿUmar in, and the companion opened the door.
As ʿUmar entered the door, the Apostle went forth to meet him in the room. He seized his cloak and, pulling it rather violently, said to ʿUmar, “Why have you come, O son of Khaṭṭāb? By God, I see that some calamity is to befall you before your final summoning.”
But ʿUmar replied submissively, “O Messenger of Allāh, I have come to attest my faith in Allāh and His Apostle and what he has brought from God.”
The Apostle raised the cry of Allāhu Akbar so loudly that all the Companions present in the house knew that ʿUmar had accepted Islam. [44]
ʿUmar’s conversion was a turning point in the fortunes of Islam: it made Muslims feel confident and strengthened. Ḥamzah had already accepted Islam. And now ʿUmar’s conversion, the Muslims knew, was likely to set Quraysh jittering. Indeed, they were particularly embittered about ʿUmar’s conversion. The Muslims were thus not mistaken in their reckoning that nobody’s acceptance of Islam made such a stir nor created such a tense excitement as did that of ʿUmar.
ʿUmar proclaimed his faith publicly. As soon as Quraysh came to know about it, they drew the sword against ʿUmar but found him prepared to take the field. Ultimately, whoever valued their life dared not pick quarrels with ʿUmar, and they decided to keep their hands off him. [45]
BOYCOTT OF BANŪ HĀSHIM
The spread of Islam among the tribes further angered Quraysh. They came together and decided to draw up a decree ostracizing Banū Hāshim and Banū ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. It was decided that nobody should marry the women of these two clans nor give their women to them in marriage; neither should anyone buy from them nor sell to them. Having solemnly agreed to these points, the agreement was put into writing, and the parchment was hung in the Kaʿbah in order to give it a religious sanction, thereby making it mandatory for all.
IN THE SHIʿB ABĪ ṬĀLIB
Banū Hāshim and Banū ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib joined Abū Ṭālib after the boycott was enforced and withdrew to a narrow glen or wādī known as Shiʿb Abī Ṭālib. It was the seventh year of the Prophet's mission. Abū Lahab ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, however, decided to side with Quraysh, leaving his kith and kin who were under the ban. Weeks and months passed, and the people of Hāshim lived in misery and hunger. The ban was so rigorously enforced that the Prophet's clan was reduced to eating acacia leaves, and the cries of hungry children echoed all over the valley.
The caravans passed peacefully through the streets of Makkah, but Quraysh told the merchants not to buy or sell anything to the two forsaken clans, with the result that they pegged the prices so high that it was well nigh impossible for the beleaguered people to purchase even the bare necessities.
The decree of proscription lasted three years. Banū Hāshim and Banū ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib lived in exile and endured the hardships of the blockade. But not all the people of Quraysh were utterly depraved. Those among them who were well-natured and kind-hearted occasionally supplied food to the exiles secretly. However, the Apostle never ceased preaching the message he had brought to his own people, and even to others, whenever he found the opportunity. Banū Hāshim on their part endured every trouble with exemplary patience and fortitude.
ANNULMENT OF THE DECREE
The pitiable condition of the exiles gave rise to a feeling of indignation against the ban among the gracious and genial sons of the desert. Hishām ibn ʿAmr ibn Rabīʿah took the initiative to end the boycott. He was amiable and kind-hearted as well as highly esteemed by Quraysh. He contacted some other considerate and well-disposed persons and put them to shame for allowing the tyranny to linger on. At last, Hishām, supported by four other persons, agreed to stand together till the decree of the boycott was canceled. On the morrow, when the Quraysh had assembled in the sanctuary, Zuhayr, whose mother ʿĀtikah was the daughter of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, cried out to the people, "O you people of Makkah, shall we eat and drink while Banū Hāshim die of hunger, unable even to buy or sell? By God, I will not take rest until this cruel and unjust decree is torn to pieces."
Abū Jahl tried to intervene but found everybody against him. Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī then went up to tear the document to pieces, but he found that with the exception of the words "In Thy name, O Allah," the rest of the document had already been eaten up by white ants. (The Apostle had already told his uncle, Abū Ṭālib, that God had given white ants power over the document.)
The blighted document was, however, taken out and thrown away, and thus ended the boycott and what was written on it. [46]
DEATH OF ABŪ ṬĀLIB AND KHADĪJAH
Soon after the end of the boycott, in the tenth year of his mission, the Prophet lost Abū Ṭālib, his uncle, and his loving wife, Khadījah. Both were his protectors—tried and true helpers devotedly attached to him. Their deaths meant a great misfortune to the Apostle, who was to face many a trouble in succession soon thereafter.
SPARKLING SYMPHONY OF THE QUR’ĀN
Aṭ-Ṭufayl ibn ʿAmr ad-Dawsī was a prominent poet honored by the Arabs. When he came to Makkah, some of Quraysh warned him against meeting the Apostle. They told him, as usual, that Muḥammad had created dissensions among the Quraysh and so he had to be careful lest he should also fall under the Prophet’s spell. Aṭ-Ṭufayl relates: “By God, they were so insistent that I decided not to listen or speak to him. I went so far as to stuff cotton in my ears before going to the holy mosque. Suddenly, my eyes met the Apostle who was offering a prayer near me. I stood by his side, and thus God caused me to hear something of his speech. It was beautiful and noble. I thought, my mother curse me, I am a poet and a connoisseur; no good or evil in a speech can elude me. Why should anything prevent me from listening to this speech? If it is good, I shall accept it; if bad, I shall reject it.”
He met the Apostle at his house, where he invited him to accept Islam and recited the Qur’ān to him. Aṭ-Ṭufayl accepted Islam and went back to his tribe, determined to preach the faith of God. He refused to do anything with his household members until they had also acknowledged God and His Apostle. All of them became Muslims, and Islam spread thereafter in the tribe of Daws. [47]
Abū Bakr used to pray within his house. Not being satisfied with it, he selected a place in the courtyard of his house where he started offering prayers and reciting the Qur’ān. Abū Bakr was tender-hearted, and when he recited the Qur’ān, shedding tears all the while, youths, slaves, and women used to gather round him listening to his recitation. Now, the chiefs of Quraysh took alarm at Abū Bakr’s recitation of the Qur’ān and sent for Ibn ad-Dughunnah, who had pledged protection to Abū Bakr.
When Ibn ad-Dughunnah came, they said to him, “We accepted your pledge of protection to Abū Bakr on the condition that he prays inside his house, but he has started praying and reciting in the open. We fear he might seduce our women and
children. Now, if he agrees to offer his prayers secretly within his house, it is well and good; otherwise, he should renounce your protection. We neither want to make you break your word nor can we allow him to do it openly.” Ibn ad-Dughunnah informed Abū Bakr of what Quraysh had told him, but he replied, “I renounce your guarantee; I prefer the protection and guarantee of my Lord.” [48]
JOURNEY TO ṬĀ’IF
The death of Abū Ṭālib signaled the beginning of a difficult time for the Apostle. None of the Quraysh dared touch the Apostle during the lifetime of Abū Ṭālib, but now that restraint was gone. Once, dust was thrown on his head. Quraysh insulted and mocked the Apostle and made caustic remarks about Islam. When the pagans persisted with their scoffs and scorn and contumacious behavior, the Apostle thought of going to Ṭā’if to seek the help of Thaqīf. The Prophet intended to invite them to Islam, for he hoped that they would receive his message with sympathy. This was a reasonable expectation as he had spent his childhood with Banū Saʿd, [49] who were settled near Ṭā’if.
Ṭā’if was a beautiful city, second only to Makkah in its population and prosperity, and held an important position in the Peninsula as alluded to in this verse of the Qur’ān.
And they say: If only this Qur’ān had been revealed to some great man of the two towns (Makkah and Ṭā’if). [50]
Ṭā’if is located seventy-five kilometers South-East of Makkah,[51] on the foothills of Mount of Ghazwān, which stands at six hundred feet. The city derives its name from the walls that once surrounded it; its ancient name was Wajj. Ṭā’if was also a religious center; the temple of al-Lāt in that city was visited by pilgrims from every part of the country, and thus it vied with Makkah, which housed Hubal, the chief deity of Arabia. Ṭā’if was, as it still is, the summer resort of the Makkan aristocracy. An Umayyad poet, ʿUmar ibn Rabīʿah, said about his beloved:
Winter in Makkah, living in clover,
In Ṭā’if, she spends the summer.
The inhabitants of Ṭā’if were endowed with large cultivations and vineyards, and were wealthy and prosperous. They had become conceited and boastful, answering to the following description of the Qur’ānic verses:
And We sent not unto any township a warner, but its pampered ones declared: Lo! we are disbelievers in that which ye bring unto us.
And they say: We are more (than you) in wealth and children. We are not the punished! [52]
In Ṭā’if, the Apostle (accompanied by his freed slave, Zayd ibn Ḥārithah) first met the chiefs and leaders of Thaqīf, whom he invited to accept Islam. They were, however, rude and discourteous in their behavior toward the Apostle. Not content with their insolent replies, they stirred up some rabble of the town to harass the Apostle. These riff-raff followed the Prophet, abusing and shouting and pelting him with stones until he was compelled to take refuge in an orchard. The Apostle had thus to endure even more troubles in Ṭā’if than he had faced in Makkah. These louts standing on either side of the path hurled stones at him until his feet were injured and smeared with blood. Their oppression weighed so heavily upon the Apostle that in a state of constriction, a prayer came to his lips, complaining of his helplessness and pitiable condition and seeking the succor of God.
“O Allah”, said the Prophet, “to You I complain of my weakness, my lack of resources, and humiliation before the people. You art the Most Merciful, the Lord of the weak and my Master. To whom will You confide me? To one estranged, bearing ill will, or an enemy given power over me? If You art not worth with me, I care not, for Thy favor is abundant for me. I seek refuge in the light of Thy countenance by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Thy anger should descend upon me or Thy displeasure light upon me. I need only Thy pleasure and satisfaction, for only You enabled me to do good and evade evil. There is no power and no might save in You.”
The Lord then sent the angel of the mountains who sought the Prophet’s permission to join together the two hills between which Ṭā’if was located but the Messenger of God replied, “No, I hope God will bring forth from their loins people who will worship God alone, associating nothing with Him.” [53]
Moved to compassion by the distress of the Apostle, ‘Utbah ibn Rabīʿah and Shaybah ibn Rabīʿah sent for Addās, one of their young Christian slaves, and told him to take a bunch of grapes on a platter to the Apostle. Addās took the platter to the Apostle. He observed the kind demeanor of the Apostle and talked to him, and instantly gave witness to his faith in Allāh and His Apostle. [54]
The Apostle thus returned to Makkah, where the Quraysh were as bitterly opposed to him as ever, deriding and annoying and assailing him day after day.
THE ASCENSION
It was during this period that the Prophet found himself transported at night to the Kaʿbah and from there to the place of the Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, where Masjid al-Aqṣā now stands; and was then borne to the celestial regions where he witnessed the seven heavens, met the prophets of yore and beheld the remarkable sign of divine majesty [55] about which the Qur’ān says:
The eye turned not aside nor yet was overbold; verily, he saw one of the greater revelations of his Lord. [56]
The occurrence of the event at that time was meant to confer dignity upon the Apostle. It signified a noble hospitality from God in order to console and alleviate the feelings of distress that the persecution of the pagans at Ṭā’if had caused him. On the day after the Ascension, the Apostle told the people about his nocturnal journey, but the Quraysh mocked and shook their heads, saying that it was inconceivable and beyond the bounds of reason. When Abū Bakr saw Quraysh accusing the Apostle of falsehood, he said, “What makes you wonder about it? If he has said this, it must be true. By God, he tells me that revelation descends on him from Heaven in a trice during the day or night, and I avouch him. This is even more unimaginable and difficult than what seems to astound you.” [57]
THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ASCENSION
The ascension did not break through the mundane only to reveal the hidden phenomena of the kingdom of God in the Heavens and the earth to the Prophet of Islam; rather, this prophetic journey was of tremendous importance and alluded to a number of other significant and profound realities of far-reaching concern to humanity. The two Sūrahs of Isrāʾ and An-Najm revealed in connection with this heavenly journey indicate that Prophet Muḥammad was charged with the office of prophethood for both the Houses of God, those in Jerusalem and Makkah, and was sent as the leader of the east and the west or the entire human race to the end of time. As the inheritor of all the prophets of old, he represented the fulfilment and consummation of mankind’s religious development. His nightly journey from Makkah to Jerusalem expresses, in a figurative way, that his personality unified Bayt al-Ḥarām[58] and Masjid al-Aqṣā.[59] That all the prophets arranged themselves behind him in the Masjid al-Aqṣā shows that the octrine of Islam, preached by him, was final, universal and all-comprehensive—meant for every class and section of human society throughout the ages.
The event is, at the same time, indicative of the comprehensiveness of the Holy Prophet’s apostleship, the place accorded to his followers in the great task of humanity’s guidance and the distinctive character of his message.
Truly speaking, the ascension of the Apostle represents a line of demarcation between the regional, limited and variable rules of divine guidance entrusted to the prophets of old and the global, comprehensive and abiding principles of faith vouchsafed to the universal leader of human race. Had the Apostle been a sectional or regional guide, a national leader, the saviour of any particular race or the restorer of glory to a particular people, there would have been no need to honour him with ascension to the heavens nor would he have been required to perceive the hidden phenomena of the Heavens and the earth. Neither would it have been necessary to create the new link between the celestial and the earthly planes of the Divine Kingdom; in that case the confines of his own land, his surroundings, environs and the times would have been sufficient; and there would have then been no need for him to divert his attention to any other land or country. Neither his ascension to the most sublime regions of the Heaven and to the “Lote Tree of the Farthest Limit”[60] nor the nocturnal Journey to far away Jerusalem then in the grip of the powerful Christian Empire of Byzantium would have been necessary at all.
The ascension of the Apostle was a divine proclamation that he transcended the category of national or political leaders whose endeavours are limited to their own country and nation. For they serve the nations and races to which they belong and are a product of their time, they serve the need of a particular juncture. The Apostle of Islam on the contrary, belonged to the luminous line of the messengers of God who communicate the inspired message of Heaven to the earth. They are the links between God and His creatures. Their messages transcend the limitations of time and space, race and colour and country and nation, for they are meant for the exaltation of man regardless of his colour, race or country.
OBLIGATORY PRAYERS
On this occasion, God made fifty prayers a day obligatory upon the Apostle and his followers. The Apostle constantly implored God to alleviate the burden of prayers until the Lord limited these to only five daily prayers. The Lord was pleased to decree that whoever properly performs these five prayers every day would be recompensed as if he had performed all the fifty daily prayers enjoined initially.[61]
TRIBES INVITED TO ISLAM
Thereafter the Apostle started contacting the members of different tribes who came to Makkah for pilgrimage. He would explain to them the doctrines of Islam and ask them to support him in his mission. He often told the tribesmen, “O ye people, I have been sent to you as the messenger of God to call you to worship Him, to call on you to associate nothing with Him and to renounce everything you have elevated as His equal. Believe in God and His Apostle and protect me until I have made clear that which God has sent to me.”
Whenever the Apostle contacted any tribe and finished his invitation to them, Abū Lahab usually stood up to say, “O ye people, the fellow wants you to cast off your obedience to al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā and your allies, the jinn, and to exchange your gods for the wickedness and innovation he has brought. Don’t take orders from him nor pay him any heed.”[62]
THE RISKY PATH TO ISLAM
The way leading to Allāh and Islam was fraught with grave danger and anyone who wanted to walk the path had to be prepared for hardship. Makkah had become so unsafe and unprotected for the Muslims that acceptance of Islam meant taking one’s life in one’s hand.
The story of Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī’s conversion to Islam, recorded in the words of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās, indicates how perilous it had become even to call upon the Apostle in those days.
When Abū Dharr heard of the advent of the Prophet, he said unto his brother: ‘Proceed to that valley and enlighten me about the man who claims to be a prophet and to receive communications from Heaven. Listen to some of his sayings and then return unto me.’—So the brother went forth, reached the Prophet and heard some of his sayings. Thereafter he returned to Abū Dharr and said unto him: ‘I found that he enjoins the highest principles of morality, and that his speech is not poetry.’ But [Abū Dharr] said: You have not been able to satisfy me.
Thereupon he took some provision, together with an old waterskin full of water, and proceeded to Makkah. He went to the mosque (Kaʿbah) and began to look for the Prophet for he knew him not, and was loath to ask about him; and thus he spent part of the night. Thereupon ʿAlī saw him and knew him to be a stranger; and when [Abū Dharr] met ʿAlī, he went with him [to his house]. And until daybreak neither of the two asked any questions of the other. Then [Abū Dharr] betook himself with his waterskin and his provisions to the mosque and passed that day until evening without finding the Prophet, although he saw him in the mosque. Then he returned to his resting place. And ʿAlī passed him and said: ‘Is it not time that a man should know his abode?’ And he made him rise and took him to his house, neither of the two asking any questions of the other. And on the third day ʿAlī did likewise, and [Abū Dharr] stayed with him. Thereafter [ʿAlī] said: ‘Will you not tell me what has brought you here?’ [Abū Dharr] answered: ‘I will do so if you promise me that you will guide me aright’ And [ʿAlī] agreed to this. Thereupon [Abū Dharr] told him [all]. [ʿAlī] said: ‘Behold, it is true, and he is [indeed] an Apostle of God! Tomorrow morning, then, follow me. If I see any danger for you, I shall stop as if to pass water; but if I go on, then follow me and enter the place which I enter.’ [Abū Dharr] did so, and followed the other until he entered the Prophet’s house; and [Abū Dharr] went in with him. Then he listened to some of the Prophet’s sayings and embraced Islam on the spot. Thereupon the Prophet said unto him: ‘Return unto your people and inform them [about me] and await my bidding.’ [Abū Dharr] said: ‘By Him in Whose hand is my soul, indeed, I shall loudly proclaim this [truth] among them!’”
“Then he left and went to the mosque and called out at the top of his voice: ‘I bear witness that there is no deity but God, and that Muḥammad is the Apostle of God.’ Thereupon the people [of Makkah] fell upon him and beat him and threw him to the ground. And there came ‘Abbās, who knelt down to see to him and said to the people: ‘Woe unto you! Know you not that he belongs to [the tribe of] Ghifār, and that your merchants’ road to Syria [passes] through their country?’ And so he rescued him from them. On the morrow [Abū Dharī] did the same again, and they fell upon him and beat him, and [again] ‘Abbās rescued him.”[63]
THE BEGINNING OF ISLĀM AMONG THE ANṢĀR
The Apostle met some of the Anṣār belonging to Khazraj at ‘Aqabah,[64] when he went to preach Islam to the tribes during the time of pilgrimage. He told them about Islam and called on them to serve God alone, and then recited some of the Qur’ān to them. These people lived in Yathrib side by side with the Jews who often told them that an Apostle of God was soon to come, and so they said to one another: “By God, this is the same Prophet of whom the Jews informed us! Lo! Let no one proceed you in accepting his message.” Thereupon they accepted his teachings and embraced Islam. They also said to the Apostle, “When we left our people discord and conflict and enmity divided them more than any other. Perhaps God will unite them through you. We shall inform them to accept this religion of yours which we have accepted, and if God unites them through you, then no man shall be more honoured than you.”[65]
These men returned to their homes after accepting Islam, where they told others about the Apostle and invited them to accept the new faith. Islam quickly spread in Madinah until there was no home of the Anṣār wherein the Apostle was not mentioned.[66]
FIRST PLEDGE OF ‘AQABAH
During the pilgrimage, the following year twelve men belonging to the Anṣār met the Apostle at ‘Aqabah. They pledged themselves to the Apostle undertaking neither to commit theft nor fornication, nor to kill their children, to obey him in what was right, and to associate nothing with God. When these people left for Madinah, the Apostle sent Muṣ’ab ibn ‘Umayr with them to teach the Qur’ān to the people there as well as to expound Islam and instruct them about religion; wherefore ‘Umayr came to be called “The Reader” in Madinah. He lodged with As’ad ibn Zurārah and also led the prayers.[67]
THE REASON FOR ANSĀR’S ACCEPTANCE OF ISLAM
It was a critical juncture when God afforded the opportunity of helping and defending Islam to Aws and Khazraj,[68] the two influential tribes of Yathrib. For there was nothing more precious at the moment than to own and accept Islam, they were really fortunate in getting the most well-timed chance to take precedence of all other tribes of Hijāz in welcoming and defending the religion of God. They overshadowed their compatriots, since all the tribes of Arabia, in general, and Quraysh, in particular, had proved themselves ungrateful as well as incompetent to take advantage of the greatest favour bestowed on them. “Allāh guides who He wills unto a right path.”[69]
Diverse causes and circumstances, proceeding from the Will of Almighty God, had opened the door for the Aws and the Khazraj to accept Islam. These tribes were not like the Makkan Quraysh: the Aws and the Khazraj were kind-hearted and sweet tempered, immune from the traits of intemperance, obstinacy and vanity of Quraysh, and hence they were responsive, and open to reason. These were the characteristics inherited from their progenitors, the Yemenites, about whom the Apostle had remarked after meeting one of their deputations: “The people of Yemen have come to you. They have the most tender manners and gentlest hearts.” Both these tribes of Yathrib were originally Yemenites, for their forefathers had come from there. Commending the merits of these people God has said in the Qur’ān:
Those who entered the city and the faith before them love those who flee unto them for refuge, and find in their breasts no need for that which has been given them, but prefer [the fugitives] above themselves though poverty become their lot.[70]
Another reason was that continuous internecine warfare had already exhausted both the tribes. Wearied and distracted by the famous battle of Bu’āth,[71] fought a short time before, both tribes were desirous of peace and harmony and wanted to avoid a renewal of warfare. Such was their anxiety for peace that the first Muslims of Madinah had said to the Prophet, “When we left our people, discord and conflict and enmity divided them more than any other. Perhaps God will unite them through you . . . and if God unites them behind you, then no man will be more honoured than you.” ‘Ā’ishah once said that the battle of Bu’āth was really a divine ministration in disguise which served as a prelude to the Apostle’s migration to Madinah.
Yet another reason was that Quraysh, like the rest of the Arab tribes, had long ago lost touch with prophethood and the prophets and had hardly any recollection of their teachings. Plunged deep in ignorance and idolatry and being complete strangers to the art of reading and writing, they had become over-realous heathens; actually, they had but little contact even with the Jews and Christians, the followers of the prophets and their scriptures (although these had since been distorted). This was a plain, fact to which the Qur’ān makes a reference in these words:
That you may warn a people whose fathers were not warned, so they are heedless.[72]
But the Aws and the Khazraj were neighbours of the Jews of Yathrib whom they heard talking about the prophets and reciting their scriptures. The Jews often warned them that a prophet was to come in the later times with whom they would ally themselves and kill the heathens just as the people of ‘Ād and Irām were massacred.[73]
And when there comes to them a Scripture from Allāh, confirming that in their possession—though before that they were asking for signal triumph over those who disbelieved—and when there comes to them that which they know (to be the Truth) they disbelieve therein. The curse of Allāh is on disbelievers.[74]
The Aws and the Khazraj as well as other Arab tribes settled in Madinah were heathens like the idolatrous Quraysh and the rest of the Arabs but unlike them they had become accustomed to the idea of revelation in the form of a scripture of supernatural origin, prophecy, apostleship, inspiration, requital and the hereafter through their uninterrupted contact with the Jews of the city with whom they had business transactions, made war and peace and lived side by side. They had, thus, become familiar with the teachings of the prophets of old and the purpose for which God sends them from time to time. This was of great advantage to them, for when they learnt about the Apostle on the occasion of Hajj at Makkah, they seized the opportunity immediately as if they were already prepared for it.
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF MADĪNAH
Apart from the great honour to be bestowed on the people of Madīnah and such other reasons as might be known to the All-Knowing Lord, one of the considerations in the selection of the town as the future centre of Islam was that it was, from a geographical and defensive point of view, impregnable like a fortified city. No other town of the Peninsula enjoyed the same advantage. Lying on a lava plain, surrounded on all sides by chains of high mountains, the Western side of the city was protected by the lava and extremely uneven hilly terrain known as Harrat al-Wabrah[75] while Harrah Wāqim surrounds it on the eastern side. Madīnah lies unprotected and vulnerable to military advances only in the north (where, in 5 AH, the Apostle ordered to dig trenches on the occasion of the battle of clans). Thickly clustered plantations of date-palm groves encompassed the town on the remaining sides. An army taking this route would have had to maintain communication through deep valleys and gorges. It would have thus been difficult to attack Madīnah in full force from these sides, while the defender could have easily beaten off the invaders using small outlying pickets.
Ibn Ishāq writes: “Only one side of Madīnah was exposed, and the rest of the sides were strongly protected by buildings and date-palm groves through which an enemy could not get access.”
The Apostle had perhaps covertly referred to this very aspect of Madīnah when he said before his emigration: “I have been shown the goal of your migration—a land of palm-trees lying between two tracts strewn with black, rugged stones.” All those who resolved upon emigration emigrated thereupon to Madīnah.[76]
The two Arab tribes of Madīnah, Aws and Khazraj, were well known for their passionate, chauvinistic spirit of the clan, self-respect, boldness and valour while riding was one of the manly skills in which they excelled. Freedom of the desert was in their blood: neither had they ever submitted to any authority nor paid tax to a sovereign. The heroic character of these tribes was plainly set forth when the Chief of Aws, Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ādh said to the Apostle during the battle of Trenches: “When we and these people were polytheists and idolaters, not serving God nor knowing Him, they never hoped to eat a single date except as guests or by purchase.”[77]
“The two clans of Yathrib,” writes Ibn Khaldūn, “dominated the Jews and were distinguished because of their prestige and eminence. The tribe of Mudar living near them was related to them.”[78] Ibn ‘Abd Rabbihi, another Arab historian, writes in the Al-‘Iqd al-Farīd: “The Anṣār descended from the tribe of Azd. Known as the Aws and the Khazraj, they were lineal descendants of the two sons of Hārithah ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Amīr. Being more proud and dignified than others, they had never paid tribute to any regime or suzerain.”[79]
They were related, on the maternal side, to the Banū ‘Adi ibn an-Najjār who had given one of their daughters, Salmā bint ‘Amr, to Hāshim in marriage. To Hāshim she bore ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib. Hāshim, however, left the boy with his mother in Yathrib where he was brought up and was taken to Makkah by his uncle after he had grown up into a youth. These blood relationships, which were the adhesive elements in tribal organisation, cannot be ignored since kinship played an important role in the social life of the Arabs. On reaching Madīnah the Apostle stayed with Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī who belonged to Banū ‘Adi ibn an-Najjār.
The Aws and the Khazraj traced back their derivation from Qaḥṭān while the emigrants (Muhājirīn) and other Muslims hailing from Makkah or other places near it claimed their descent from ‘Adnān. Thus, after the Apostle migrated to Madīnah and the Anṣār pledged their support to him, both the ‘Adnān and Qaḥṭān rallied round the flag of Islam as one man. The ‘Adnān and Qaḥṭān had been at odds with one another during the pre-Islamic times but they were banded together in Madīnah and thus the pagan passions of blood and clan, of vanity and pride and of vainglorious self-conceit were stamped out by the wholesome influence of Islam.
For all these causes and considerations as well as its strategic location, Madīnah was the fittest place for the emigration of the Apostle and his Companions; it was eminently suited to be made the radiating centre of Islam until it gained enough strength to prevail over the Peninsula and charge the whole country with a new spirit of virtue and godliness.
EXPANSION OF ISLAM IN MADĪNAH
The teachings of Islam were so dazzling that the people of Aws and Khazraj, awakened to interest, quickly attested their faith in Islam. Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ādh was first to embrace Islam, then Usayd ibn Ḥuḍayr, the leader of Banī ‘Abd al-Ashhal, a clan of Aws, recognised the truth of the Apostle’s faith. The wise and courteous bearing of Muṣ‘ab ibn ‘Umayr, and the way he presented Islam to them convinced them of the truth of Islam. Then the remaining clansmen of Banī ‘Abd al-Ashhal were led to accept the faith and, shortly afterwards there was not a house of the Anṣār in which some of the men and women had not given their faith to Islam.’[80]
SECOND PLEDGE OF ‘AQABAH
In the following year, at the time of Hajj, Muṣ‘ab ibn ‘Umayr went back to Makkah with a number of people from Madīnah, both Anṣār Muslims and polytheists. After the Anṣār had performed that pilgrimage, the Apostle met them at the previous year’s meeting place late in the night. This time their number was seventy-three, including two women. The Apostle of God came accompanied by his uncle, al-‘Abbās ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib, who had still not embraced Islam.
The Apostle talked to them, read some of the Qur’ān and invited them to accept Islam. Then he said, “I invite your allegiance on this condition that you would protect me in the same way as you would your women and children.” They gave allegiance to the Apostle but demanded that he would not leave them nor return to his own people. The Prophet then said in reply, “I am of you and you are of me. I will war against them that make war upon you and have peace with those that keep peace with you”.
Thereafter the Apostle selected twelve of them, nine from Khazraj and three from Aws, as their leaders.[81]
PERMISSION TO MIGRATE TO MADĪNAH
Thanks to the allegiance and support offered by the Anṣār, the Muslims found a new rock of refuge. The Apostle commanded the Muslims in Makkah to migrate and join their brothers in faith, the Anṣār, in Madīnah. He told his Companions, “God has provided to you some brethren and homes where you will live in safety.” So the Muslims betook themselves in groups from Makkah to Yathrib, but the Apostle himself remained in Makkah awaiting the command of God to leave the city.
It was not an easy emigration. The Quraysh at once decided to take stringent measures against the emigrants. The pagan Quraysh did everything they could to stop the emigration. They created obstacles in the way of emigrants to prevent their departure, but the Muslims were equally determined not to retrace their steps. Bent on leaving Makkah at all costs, some like Abū Salamah had to depart alone leaving their wives and children while others like Ṣuhayb had to give up their lifelong earnings before leaving Makkah. Umm Salamah relates:
When Abū Salamah had made up his mind to set out for Madinah he saddled his camel and mounted me on it with my son Salamah. Then taking hold of the camel’s halter he went ahead. When some of the men belonging to Banū al-Mughīrah saw him, they came near us saying, ‘It is alright so far as you are concerned, but how can we allow your wife to go with you.’ They snatched the camel’s halter from his hand and took me with them. At this Banū ‘Abd al-Asad, the clansmen of Abū Salamah, got angry. They said: ‘By God, you have torn her from our brother, but we will not let our son go with her.’ A scuffle started between them for the child, Salamah until his arm was dislocated, and Banū ‘Abd al-Asad took him away leaving me with Banū ’l-Mughīrah while my husband went away to Madinah. Thus, all the three of us, myself, my husband and my son were separated. I would go out every morning to Abṭaḥ weeping till nightfall. A whole year passed in this manner when one of my cousins of al-Mughīrah had pity on me and said to Banū ’l-Mughīrah: ‘Why don’t you let this poor woman go? You have separated her from her husband and son.’ So they said to me: ‘You can go to your husband if you like.’ Then Banū ‘Abd al-Asad restored my son to me. I saddled my camel and taking my son with me, set out for Madinah in search of my husband accompanied by not a blessed soul. When I arrived at Tan‘īm I happened to meet ‘Uthmān ibn Ṭalḥah[82] of Banū ‘Abd ad-Dār who asked me where I intended to go. I replied that I was going to my husband in Madinah. He asked if I had anybody with me to which I said in reply, ‘None save this child and God.’ He said, ‘By God, it will not be easy for you to reach your destination.’ He took hold of the camel’s rope and went ahead leading it. By God, I have never met a man more noble than he. Whenever we had to make a halt, he would kneel the camel and withdraw. After I had got down, he would unload the camel, tie it to a tree and go away to take rest under a tree. In the evening he would saddle the camel and load it, and then withdrew asking me to ride.
He came back after I had mounted and taking the halter in his hand, he went ahead to the next destination. Thus he escorted me until I reached Madinah. When he saw Qubā, the habitation of Banū ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf, he said, ‘Your husband is in this village. Now go to him with the blessing of God.’ Thus he bade me farewell and went off on his way back to Makkah.
She also used to say that no family in Islam suffered the troubles that the family of Abū Salamah underwent.[83]
When Ṣuhayb tried to leave for Madinah the disbelieving Quraysh said to him “You came to us as a destitute beggar and have grown rich among us, and now you want to go away safely with your life and wealth. By God, It shall never be so!” Ṣuhayb asked, “Would you allow me to go if I give my property to you?” When they replied in the affirmative, Ṣuhayb said, “I give you the whole of it.”
When the Apostle was told of it, he exclaimed, “Ṣuhayb has made a profit! Ṣuhayb has made a profit!”[84]
The emigrants to Madinah during this period were: ‘Umar, Ṭalḥah, Ḥamzah, Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān ibn ‘Awf, az-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwām, Abū Hudhayfah, ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān and several other Companions of the Prophet. Thereafter the emigrants trickled away one by one. Only those were left in Makkah—besides the Apostle, Abū Bakr and ‘Alī—who were detained because of some restraint or those who had fallen victim to trials of the Quraysh.[85]
UNSUCCESSFUL CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE APOSTLE
The emigration of the Muslims to Madinah gravely frightened the Makkans. They soon realised that the Apostle had already established a base with a large number of adherents in a foreign territory beyond their reach and if he were also to join them there, they would be rendered helpless, deprived of all authority over him. They held a council in Dār an-Nadwah[86] where all the chiefs of Quraysh assembled to deliberate how to solve the problem.
They debated the various suggestions and ultimately decided unanimously that each clan should volunteer a young, courageous and blue-blooded warrior so that all of them fall upon Muhammad (peace be upon him) jointly to kill him. Thus, the responsibility of shedding his blood would lie equally on all the clans, without a single clan bearing the responsibility for it; and ‘Abd Manāf would dare not take up a hatchet against all the people. Determined to slay the Apostle, the pagans dispersed to execute their plot.
But the Apostle was warned of their conspiracy by the All-Knowing God. He asked ‘Alī to lie on his bed and to wrap himself in his mantle. He also told ‘Alī that no harm would come to him.
The murderous band stood outside the Apostle’s house with drawn scimitars in their hands, in readiness to attack the Prophet. The Apostle of God came out and took a handful of dust. God instantly took away their sight and the Apostle went through their ranks, sprinkling the dust over their heads and reciting Sūrah Yā Sīn—"And We have set a bar before them and a bar behind them, and (thus) have covered them so that they see not."[87] He went through them but nobody was able to see him.
Then, there came a man who asked them, "What are you waiting for here?" When they replied that they were waiting for Muhammad (peace be upon him), he said, "May God confound you! He has gone away." They peeped through the chink of the door and saw ‘Alī sleeping on the bed wrapped in the Apostle’s mantle. They had taken him for the Prophet and so had waited till morning when ‘Alī got up from the bed. All of them were now brought to shame.[88]
PROPHET’S MIGRATION TO MADĪNAH
The Apostle came to Abū Bakr and told him that God had given him permission to emigrate from Makkah. Abū Bakr exclaimed, "Together, O Apostle of God?" for he was anxious to keep company with him. The Apostle answered: "Yes, you will accompany me." Then Abū Bakr presented two dromedaries he had been keeping in readiness for the purpose. Abū Bakr then hired ‘Abdullāh ibn Urayqiṭ to act as a guide.
THE STRANGE INCONSISTENCY
The unbelieving Quraysh of Makkah were bitterly set against the Apostle. Yet they were absolutely convinced of his truthfulness and trustworthiness, nobility and magnanimity. If anybody in Makkah feared the loss or misappropriation of his property, he would usually deposit it with the Apostle. The Apostle had thus a number of things committed to his care. He therefore charged ‘Alī to return these to their owners before leaving Makkah. In fact, such square dealing at this critical moment is a remarkable commentary on the nobility of the Prophet as well as the callousness of his persecutors thus clarified by God.
We know well how their talk grieves you. Though in truth they deny not you [Muhammad] but evil-doers flout the revelations of Allah.”[89]
THE MORAL OF THE EMIGRATION
The emigration of the Prophet exemplifies the principle of sacrifice, in that everything, however much one may covet it, ought to be sacrificed for the sake of one’s faith or ideal. Worldly estate and effects or any other thing that a man is disposed to value can never take the place of his faith nor can the faith be bartered away for all the world.
Makkah was the birthplace of the Apostle. As the homeland of the Apostle of God and his Companions, they would have had a particular love for it. Then, it had also the House of God, that they loved and adored like the light of one’s eye, yet none of this stood in the way of bidding farewell to their hearths and homes, families and kin for the simple fact that the pagans of Makkah would not allow them the freedom of conscience and liberty to practise their faith.
The Prophet loved Makkah but he also loved his faith: one was a natural affection and the other an insatiate thirst of soul. We find the two most tender feelings of human nature articulately expressed by the Apostle while leaving Makkah.
What a fine city you are and how ardently I love you. Had my people not exiled me, I would have never settled anywhere save in your city.[90]
In truth and reality, the Apostle had to leave his homeland in pursuance of the divine command.
O my bondmen who believe! Lo! My earth is spacious. Therefore serve Me alone.[91]
TOWARDS THE CAVE ON MOUNT THAWR
The Apostle and Abū Bakr secretly made for the cave on Mount Thawr. Abū Bakr instructed his son Abdullah to find out what the Makkans were saying concerning them and then relay them to him. And he asked ‘Āmir ibn Fuhayrah, his slave, to feed his flock by the day and bring their milk to them in the evening. Asmā’, his daughter, would bring food for them at night.
THE MIRACLE OF LOVE
The flame of love is the light of Heaven that illuminates the soul. It has been, ever since the creation of this world, the most ardent passion of the human heart, advising, directing and guiding man along the right path in moments of danger. It is like the worried expression of one mad about something, for the innermost instinct of such a man is never remiss and is able to perceive even the slightest danger to his avidly desired object. Such were the feelings of Abū Bakr about the Apostle of God during this journey. It is related that when the Apostle set out for the cave on Mount Thawr, Abū Bakr sometimes went ahead of the Apostle and then behind him, until the Apostle marked his uneasiness and asked, “Abū Bakr, what’s the matter? Often you go behind me and sometimes you go ahead!” Abū Bakr replied, “O Apostle of God, when I think of those in pursuit I go behind you but then I apprehend an ambush and I go on before you.”[92]
When the two arrived at the cave on Mount Thawr, Abū Bakr asked the Apostle to wait until he had searched and cleaned up the cave. So, he went in and searched it and came out after cleaning it up. Then he remembered that he had not properly searched one crevice. He again asked the Apostle to wait a while and went in to see it for the second time. He let the Apostle go into the cave only after he had fully satisfied himself that it did not harbour wild beasts or reptiles.
THE CELESTIAL ASSISTANT
After the two companions had entered the cave, a spider spun its web across the mouth of the cave on a bush at the entrance, concealing the Apostle from those who might look into it. Then came two doves, who fluttered over the cave for some time, and then sat down to lay eggs there.[93] Allāh's are the hosts of the heavens and the earth.[94]
THE MOST CRITICAL MOMENT OF HUMAN HISTORY
The most critical moment of the world’s history, when the fate of mankind hung by a thread, drew near as Quraysh horsemen on the look-out for the two fugitives galloping over the desert came to the cave where the two hunkered down. The world held its breath in suspense: did a dark and disastrous future lie ahead of humanity or was it to take the most favourable turn? The pursuers who stood debating among themselves on the mouth of the cave had only to look down in the cave, but the web on the mouth of the cave convinced them that nobody could possibly be inside it.[95]
One may think it fantastic or miraculous but it was how God helped His Apostle.
Then Allah caused the peace of His reassurance to descend upon him and supported him with hosts you cannot see.[96]
LO! ALLAH IS WITH US
Peering, Abū Bakr looked over his head. He saw the blood-thirsty warriors of Quraysh standing at the mouth of the cave. He said to his companion with a trembling heart, “O Apostle of God, if any one of them steps forward they will see us.” “What misgivings have you,” replied the Apostle, “about the two with whom the third is Allah?”[97] It was as a reminder of this event that the revelation came down from God:
When they two were in the cave, when he said unto his comrade: Grieve not, Lo! Allah is with us.[98]
SURĀQAH FOLLOWS UP THE APOSTLE
The Quraysh offered a reward of one hundred camels to anyone who brought back the Apostle. The Prophet and Abū Bakr spent three nights in the cave and then guided by ‘Āmir ibn Fuhayrah went along the road by the seacoast. Surāqah ibn Mālik ibn Ju‘shum heard of the price that the Quraysh had set on the head of the Apostle and hurried after him. The reward of a hundred camels spurred him on and he tracked their footsteps along the shore. He set his mare go in a canter until the fugitives were within sight. But, lo, his mare stumbled abruptly, and he was thrown off. He resumed the chase until he could see three men up ahead. Suddenly, his mare stumbled for the third time, its forelegs sinking up to the knees in the ground, throwing him off again. He also saw dust rising from the ground like a sandstorm.
Surāqah was now convinced that the Apostle was protected against him and he would not in any case triumph over him. He called out saying that he was Surāqah ibn Jū'shum and that no harm would come to them from him. The Apostle asked Abū Bakr, "Ask him what he wants from us." Surāqah answered, “Write for me a warrant of security.” Thereupon the Apostle ordered ‘Āmir ibn Fuhayrah to write the warrant which he wrote on a piece of tanned leather or bone. Surāqah preserved the writing for long as a keepsake.[99]
A PREDICTION
The Apostle of God had been driven out of his homeland, the enemy on the look-out for him was after his blood, but his mind’s eye was calling up the day when his followers would be trampling the realms of Caesars and Chosroes. In those adverse circumstances, the darkest hour of his life, he made a prediction of the bright times ahead. To Surāqah he said, “Surāqah, how would you feel when you put on Chosroes’ bracelets?”[100]
God had indeed promised succour and victory and prosperity to His Apostle and the triumphant ascendancy of His Religion of Truth.
He it is who has sent His messenger with the guidance and the Religion of Truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religions, however much the disbelievers may be averse.”[101]
Those who cannot see beyond the material agency of cause and effect would shrug their shoulders at this prediction. The Quraysh discarded the forebodings of the Apostle as incredulous and inconceivable, but the foresight of the Apostle opened far into the future:
Lo! Allah fails not to keep the tryst.”[102]
And the events took shape exactly the way the Apostle had foretold to Surāqah. When Persia was conquered and the tiara, robe and bracelets of Chosroes were brought to 'Umar, he sent for Surāqah and asked him to put on the royal dress.[103]
Surāqah took the warrant of security for he was by then convinced of the victory of the Prophet. He offered some provisions and utensils, but the Apostle accepted nothing from him. He simply said to Surāqah, "Keep secret our whereabouts."
THE BLESSED HOST
Abū Bakr and Apostle passed by the tent of Umm Ma‘bad, a woman of Khuzā‘ah, who had an ewe but its udder had dried up owing to drought. God's Messenger wiped its udder with his hand and mentioning the name of God most High, he prayed that Umm Ma‘bad might find blessing in her ewe. Milk began to flow from it. He first gave Umm Ma‘bad and others a drink until all of them were fully sated. He himself drank last of all. He milked it a second time, and when the vessel was full he left it with her. When Abū Ma‘bad came back and his wife told him about the prodigious happening and the angelic stranger, he replied, "By God, he appears to be the same man of Quraysh whom they are prowling after."[104]
They continued their Journey with the guide until they reached Qubā’ in the vicinity of Madīnah. This was Monday, the 12th day of Rabī‘ al-Awwal.[105] A new era was indeed beginning, because it was from the start of this year that the Islamic calendar of Hijrah takes its origin.
***
[1] Ibn Hishām, vol I, pp. 234–5. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim relates a tradition of the Prophet who said: ‘I still recognise a slab of stone in Makkah that used to salute me before the advent of Prophethood.’
[2] Al-Jāmiʿ aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Bukhārī, chapter on ‘The Commission and the Beginning of the Revelation’.
[3] See the tradition related by ʿĀ’ishah, Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, vol IV, pp. 1252–3.
[4] Ibn Kathīr, vol I, p. 392.
[5] Qur’ān 96: 1–5.
[6] It is remarkable that the first revelation mentions the pen in light of the fact that it was sent to an unlettered prophet, who in turn was sent to an unlettered nation. Indeed, it is Islam’s emphasis on reading and writing that has propelled Muslims on to achieve intellectual heights previously unknown, or encouraged by any other revealed religion.
[7] Mishkat al-Masabih, vol., IV, p. 1253.
[8] The Archangel Gabriel.
[9] Ibn Hisham, vol I, p. 238, Bukhari, ‘The Commission and the Beginning of the Revelation’ on the authority of A’ishah.
[10] Ibn Hisham, vol. I, p. 245.
[11] Ibid., p. 247.
[12] Ibid., pp. 249–50.
[13] Ibn Hisham, pp. 150–51.
[14] Ibid., p. 262.
[15] Qur’an 15:94
[16] Qur’an 26:214–15.
[17] Qur’an 15:89.
[18] Ibn Kathir's Asl al-Hikayah, pp. 455–56 as related on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas and cited from the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal. Bukhari and Muslim have also related Traditions with a similar significance from al-A'mash.
[19] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 265–66.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibn Hishām, vol I, pp. 317–18.
[22] Ibid. pp. 319–20.
[23] Tabaqāt Ibn Sa'd, vol. III, p. 82; Isifāb, vol. I, p. 288.
[24] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 370–71.
[25] Tabaqāt Ibn Sa'd, vol. III, p. 37.
[26] Tabaqāt Ibn Sa'd, vol. III, p. 117.
[27] Hijr, also known as Hijr Ismā’īl, is the open space between the Ka’bah and a semicircular wall to its west, the two extremities of which are in line with the northern and southern sides of the Ka’bah. The wall bearing the name of Ḥaṭīm was raised to mark the original length of the Ka’bah because the Quraysh had, while reconstructing it before the advent of Islam, reduced the length owing to lack of funds.
[28] Ibn Hishām, vol I, pp. 289–91 and Bukhārī.
[29] Ibn Kathīr vol. I, pp. 439–41.
[30] Ibn Hishām, vol. 1, p. 270.
[31] Bukhārī, chapter titled, ‘Anecdotes on What the Apostle and his Companions Endured in the Hands of the Polytheists of Makkah’.
[32] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 291–92.
[33] Father of Walīd.
[34] Surah 41: “They are expounded”.
[35] Verse 37.
[36] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 293–94.
[37] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 320–21.
[38] Chapter 19: “Mary”.
[39] Quoted from the author’s book, ‘Rawāʾiʿ min Adab ad-Daʿwah fil Qurʾān’ pp.122–123.
[40] Ibn Hishām, pp.334–38.
[41] Musnad Ibn Ḥanbal, vol. I, p.203.
[42] Chapter 20.
[43] Abū Jahl
[44] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 342–46.
[45] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, p. 349.
[46] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 350–51.
[47] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 382–84.
[48] Bukhārī in the section on Hijrah, on the authority of ʿĀʾishah.
[49] Authorities hold the view that the Prophet undertook the journey to Ṭā’if towards the end of Shawwāl in the tenth year of Apostleship (Khatim an-Nabiyyīn, vol. I. p. 580, by Shaykh Muḥammad Abū Zahrah and Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd, vol I, p.221).
[50] Qur’ān 43:31.
[51] Tārīkh al-ʿArab Qabl al-Islām, vol. IV, p.142.
[52] Qur’ān 34:34–35.
[53] Muslim, Kitāb al-Jihād. It was narrated that after the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), many of the Arab tribes became apostates apart from Quraysh and Thaqīf, who remained steadfast and contributed greatly to the success of the Islamic conquests beyond the Arabian Peninsula, Al-Bidāyah wa An-Nihāyah, vol. VI, p.304.
[54] Ibn Hishām, vol I, pp. 419–22, Ibn Kathīr, vol II, pp. 149–53, Zād al-Maʿād, vol. I, p. 302.
[55] There is some disagreement about the exact timing of the events, although the majority hold the view that it took place on the 27th of Rajab, a few months before the Hijrah and after the trials of Ṭā’if, Khatam an-Nabiyyīn by Muḥammad Abū Zuhrah, vol. I, p.596.
[56] Qur’ān 53:17–18. To understand the significance of Ascension, see Shāh Walī Allāh’s ‘Ḥujjat Allāh al-Bālighah’.
[57] Ibn Kathīr, vol. II, p. 96 and Ibn Hishām, vol. I, p. 399.
[58] The Kaʿbah at Makkah.
[59] The Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem.
[60] The Qur’ānic expression Sidrat al-muntahā (cf. Qur’ān 53:14) alludes to the shady lote-tree of Paradise. According to some of the earliest commentators of the Qur’ān, the divine writs are first sent to the lote-tree from where the angels bring them to earth.
[61] Bukhārī, Kitāb aṣ-Ṣalāt.
[62] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 422–23.
[63] Bukhāri, “Abū Dharī’s conversion to Islam”.
[64] ‘Aqabah means a deep valley. In the hills at Minā a culvert facing Makkah is known by that name. The place being near Jamrat-al-Kubrā, is also known as Jamrat al-Aqabah. Now a mosque stands there to mark the place where the Prophet met the Anṣār. Here pilgrims returning from ‘Arafāt spend the three nights of ‘Id al-Adḥā. Even in pre-Islamic times this was the custom of the heathen Arabs who had preserved the ancient ceremonies of the pilgrimage.
[65] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 428–29.
[66] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 428–29.
[67] Ibid., p. 434.
[68] The tribes of Aws and Khazraj branched off from the tribe of Azd, belonging to Qaḥṭān. The forefather of these tribes, Tha‘labah ibn ‘Amr, had migrated from Yemen to Hijāz after the destruction of Ma’rib Dam (120 BCE) and settled in Madinah.
[69] Qur’ān 2:213.
[70] Qur’ān 59:9.
[71] Fought in about 615 CE, about five years before the Hijrah.
[72] Qur’ān 36:6.
[73] Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, vol. I, p. 217.
[74] Qur’ān 2:89.
[75] Harrah or al-Lābah is a terrain full of volcanic igneous rocks of dark green colour and uneven shape which are produced by the matter flowing from a volcano. Such an uneven hilly terrain is absolutely useless as a fighting ground or for communication either for infantry of cavalry. Majd ad-Dīn Fīrōzābādi (d. 823 AH) writes in the al-Maghānim al-Maṭābah fī Ma‘ālim Ṭābah that a number of harrah's, some nearer the town and some at a distance, surround Madīnah from all sides and protect it from attack or at least make the advance difficult for an invading army (see pp. 108–114 and Bukhāri, “Emigration of the Prophet”).
[76] Bukhāri, “Emigration of the Apostle”.
[77] Ibn Hishām, vol. II, p. 223.
[78] Tārīkh Ibn Khaldūn, vol. II, p. 289.
[79] Al-‘Iqd al-Farīd, vol. III, p. 334.
[80] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 436–98.
[81] Ibid., pp. 441–42.
[82] ‘Uthmān ibn Ṭalḥah embraced Islam after the conquest of Makkah when the Apostle handed over the keys of the Ka‘bah to him (Al-Iṣābah fī Tamyīz aṣ-Ṣaḥābah, p. 217).
[83] Ibn Kathīr, vol. II, pp. 215–17.
[84] Ibid. p. 223.
[85] Ibn Hishām. vol. I. pp. 470–79.
[86] The house of Qusayy ibn Kilāb where they would decide every important affair.
[87] Qur’ān 36:9.
[88] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 480–83.
[89] Qur’ān 6:33.
[90] Tirmidhī: Faḍl Makkah.
[91] Qur’ān 29:56.
[92] Ibn Kathīr, Al-Bidāyah, vol.III, p.180
[93] Ibn Kathīr, vol.II, pp. 240–241
[94] Qur'ān 48:7
[95] Ibn Kathīr, vol.II, p.239
[96] Qur’ān 9:40.
[97] Bukhārī: “Kitāb at-Tafsīr.”
[98] Qur’ān 9:40.
[99] Ibn Hishām, vol. I, pp. 489–90; Bukhārī, “Hijrat an-Nabi”.
[100] This does indeed come to pass during the Caliphate of ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, see Irmām al-Wafā, Turath.
[101] Qur’ān 9:33.
[102] Qur’ān 13:31.
[103] Al-Istī‘āb fī Ma‘rifati ’l-Aṣḥāb, vol. II, p. 597. See also, Itmām al-Wafā’, al-Khuḍarī, published by Turath.
[104] Zād al-Ma‘ād, Vol. II, p. 309.
[105] 24th September, 622 AD.
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