Publicity of the mission
Three years passed and the Islamic mission was still secret. After that, Allah ordered the Prophet (a.s.) to publicize it by revealing to him this verse, (And warn your nearest kin).
The Prophet (a.s.) received the order of his Lord and was determined to open his mission. He ordered his cousin Ali (a.s.) to invite the Hashemites, the children of Abdul Muttalib, the children of Nawfal, and other children of Abd Manaf, and asked him to serve a meal of a sheep leg, about one kilo of wheat, and three liters of yogurt. The invitees, who were forty men among whom were Abu Talib, Hamza, al-Abbas, and Abu Lahab, came. The Prophet (a.s.) offered the food and said to them, “Eat in the name of Allah!” They had food and yogurt until they were satiated. Though the food was too little, they all were saturate. They were astonished at that. The Prophet (a.s.) wanted to speak, but Abu Lahab said before him, “We have not seen magic like this of today. Let us leave!” All of them parted while mocking and making fun. The Prophet (a.s.) could not say anything, for Abu Lahab interrupted his speech. The next day, the Prophet (a.s.) invited them to have a meal too. They ate and drank, and then the Prophet (a.s.) got up making speech before them saying,
“O children of Abdul Muttalib, by Allah, I do not know that a young man among the Arabs has brought to his people a thing better than what I have brought to you. I have brought to you the good of this life and of the afterlife, and Allah the Almighty has ordered me to invite you to it. Which of you shall support me in this matter to be my brother, guardian, and successor among you?”
All of them kept silent except Ali who said zealously, “I, O prophet of Allah, will be your vizier on it.”
The Prophet (a.s.) put his hand on Ali’s neck and addressed the attendants saying, “This is my brother, guardian, and successor among you. You should listen to and obey him.”
They began mocking saying to Abu Talib, “He orders you to listen to and obey your son!”
The Prophet (a.s.) compared his invitation to monotheism with the invitation to the caliphate, viziership, and imamate after him, and he entrusted these positions to his brother and the gate of the city of his knowledge Imam Ali (a.s.).
Anyhow, these people lent the Prophet (a.s.) deaf ears and no one of them responded to him except his uncle Abu Talib and his son Ali (a.s.).
Worry of Quraysh
The people of Quraysh were terrified by the Prophet’s mission. Their life was troubled, and hatred spread in their houses, for some of their children, wives, and slaves became Muslims. The weak and the disabled, such as Yasir, Sumayyah, and their son Ammar, also embraced Islam. Those, who became Muslims, were in disagreement with their parents, spouses, and brothers. A Muslim child rejected his polytheist parents, and a Muslim wife rejected her husband and left him because he was not a Muslim. As for slaves and the disabled, the Prophet (a.s.) opened to them new horizons of freedom, honor, and dignity, and brought them good news that they would be masters, and the tyrants of Quraysh would submit to them. Thus, troubles, upsets, and disputes were in all of the houses of Mecca.
Severe procedures
The people of Quraysh agreed on resisting and standing against the Prophet (a.s.) with all means of severity and violence they had. Quraysh was unable to bear Islam at all. They tried their best to do away with it by all means such as:
Mocking
At the beginning of the mission, the people of Quraysh began mocking at the Prophet (a.s.) and saying, ‘This is the son of Abi Kabsha;
he is spoken to from the heaven’ or ‘this is the boy of Abdul Muttalib; he is spoken to by the heaven’. But, when the Prophet (a.s.) criticized and scorned their idols, they were provoked and they agreed on plotting against him.
Inciting the children to harm the Prophet
The people of Quraysh ordered their children and encouraged them to harm the Prophet (a.s.). They threw stones, soil, and ashes on him. Quraysh did that to be excused before Abu Talib that it was their little children, who could not be punished, and not them who were responsible for that. The Prophet (a.s.) felt much pain and was too affected by the behavior of children. Imam Ali (a.s.), though very young then, accompanied the Prophet (a.s.) to protect him from the children. Imam Ali (a.s.) attacked children and beat them severely, and so they ran away. After that, when the Prophet (a.s.) went out and Imam Ali (a.s.) was with him, children ran away frightenedly.
Accusing the Prophet of madness
Because the Prophet (a.s.) came with a new law unlike the habits and traditions of Quraysh, they accused him of madness, though he was the most knowledgeable of all mankind. They accused him of madness to frustrate his mission and prevent the public from following him and embracing his mission. However, they failed and the mission moved like light and reached all peoples and nations of the world.
Some men from Quraysh mocked at the Prophet (a.s.) and strove to tease and harm him, but Allah the Almighty ordered him to be fixed and not to pay attention to them. Allah revealed to him, (Surely We will suffice you against the scoffers).
Those men ran after the Prophet (a.s.) and mocked at him, but he raised his voice reciting, ‘in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful’ and they went back. Then, this verse was revealed to him, (and when you mention your Lord alone in the Qur’an, they turn their backs in aversion).
Here, we mention the men who mocked at the Prophet (a.s.):
1. Al-Waleed bin al-Mughirah
Al-Waleed bin al-Mughirah was excessive in harming and mocking at the Prophet (a.s.). However, Allah avenged on him. A fragment from an arrow of a man from Khuza’ah hit him and cut his hand artery and he died while saying, “The god of Muhammad has killed me.”
2. Al-Aas bin Wa’il
The Prophet (a.s.) suffered too much from this man’s harming and mocking, but Allah afflicted him that one day a rock fell on him and killed him.
3. Al-Aswad bin Abd Yaghuth
He scorned and mocked at the Prophet (a.s.) and at his companions. Whenever he saw the Prophet (a.s.), he said to him mockingly, “Have you been talked to by the heaven today?” He said when he saw the Prophet’s companions, “The kings of the earth have come!” He said that because the Prophet’s companions were with poor clothes and their living was very simple.
One day, he and his servant went to receive his son. He sat in the shadow under a tree. Gabriel took his head and beat it against the tree. He asked his servant for help saying to him, “Protect me from this!” The servant said to him, “I can see no one.” Then, he cried out loudly, “The god of Muhammad has killed me.”
4. Al-Harith
He was one of those who scorned at the Prophet (a.s.). One very hot day, he left his house to somewhere. His face turned black. When he came back home, his family could not know him for his black face and so they killed him.
5. Al-Aswad bin al-Harith
He scorned too much at the Prophet (a.s.) until Allah made him perish. He ate a lot of salty whale meat and became too thirsty. He began drinking water until he died while saying, “The god of Muhammad has killed me.”
There was another group from Quraysh who wronged and hurt the Prophet (a.s.). They were too severe to him. Here, we mention some of them:
1. Abu Jahl
He was one of the bitterest enemies to the Prophet (a.s.). He was filled with grudge and enmity against the Prophet (a.s.).
Abdullah bin Mas’ud said, “Once, we were with the messenger of Allah in the mosque while he was offering prayer. Abu Jahl said to his fellows, ‘Can anyone of you bring the placenta of the camel of so-and-so and throw it on the shoulders of Muhammad when he is prostrating?
Uqbah bin Abi Ma’eet fetched the placenta and threw it on the Prophet (a.s.) while he was prostrating. No one of the Muslims, who were in the mosque, could remove the placenta from the Prophet’s back because of their weakness and inability to stand against the Prophet’s enemies at that time. Someone went to Fatima (a.s.) and told her what happened to her father. She came, removed the filth from her father’s back, and washed his body. The Prophet (a.s.) felt too pain and prayed Allah against Quraysh saying, “O Allah, avenge on Quraysh!” He repeated that for three times. Then, he kept on praying against those men saying, “O Allah, avenge on Abu Jahl, Utbah bin Rabee’ah, Shaybah bin Rabee’ah, al-Waleed bin Uqbah, Umayyah bin Khalaf, and Uqbah bin Abi Ma’eet.”
Ibn Mas’ud said, “By Him Who has sent Muhammad with the truth, I had seen those, whom he (the Prophet) had named, killed in the battle of Badr and then they were drawn to the well, the well of Badr and their carrions were thrown into it.”
One day, the Prophet (a.s.) was in the Thil Majaz Bazaar inviting people to embrace Islam and saying, “Say: ‘there is no god but Allah’ and you shall be successful.” Abu Jahl was behind him throwing earth on him and saying to people, “Let this one not cheat you against your religion! He just wants you to leave the worship of al-Lat and al-Uzza (two idols).”
Once, this villain tried to tread on the Prophet’s neck while he was offering the prayer, but he receded and when he was asked why, he said, “I saw that there was between me and him a terrible trench of fire and I saw winged angels.” This was told to the Prophet (a.s.) and he said, “If he approached me, the angels would snatch him part by part.” Then, these verses were revealed to the Prophet (a.s.), (Have you seen him who forbid a servant when he prays…)
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2. Abu Lahab (the Prophet’s uncle)
Abu Lahab was one of the most spiteful enemies of the Prophet (a.s.) and the most daring and denying one against him. The Prophet (a.s.) suffered from him too much. He threw filth on the Prophet’s door because he was his neighbor. The Prophet (a.s.) removed the filth and said, “O children of Abd Manaf, what neighboring this is!”
Abu Lahab’s wife Umm Jameel, who was Abu Sufyan’s sister, was not less than her husband in her enmity and grudge against the Prophet (a.s.). She often met the Prophet (a.s.) with abuse and revilement. Her grudge against the Prophet (a.s.) increased when the Sura of al-Masad (111) was revealed about her and her husband Abu Lahab. Allah has said, (Perish both hands of Abu Lahab, and he will perish. His wealth and what he earns will not avail him. He shall soon burn in flaming fire. And his wife, the bearer of firewood. Upon her neck a halter of twisted palm-fiber.)
When the Prophet (a.s.) invited people to the faith in Allah, Abu Lahab addressed the people of Quraysh saying loudly, “Let him not cheat you against your religion and the religion of your fathers.”
3. Uqbah bin Abi Ma’eet
He had great grudge against the Prophet (a.s.) and was excessive in harming him. Once, he saw the Prophet (a.s.) offering the prayer inside the Kaaba. He put his garment around the Prophet’s neck and tried to throttle him, but Abu Bakr pushed him away from the Prophet (a.s.) and said to him, “Do you want to kill a man just because he says: ‘my god is Allah’ and has come to you with proofs from your God?”
4. Al-Hakam bin Abil-Aas
Al-Hakam bin Abil-Aas bin Umayyah was the father of Marwan. He scorned and mocked at the Prophet (a.s.). He walked behind the Prophet (a.s.) and made ridiculous gestures with his nose and mouth. Once, the Prophet (a.s.) turned and saw him do that. He said to him, “Let you be so then!” His mouth began quivering until his death.
5. Umayyah bin Khalaf
He was one of the most malicious and spiteful men towards the Prophet (a.s.). Whenever, he saw the Prophet (a.s.), he vexed and annoy him. Then, Allah revealed these verses about him, (Woe to every slanderer, defamer, who amasses wealth and considers it a provision (against mishap)…).
This villain was killed in the Battle of Badr.
Accusing the Prophet of magic
The people of Quraysh accused the Prophet (a.s.) of being a magician, for he recited before them the miraculous verses of Allah that they could not keep up with, besides his wonderful maxims that attracted all hearts. Moreover, he showed them miracles by the will of Allah to affirm his mission and make people believe in it. They could not resist his mission, so they accused him of being a magician.
Preventing praisers from coming to him
The people of Quraysh were so spiteful toward the Prophet (a.s.) that they spent much monies to prevent poets from coming to him. Historians mention that al-A’sha, the poet, had composed a poem in which he praised the Prophet (a.s.). When the people of Quraysh knew about that, they lay in wait for him. When they saw him, they asked him where he wanted to go and he said, “I want to go to Muhammad to be a Muslim.”
They said to him, “Muhammad prohibits adultery, usury, drinks, and gambling.”
He said, “Adultery has left me but I have not left it.” He became uneasy when they mentioned to him that Islam had prohibited wine.
Abu Sufyan said to him, “Would you accept what is better than what you want to do?”
He asked what it was and Abu Sufyan said to him, “You take one hundred camels and go back to your country. You wait for what we shall do. If we defeat him (the Prophet), you shall have taken your recompense, and if he shall defeat us, you can come to him.”
He said, “I do not hate this.”
Abu Sufyan collected to him from Quraysh one hundred camels, and the poet took them and went back to his country…and he could not be blessed by meeting the Prophet (a.s.). Abu Sufyan made him lose that blessing.
Preventing people from embracing Islam
Quraysh tried the best to prevent those who were willing to be Muslims from embracing Islam. One day, Marwan met Huwaytib and asked him about his old. When he told him, Marwan said to Huwaytib, “O sheikh (old man), your faith in Islam has been late and events have preceded you.”
Huwaytib said, “By Allah, I intended to embrace Islam more than one time, but your father hindered me from that every time. He said to me: You lose your honor. You leave your fathers’ religion for a new religion and be inferior.”
Thus was the situation of the people of Quraysh at the head of whom were the Umayyads. It was a situation of absolute enmity to Islam and far grudge against the Prophet (a.s.). They followed all means to put out the light of Islam but they failed.
Persecuting the believers
The tyrants of Quraysh wreaked their wrath on everyone that believed in the Prophet (a.s.) and became a Muslim. They pursued the weak and slaves who had no supporters that could protect them against the oppression of Quraysh. Those weak and disabled people were the base and the strong fort of the Islamic mission. The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Allah gives victory to this nation through its weak people; through their propagandizing, prayers, and devotion…”
The men of Quraysh were excessive in scorning and oppressing those first Muslims. Allah has said about them, (Lo! The guilty used to laugh at those who believed, and when they passed by them, they winked at one another, and when they returned to their own followers they returned exulting, and when they saw them, they said: Most surely these are in error.)
However, they remained no long until Islam destroyed them and did away with their ignorance and moldy minds, and then the weak and the disabled became the masters of the earth.
As an example, the tyrants of Quraysh tortured Yasirs’s family with unbearable torment. The Prophet (a.s.) passed by them when they were being tortured and felt great pain and pity for them. He said about them (Yasir, Sumayyah, and their son Ammar), “Be patient O Family of Yasir! Your promise is the Paradise.”
Yasir and his wife Summayah were martyred under the pressure of torment, and their son Ammar remained receiving heavy torment. He could bear no more. Consequently, Quraysh asked him to abuse the Prophet (a.s.), and he responded unwillingly and they set him free. He hurried to the Prophet (a.s.) crying and feeling very sad. He told the Prophet (a.s.) what he did, but the Prophet (a.s.) wiped his tears and said to him, “If they do again (punish you), you do the same (to abuse).” Therefore, Allah revealed this verse, (He who disbelieves in Allah after his having believed, not he who is compelled while his heart is content with the faith).
Ammar’s soul was filled with faith and devotedness until he was martyred for the sake of Islam in the desert of Siffin with the leader of wisdom and emir of justice; Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.).
Bilal al-Habashi was another one from those who were tortured in the way of Islam. Umayyah bin Khalaf poured on him all kinds of torment. After leaving him hungry and thirsty for a day and a night, he took him out at midday and made him lie down on his back in the desert and ordered his men to put a heavy rock on his chest, and then he said to him, “It is so until you die or disbelieve in Muhammad and worship al-Lat and al-Uzza.”
From the other kinds of punishment against Bilal was that the men of Quraysh tied him with ropes and made their children draw him in the streets of Mecca. He did not care for all that, but he said: He is One. He is One.
Anyhow, the steadfastness of those tortured ones astonished the tyrants of Quraysh and made them too angry. The most spiteful one of those tyrants against whoever became a Muslim was Abu Jahl who whenever knew that some man turned a Muslim, he went to him to scold him. If that new Muslim was a notable man in his tribe, he (Abu Jahl) said to him, “You have left the religion of your father who is better than you! We will confute your opinion, refute your belief, and degrade you.” If he was a merchant, he said to him, “We will stagnate your trade and deaden your capitals.” And if he was a helpless one, he punished him and incited others against him.
Sa’eed bin Jubayr narrated, “I said to Abdullah bin Abbas, ‘Did the polytheists punish the messenger of Allah’s companions to a degree that they were obliged to give up their religion?’ Ibn Abbas said, ‘Yes by Allah. They punished a companion, starved, and made him thirsty until he was unable to sit erect because of the damage he had, and then he would respond to their ill will. Then they said to him: Are al-Lat and al-Uzza your gods away from Allah? He said: Yes. He said that just to save himself from their torment.’”
The Prophet asks Muslims to be steadfast
The men of Quraysh were excessive in harming and tormenting Muslims with unbearable kinds of torment, until some of them could not resist more and so they abandoned their religion; though some of them remained fixed and did not yield to the severe punishment of Quraysh. The Prophet (a.s.) invited Muslims to withstand and be patient with their affliction. Once, al-Khabbab bin al-Art asked the Prophet (a.s.) to pray Allah against Quraysh, but he said to him, “The believers (of nations) before you were combed with iron combs. The flesh and nerves on their bones were combed but that did not make them abandon their religion, and saws were put on the partings of their heads and were split into two but that did not make them abandon their religion. Surely, Allah will complete this matter (Islam) until a rider shall move from Sana’a to Hadhramaut not fearing except Allah the Almighty.”
Abu Talib protects the Prophet
Abu Talib was the strongest fort that defended and protected the Prophet (a.s.) against the plotting and evil of Quraysh; otherwise, the Prophet (a.s.) could not withstand determinedly to fulfill his mission.
In his great revolution, Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) founded an intellectual and social rise that made Quraysh fear for their habits and traditions that the Prophet (a.s.) refuted. Therefore, they were angry and full of spite against him. They resisted and fought him, but his uncle Abu Talib encouraged him to be determined and steadfast. Abu Talib addressed his nephew with these verses of poetry,
“Announce your mission and never mind anything,
and let your eyes be delighted.
You invited me and I knew that you were sincere to me.
You are the most truthful, the most honest.
I have known that the religion of Muhammad
is the best of religions among all of the peoples.
By Allah, they won’t reach you whatever numerous they were,
until I am buried under the ground.”
These verses declare Abu Talib’s deep faith in Islam and his devotedness in defending the Prophet (a.s.). Abu Talib was too careful for his nephew; he did not leave him alone or let him be liable to the expected or unexpected evils of the polytheists of Quraysh. He was too kind to him. He loved and pitied him more than his own children. He was very loyal in defending and supporting him. He refuted the men of Quraysh who asked him to leave the Prophet (a.s.) alone. He replied to them saying,
“I swear by the House of Allah that you have told lies!
We never give up Muhammad; we struggle and fight for him,
we support him until we are killed around him.
For him we ignore our wives and children.”
He added praising the Prophet (a.s.), “And a white-faced, with whose face it is prayed,
so that the clouds bring goodness.
He is the shelter of the orphans and the guardian of the widows.
They know well that our son had never been a liar,
nor we care for absurdities.
I swear I love Ahmed as a passionate lover;
I sacrifice my soul for him,
I defend him with all I have…”
Ibn Katheer commented on this poem saying, “It is a very great, eloquent poem that no one can compose except that one to whom it is ascribed. It is more perfect and more eloquent in delivering the meaning than all the (famous) Seven Poems (hanged on the wall of the Kaaba).”
In any case, Abu Talib was too loyal in his love and protection to the Prophet (a.s.) and without him the Prophet (a.s.) would not be able to announce the principles and values he adopted in his immortal mission.
Quraysh ask Abu Talib to deliver them the Prophet
Some chiefs of Quraysh went to Abu Talib asking him to deliver Muhammad to them to kill him and to give Imarah, who was the noblest and most handsome young man of Quraysh, to him (Abu Talib) instead. Abu Talib replied to them saying, “O fools, you have not been fair to me. Fie and woe be to you! Do you want me to give you my soul and son to kill him and you give me your son to bring him up for you? How do you judge?! Do you want me to replace Muhammad by Imarah bin al-Waleed? By Him in Whose hand my soul is, if you give me the whole world, I will not replace it by a nail from Muhammad’s foot. Be away from me! Do not talk to me; otherwise, I will strike your heads with the sword.”
They went back disappointedly, and Abu Talib left spite filling their hearts against the Prophet (a.s.).
Abu Talib orders Ja’far to follow the Prophet
One day, Abu Talib saw the Prophet (a.s.) offer prayer while Imam Ali (a.s.) was on his right side. He turned to his son Ja’far and said to him, “Protect the wing of your cousin and offer prayer on his left side.”
Then, he recited these verses which he himself had composed,
“Ali and Ja’far are my trusts,
whenever the time brings distresses and disasters.
O you both! Support your cousin and don’t fail him.
He is my blood-brother’s son.
By Allah I won’t fail the Prophet
Nor will any of my sons.”
Once, the Prophet (a.s.) came into the Kaaba to offer the prayer. Abu Jahl said, “Who would come to this man and interrupt his prayer?” Ibn az-Ziba’ra fetched feces and blood and stained the Prophet’s face. The Prophet (a.s.) stopped his prayer and went to his uncle Abu Talib who asked him who had done that to him and he replied that it was Abdullah bin az-Ziba’ra. Abu Talib got up, held his sword, and came to those men. When they saw him coming, they tried to get up, but he said, “By Allah, if any man from you gets up, I will strike him with my sword.” They all sat down. He took feces and blood and stained their faces and beards while abusing them.
Abu Talib invites an-Najashi to Islam
Abu Talib invited the king of Abyssinia to embrace Islam. He sent him a letter and ended it with these verses of poetry,
“You know O king of Abyssinia!
Muhammad is a prophet like Moses and Jesus, the son of Blessed Marry.
He came with guidance as they both had come with.
Each-according to the order of Allah-guides and educates.
You recite it in your Book as a true speech not a divination.
So don’t make a partner with Allah and let you come to Islam;
the way of the truth is not dark.”
Hamza becomes a Muslim
Hamza’s becoming a Muslim was a victory and honor to Muslims. He was famous among all people of Mecca for his courage, intelligence, and true determination. He was very respectable, honorable, and of a high position near all the people of Quraysh. The sources of history mention the reason behind his becoming a Muslim that once Abu Jahl passed by the Prophet (a.s.) at as-Safa and was excessive in abusing and harming him (the Prophet) and criticizing Islam. The Prophet (a.s.) kept silent and did not answer him. One of Abdullah bin Jad’an’s maids heard Abu Jahl’s impolite speech to the Prophet (a.s.). She went to Hamza (one of the Prophet’s uncles) and said to him, “O Abu Imarah, I wish you saw what your nephew Muhammad met from Abul Hakam bin Hisham (Abu Jahl). He found him sitting there- in as-Safa- and he harmed, abused, and made him hear what he hated, and then he left, but Muhammad did not spoke to him.”
Hamza became angry and lost his mind. He went to the mosque. When he saw Abu Jahl, he struck his head with his bow that wounded his head. He shouted at him, “Do you abuse him while I am on his religion? I believe in what he says. Refute me if you can do that!”
Some men from bani Makhzum rose to assist their fellow Abu Jahl who prevented them saying, “I had abused his nephew too impudently.”
Hamza announced his faith and promised the Prophet (a.s.) to defend and protect him and to sacrifice himself for supporting Islam. When Hamza became a Muslim, the Prophet (a.s.) was relieved from much of Quraysh’s harm, because Hamza was very courageous and daring and most of people feared him. He announced his faith in Islam openly and withstood the tyranny of Quraysh.
The first emigration to Abyssinia
When the Prophet (a.s.) saw that his companions met much harm and torment from the polytheists of Mecca, he ordered them to emigrate to Abyssinia whose king was just and fair to everyone, until Allah would grant them with a deliverance from what they were in.
A group of the first Muslims, who were punished and persecuted, fled to Allah to keep their faith. They were eleven men and four women. Then, other Muslims joined them little by little. Among the first group of emigrants was the martyr Ja’far at-Tayyar. Some believers emigrated by themselves and others with their families. Negus, the king of Abyssinia, welcomed very well and assured them with security and protection, and they found under his care much kindness and comfort.
Muhammad Hasanayn Haykal sees that the purpose of the Prophet’s order to the Muslims to emigrate to Abyssinia was not the escape from the persecution of Quraysh, but it had an important political goal; it was to propagandize for Islam and to show the Muslims’ sufferings. I myself think that this thought is so far true, for the Prophet’s procedures were not, in any case, spontaneous, but they were intentional and they had important political purposes. The Prophet (a.s.) ordered the believers to emigrate to Abyssinia and not any other place such as Yemen that was near to Mecca, because the people and the rulers of Abyssinia were Christians and their divine books had brought good tidings about the appearance of the Prophet Muhammad (a.s.). Therefore, they would be worthier of responding to Islam than the people of the towns dominated by idolatry and Judaism. Anyhow, the emigrants were safe, there, from the punishment and persecution of Quraysh.
The men of Quraysh were terrified by the emigration of Muslims to Abyssinia. They feared that events might develop against them and Abyssinia might be taken as a center for the Islamic mission. Therefore, they sent a delegation to the King of Abyssinia asking him not to protect the emigrant Muslims of Mecca and to deliver them back to Quraysh. They chose for the delegation Amr bin al-Aas and Abdullah bin Abi Rabee’ah and sent with them precious gifts. On the other side, Abu Talib sent a letter to the king of Abyssinia asking him to protect and be kind to the emigrant Muslims and he ended the letter with these verses of poetry, “I wish I knew what affairs of Ja’far among people there,
and of Amr and the kin enemies of the Prophet!
Did the goodness of Negus reach Ja’far and his companions,
or it was prevented by a seditious offender?
You know O Negus, glory be to you, that you are so generous,
that whoever resorts to you won’t be disappointed.
You know that Allah has given you great authority,
and every means of goodness,
that still keep to your high qualities.
And you are a fount of goodness,
that enemies and relatives can get its benefits.”
Anyhow, the two deputies of Quraysh came before Negus, and one of them said to him, “O king, some silly young men from us have come to your country. They have abandoned the religion of their people and they have not embraced your religion. They have invented a religion that neither we nor you know it. The notables of their people from their fathers, cousins, and tribes have sent us to you that you may send them (emigrant Muslims) back to them, for they are more aware of them and of what they have done to and faulted them.”
The retinue of Negus asked him to respond to the delegation of Quraysh, but he refused and said, “I do not deliver them to them. How can I do that whereas they have come to my country and chosen me from among all others? I will inquire them (Muslims) about what they (the delegation of Quraysh) say. If they are as they say, I will deliver them to them and send them back to their people; otherwise, I will protect them against them.”
When the emigrant Muslims appeared before Negus (and there were many bishops in the palace), he asked them, “What about this religion by which you have parted with the religion of your people and not embraced my religion or any other religion?”
Ja’far bin Abi Talib said, “O king, we were a people of ignorance; worshipping idols, eating dead animals, committing adultery, abandoning kinship, doing badly to neighbors, and the strong eating the weak. We were on that until Allah sent us a prophet from us that we know his lineage, truthfulness, loyalty, and virtuousness. He invited us to Allah; to believe in His oneness and to worship Him, and to abandon what we and our fathers were worshipping of stones and idols away from Him. He ordered us to be truthful in speech, give deposits back (to their owners), maintain kinship, be good to neighbors, and to refrain from sins and shedding of blood, and he prohibited us from adultery, vices, falsehood, eating up the properties of orphans, and accusing chaste women of adultery, and he ordered us to worship Allah alone without associating any partner with Him, and ordered us to perform prayer, zakat, and fasting…so we believed in and followed him in all what he had brought from Allah. We worshipped Allah alone with no partner, refrained from what he prohibited, and practiced what he permitted to us, but our people oppressed, tortured, and tempted us to renegade our religion and come back to idolatry away from Allah the Almighty, and to practice the vices we practiced before. When they wronged, persecuted, pressed, and tried to prevent us from our religion, we left to your country, chose you from among others, wished to be your neighbors, and hoped that we would not be wronged near you O king.”
The king asked Ja’far, “Would you recite to me from what he (the Prophet) has brought from Allah the Almighty?”
Ja’far recited the Sura of Maryam from its beginning until he reached these verses, (Then she pointed to him. They said: How should we speak to one who is a child in the cradle? He said: Surely I am a servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a prophet, and He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and He has enjoined on me prayer and poor-rate so long as I live, and (has made me) dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me insolent, unblessed. Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive.)
These verses occupied Negus and the bishops’ hearts and affected their feelings that made them cry. Negus said to Ja’far, “This and what Jesus has brought come out of one niche. (he addressed the delegation of Quraysh) Go away! No, by Allah, I do never deliver them to you.” Then, he ordered his men to drive away Amr bin al-Aas and his companion.
Amr bin al-Aas became very angry and tried to plot against the Muslims. He said to Negus, “The Muslims say odd things about Jesus son of Mary.” Negus asked the Muslims about what they said concerning Prophet Jesus (a.s.), and Ja’far said, “Our prophet says: he (Prophet Jesus) is Allah’s servant, messenger, spirit, and word that He has cast to Virgin Mary.”
Negus became too delighted. He drew a line on the ground and said to Ja’far, “There is nothing (different) between our religion and your religion more than this line.”
Negus was certain that Muslims were true and their opponents were false. He let Muslims live in Abyssinia and assured to them security against the harms of Quraysh. The deputies of Quraysh returned empty-handed, whereas the Muslims lived under the full protection of the king and became free in practicing their rituals. Umm Salama narrated, “When we arrived in the land of Abyssinia, we neighbored the best of neighbors; Negus who secured to us our religion. We began worshipping Allah the Almighty without being harmed and without hearing anything that we hated.”
The second emigration of Muslims
The news that Negus received and accepted the emigrant Muslims to be under his protection and that the deputies of Quraysh were disappointed spread among the Muslims in Mecca. Consequently, eighty Muslim men with their wives and children emigrated to Abyssinia too. This emigration had a great impact in Mecca and outside Mecca and it affected the public opinion in those areas. It showed the Prophet’s political expertness that he had planned to, and made people in those societies ask about Islam and that made them embrace Islam as a result.
Umar turns a Muslim
Umar was hot-tempered and he quickly became furious. Imam Ali (a.s.) described him in his ash-Shaqshaqiyyah sermon as ‘the harsh region’. He was fond of amusement and wine.
He was one of the cruelest men of Quraysh towards Muslims. When he knew about the Muslims’ emigration to Abyssinia, he became angry and distressed. Therefore, he decided to kill the Prophet (a.s.) to relieve Quraysh from him, and so he set out to fulfill his task. He met Na’eem bin Abdullah who asked him where he was going and he said, “I want to go to kill Muhammad who separated the unity of Quraysh, refuted their thought, faulted their religion, and abused their gods.”
Na’eem scolded him saying, “By Allah, your self has seduced you O Umar! Do you think that bani Abd Manaf (the Prophet’s family) will let you walk on the earth if you kill Muhammad? Would you not go back to your family to reform them?”
Umar said, “Which of my family?”
Na’eem said, “Your brother-in-law and cousin Sa’eed bin Zayd bin Amr and your sister Fatima bint al-Khattab. By Allah, they have become Muslims and followed Muhammad’s religion. Go to them!”
Umar was shocked and angry. He hurried to his sister and brother-in-law. Al-Khabbab bin al-Art was with them in their house teaching them the teachings of Islam and reciting to them the Sura of Taha. When the three heard Umar’s voice, they were terrified. Al-Khabbab hid himself in some place for fear of Umar’s violence. Fatima hurried to hide the book in which the Sura of Taha was written down. Umar had already heard the recitation of al-Khabbab, and so he asked his sister what that reciting was and she replied that there was nothing. He said, “But I have been informed that you both have followed Muhammad’s religion.” Then, Umar hit Sa’eed whose wife Fatima tried to defend him, but Umar hit her too and wounded her head. She cried out inattentively to her brother’s violence and severity, “We have become Muslims and believed in Allah and His messenger. Do whatever you like!”
Umar was regretful for what he did to his sister and was certain that Islam must prevail, and that there was no way to withstand it. He asked his sister to give him the book in which the Sura of Taha was written down. She told him that she and her husband feared for it from him. He swore by the gods he worshipped that he would give it back to her after reading it. She said to him, “You are impure and on polytheism, and the Qur'an must not be touched except by a pure person.”
After bathing himself, she gave him the Sura of Taha. When he read it, he was overcome by the unequaled eloquence of the Qur'an and he felt nearing to Islam. He said to his sister, “How beautiful and honorable this speech is!”
He went to the Prophet (a.s.) and announced his faith in Islam. Muslims became delighted for they would be safe from his hostility.
Quraysh negotiates with the Prophet
The people of Quraysh had no patience with the principles and values the Prophet (a.s.) declared and which were to destroy their idols and beliefs, and instead, to build a new life that they were unfamiliar with, based on true justice and truth. All means failed them to do away with this new mission. Besides, many of their children, women, servants, and slaves everyday turned Muslims. They found that the policy of violence made no use. Therefore, they agreed on meeting the Prophet (a.s.) directly. They formed a delegation headed by Utbah bin Rabee’ah who was one of the notable chiefs of Quraysh. The delegation of Quraysh met with the Prophet (a.s.) in the Kaaba. Utbah addressed the Prophet (a.s.) leniently saying,
“O my nephew, you are to us, as you know, of honor in the tribe, and high rank in lineage. You have brought your people a dangerous thing by which you separated their unity, refuted their opinions, censured their gods and religion, and considered their past ancestors as disbelievers. Listen to me; I will offer to you some things to ponder on that you may accept some of them.”
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Say, O Abul Waleed, I will listen.”
Utbah said, “O my nephew, if you want, by this matter which you have brought, money, we will collect to you from our monies until you shall be the wealthiest of us. If you want, by it, honor, we will make you the master over us that we shall not decide anything without you. If you want, by it, authority, we shall make you the ruler over us. And if this that comes to you is a vision that you cannot withstand, we will find you a remedy and spend from our monies until we shall heal you from it. Magic may overcome a man, but he can be cured from it.”
When Utbah finished his speech, the Prophet (a.s.) said to him, “Have you finished (your speech) O Abul Waleed?”
Utbah said, “Yes, I have.”
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Would you listen to me?”
Utbah said, “Yes, I would.”
The Prophet (a.s.) recited,
(In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Ha Mim. A revelation from the Beneficent, the Merciful Allah. A Book of which the verses are made plain, an Arabic Qur’an for a people who know. A herald of good news and a warner, but most of them turn aside so they hear not. And they say: Our hearts are under coverings from that to which you call us, and there is a heaviness in our ears, and a veil hangs between us and you…)
The Prophet (a.s.) kept on reciting the Sura, and Utbah was astonished. Then the Prophet (a.s.) said, “You have heard, O Abul Waleed, what you have heard. It is up to you then.”
Utbah went back to his people full of reverence to what he heard. Changing and astonishment appeared on him. His companions asked him what happened and he said, “I have heard a saying that, by Allah, I have never heard like before. By Allah, it is neither poetry, nor magic, nor divination. O community of Quraysh, obey me and leave this man alone with what he is in. leave him alone! By Allah, to his saying that I have heard there will be a great influence. If (other tribes of) the Arabs do way with him, you shall be relieved from him by other than you, and if he prevails over the Arabs, then his authority shall be yours and his glory shall be your glory, and you shall be the happiest of people by him.”
They said to him, “He (the Prophet) has bewitched you O Abul Waleed.”
Utbah said, “This is my opinion about him. Do to him whatever you like.”
They gave Utbah deaf ears and remained insisting on their deviation. They kept on resisting the Prophet (a.s.) with all means they had. If they had had a bit of reason, they would have responded to win glory in this life and in the afterlife. However, not many years passed when people began entering in the religion of Allah groups by groups…when the Islamic army attacked them and they remained at their houses surrounded by horror and fear until the messenger of Allah (a.s.) did them a great favor. He pardoned them and did not punish any of them for all the oppression and harms they did to him before.
As-Sahifah (document)
The men of Quraysh were very angry and were filled with spite against the Prophet (a.s.) who faulted their idols and criticized their beliefs, habits, and life that was full of sins and vices. They could bear no more; their children, women, and slaves turned Muslims. Disputes took place between children and parents, wives and husbands because of faith and unfaith. The life of Quraysh was disturbed and troubled. Therefore, the men of Quraysh held a meeting to discuss their conditions. In this meeting, they decided:
1. Not to marry any of their women to any man from the bani Hashim or bani Abdul Muttalib.
2. Not to get married to any Hashimite woman.
3. Not to sell anything to them.
4. Not to by anything from them.
They wrote down these items in a document and hung it inside the Kaaba to affirm it and to be bound by it. The man, who wrote the document, was Mansur bin Akrimah whom the Prophet (a.s.) prayed Allah against and some of his fingers were paralyzed.
In the Shi’b (defile) of Abu Talib
The people of Quraysh imposed a house arrest on the Prophet (a.s.) and the rest of the Hashemites and prevented them from mixing with people lest they would brainwash them. The Hashemites stayed at the Shi’b of Abu Talib suffering there the severest kinds of persecution. Khadijah supplied them with all that they needed until she spent all her abundant wealth.
The Prophet (a.s.) and the Hshemites remained in the Shi’b two years or more suffering indescribable exhaustion and hardship. They were in total isolation and all means of life were blocked before them.
Allah willed to save His messenger and his fellow believers from this disaster and grant them deliverance. Woodworms ate the document of the blockade hung in the Kaaba leaving only the name of Allah safe. Gabriel told the Prophet (a.s.) about that, and the Prophet (a.s.) told his uncle Abu Talib saying to him, “My Lord Allah the Almighty has sent the woodworm to the document of Quraysh, and it left every name that was of Allah safe in it (the document) and removed injustice, alienation, and falsehood.”
Abu Talib asked the Prophet (a.s.), “Has your god told you about that?”
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Yes.”
Abu Talib set out to Quraysh saying to them, “O people of Quraysh, my nephew has told me so-and-so. Look at your document; if it is as my nephew has said, then give up our alienation and end what there is in it (the document). And if my nephew is untrue, I will deliver him to you.”
The men of Quraysh agreed and they hurried to the document. They found it as the Prophet (a.s.) had told. However, this only made them more insolent and more spiteful.
The Hashemites remained in the Shi’b under the burden of the severe blockade suffering exhaustion until the news of the document that was eaten by the woodworm spread among all people of Quraysh. Then, some men of Quraysh headed by Zuhayr bin Abi Umayyah agreed to annul the blockade. Zuhayr made a speech before the people of Quraysh saying, “O people of Mecca, do we eat food and wear clothes while the Bani Hashim are exhausted neither is sold to them nor is bought from them? By Allah, I will not sit down until this unjust document will be torn.”
Abu Jahl replied, “By Allah, it will not be torn.”
Some supporters of Zuhayr denied and opposed Abu Jahl who then said, “This is a matter prepared in the darkness (it is a plot)!”
The oppositionists won and Abu Jahl could do nothing. The blockade was broken and the Hashemites were free from the Shi’b. The Prophet (a.s.) left the Shi’b more fixed and determined inviting people to believe in Islam and reject idolatry. He enjoyed the protection of his uncle Abu Talib who encouraged him every moment to fulfill his mission. He said to him,
“So, reveal your mission openly feeling no fear,
And be delighted at that and rest in relief.
By Allah, they shall not reach you with all their crowds,
until I shall be buried in the ground.”
The Prophet and the tribes
The Prophet (a.s.) began offering his mission to the Arab tribes and inviting them to worship Allah the Almighty and reject idols. He spent ten years following the pilgrims (of the Kaaba) to their abiding-places in Mina and al-Mawqif (place of standing), and coming to them in the seasonal markets like Ukadh, Mijannah, and Thul Majaz to inform of the missions of his Lord.
The Prophet (a.s.) went to the abodes of the tribes of Kindah inviting them to Islam, but they refused to respond to him.
He did the same with the Bani Hanifah and they refused and replied to him impudently. He went to the bani Aamir bin Sa’sa’ah and invited them to Islam. Bayharah bin Firas said to him, “If we pay allegiance to you on your matter, and then Allah makes you prevail over your opponents, will the matter (authority) be to us after you?” Bayharah thought that the Prophet’s mission was a matter of authority and rule, but the Prophet (a.s.) said to him, “The matter is to Allah; He puts it wherever He wills.”
Bayharah said, “Are our necks cut by the Arabs for you, and when Allah makes you prevail, the matter shall be to other than us? We are in no need of your mission.”
The Prophet (a.s.) went back and they did not respond to him too. Some men of this tribe told one of their wise old men about the Prophet’s invitation, and he blamed them and said, “By Him in Whose hand my soul is, no Isma’ili
had claimed it (prophethood) falsely at all. He is true. Where was your reason?!”
The Prophet (a.s.) went to the tribe of Thaqif. He met three brothers from the notables of the tribe. He invited them to Islam. One of them said to him while he was tearing the clothing of the Kaaba, “If (it is true that) Allah has sent you?!”
The second one said to him, “Has Allah not found other than you to send him (as a prophet)?!”
The third one said to him, “I do not talk to you at all. If you are a messenger from Allah-as you say-then you are much greater than refuting your saying (by me), and if you fabricate lies against Allah, then I should not talk to you.”
The Prophet (a.s.) was too distressed. The people of this tribe asked him to get out of their land to anywhere he liked. They asked their children and slaves to abuse and insult him. People crowded around him in two rows and began shooting him with stones until they wounded his legs. He sat on the ground and could not get up. Two men of them caught him by his arms and made him get up. They again began throwing on him stones while they were laughing. His head was wounded and his legs bleeding.
The Prophet’s supplication
When the Prophet (a.s.) was saved from the tribe of Thaqif, he supplicated Allah with this supplication,
“O Allah, to You I complain the weakness of my power, my inability, and my insignificance near people, O the Most Merciful of the merciful. You are the Most Merciful of the merciful and You are the Lord of the disabled. To whom You leave me; to a far enemy that scowls on me or to a near friend that You make overcome me? If You are not angry with me, I do not care, but Your soundness is better to me. I seek refuge with the light of Your face by which darks have shone, and the affairs of this life and the afterlife have been right, not to let Your anger distress me or Your wrath afflict me. We apologize to You until You will be satisfied. And there is no power and strength except in You.”
The Prophet (a.s.) also invited to his mission many other Arab tribes such as the Bani Abs, Bani Sulaym, Bani Muharib, Fazarah, Murrah, Bani an-Nadhr, Uthrah, and al-Hadharimah, but they met him impudently. They said to him, “Your family and tribe were more aware of you where they did not follow you.”
The Night Journey and the Ascension
Allah the Almighty had singled out Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) with the Ascension from among the rest of the prophets (a.s.). Allah says in the Qur'an, (Glory be to Him Who made His servant to go on a night from the Inviolable Mosque to the Farthest Mosque of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs; surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing).
The Prophet (a.s.) was made to journey in the night from the Inviolable Mosque in Mecca to the Farthest Mosque in Jerusalem. The Prophet (a.s.) had journeyed by his body and soul.
Historians were different about the date of the Night Journey and the Ascension; some said it was eighteen months before the hijra (the Prophet’s emigration to Medina),
some said it was on Monday one year before the hijra, some said one year and five months before the hijra,
some said it was in the eleventh year after the Advent,
some said ten years and three months after the prophethood,
and some others said other than that.
Historians were also different about the month and the night of the Ascension. Some said it was on the seventeenth night of Rabee’ul Awwal,
some said on the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab,
and others said it was on the night of Saturday, the seventeenth of Ramadan.
As for the place of the Night Journey and the Ascension, there are some different traditions about it. Anas bin Malik narrated that the Prophet (a.s.) had said, “While I was in the Inviolable Mosque (al-Masjidul Haram) half asleep, Gabriel came to me with the al-Buraq (the means by which the Prophet (a.s.) had ascended to the heavens).”
Malik narrated that the Prophet (a.s.) had said, “While I was in the House (the Kaaba) half asleep, a gold washtub was brought to me full of wisdom and faith.”
Umm Hani narrated, “On that night, the messenger of Allah spent the night with me in my house. He offered the Isha’ Prayer, and then he slept and we slept too. Before the dawn, he wakened us. When he finished offering the Fajr Prayer which we offered it with him, he said, ‘O Umm Hani, I offered the Isha’ Prayer with you as you saw me, and then, I went to Jerusalem and offered prayer in it, then I offered the dawn prayer just now as you saw.’”
Abu Tharr al-Ghifari narrated that the Prophet (a.s.) had said, “I was in Mecca when Gabriel came to me and said: O the sleeping one, get up! Then, he held my hand and took me up to the Lower Heaven.”
During the Ascension, Gabriel ordered the Prophet (a.s.) to offer prayer in Mount Sinai because Allah the Almighty had talked to Prophet Moses (a.s.) there. Then, Gabriel ordered the Prophet (a.s.) to offer prayer in Bethlehem because Jesus Christ (a.s.) was born in it. When the journey ended in Jerusalem, Gabriel took the Prophet (a.s.) down to the Mosque. He offered a two-rak’as prayer and the prophets offered the prayer behind him.
The Ascension
The Prophet’s Ascension declares the bright Islamic intellect that is too far from intellectual stagnancy. It invites man to set out in this wide universe to discover all the facts therein in order to have faith in Allah based on knowledge and proofs not a faith of partisanship and imitation. Passing from this universe to the outer space was impossible at that time, but the Prophet (a.s.) proved that it was possible by the will of Allah the Creator of everything. The Prophet (a.s.) passed the great distances in a short period that even light cannot pass. In that short time, the Prophet (a.s.) journeyed from Mecca to Jerusalem and then he ascended to the high heavens and came back to the earth. The Ascension was, in the scientific view, the strongest evidence on monotheism and the exalt position of Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) near Allah.
In this divine journey, Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) met with his grandfather Adam (a.s.), Jesus Christ (a.s.) who welcomed him with great reverence, Prophet Joseph (a.s.), Prophet Moses (a.s.), and Prophet Idris (a.s.).
Besides these wonderful scenes of his meeting with the great prophets (a.s.), Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) saw terrible scenes; he saw groups of people being punished severely. They were the ones who slandered and defamed innocent people (in the earth), and ones who ate the properties of orphans wrongfully, and ones who were usurers. The Prophet (a.s.) saw the severe punishment of those people just to inform his nation of the heavy sins those people had committed lest no one of his nation would follow the same way.
With the Exalted Creator
The Prophet (a.s.) got the honor of listening to the speech of his Exalted Lord, either directly or by a means, as Prophet Moses (a.s.) had got that honor before. The Prophet (a.s.) said, “When I was made to ascend to the Heaven, I was called, ‘O Muhammad!’ I said, ‘My Lord, here I am! You are blessed, exalted.’ I was called, ‘O Muhammad, you are my slave and I am your Lord; worship Me and rely on Me because you are My light among My slaves, and My messenger to My creatures, and My authority on My people. To you and to whoever follows you I have created My Paradise, and to whoever opposes you I have created My Fire, and to your guardians I have assigned My honor.’”
There is another tradition narrated in this way: The Prophet (a.s.) said, “When I was made to journey in the night, Allah the Almighty called me saying, ‘O Muhammad, your prophethood has come to an end, so who shall be to your nation?’ I said, ‘O my Lord, I tested Your creatures and I could find no one more obedient and more beloved to me than Ali bin Abi Talib.’ Allah the Almighty said, ‘O Muhammad, inform him that he is the banner of guidance, the imam of My guardians, and a light to whoever obeys Me.’”
The goals of the Ascension
We think that the goals of this blessed Ascension were:
First, the Prophet (a.s.) saw the great kingdom of Allah the Almighty and His wonderful creation in the outer world; the other galaxies that any of their stars was million times greater than our planet that we live on.
Second, this journey was one of the strongest, irrefutable proofs on the existence of the Great Creator of this universe.
Third, this blessed journey had filled the Prophet’s soul with patience and determination to fulfill the mission of his Lord and spread the teachings of Islam to better the lives of all societies.
The influence of the Ascension in Mecca
The news of the Prophet’s Ascension spread in Mecca and Muslims believed and received it with satisfaction, but the unbelievers denied and suspected it and their minds could not bear this great news.
Historians say that the Prophet (a.s.) told Umm Hani (his wife and Imam Ali’s sister) about this ascension and wanted her to spread the news among the people of Quraysh, but she hesitated and felt fear for the Prophet (a.s.) from the tyrants of Quraysh. She said to him, “I ask you by Allah not to talk to Quraysh about it that those, who believe you, may disbelieve you.”
The Prophet (a.s.) paid no attention to her and he left. She asked her maid to follow after the Prophet (a.s.) to see what he was going to do. He went to some men from Quraysh in al-Hateem, between the Kaaba and the Black Rock. Al-Mut’im bin Adiy and Abu Jahl bin Hisham were there. The Prophet (a.s.) told them about his Night Journey to Jerusalim and his ascension to the Heaven. Abu Jahl began mocking at the Prophet (a.s.). He called people to gather together, and when masses crowded, he said to the Prophet (a.s.), “Tell your people about what you told me.”
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “I was made to journey in the night to Jerusalem. A group of prophets were made to receive me there among whom there were Abraham, Moses, and Jesus (peace be on them). I led them in prayer and talked with them.”
Abu Jahl said mockingly, “Describe them to me!”
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “As for Jesus, he was neither short nor tall, somehow reddish as if pearls were flowing down of his beard. And as for Moses, he was big and tall as if he was from the men of Shanu’ah. And as for Abraham, by Allah he was the most of people in looking like me in shape and morals.”
People disagreed; the believers believed the Prophet (a.s.) and others denied him. Al-Mut’im bin Adiy said to the Prophet (a.s.) denyingly, “Before this day, your matter was easy except this saying today. It proves that you are a liar. We beat the camels to Jerusalem a month in going and a month in returning, and you claim that you have gone to it and come back within one night!
By al-Lat and al-Uzza, I do never believe you and this, which you say, could not happen.”
Thus, some circles of Quraysh denied the news of the ascension and did not believe it.
The Ascension: spiritual or bodily?
Scholars are different about the Prophet’s ascension whether it was by his soul or his body. The famous opinion is that the Night Journey and the Ascension took place by the Prophet’s holy soul, but other scholars say by his body. Allama At-Tabarsi says, “The apparent opinion in our companions’ belief and the famous thing in their news is that Allah the Almighty has made the Prophet (A.S.) ascend to the Heaven by his body alive, until he saw with his eyes the Kingdom of the Heavens, and it was not in sleep.”
Allama al-Majlisi says, “Know that his (the Prophet) ascension to Jerusalem and then to the heaven by his body within one night has been affirmed through verses and recurrent traditions by the Shia and the others, and denying this matter or interpreting it into the spiritual ascension or in sleep, result from the lack of studying the traditions of the immaculate imams, or the lack of faith, or the weakness of certainty.”
At-Tabari says that the Prophet’s ascension was by his soul and not body. He quoted that from Huthayfah who narrated, “The Ascension was a vision, and the Prophet’s body was not missed, but his soul was made to journey in the night.” At-Tabari quoted that from Aa’ishah and Mo’awiya too.
Arguments
Those, who say that the Prophet (a.s.) had ascended to the Heaven by his soul and not body, justify their opinion by saying:
First, the material movement in such a very high speed is not reasonable.
Second, the ascension of the Prophet (a.s.) to the heavens required the piercing of the orbit.
Third, if the Prophet’s Night Journey and Ascension by his body were true, it would be one of his greatest miracles and this must be in the presence of people so that they would believe him. What was the use of his journey in the night while all people were inattentive?!
Fourth, man is considered as the soul alone that remains since the beginning of his life until its end, whereas the bodily parts are in continuous changing.
Fifth, they justify their opinion by referring to this Qur’anic verse, (and We did not make the vision which We showed you but a trial for men).
They say that this vision was the very matter of the ascension and it was a trial for people because many of those who had believed in the Prophet (a.s.), apostatized when they heard of this matter.
These are some of their justifications that I may answer them here:
If the Prophet’s ascension within one night was impossible, the descending of Gabriel from the Throne to Mecca in one moment would be impossible too, and the same would be said about the movement of the jinn and Satan. Allah had subjugated the wind to Prophet Solomon (a.s.) that it made a month’s journey in the morning (till midday), and a month’s journey in the afternoon (till evening). Allah has said, (One who had the knowledge of the Book said: I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye).
The throne of Balqis was in Yemen whereas Prophet Solomon was in Sham…what affirms this fact is what is said that the ray moves from the eye to the planets in the same moment. This proves that the ascension is possible in itself, but what makes it incredible is that it is a miracle and unusual, and this is not limited to the ascension only but it includes all miracles that are unusual to ordinary happening such as the cold and peacefulness of the fire to Abraham (a.s.).
As for the use of the Prophet’s ascension, it gave the Prophet (a.s.) great benefits. He saw the celestial world, the Throne, and all the wonders there which made him absolutely devoted to Allah the Almighty.
Anyhow, what I see is that the power of Allah the Almighty is much greater than to be described or limited. He is the Creator of miracles in the space and no one can keep them except the might of Allah the Almighty Who is the Creator of astonishing miracles, and the Prophet’s ascension to the outer space is one of the simplest and easiest things to Allah.
Farid Wajdi’s opinion
Farid Wajdi was the only one who thinks that the Prophet’s Night Journey was by his body whereas the Ascension was by his soul. He said, “The Night Journey by the body and the soul from Mecca to Jerusalem was something possible and not impossible. It has been proved by the European scientists’ experiments in the spiritual matters that what they called as spirits that brought to them fresh flowers from the farthest points of the land, like china and India for example, and scattered them on them while they were sitting in their rooms. This thing was proved to the scientists who had spent tens of years on experiments and written that down in their books. The denying of some stagnant persons, who have neither attended such experiments nor written any book about them, has no any value. If this is proved, a prophet can move from a country to another far one by supernaturality, for Allah the Almighty is more able to move objects and other things.”
He adds, “Those, who saw with their eyes spiritual experiments and read what experimenters had written like William Crookes, Roussel, Parks, Lodge, and other English, German, and French scholars who did not consider this matter as impossible.
As for the matter of the ascension to the Heaven, it is impossible because it has scientifically been proved that the sky is not a material roof, but it is an infinite space where stars and planets swim; some of which are burning like the sun, and others are cold, and there are worlds like ours. What has been mentioned in the Qur'an is other than this and it must be interpreted in some certain way.”
This is some of what Farid Wajdi has mentioned about the Night Journey and the Ascension (al-Isra’ wel Mi’raj). I think, after pondering, there is no place for these details after believing in the infinite power of Allah the Almighty, the Creator of all wonderful things that mind cannot imagine.
Anyhow, there were some things that faced the Prophet’s Ascension by his body such as the escaping from gravitation, the escaping from the atmosphere, the escaping from meteors, the matter of weightlessness, and some other things that some writers consider as obstacles facing the ascension, but the exceptional power of Allah that everything in the existence has submitted to refutes that…He, who ponders on the wonders of the creation of Allah the Almighty and His great wisdom, determines easily that the Prophet’s Night Journey and Ascension were by his soul and body.
The year of sorrow: Abu Talib’s death
After the Prophet (a.s.) had left the Shi’b where he and his followers were forced to undergo home arrest, he began announcing his mission among the tribes that came to Mecca. He felt safe in that under the protection of his uncle Abu Talib who had devoted his life, position, and all his abilities to serve Islam and protect the Prophet (a.s.) though he was about eighty years old and attacked by illnesses.
The notables of Quraysh came to visit him. They said to him, “O Abu Talib, you are to us (respectable and honorable) as you know, and now has come to you what you see (death)…and you know what is there between us and your nephew. So leave him alone and take to him from us and take to us from him so that he may leave us alone and we leave him alone, and he may leave us to our religion and we leave him to his religion.”
Abu Talib sent for the Prophet (a.s.) who when came and knew what those men had intended, said to them, “One word that you give to me you shall prevail by it over the Arabs and the foreign peoples shall submit by it to you.”
Abu Jahl said, “Yes, by your father, ten words!”
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “You say ‘there is no god but Allah’ and you give up what you worship other than Him.”
Some of them denied that and said to the Prophet (a.s.), “Do you want, O Muhammad, to make the gods into one god?”
Those men of Quraysh were desperate of the Prophet’s response to them. One of them said, “This man will not give you anything of what you want.” They left while were angry and disappointed.
Abu Talib’s will
Before leaving to the better world, Abu Talib recommended his children and family members with this moral will and to care much for the Prophet (a.s.). Here are some passages from Abu Talib’s will:
“I recommend you to glorify this building (the Kaaba), for in it there is satisfaction to the Lord, a means of living, and affirmation of settlement. Retain your kinship and do not cut it because the retaining of kinship is a cause of delaying one’s death and increasing his family. Refrain from oppression and help the needy! Keep to truthfulness in speaking and give deposits back to their owners, because it causes love among the near and honor among the public.”
He added, “I recommend you (to take care) of Muhammad because he is the loyal one in Quraysh and the truthful among the Arabs, and he has had all what I have recommended of. He has brought to us a thing that the soul has accepted and the heart perceived.
By Allah, as if I see the paupers of the Arabs, the people of countryside, and the disabled will have responded to his mission, believed his saying, and glorified his matter, and then he will advance by them and the heads and heroes of Quraysh will be subordinates and their houses will be destroyed, and then the cruelest one of them to him (the Prophet) will be the neediest of them to him, and the farthest of them to him will be the nearest one to him. The Arabs will give him their love and deliver to him their leadership. O community of Quraysh, here is your nephew! Be to him supporters and to his party protectors! By Allah, no one follows the path of Muhammad except that he will be successful, and believes in it except that he will be happy. If there is a space of time in my life and a delay in the term of my death, I will save him from troubles and defend him against disasters, but I acknowledge his witness and glorify his beliefs.”
To immortality
Abu Talib faced many hardships in supporting the Prophet (a.s.), protecting, and defending him against his opponents. Therefore, illnesses attacked him and death approached him rapidly. At the last moments of his life, he recommended his family and children to support the Prophet (a.s.) and protect him against the plotting and oppression of Quraysh. Then, he breathed his last and his pure soul ascended to Allah the Almighty.
Imam Ali (a.s.) ritually washed his father’s body and enshrouded it. Masses of people hurried to escort Abu Talib to his last abode and to end, by this moment, the life of this great hero by whom Allah had supported Islam and the prophet of Islam.
The Prophet (a.s.) was really afflicted by the death of his uncle who was his supporter, protector, and defender. He stopped at the tomb full of sadness and sorrow saying, “May mercy come to you O uncle! May you be rewarded with good O uncle! You have brought up and adopted (me) when a child (I was) and protected and supported when grown-up. By Allah, I will pray Allah to forgive you and intercede for you an intercession that will make men and the jinn wonder at.”
The Prophet (a.s.) felt much sorrow at his uncle until that year was called ‘the year of sorrow’. The Prophet (a.s.) lost his supporter and defender and the strong fort that he resorted to. After Abu Talib’s death, Quraysh found the Prophet (a.s.) alone, and so they could harm him too much. He said, “Quraysh could not harm me with anything I hated until Abu Talib died.”
The people of Quraysh were excessive in oppressing the Prophet (a.s.) after his uncle’s death. They threw earth on him. One of them threw a placenta of a sheep on him while he was offering the prayer,
besides many other kinds of harming.
Anyhow, Abu Talib had done every Muslim a great favor by his services to the religion of Allah. It is nonsense to say that this great mujahid died while unbelieving. This was falsehood fabricated by the Umayyads and the Abbasids who were spiteful toward Imam Ali (a.s.) and the rest of the Alawids.
How would the Prophet (a.s.) be so sorrowful at the death of an unbeliever and how would he call that year as ‘the year of sorrow’? How could he pray Allah to have mercy on him and shed on him all kinds of respect and reverence if he was an unbeliever? How could he eat and drink in Abu Talib’s house whereas Islam considers the unbelievers as impure?
May Allah reward Abu Talib with the best of reward and resurrect him with His prophets and great saints.
Khadijah’s death
Lady Khadijah stood beside the Prophet (a.s.) confirming and supporting him in all his situations and relieving him from the sufferings he faced from Quraysh. Ibn Isaaq narrated that whenever the messenger of Allah (a.s.) heard something of spiting, denying, and disbelieving and became sad, Allah relieved him by Khadijah when he came back to her. She confirmed, relieved, and believed him, and made the troubles of people easy to him. She helped him in bearing the burdens of life and she was still doing so until she left to the neighborhood of her Lord.
Khadijah spent all her abundant wealth to serve Islam. She spent liberally her monies to spread the Islamic mission. When the Prophet (a.s.) and all his family of the Hashemites were home-arrested in the Shi’b and subjected to the severe blockade, she provided them with all what they needed throughout the period of the blockade. She offered all her wealth to Islam until she had nothing even a mat to sit on.
Because of her devotedness to Islam, Khadijah got a high position near Allah Who thanked her services and sent her a greeting via the Prophet (a.s.).
Allah has granted her with a palace in the High Paradise. In a tradition the Prophet (a.s.) said, “I have been ordered (by Allah) to bring good tidings to Khadijah that she shall have a house of reeds in the Paradise wherein there shall be neither noise nor tiredness.”
As for the Prophet (a.s.), Khadijah had occupied his passion and feelings and got an exalted position near him. He had great love and reverence to her. Aa’isha narrated, “When the messenger of Allah wanted to leave the house, he often and always mentioned Khadijah and praised her. Once, he mentioned her and I became jealous. I said, ‘Was she but an old woman that Allah has given you in place of her better than her?’ The Prophet became angry until the front of his hair shook of anger. He said, ‘No, by Allah! Allah has never given me in place of her better than her; she believed in me when people disbelieved, comforted me with her wealth when people prevented me, and He gave me children from her where he deprived me of children from other women (wives).’”
One day, Halah sister of Khadijah came to the Prophet’s house. When he heard her voice, which was like Khadijah’s voice, in the yard, he said, “By Allah, she is Halah.”
Aa’ishah could not control herself and she said, “What do you remember from an old woman from the old women of Quraysh?... She died since long, and Allah has given you in place of her better than her.”
The Prophet (a.s.) became very angry and he shouted at Aa’ishah, “By Allah, Allah has not given me in place of her better than her; she believed in me when people disbelieved, believed me when people accused me of lying, comforted me with her wealth when people denied me, and Allah granted me offspring from her when he did not granted me from wives other than her.”
When the Prophet (a.s.) slaughtered a sheep, he said (to servants), “Take (some meat) to the friends of Khadijah!”
Once, Aa'isha said to him, “Why do you do that?”
He said, “I do like her beloveds.”
Envy often overcame Aa'isha whenever she heard the Prophet (a.s.) praising Khadijah. She said, “I did never envy a woman like I did to Khadijah. The messenger of Allah (a.s.) did not marry me except after her death.”
The gifts of Allah on her
Allah the Almighty had endowed Khadijah with gifts that no any other one of the Prophet’s wives had been endowed with. From the great gifts of Allah to her was that Allah had made her the mother of the best woman Allah had ever created in the earth since the beginning of the creation until the Day of Resurrection; Fatima (a.s.) the principal of the women of the worlds, and made her the grandmother of the two grandson of the Prophet (a.s.), two infallible imams, and two masters of the youth of Paradise; Imam al-Hasan and Imam al-Husayn (peace be on them), and the grandmother of Lady Zaynab, the first wronged and oppressed woman in Islam. Allah had made Khadijah the grandmother of the infallible imams who were His authorities on His people. These heavenly gifts that Khadijah had been endowed with had not been given to any woman other than her at all.
To the Paradise
Diseases attacked the Mother of Believers Khadijah and death approached her soon. In the last moments of her life, she felt pain whenever she looked at her only daughter Fatima az-Zahra’ (a.s.) who was a young child then. She looked at Fatima (a.s) with pain and sigh. She recommended the Prophet (a.s.) to take much care of her.
It was not long until Khadijah left to the better world and her pure soul rose towards its Creator surrounded by angels and received by the prophets of Allah.
The Prophet (a.s.) was afflicted by the great loss of Khadijah who filled his life with satisfaction and tranquility, and relieved him from the persecution of the oppressors of Quraysh. He was very sad when she died.
Anyhow, he washed, enshrouded, and offered the prayer on her. He dug a grave for her and buried her in it.
The loss of Khadijah caused the Prophet (a.s.) a great sorrow until he called that year where also his uncle Abu Talib died in as “the year of sorrow”.
Death took Khadijah, who was the most loyal to the Prophet (a.s.), the most loving, and the best supporter to him and to his mission. Lady Khadijah died in the month of Ramadan when she was sixty-five years and after living with the Prophet (a.s.) twenty-five years.
The first homage of al-Aqabah
When Allah willed to confirm and honor His messenger, make His religion prevail, and fulfill His promise of victory, the Prophet (a.s.) traveled to the tribes propagating his mission publicly. When he was in al-Aqabah, he met some men from the tribe of al-Khazraj who were followers to the Jews. He showed to them Islam and its principles and values and recited to them some verses from the Holy Qur'an which went deep into their hearts. What made them believe was that the Jews they lived with often propagated about the approaching advent of a new prophet. When Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) invited these men to Islam, they said to each other, “O men, he is the prophet that the Jews have promised you of. Let them not precede you to him!”
They responded to the Prophet (a.s.) and announced their faith. They said to the Prophet (a.s.),
“We have left our people while there was enmity and grudge among them which had no like among other than them. May Allah reconcile them by you that you invite them to Islam and show to them the same that we have responded to. If they respond to you, then no one shall be more honored than you.”
Those men went back to their country. They announced their faith in Islam and began propagating it. They were twelve men; Abu Umamah As’ad bin Zurarah, Owf bin al-Harith and his brother Mu’ath, Rafi’ bin Malik, Thakwan bin Abdil Qays, Ubadah bin as-Samit, Yazid bin Tha’labah, al-Abbas bin Ubadah, Uqbah bin Aamir, Qutbah bin Aamir, who were from al-Khazraj, Uwaym bin Sa’idah, and Abul Haytham Malik bin at-Tayyihan who were from al-Ows.
After that, Islam spread in Yathrib (Medina) and monotheism shone there.
The text of the homage to the Prophet (a.s.) was as the following: “Not to associate with Allah anything as a partner, not to steal or rob, not to commit adultery, not to kill their children, not to fabricate falsehood, not to disobey Allah in any good deed…if they fulfill that, they shall deserve to be in the Paradise, but if they do not, their affair shall be up to Allah the Almighty; if He wills, He will pardon, and if He wills, He will punish.”
Sending Mus’ab a deputy to Medina
The people of Medina sent a delegation to the Prophet (a.s.) asking him to send them a religious instructor to teach them the teachings and rulings of Islam. The Prophet (a.s.) chose Mus’ab bin Umayr, who was from the best Muslim youth in virtue and jurisprudence as he was from the politest, most well-behaved, and most handsome youth of Quraysh, as his deputy to the people of Medina. Mus’ab traveled to Medina and began instructing the teachings of Islam among the people of the al-Aws and al-Khazraj (the biggest tribes of Medina) and reciting to them the Book of Allah. Islam spread so speedily, and no house remained there except that some of its men and women embraced Islam.
Mus’ab was so successful that he was the first deputy in Islam to be successful in his task.
The second homage of al-Aqabah
Mus’ab came back to Mecca carrying with him the good news of the spread of Islam in Medina and the response of the al-Aws and al-Khazraj to it and their devotedness to defend it with all material and moral abilities they had. The Prophet (a.s.) was so delighted and happy, and so were the Muslims in Mecca who suffered persecution and oppression there.
The Muslims of Medina sent a delegation headed by al-Bara’ bin Ma’rur and Ka’b bin Malik, to meet with the Prophet (a.s.) in Mecca. The delegation met with the Prophet (a.s.) in the mosque and offered to him their absolute reverence and conveyed to him the longing of the people of Medina to get the honor of receiving the Prophet (a.s.) in their town.
Al-Abbas, who was with the Prophet (a.s.), rose and made a speech before the delegation of Medina saying, “O people of the al-Khazraj, Muhammad among us is as you know; we have protected him from our people who are on the belief of ours (the polytheists),
so he is honorable among his people and secure in his country. He has refused except to incline to and join you. If you see that you will fulfill what you have promised him of and will defend him against his opponents, then it is you and what you have undertaken, but if you see that you will leave and betray him after his coming to you, then since now let him alone, for he is in honor and security among his people and in his country…”
The Prophet meets with the Ansar
The Prophet (a.s.) agreed with the delegation of Medina that he would meet with the people of Medina during the days of Tashriq.
A group of seventy men and two women, who were Umm Imarah Nusaybah bint Ka’b and Umm Manee’ Asma’ bint Amr, from the Muslims of Medina came to perform the hajj. They concealed the matter for fear of the polytheists of Quraysh. They waited until a third of the night elapsed, and then all these seventy-two persons sneaked away to al-Aqabah and had the honor of meeting the Prophet (a.s.) there. The Prophet (a.s.) welcomed and recited to them some verses from the Qur'an. They said to him, “We listen to you. Speak and take to yourself and to your Lord as you like.”
The Prophet (a.s.) said to them, “I accept your homage on condition that you protect me as you protect your women and children.”
Al-Bara’ bin Ma’rur took the Prophet’s hand and said, “By Him Who has sent you with the truth, we will defend you as we defend our women. O messenger of Allah, accept our homage for, by Allah, we are people of war and arms. We have inherited that from one another.”
Ibn Rawaha asked the Prophet (a.s.), “If we do that, what shall we have?”
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “You shall have the Paradise.”
Then, Abul Haytham bin at-Tayyihan informed the Prophet (a.s.) about the danger of the Jews there. He said, “There is between us and the men (the Jews) ropes (relations) that we will cut. If we do that and then Allah make you prevail, will you go back to your people and leave us?”
The Prophet (a.s.) smiled and said, “But it is the blood the blood, and the destruction the destruction! You are from me and I am from you; I fight whomever you fight, and make peace with whomever you make peace with.”
This situation of the Prophet (a.s.) and the Ansar
was as the declaration of war against the Jews. Before these men paid the homage to the Prophet (a.s.), al-Abbas bin Ubadah had said to his people, “O community of al-Khazraj, do you know what for you pay homage to this man? You pay homage to him that you will fight against the red and the black of people. If you see that when your monies are exhausted and your notables killed, you will give him up, then from now you should let him alone. If you do (give him up), it shall be disgrace on you in this life and in the afterlife, and if you see that you are loyal to what you have promised him of exhausting the monies and killing of notables, then it will be the goodness of this life and the afterlife.”
All of them cried out, “We take him in spite of the exhausting of monies and the killing of notables. O messenger of Allah, what shall we have if we fulfill that?”
The Prophet (a.s.) replied, “The Paradise.”
The text of the homage was as the following, “We have paid homage to the messenger of Allah that we listen and obey (him) in activity and laziness, and spend (money) in poverty and richness, and enjoin the good and prohibit the wrong, and say (the truth) for the sake of Allah fearing no blame of any blamer, and support the messenger of Allah when he comes to us in Yathrib as we defend our selves, souls, and children, and we shall have the Paradise.”
This homage was called “the homage of ar-Radhwan”. Then, this verse was revealed, (Certainly Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquility on them and rewarded them with a near victory),
and this verse, (Surely those who swear allegiance to you do but swear allegiance to Allah; the hand of Allah is above their hands. Therefore, whoever breaks (his faith), he breaks it only to the injury of his own soul, and whoever fulfills what he has covenanted with Allah, He will grant him a mighty reward).
Women paid homage in Mecca by putting their hands in a vessel of water and taking them out. Allah has said about that, (O Prophet! when believing women come to you giving you a pledge that they will not associate aught with Allah, and will not steal, and will not commit fornication, and will not kill their children, and will not bring a calumny which they have forged of themselves, and will not disobey you in what is good, accept their pledge, and ask forgiveness for them from Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful).
When the blessed homage was completed, the Prophet (a.s.) asked the pledgers to choose from among themselves twelve chiefs to be guardians over their people. They chose nine men from al-Khazraj and three from al-Aws. The Prophet (a.s.) made As’ad bin Zurara a chief over these chiefs and said to them, “You are guardians over your people as they are, like the guardianship of the disciples to Jesus son of Mary, and I am a guardian over my people.”
This homage took place in the heart of night in the defile of al-Aqabah, and then the pledgers went to their beds until the morning wakened them.
Fear of Quraysh
When the people of Quraysh knew about the homage of the people of Medina to the Prophet (a.s.) and their promise to protect him and defend his religion, they felt great fear and were too worried. The people of Quraysh were certain that they were meant by this treaty, because it was they who disbelieved in this religion, tortured the weak who believed in it, and harmed the Prophet (a.s.) bitterly; therefore, he must avenge on them.
Anyhow, the chiefs of Quraysh hurried to the caravan of Medina and said to them, “O people of al-Khazraj, we have been informed that you came to our friend (the Prophet) to take him out of us and pay him homage to fight us. By Allah, there is no tribe from the Arabs that is more hated to us that a war may break out between us and them than you.”
Some men from al-Khazraj, who had not yet embraced Islam, swore before the people of Quraysh that nothing of that had taken place, while the people, who had paid homage to the Prophet (a.s.), hurried to leave Mecca soon to be safe from Quraysh’s harms.
However, the people of Quraysh were certain of the homage of the people of Median to the Prophet (a.s.), and so they followed after them but they only could reach Sa’d bin Ubadah in Athakhir (a place near Mecca) and al-Munthir bin Amr who both were from the chiefs (nominated over the people of Medina). As for al-Munthir, he could run away, whereas Sa’d was taken and his hands were tied to his neck with the ropes of his mount. They brought him back to Mecca while beating and drawing him by his hair.
Muslims’ emigration to Medina
After the homage of al-Aqabah, Yathrib became a strong center for Muslims, for the Ansar (the Muslims of Medina) undertook their protection and defense. There, Islam spread everywhere and people of all classes talked about its high principles and rulings in their meetings and clubs.
Muslims of Mecca, after suffering much from Quraysh, asked permission to emigrate to Yathrib, and the Prophet (a.s.) permitted them. He gave them a general permission of immigration to Yathrib by saying, “I have been informed that the place of your emigration is Yathrib, so whoever wants to emigrate let him emigrate to it.”
The Prophet (a.s.) encouraged Muslims to emigrate to Yathrib (Medina) saying to them “Allah the Almighty has made to you brothers and an abode that you shall be safe in it (there).”
Muslims began emigrating to Yathrib secretly
for fear of the oppression of Quraysh. This emigration was based on a deep thought that made the Ansar more active and determined to support Islam besides its great influence on the Muhajireen (emigrants) who felt safe and free there. The first one from the Prophet’s companions, who emigrated to Yathrib, was Abu Salamah Abdullah bin Abdul Asad al-Makhzumi, and then his wife Umm Salamah joined him after suffering too much from Quraysh. From among the other first emigrant was Aamir bin Rabee’ah with his wife Layla bint Abu Hathmah, Abdullah bin Jahsh bin Ri’ab with his wife and his brother Abu Ahmed Abd bin Jahsh, Ammar bin Yasir, Bilal al-Habashi, Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas, Umar bin al-Khattab, with Ayyash bin Abi Rabee’ah, Hisham bin al-Aasi and other twenty riders.
The Muhajireen in the hospitality of the Ansar
The Ansar (Muslims of Yathrib) received and welcomed the Muhajireen (emigrants) and made them live in their houses and they spent on them. Umar bin al-Khattab and his companions lived in Rifa’ah bin Abdul Munthir’s house,
Mus’ab bin Umayr lived in Sa’d bin Mu’ath’s house, Hamza bin Abul Muttalib and Zayd bin Harithah lived in Kulthum bin al-Hadm’s house.
The people of Yathrib received the Muhajireen too welcomely. They were too generous to them; they spent on them and offered their own houses to them and to their families. They participated with them in all what they had.
The method of the mission in Mecca
It may be too useful to discuss the method of the Islamic mission in Mecca which was the strong fort of idolatry and polytheism and a center of bad habits and traditions that resulted from the deep ignorance of those people. The Prophet’s mission in inviting people towards Islam was based on the following methods:
1. wisdom and good preaching
Allah has said, (Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and have disputations with them in the best manner; surely your Lord best knows those who go astray from His path, and He knows best those who follow the right way).
Indeed, the Prophet (a.s.) followed all kinds of wisdom and reasonable arguments to guide that society and save it from its ignorance.
2. good saying
The Prophet’s invitation depended on the good saying that did not provoke anyone’s passion or hurt his dignity. Allah has said, (And say to My servants (that) they speak that which is best),
and said, (and speak kindly to mankind).
3. leniency and mercy
The Prophet (a.s.) depended in his mission on leniency and mercifulness and he avoided harshness and strictness. Allah has taught and guided him to these high morals. Allah has said, (and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you).
4. repelling evil with what is best
The Prophet (a.s.) repelled the oppression and severity of Quraysh against him with being kind and charitable to them as Allah the Almighty had said to him, (Repel (evil) with what is best, then lo! he between whom and you was enmity would be as if he were a warm friend).
5. patience
The Prophet (a.s.) armed himself with patience in fulfilling his mission, for Allah had ordered him of that. Allah has said, (And bear patiently what they say and avoid them with a becoming avoidance),
and said, (And be patient, and your patience is not but by (the assistance of) Allah, and grieve not for them, and do not distress yourself at what they plan),
and said, (So wait patiently for the command of your Lord, and obey not from among them a sinner or an ungrateful one).
Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) suffered from the people of Quraysh the severest kinds of harms and distresses, but he did not mind. He tolerated all that for the sake of Allah and he kept on fulfilling his mission until Allah the Almighty granted him with the great victory over his enemies. Allah ordered him to imitate His Arch-Prophets who were patient with the hardships they met from their peoples. Allah has said, (So bear up patiently as as did the Arch-Prophets bear up with patience and do not seek to hasten for them (their doom)).
6. warning the unbelievers against Allah’s punishment
From the methods of the Prophet (a.s.) in his mission was his warning the society against the punishment of Allah the Almighty if people did not respond to him. He recited before them the Qur’anic verses that censured their disbelief and deviation. Allah has said, (And whoever does not believe in Allah and His Messenger, then surely We have prepared burning fire for the unbelievers),
and said, (and We have prepared for the unbelievers a disgraceful chastisement).
The Holy Qur'an has many verses warning the unbelievers against the torment of Allah and confirming that they will remain forever in the fire of the Hell under severe tortures.
7. giving good tidings to the believers to be in the Paradise
The Prophet (a.s.) always gave good news to the believers that they would win the Paradise with all its bliss. Allah has said, (Surely Allah will cause those who believe and do good deeds to enter gardens beneath which rivers flow),
and (Surely the righteous shall be in gardens and rivers, in the seat of honor with a most Powerful King),
and (Those who believed in Our communications and were submissive; enter the garden, you and your wives; you shall be made happy. There shall be sent round to them golden bowls and drinking-cups and therein shall be what their souls yearn after and (wherein) the eyes shall delight, and you shall abide therein).
There are many other verses like these ones that the Prophet (a.s.) made use of in carrying out his mission and spreading his values and goals.
The invitation to Allah
The first principle that the Prophet (a.s.) adopted was the invitation to the Oneness of Allah; the only Creator of the universe and the only Giver of life. He raised the motto of monotheism by saying, “say: there is no god but Allah and you shall be successful!” This was too heavy for that society which had been brought up on worshipping idols. Therefore, the people of that society rushed out to put out this light and silence this voice. The Prophet (a.s.) proved the oneness of Allah through irrefutable evidences that, here, we shall show some of them.
The existence of Allah
From the facts that can never be denied or suspected is the existence of the Great Creator, the Manager of the universe, and the Giver of life. The Prophet (a.s.) depended in proving this fact on some verses from the Holy Qur'an. Allah has said, (Most surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day, and the ships that run in the sea with that which profits men, and the water that Allah sends down from the cloud, then gives life with it to the earth after its death and spreads in it all (kinds of) animals, and the changing of the winds and the clouds made subservient between the heaven and the earth, there are signs for a people who understand).
This verse has irrefutable proofs on the existence of the Great Creator. It talks about the creation of the heavens with millions of galaxies flowing in the space with absolute accuracy and orderliness. Allah says about the sun and the moon, (It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit).
The alternation of the day and the night is also a clear sign on the existence and great power of Allah Who says, (And a sign to them is the night: We draw forth from it the day, then lo! they are in the dark).
Another sign is the running of ships in the huge seas and oceans carrying goods from a place to another. Allah says, (And a sign to them is that We bear their offspring in the laden ship).
The coming down of water from the heaven that gives life to all creatures is also a clear sign on the existence of the Creator. Allah says, (Have you not seen how Allah has sent down water from the sky and has caused it to penetrate the earth as springs, and afterward thereby produces crops of different colors; and afterward they wither and you see them turn yellow, then He makes them chaff. Lo! herein verily is a reminder for men of understanding).
The movements of winds and clouds between the sky and the earth are also signs proving clearly the existence of the Great Creator.
From the great signs of Allah the Almighty that prove His existence is the creation of man. Allah says, (And certainly We created man of an extract of clay. Then We made him a small seed in a firm resting-place. Then We made the seed a clot, then We made the clot a lump of flesh, then We made (in) the lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, then We caused it to grow into another creation, so blessed be Allah, the best of the creators).
From the great signs of Allah the Almighty is this earth; our mother that supplies us with life and blessings and that has seas, rivers, mountains, and everything. Allah says, (And He it is Who spread the earth and made in it firm mountains and rivers, and of all fruits He has made in it two kinds; He makes the night cover the day; most surely there are signs in this for a people who reflect).
The signs that guide to the existence of Allah are uncountable. In every atom of the creatures there is a clear proof on the existence of Allah. The Prophet (a.s.) recited these verses, signs, and evidences before that idolatrous society, but no one believed in them except a very few.
The oneness of Allah
Allah is only one with no partner with Him in His kingdom and might. The impossibility of such partnership has been declared in the Holy Qur'an. Allah says, (If there were therein gods beside Allah, then verily both (the heavens and the earth) had been disordered).
If there is a partner with Allah in this universe that has the same powers as Allah the Almighty has, then everything in the universe will be in disorder, because he will act according to his own wills and wishes which leads to the corruption of the heavens and the earth. Allah says, (and never was there with him any (other) god; in that case would each god have certainly taken away what he created, and some of them would certainly have overpowered others; glory be to Allah above what they describe),
and He says, (Most surely your Lord is One. The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, and Lord of the easts).
The power of Allah
Everything in the heavens and in the earth is submissive to the might and will of Allah the Almighty. Allah says, (Our word for a thing when We intend it, is only that We say to it, Be, and it is),
and (The Originator of the heavens and the earth, and when He decrees an affair, He only says to it, Be, so there it is).
The knowledge of Allah
As for the knowledge of Allah, it is indefinite; neither can be counted nor perceived. Allah says, (And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them but He, and He knows what is in the land and the sea, and there falls not a leaf but He knows it, nor a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything green nor dry but (it is all) in a clear book),
and (And He is Allah in the heavens and in the earth; He knows your secret (thoughts) and your open utterance, and He knows what you earn).
The Holy Qur'an talks about the vastness of Allah’s knowledge saying, (Allah knows what every female bears, and that of which the wombs fall short of completion and that in which they increase; and there is a measure with Him of everything. The knower of the unseen and the seen, the Great, the Most High. Alike (to Him) among you is he who conceals (his) words and he who speaks them openly, and he who hides himself by night and who goes forth by day).
The messenger of Allah (a.s.) recited these verses to the unbelievers of Mecca and showed them irrefutable evidences on the existence and the attributes of Allah, but none responded to him, for they were occupied by total ignorance. Rather, they accused him of being a magician and a liar. They oppressed and fought him until Allah gave him the great victory over them.
The legislation of wudu’ and prayer
At the beginnings of the revelation in Mecca, wudu’ and prayer were legislated as obligations on Muslims. Historians mention that Gabriel came down to the Prophet (a.s.) while he was at the outskirt of Mecca. Gabriel (a.s.) beat the ground and a spring gushed out. Gabriel performed the wudu’ while the Prophet (a.s.) was looking at him. Then, the Prophet (a.s.) performed the wudu’ as Gabriel did. Then, Gabriel offered the prayer and the Prophet (a.s.) did as he saw Gabriel do.
As the prayer was legislated, the azan was legislated with it too. The first Muslim, who called out the azan, was the great companion Abu Tharr al-Ghifari. He went above the Kaaba and recited the azan loudly. The men of Quraysh hurried to and beat him severely until he was unconscious. He was carried to the Prophet’s house, and he did not regain consciousness until the night. In the morning, he mounted his horse and stopped before the men of Quraysh reciting loudly the azan in order to anger them. They ran toward him, but he hurried with his horse away and was safe from them.
The kiblah
The Prophet (a.s.) offered his prayers towards Jerusalem for thirteen years when he was in Mecca. After his emigration to Yathrib, he offered the prayers towards Jerusalem for seven months, and then Allah ordered him to offer the prayer towards the Kaaba. The reason behind that was that the Jews blamed the Prophet (a.s.) and said to him that he offered his prayers towards their kiblah. The Prophet (a.s.) was sad and distressed. In the heart of night, he went out looking at the heavens waiting for an order from Allah the Almighty. The next day and while the Prophet (a.s.) was offering the Duhr Prayer in the mosque of bani Salim, Gabriel came down to him, held him by his two hands, and turned him toward the Kaaba after he had offered two rak’as from the Duhr Prayer, and revealed to him this verse, (Indeed We see the turning of your face to heaven, so We shall surely turn you to a kiblah which you shall like; turn then your face towards the Sacred Mosque).
The Jews said as the Qur'an recites, (What has turned them from their kiblah which they formerly observed?)
They were answered that it was the truth from Allah the Almighty.
The Prophet’s miracles in Mecca
Allah the Almighty assisted His messenger with wonderful miracles that proved his mission and confirmed his authority as a deputy from Allah. The following are some of the Prophet’s miracles:
1. The Holy Qur'an
The greatest miracle of Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) was the Qur'an that (falsehood can not come to it from before it nor from behind it). It was the firmest evidences on Muhammad’s prophethood and the truthfulness of his mission. The most eloquent men were unable to keep up with it nor could they compose a bit like it. Allah said, (Or do they say: He has forged it? Say: Then bring a chapter (sura) like it and invite whom you can besides Allah),
and said, (And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a chapter like it and call on your witnesses besides Allah if you are truthful).
Besides its wonderful eloquence, the Holy Qur'an has all kinds of knowledge and sciences. It includes civil laws, administrative decrees, war arts, and all other fields of life. It has no contradiction or conflict, and it has been kept safe from any forging. Allah says, (Do they not then meditate on the Qur’an? And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it much discrepancy).
If we notice the Bibles, we shall find in their editions contradictions and discrepancies while the Qur'an has been safe from all that, praise be to Allah.
The Holy Qur'an is a miracle in its legislations that keep pace with man’s nature and are not a bit different to the rules of the universe. Allah says, (Surely this Qur’an guides to that which is most upright).
The Qur’an’s teachings and rulings have been built on the mere justice and truth. Allah says, (Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and oppression; He admonishes you that you may be mindful).
2. The miracle of the Tree
Imam Ali (a.s.) narrated, “I was with him (the Prophet) when the men of Quraysh came and said to him, ‘O Muhammad, you have claimed something very great that neither your fathers nor anyone from your family had ever claimed. We will ask you for something that if you respond and show it to us, we shall know that you are a prophet and messenger, and if you do not, we shall know that you are a magician and a liar.’
He said, ‘what is it?’
They said, ‘You call this tree until it is plucked out with its roots and then it stands before you.’
He said, ‘Surely, Allah is powerful over everything. If Allah does that to you, will you believe and acknowledge the truth?’
They agreed and he said to them, ‘I shall show you what you have requested though I know well that you do not submit to the truth, and I know that there are from among you some ones who shall be thrown into the well and some shall gather parties (against the Prophet and Muslims).’ Then he said, ‘O tree, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day (day of resurrection) and know that I am the messenger of Allah, let you be plucked out with your roots until you stand before me by the will of Allah!’
By Him Who has sent him (the Prophet) with the truth, it was plucked out with its roots and it came having great roar and sound like that of birds’ wings until it stood before the messenger of Allah (a.s.), and some of its branches touched my shoulders for I was at his (the Prophet) right side. When the men saw that, they said haughtily, ‘Order it that a half of it should come to you and the other half to remain in its place.’ The Prophet (a.s.) ordered the tree, and a half of it came wonderfully roaring until it was about to embrace the messenger of Allah (a.s.). They disbelievingly and insolently said, ‘Order this half to go back to its other half as it was.’ He ordered it and it came back as it was. I (Imam Ali) said, ‘There is no god but Allah. I am the first one to believe in you O messenger of Allah, and the first one to witness that this tree did what it did by the will of Allah to confirm your prophethood and exalt your mission.’ The men all said, ‘He is but a magician and liar; wonderful and expert in magic. Would anyone believe in your matter except one like this?’ They meant me (Imam Ali).”
No one of those ignorant people, who were occupied by falsehood, believed. Allah says, (and even if they see every sign they will not believe in it).
Yes, only Imam Ali (a.s.), whom Allah had purified from falsehood and uncleanness, believed.
3. The split of the moon
Some polytheists, among whom were al-Waleed bin al-Mughirah, Abu Jahl, al-Aas bin Wa’il, al-Aas bin Hisham, al- Aswad bin Abd, al-Aswad bin al-Muttalib, Zam’ah bin al-Aswad, an-Nadhr bin al-Harith, and their like, met the Prophet (a.s.) and said to him, “If you are truthful, let you split the moon to us into two halves; one on Abi Qubays and the other on Qayqu’an.”
The Prophet (a.s.) said to them, “If I do, will you believe then?”
They said, “Yes.”
The Prophet (a.s.) prayed Allah to do what those men wanted. It was no long when the moon was split into two halves; one on Abi Qubays and the other on Qayqu’an. The Prophet (a.s.) cried out, “O Abu Salamah bin Abdil Asad and al-Arqam bin al-Arqam, witness this!”
However, no one of them believed. Rather, they all said, “This is fabricated magic.”
The Meccan Suras
As we are still with the Prophet (a.s.) in Mecca, it might be useful to show the Suras that were revealed to him there. They were eighty-six suras, and here are they according to the Qur’anic order:
Al-Fatiha, al-An’am, al-A’raf, Younus, Hud, Yousuf, Ibrahim, al-Hijr, an-Nahl, al-Isra’, al-Kahf, Maryam, Taha, al-Anbiya’, al-Mu’minun, al-Furqan, ash-Shu’ara’, an-Naml, al-Qasas, al-Ankabut, ar-Room, Luqman, as-Sajdah, Saba’, Fatir, Yasin, as-Saffaat, Sad, az-Zumar, Ghafir, Fussilat, ash-Shoora, az- Zukhruf, ad-Dukhan, aj-Jathiyah, al-Ahqaf, Qaf, ath-Thariyat, at-Toor, an-Najm, al-Qamar, al-Waqi’ah, al-Mulk, al-Qalam, al-Haaqqah, al-Ma’arij, Nooh, al-Jinn, al-Muzzammil, al-Muddaththir, al-Qiyamah, al-Mursilaat, an-Naba’, an-Nazi’aat, Abasa, at-Takweer, al-Infitar, al-Mutaffifin, al-Inshiqaq, al-Burooj, at-Tariq, al-A’la, al-Ghashiyah, al-Fajr, al-Balad, ash-Shams, al-Layl, adh-Dhuha, ash-Sharh, at-Teen, al-Alaq, al-Qadr, al-Aadiyaat, al-Qari’ah, at-Takathur, al-Asr, al-Humazah, al-Feel, Quraysh, al-Ma’oon, al-Kawthar, al-Kafirun, al-Masad, al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, and an-Naas.
It is worth mentioning that these suras, which were revealed to the Prophet (a.s.) in Mecca, deal with monotheism and the evidences on the existence and oneness of Allah. Most of them do not show the religious rites and the legal obligations. The suras that were revealed in Medina deal with that.
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Author: Baqir Sharif al-Qarashi
