Islam: Persecution

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 Archangel Gabriel had first come to the Prophet (pbuh) and two years since the Prophet (pbuh) had spoken out in public. The Muslims asked the Prophet (pbuh) to allow them to leave Mecca. He agreed, saying 'It would be better for you to go to Abyssinia. The king there is a just man and it is a friendly country. Stay there until Allah makes it possible for you 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 Mecca and, after reaching the shore of the 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 Meccans 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 Mecca. The anger of the Meccans 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 Meccans 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 Mecca, but they have not even become Christians like you.' The royal advisers, who were also present, told the king that the Meccans 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 Meccans say, I will give them up and send them back to their own people, but if the Meccans 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 (pbuh), 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 Abraham, who, with Ishmael, rebuilt the Ka’bah and worshipped the One True God. We used idols in our worship of God; 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 the One True God, 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 the one true God 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 Meccans 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 (pbuh) had said about Jesus. Ja'far replied by reciting a surah or chapter from the Qur’an which tells the story of Jesus and his mother Mary. These are a few of the lines he recited: In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to an eastern place, And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said: Lo! I seek refuge in the Beneficent One from thee, if thou fearest God. He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste? He said: ' Even so thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained. And she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to afar place. Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an monstrous thing. Oh sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot. Then Mary pointed to the child (Jesus); But they said, , How can we speak to one who is still in the cradle, a young child?' He said, 'Lo, I am Allah's servant; He has given me the Book, and made me a Prophet.

He has made me Blessed, wheresoever I may be; and He has enjoined me to pray, and to give alms, so long as I live, and likewise to cherish my mother; He has not made me arrogant, unblest. Peace be upon me, the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised up alive!' The Holy Qur’an,Chapter 19,Verse 16-33

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 Meccans returned home, bitterly disappointed. The leaders of Quraysh became increasingly worried about the way the people of Mecca were being divided by the Prophet's teachings. Finally, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, one of the nobles of Mecca, decided that the only way to silence the Prophet (pbuh) 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 SaId reading aloud surah 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.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful Ta Ha We have not revealed unto thee (Muhammad) this Qur’an For thee to be distressed, but only as a reminder Unto him who fears, a Revelation from Him who created the earth and the high heavens; the Beneficent One Who is established on the Throne; To Him belongs Whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth And all that is between them, and All that is underneath the soil. If Thou speakest aloud Be thou loud in thy speech, yet Surely He knows the secret (thought) And that yet more hidden. Allah There is no god but He to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. The Holy Qur’an,Chapter 20,Verse 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 (pbuh) asked him to allow ‘Umar to come in and to leave them alone together. The Prophet (pbuh) 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 (pbuh). This same sword would now be used to defend the Prophet (pbuh) 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 Mecca. 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 Mecca. They grew more and more furious as the numbers of Muslims increased until finally they, too, decided as ‘Umar once had, that the Prophet (pbuh) would have to be killed.

On hearing of these plans, Abu Talib, the Prophet's uncle, immediately sent a message to all the sons of' Abd al-Muttalib, asking them to protect their nephew, and this they agreed to do. When Quraysh realized that they could not kill the Prophet (pbuh) because of this protection, they decided instead to avoid him and his followers completely. A declaration to this effect was hung at the Ka'bah. It stated that no one in the city was allowed to have anything to do with the Prophet (pbuh) and his people, or even to sell them any food or drink whatsoever. At first the Muslims found some support among the Bani Hashim, the branch of Quraysh to which the Prophet (pbuh) belonged. Some of these people were not Muslims but showed loyalty to their kinsmen by suffering along with them. However, life grew more and more difficult and food was scarce. The hatred of the rest of Quraysh for the followers of the Prophet (pbuh) grew so great that when his companions tried to buy supplies from a caravan passing near to Mecca, Abu Lahab, one of the Muslims' worst enemies, offered ten times the price of the goods to the merchant. By doing this he managed to stop the Muslims from buying what they desperately needed.

During the years of this terrible treatment, a wonderful thing happened. Instead of Islam becoming weaker, it grew stronger. Allah sent more and more Revelations. It was as though the Muslims were being strengthened and cleansed by the hardships they suffered and were being tested in their faith. Each year, at the time of the pilgrimage to Mecca, people came from all over Arabia. These pilgrims saw the terrible cruelty and injustice of Quraysh towards the Muslims, and many of them were sorry for the Prophet's followers. Quraysh began to feel ashamed of their harsh treatment, especially as many of the Muslims were their cousins and close relatives. Finally, at the end of three years, they were convinced that the time had come to put an end to the persecution of the Muslims, and they decided to take down the notice hanging at the Ka'bah.


"Whoever guides [another] to a good deed will get a reward similar to the one who performs it." Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)[Sahih Muslim]
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