had happened to Abū Bakr. He spoke to his mother and she embraced Islam which made Abū Bakr rejoice.
Abū Ṭālib was keeping a close watch on developments in Makkah. He was increasingly worried about his nephew Muhammad (peace be upon him), and so he called upon his clan to give him their firm pledges of support in protecting Muhammad against any maltreatment to which he might be subjected. They responded favourably to his call, with only one exception – Abū Lahab. Although he was the Prophet’s own uncle, he continued his fierce opposition to Islam, joining the rest of the Quraysh in their campaign of persecution. Abū Ṭālib, however, was extremely pleased by this support. He expressed his feelings in a long, powerful poem in which he praised his clan and reminded the people of the Quraysh of their noble history. Thus, the Prophet was able to preach his message enjoying full protection.
NOTES
1. Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, Dār al-Qalam, Beirut, Vol. 1, p. 342. Also, Amīn Duwaydār, Ṣuwar Min Ḥayāt al-Rasūl, Dār al-Maʿārif, 4th edition, Cairo, p. 156.
2. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 339-340. Also, Amīn Duwaydār, op.cit., p. 153.
3. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., p. 340. Also, Amīn Duwaydār, op.cit., p. 154.
4. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., p. 340. Also, Amīn Duwaydār, op.cit., p. 155.
5. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., p. 341. Also, Amīn Duwaydār, op.cit., p. 155.
6. Amīn Duwaydār, op.cit., p. 155.
7. Ibid., p. 154.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid., p. 153.
10. Ibid., p. 156.
11. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 285-286.
WHEN THE PROPHET carried out God’s commandment to declare His message in public, he moved into a new stage in the history of the Islamic message concluding the first period of secrecy. The message itself was now preached publicly, but the identity of its followers, its numerical strength and its organization were not fully known to the people of Makkah who remained hostile to Islam. There are no accurate records of the numbers of those who adopted the faith of Islam at any particular time, especially in the early period. One can only guess that at the end of the first three years when the stage of secrecy was over, there were barely more than 60 Muslims. By the time of the first emigration to Abyssinia, in the fifth year of the beginning of Islamic revelations, there were more than twice this number of Muslims in Makkah. Right from the early days, the Prophet was keen to mould his companions into a closely-knit community in which everyone was ready to help others. The unifying bond of that community was faith. Hence it was very important that every single Muslim should realize that the adoption of the new faith meant a radical transformation in his life. It is in this light that we find Abū Bakr buying those slaves whom he saw being tortured and setting them free. Abū Bakr could simply have bought them and allowed them to live with him in safety, providing them with full protection against any of the persecutors. However, he did not stop at that. He immediately set them free to demonstrate that the bond of faith superseded all values and considerations which were thought to be of great importance in the Arabian society of Makkah. Abū Bakr’s actions were an early indication of a basic characteristic of the Muslim community which was united by the bond of brotherhood in faith.
One of the very important features of this new community was prayer. That was the act of worship which provided the new Muslims with a sense of their link with God as they offered their worship. Prayer was made a duty binding on Muslims from the very early days of Islam. The Prophet passed on to his followers the instructions he received through the Angel Gabriel to have ablution before prayer and to offer two prayers a day, one in the morning and one before sunset. Each prayer was two rakʿahs in the same form as the Muslims have always adopted. The new Muslims were keen to offer their prayers either individually or in small groups. They went out of the built-up area of Makkah to pray where they could not be seen. Sometimes they were discovered by non-Muslims, as indeed happened one day with the Prophet who was offering his prayers with his young cousin ʿAlī. Abū Ṭālib was passing by and it was the first time he saw Islamic prayer. He asked his nephew, the Prophet, about his prayer and asked ʿAlī why he was joining him. ʿAlī told him that he had accepted the faith of Islam and that he believed in Muhammad as a Prophet and a messenger of God. Abū Ṭālib simply said to his son: “Since he has called you to something that is good, then follow him.”1
Group prayer is characteristic of the Islamic faith. Congregational prayer is so important that many scholars consider it a duty. In the early days of Islam, it gave the new Muslims a sense of identity. Therefore, they were keen to go out in groups to offer their prayers. One day, a group of Muslims were discovered by unbelievers who insulted them and ridiculed their prayer. The two groups were soon involved in a heated argument, since the Muslims felt they could face up to them. Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, who was not yet twenty, took a camel bone and hit one of the unbelievers with it, injuring him. This was the first time blood was ever spilled in defence of Islam. But the incident indicated the readiness and willingness of the Muslims to defend themselves. However, they were restrained by God from getting involved in a fight with the unbelievers.
The First Islamic School
The Prophet’s efforts to mould his followers into a closely-knit community prompted him to establish a centre for the Muslims. Obviously, in those early days, it was not possible for the Muslims to hold their meetings in public. Therefore, the Prophet chose the house of one of his companions, al-Arqam, to be the meeting-place. At that time al-Arqam was about 20 years old; he belonged to the clan of Makhzūm, to which Abū Jahl also belonged. His house was near al-Ṣafā, in the centre of Makkah. In other words, the Prophet chose a house which was right in the midst of the concentration of unbelievers. That was a very strategic spot, since the Quraysh could not have expected that such a meeting-place would be chosen in that central area under the very nose of Abū Jahl, the archenemy of Islam. Nevertheless, the Prophet was able to meet his companions there, teach them the basic principles of their faith, strengthen their bond of brotherhood, and shape their community in the true Islamic mould so that it could serve as an example for future generations, whenever a Muslim community came into existence.2
As days went by and the Quraysh increased its opposition to Islam, it became more and more aware that the followers of Muhammad were setting themselves apart as a community. Therefore, it was important for the Quraysh to try to establish a counter-bond. They wanted their faith to override all considerations of family and tribal ties. But how could pagan idolatry give any person an ideal for which a family tie could be sacrificed? A group of the Makhzūm clan decided that they would use strong tactics against those of their members who became Muslims. There were quite a few young men from the clan who adopted Islam, including Salamah ibn Hishām and ʿAyyāsh ibn Abī Rabīʿah. But in order for their plan to succeed, they also wanted to include with them a man who belonged to their best families, al-Walīd ibn al-Walīd. They went to his brother Hishām and told him that they wanted to punish those young men, so they would appreciate it if he turned his brother over to them. They said that in this way, they could be certain that no other men from their clan would contemplate joining the followers of Muhammad. Hishām told them that they could speak to his brother, but warned them against causing him any bodily harm. He said: “Take care, because if you kill him, then by God I will kill the most honourable among you.” Thus al-Walīd was spared the punishment, and the attempt of those men from Makhzūm was foiled.
Which Approach to Follow: Moderate or Hard Line?
When a protracted problem of the kind Makkah witnessed in those early years of Islam (in the early seventh century) faces any human society, there will be no shortage of suggestions on how it may be solved. The methods suggested, however, will simply alternate between the moderate and conciliatory approach, which aims at