It is well-known that Makkah was the centre for the Arabs, and housed
the custodians of Al-Ka‘bah. Protection and guardianship of the idols
and stone graven images that received veneration on the part of all the
Arabs lay in the hands of the Makkans. Hence the difficulty of hitting
the target of reform and rectitude in a place considered the den of idolatry.
Working in such an atmosphere no doubt requires unshakable will and determination,
that is why the call unto Islam assumed a clandestine form so that the
Makkans should not be enraged by the unexpected surprise.
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) naturally initiated his sacred mission
right from home and then moved to the people closely associated with him.
He called unto Islam whomsoever he thought would attest the truth which
had come from his Lord. In fact, a host of people who nursed not the least
seed of doubt as regards the Prophet (Peace be upon him), immediately
responded and quite readily embraced the true faith. They are known in
the Islamic literature as the early converts.
Khadijah, the Prophet’s spouse, the mother of believers, was the first
to enter the fold of Islam followed by his freed slave Zaid bin Harithah,
his cousin, ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, who had been living with him since his
early childhood, and next came his intimate friend Abu Bakr As-Siddiq
(Abu Bakr the truth verifier). All of those professed Islam on the very
first day of the call. Abu Bakr, and from the first day he embraced Islam,
proved to be an energetic and most zealous activist. He was wealthy, obliging,
mild and upright. People used to frequent his house and draw nigh to him
for his knowledge, amity, pleasant company and business. He invited whomever
he had confidence in to Islam and through his personal efforts a good
number of people converted to Islam, such as ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan Al-Umawi,
Az-Zubair bin ‘Awwam Al-Asadi, ‘Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf, Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas,
Az-Zuhri and Talhah bin ‘Ubaidullah At-Tamimy. Those eight men constituted
the forerunners and more specifically the vanguard of the new faith in
Arabia. Among the early Muslim were Bilal bin Rabah (the Abyssinian),
Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah from Bani Harith bin Fahr (the most trustworthy
of the Muslim Nation), Abu Salamah bin ‘Abd Al-Asad, Al-Arqam bin Abi
Al-Arqam from the tribe of Makhzum, ‘Uthman bin Maz‘oun and his two brothers
Qudama and ‘Abdullah, ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Harith bin Al-Muttalib bin ‘Abd
Munaf, Sa‘id bin Zaid Al-‘Adawi and his wife Fatimah - daughter of Al-Khattab
(the sister of ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab), Khabbab bin Al-Aratt, ‘Abdullâh
bin Mas‘ud Al-Hadhali and many others. These were the Muslim predecessors.
They belonged to various septs of Quraish. Ibn Hisham, a biographer, counted
them to be more than forty.
Ibn Ishaq said: “Then people entered the fold of Islam in hosts, men
or women and the new faith could no longer be kept secret.”
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) used to meet and teach, the new converts,
the religion in privacy because the call to Islam was still running on
an individual and secret basis. Revelation accelerated and continued after
the first verses of “O you wrapped in garments.” The verses and
pieces of Sűrah (chapters) revealed at this time were short ones
with wonderful strong pauses and quite fascinating rhythms in full harmony
with that delicate whispering setting. The central topic running through
them focused on sanctifying the soul, and deterring the Muslims from falling
prey to the deceptive glamour of life. The early verses used as well to
give a highly accurate account of the Hell and the Garden (Paradise),
leading the believers down a new course diametrically opposed to the ill
practices rampant amongst their compatriots.
Muqatil bin Sulaiman said: “Salât (prayer) was established as an obligatory
ritual at an early stage of the Islamic Call, a two rak‘ ah (unit of prayer)
Salât in the morning and the same in the evening;
“And glorify the praises of your Lord in the ‘Ashi (i.e. the time
period after the mid-noon till sunset) and in the Ibkar (i.e. the
time period from early morning or sunrise till before mid-noon).” [40:55]
Ibn Hijr said: “Definitely the Prophet (Peace be upon him) used to pray
before ‘The Night Journey’ but it still remains a matter of controversy
whether or not the prayer was established as an obligatory ritual before
imposing the rules of the usual five prayers a day. It is related that
obligatory prayer was established twice a day, in the morning before sunrise
and after sunset. It is reported through a chain of narrators that when
the Prophet (Peace be upon him) received the first Revelation, Gabriel
- the angel, proceeded and taught him how to observe Wudu (ablution).
When the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had finished, he took a handful
of water and sprinkled it on his loins.
Ibn Hisham reported that when it was time for prayers, the Messenger
of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and his Companions went into a mountain
valley to pray secretly. Abu Talib once saw the Messenger of Allâh (Peace
be upon him) and Ali praying, he asked them what they were up to. When
he got to know that it was obligatory prayer, he told them to stay constant
in their practice.
This stage of the Call, even though conducted in a clandestine manner
and on an individual basis, its news leaked out and assumed a public interest
all over Makkah. In the beginning, the Makkan leaders did not care much
about Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and took no heed of his teachings.
At first, they thought that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was merely a
religious philosophist like Omaiyah bin Abi As-Salt, Quss bin Sa‘idah,
‘Amr bin Nufail and their ilk who used to philosophize on godship and
religious obligations. But this attitude of indifference soon changed
into real apprehension. The polytheists of Quraish began to watch Muhammad’s
movements closely and anxiously for fear of spreading his Call and producing
a change in the prevalent mentality.
For three underground years of activism, a group of believers emerged
stamped by a spirit of fraternity and cooperation with one definite objective
in their mind: propagating and deeply establishing the call unto Islam.
For full three years Muhammad (Peace be upon him) had been content to
teach within a rather narrow circle. The time had, however, come to preach
the faith of the Lord openly. The angel Gabriel had brought him down a
further Revelation of Allâh’s Will to confront his people, invalidate
their falsehood and crush down their idolatrous practices.
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