Open Preaching of Islam and the Persecution of the Early Muslims

Proclamation of Truth from Mount of Safa

Now came the Revelation:

"Therefore proclaim openly that which you are commanded." (15:94)

With this order the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) ascended the Mount of Safa and gave a call to each and every tribe by name in a raised voice. Having heard this call, the people in a large number gathered in front of him according to the practice of Arabia. Thereafter he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said addressing them, "O Quraish! If I tell you that your enemy is about to attack you, would you believe me?" They unanimously replied, "Yes." "We have always found you truthful and trustworthy." Having heard this answer, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said to them, "Well, I am a warner to you before a severe chastisement overtakes you." Hearing this they burst into laughter, Abu Lahab exclaimed, "May you perish. Is it for this you have brought us here?" Following this the people dispersed. As Abu Lahab left, Sûrat Al-Masad (111) was revealed.

After a few days he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was ordered:

"And warn your kith and kin." (26:214)

Following this the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) asked Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) bin Abu Tâlib (radhiyallahu 'anha) to throw a party and invite his relatives. About forty persons attended it. At the end of the feast the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) rose to say something but nonsensical utterances of Abu Lahab took away from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) an opportunity to warn them of the consequences of their evil doings. After a gap of a few days another feast was arranged and as his relatives finished their meal, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) rose to say, "Look! I have come to you with something that none else ever brought for his tribe. Tell me who will lend his support to me in this task?" Hearing this nobody made any response but Abu Tâlib assured him of his support.

Open endeavor to preach

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) gave the call to Tauhid (Oneness of Allâh) and Islam. During this period his small and weak band of people had to bear the brunt of their new faith. In assemblies and gatherings, in fairs and market places, and by contacting people at their homes, he would teach people the virtues of Tauhid (Oneness of Allâh) and forbid them from idolatry. Adultery gambling, lying, embezzlement, theft, and robbery were made taboo. The Quraish were proud people. It was not easy for them to put up with derogatory remarks against their ancestors' faith and practices. They were also very particular about the distinction between slaves and their masters. But Islam believed in the equality of both of them. The Quraish and the Makkans were held in high esteem by all the tribes in Arabia only due to the idols that they would come to Makkah to worship. Islam was, on the other hand, the sworn enemy of idolatry. The chieftains and respectable men of Makkah could not step down from their positions and follow the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم). Most of the tribes were at enmity with Banu Hâshim, so they could not accept a man from a rival tribe to lead them. Thus open preaching ignited the fire of hostility and antagonism all over Arabia which turned into a blaze during the fourth year of the Prophethood.

First Educational Institution

About the same period, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) set up the house of Arqam bin Abu Arqam at the bottom of the Mount of Safa as an educational institution. Every new convert would come to this institution to learn the teachings of Islam. Gradually it became a crowded place and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) would lead the prayer. This house served as the center of all Islamic activities and the dwelling of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) for three years. Those who joined the Islamic movement at this stage are considered to be the Foremost Muslims. The last to embrace Islam in Dar Arqam was Umar bin Khattâb (radhiyallahu 'anha). His acceptance of Islam proved a turning point in the Islamic movement.

Antagonism of the Quraish

Among the entrants to Islam some were slaves and some of them had no powerful tribes or relatives to defend them. Such weak and powerless people became the easy victims of the disbelievers and suffered physical tortures. Muslims in general were put to ridicule of the most unkind nature so that others would not dare join the new faith. Bilâl (radhiyallahu 'anha) was the slave of Umayyah bin Khalaf who put him to great torture. He used to bring him out at noontime and throw him on his back on the burning sand, ordering a heavy hot rock to be placed on his chest. At times his both arms were tied behind and he was lashed mercilessly. Sometimes he was kept hungry and handed over to street urchins with a rope tied round his neck and they would pull him through the streets and alleys and to the hills beyond the city. But Bilâl (radhiyallahu 'anha) would bear all these soul-shattering miseries with Ahad, Ahad (One, One) upon his lips. Ammâr (radhiyallahu 'anha) embraced Islam along with his father Yâsir (radhiyallahu 'anha) and mother Sumaiyah (radhiyallahu 'anha). Abu Jahl tortured them beyond description. The wicked Abu Jahl stuck his spear in Sumaiyah (radhiyallahu 'anha) and she was honored with martyrdom. Abu Jahl once gave Zanirah (radhiyallahu 'anha) such a severe beating that she became blind. Hairs stand on end to think of the cruelties committed against the slaves and slave-girls, the weak and the downtrodden. But Islam is such a powerful force that nobody went astray and became an apostate because of these tortures.

Uthmân bin Affân (radhiyallahu 'anha) was a wealthy man from the Umayyah tribe. On becoming Muslim he was tied with a rope, thrashed severely and put to many other physical troubles. Zubair bin Al-Awwâm's uncle tried to control him by wrapping him in a mat. While reciting the Quran, Abu Dhar Ghifâri (radhiyallahu 'anha) was so mercilessly beaten that he fell unconscious. He was about to be killed, when Abbâs bin Abdul-Muttalib passed by and asked them to leave him because the Banu Ghifâr tribe inhabited a strategic spot on the route their trade caravans passed through. Abdullah bin Mas'ud (radhiyallahu 'anha) was also beaten to unconsciousness. Khabbâb bin Aratt (radhiyallahu 'anha) was once made to lie down on his back on burning embers and a man sat on his chest so that he could not move or change sides, with the result that the flesh and skin of his back and waist were burned off.