(May 28, 2021)
Seerah – Part 7
(May 28, 2021)
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
In the last session we had seen that the Prophet’s message was ignored by most of the people including his uncles. However, he continued to meet his followers secretly in a house near the hill of Safa. There they prayed together and he taught them about the religion of Islam. But even though they kept to themselves, they were sometimes abused by those who would not believe. From one such incident, however, an unexpected conversion to Islam took place. One day, when the Prophet (S) was returning home, speaking with his followers, he met Abu Jahl, a leader of Quraysh, who hated the Prophet (S) and his teachings. Abu Jahl started to insult him and to speak spitefully of Islam, but the Prophet (S) made no reply and went on his way.
Later, Hamza, one of the Prophet’s uncles, who was a strong and brave warrior of whom people were quite afraid, heard how his nephew had been insulted. Filled with rage, he ran straight to the Ka’bah where Abu Jahl was sitting among the people and struck him a violent blow in the face with his bow. Hamza then shouted, ‘Will you insult him when I follow his religion, and I say what he says? Hit me back if you can!’ Some people got up to help Abu Jahl but he stopped them saying, “Leave Hamza alone, for by Allah, I have insulted his nephew badly.” From that moment on Hamza followed the teachings of the Prophet (S) and with his conversion to Islam Quraysh realized that the Prophet (S) had a strong supporter and so for a while they stopped persecuting him.
Soon, however, the leaders of Quraysh became angry again, when they saw that the Prophet (S) was going ahead with his teaching. A group of them went to his uncle, Abu Talib, who had promised to protect him. They told him to ask the Prophet (S) to stop attacking their gods and their way of life, and in return they would let him do as he wished with his religion. After a time they saw that there was no change, so they went back to Abu Talib and this time they told him that if he did not stop his nephew, they would fight them both. Abu Talib was very upset by this quarrel among his people, but he could not break his word to his nephew. He sent for the Prophet (S) and told him what had happened, saying, “Spare me and spare yourself; do not put a greater burden on me than I can bear.”
The Prophet (S) thought that his uncle might abandon him and that he would no longer have his support, but nevertheless he answered, “”O my uncle, by Allah, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left in return for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up until Allah makes Truth victorious, or I die in His service. Abu Talib was deeply moved by this answer. He told the Prophet (S) that he would support him for as long as he lived and encouraged him to go on spreading Allah’s message.
From that time on, however hard the leaders of Quraysh tried to convince Abu Talib to stop protecting his nephew, he always refused to listen to them. In order to get rid of the Prophet (S) and his followers, his enemies started persecuting those Muslims who were poor or weak, or had no powerful friends. One such person was Bilal, the slave of Umayya ibn Khalaf. His master would take him out into the desert, tie him up, and leave him in the sun with a large stone on his chest. Fortunately Abu Bakr was passing by one day and saw Umayya torturing Bilal, so he bought him from his master for a large sum of money and then set him free. But not all persecuted Muslims were as fortunate as Bilal. Many suffered, but all of them endured it patiently, knowing that they were doing the right thing and that their reward in the life to come would be greater than any happiness they could find on earth.
As the number of the Prophet’s followers increased so the enemies of the Muslims grew more and more angry. At last some of the Muslims decided to go to another country in order to live in peace. It was only five years since the Jibril (AS) had first come to the Prophet (S) and two years since the Prophet (S) had spoken out in public. The Muslims asked the Prophet (S) to allow them to leave Makkah. He agreed, saying that it would be better for them to go to Abyssinia. The king there was a just man and it was a friendly country. They were told to stay there until Allah made it possible for them to return.
The Muslims prepared for the journey. They decided to wait until night so that they could leave without being seen. The first sixteen left Makkah and, after reaching the shore of die Red Sea, crossed over to Abyssinia. Another eighty-three men and nineteen women followed, all hoping to be welcomed by the king and people of that country. This was the first hijrah, or migration, in Islam. The Makkans were furious when they discovered that these Muslims had secretly left the city for among them were the sons and daughters of many of the leading families of Makkah. The anger of the Makkans was even greater when they found out that the Muslims had been warmly welcomed in Abyssinia. The leaders of Quraysh decided to send two men to the Abyssinian king in hopes of persuading him to send the Muslims back. These were ‘Amr ibn al-‘As, a very clever speaker, and Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi’ah. Before they met this king, they gave each of his advisers a gift, saying: ‘Some foolish men from our people have come to hide in your country. Our leaders have sent us to your ruler to persuade him to send them back, so when we speak to the king about them, do advise him to give them up to us.’
The advisers agreed to do what the Makkans wished. Amr ibn al-‘As and ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Rabi’ah then went to the king and presented him also with a gift, saying: ‘Your Highness, these people have abandoned the religion we have always followed in Makkah, but they have not even become Christians like you.’ The royal advisers, who were also present, told the king that the Makkans had spoken the truth and that he should send the Muslims back to their own people. At this, the king became angry and said, ‘No, by God, I will not give them up. Those who have come to ask for my protection, settled in my country, and chosen me rather than others, shall not be betrayed. I will summon them and ask them about what these two men have said. If the Muslims are as the Makkans say, I will give them up and send them back to their own people, but if the Makkans have lied I will protect the Muslims.’
‘Amr was very upset by this for the last thing he wanted was for the king to hear what the Muslims had to say. The king then sent for the Muslims. When they entered, they did not kneel before him as was the custom of the Abyssinians. ‘Why do you not kneel before our king?’ they were asked by one of the advisors. ‘We kneel only to Allah’, they replied. So the king asked them to tell him about their religion.
Ja’far ibn Abi Talib, Ali’s brother and a cousin of the Prophet (S), was chosen to speak for the Muslims. He replied, ‘O King, at first we were among the ignorant. We and our ancestors had turned from the faith of Ibrahim, who, with Isma’il, rebuilt the Ka’bah and worshipped only Allah. We used idols in our worship of Allah; we ate meat that had not been killed in the right way; we did not respect the rights of our neighbors; the strong took advantage of the weak. We did terrible things of which I dare not speak. This was our life until Allah sent a Messenger from among us, one of our relatives, whom we have always known to be honest, innocent, and faithful. He asked us to worship only Allah, and to give up the bad customs of our forefathers. He asked us to be truthful and trustworthy, to respect and help our neighbors, to honor our families, and to put a stop to our bad deeds and endless fighting. He asked us to look after orphans. He ordered us not to slander or speak evil of women or men. He ordered us to worship Allah alone and not to worship anyone or anything else alongside Him. He ordered us to pray, to give alms, and to fast. We believe he is right and therefore we follow him and do as he has commanded us. The Makkans began to attack us and come between us and our religion. So we had to leave our homes and we have come to you, hoping to find justice.’
The king, who was a Christian, was moved by these words. Amr had to think quickly of a way to win the argument. Cunningly he said to the king, ‘These people do not believe in Jesus in the same way as you’. The king then wanted to know what the Prophet (S) had said about Jesus. Ja’far replied by reciting a few verses from Surat Maryam, which tells the story of Jesus and his mother Mary.
When the king heard this, his eyes filled with tears. Turning to his advisers, he said, ‘These words have surely come from God; there is very little to separate the Muslims from the Christians. What both Jesus and Muhammad, the Messengers of Allah, have brought comes from the same source. So the Muslims were given the king’s permission to live peacefully in his country. ‘Amr was given back the gift he had presented to the king and the two Makkans returned home, bitterly disappointed.
The leaders of Quraysh became increasingly worried about the way the people of Makkah were being divided by the Prophet’s teachings. Finally, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, one of the nobles of Makkah, decided that the only way to silence the Prophet (S) was to kill him. Having made up his mind, he set out at once to look for him. On his way he met a man who saw at once what ‘Umar was going to do and said: ‘Why don’t you look a little closer to home before going to kill Muhammad? Don’t you know your own sister Fatimah is a Muslim?’ ‘Umar was shocked. He could not believe this was true. He went at once to his sister’s house. When he arrived outside the house he heard Fatimah and her husband Sa’id reading aloud Surat Ta Ha, a chapter from the Qur’an. Hearing her brother’s voice at the door, Fatimah quickly hid the scroll with the surah written on it among the folds of her dress. ‘Umar stormed into the room and demanded, ‘What is this nonsense I heard?’ Fatimah denied everything. ‘Umar then lost his temper and attacked Fatimah’s husband shouting, ‘They tell me that you have joined Muhammad in his religion!’ Fatimah tried to defend her husband and ‘Umar hit her too. Then she admitted, “Yes, we are Muslims and we believe in Allah and His Messenger and you can do what you like!” Seeing her faith and courage, ‘Umar suddenly felt sorry for what he had done and said to his sister, “Let me see what I heard you reading just now so that I may understand just what it is that your Prophet has brought.” Fatimah gave the scroll to him after he had washed to make himself clean and pure before touching it, and had promised to give it back to her afterwards.
طه () مَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآَنَ لِتَشْقَى () إِلَّا تَذْكِرَةً لِمَنْ يَخْشَى () تَنْزِيلًا مِمَّنْ خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ وَالسَّمَاوَاتِ الْعُلَا () الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى () لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَمَا تَحْتَ الثَّرَى () وَإِنْ تَجْهَرْ بِالْقَوْلِ فَإِنَّهُ يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى () اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى
Ta, Ha. We did not reveal the Quran to you to make you suffer. But only as a reminder for him who fears. A revelation from He who created the earth and the high heavens. The Most Merciful; on the Throne He settled. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and the earth, and everything between them, and everything beneath the soil. If you speak aloud—He knows the secret, and the most hidden. Allah, there is no god but He, His are the Most Beautiful Names.(Ta Ha, 20:1-8)
As he read, ‘Umar suddenly knew that these were the most beautiful words he had ever heard and that this religion must be the true one. With his sword still in hand, he went straight to the Prophet’s house and knocked loudly at the door. One of the Prophet’s closest followers looked out. There stood ‘Umar who was known for his courage and strength. When he saw ‘Umar so excited and with his sword in hand, he was afraid for the Prophet’s life. But the Prophet (S) asked him to allow ‘Umar to come in and to leave them alone together.
The Prophet (S) asked ‘Umar why he had come, to which he replied: ‘I have come to swear that there is no god but Allah and that you, Muhammad, are the Messenger of Allah.’ As he spoke these words, his hand still held the sword with which he had intended to kill the Prophet (S). This same sword would now be used to defend the Prophet (S) and the faith of Islam.
At that time, whenever Muslims wanted to perform the ritual encircling of the Ka’bah, known as tawaf they had to do it secretly and in fear. ‘Umar, however, was very courageous. As soon as he had declared his faith, he went directly to the Ka’bah and in broad daylight made the circling of the Sacred House before the astonished people of Makkah. No one dared to say anything. But now the leaders of Quraysh became even more alarmed and began to see Islam as a threat to the whole life of the city of Makkah. They grew more and more furious as the numbers of Muslims increased until finally they, too, decided as ‘Umar once had, that the Prophet (S) would have to be killed.
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Resources and References:
Imam Ibn Kathir – Stories of the Prophets
Leila Azzam & Aisha Gouverneur – the Life of the Prophet Muhammad
Anwar Al-Awlaki – The Life of Muhammad (Makkan Period) & The Life of Muhammad (Medina Period): https://www.kalamullah.com/muhammad.html
Aisha Stacey – The Religion of Islam (islamreligion.com)
