في مبدأ حياة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بعد البعثة
A khutbah by late Muhammad Saalih Al `Uthaimeen
Summary
1) The early Muslims.
2) The Prophet calls his tribe and family to Islam.
3) Quraish harasses the Prophet.
4) The death of Khadijah and Abu Taalib.
5) The harassment of the people of Ta’if.
6) The Ansaar (residence of Madinah) embrace Islam, and the message of Islam spreads.
Praise be to Allah. We praise Him, ask for His Help and repent to Him. We seek Allah’s protection from the evils of our souls and the bad of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides will never be misguided and whomever Allah misguides will never be guided. I testify that there is no deity but Allah, with Whom thee is no associate. I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah bless him, his family, his Companions and those who follow them until the Day of Resurrection
When the following verse was revealed to the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam): “O you wrapped up (in a mantle)! Arise and deliver thy warning! And thy Lord do thou magnify! And thy garments keep free from stain! And all abomination shun!” (Al-Muddaththir: 1-5). He stood up in compliance with Allah’s command with full reliance on Him and putting complete trust in Him. He (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) called people to worship Allah, making the call secretly at first. Some men from the Quraish believed in his call. First to believe was Abu Bakr As-Siddiq. On the hands of Abu Bakr believed ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan, ‘Abdul-Rahman bin ‘Auf, Al-Zubair bin Al-‘Awwam, and Talhah bin ‘Ubaidullah, the five who, among others were promised of Paradise by the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) and who, along with Abu Bakr, ‘Ali bin Abi Talib and Zaid bin Harithah were known as the first eight men to embrace Islaam. The Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) used to meet them secretly for three years, as well as other believers, to guide them to what Allah guided him to, of the religion of Islam in the house of Al-Arqam bin Abi Al-Arqam. It was then revealed to him: “Therefore expound openly what thou art commanded, and turn away from those who join false gods with Allah” (Al-Hijr: 97).
From this time he climbed the hill of As-Safaa and cried out: “O Banu Fihr, O Banu ‘Adi, O clans of Quraish!” The people were so interested in what he is going to tell them that they gathered around him and even those who could not go dispatched messengers to hear and report what he was going to say. When all people assembled, he said to them: “I am the Messenger of Allah sent to you in particular and to all mankind in general”. His uncle Abu Lahab angrily said: “Woe unto you! You gathered us to tell us that!” He mocked at the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) and at what he said. Allah the Almighty revealed the Surah, which translates as: “Perish the hands of the Father of Flame! Perish he!” (Al-Masad: 1), and later revealed: “And admonish thy nearest kinsmen” (As-Shu’ara: 214).
So the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) gathered them and said: “By Allah, if I were to lie on all people, I will never lie on you. I am the Messenger of Allah sent to you in particular and to mankind in general. By Allah, you will die and then you will be resurrected and will be called to account. You will be rewarded for your deeds, and it is either an everlasting Paradise or an everlasting Hell.” The people reacted to him (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) with leniency except Abu Lahab, who said: “You should suppress his call before the Arabs mobilize against him, in which case you will be obliged either to surrender him, which will cause your humiliation, or to protect him, which will cause you to suffer wide scale killing.” Abu Talib interrupted him, saying: “By Allah we will protect him as long as we survive.” In vain the gathering dispersed. However, the Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) continued his call to Allah in public and was met by the mockery of the people of Quraish who used to say: “Look at the lad of ‘Abdul-Muttalib who is heavenly inspired! Look at the son of Abu Kabshah!”
Nevertheless, he went on disclosing the erring mentality of the polytheists and clarifying the falsehood of their worship of idols. The Quraish demanded of Abu Taalib more than once to stop and threatened him (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam). Thus, Abu Taalib suggested to the Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) to stop his call in order to save their lives. On hearing this, the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam), thinking that his uncle would fail him, was considerably depressed and said to him: “Look Uncle! By Allah, if they were to put the sun on my right and the moon on my left, I will never give up my call, until Allah gives it prominence or that I will killed for its sake.” He (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) then wept and went away. His uncle called him and said: “O nephew, say what you like. By Allah I will never surrender you to them.
The Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) continued his call, while the polytheists increased their harm to him in words and in deeds. Whenever Abu Jahl saw him praying, he would forbid him and would speak harshly to him.
One day, when the Prophet was performing prayer amid a group from the Quraish. Some of them said: “Who could go to the slain camel of so and so and bring its blood and fetus and throw it between his shoulders when he prostrates himself?” The most wicked among the people went out and came back with the fetus. When the Prophet prostrated, he put it between the shoulders of the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam). The Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) remained in prostration while the people laughed at him and mocked at him (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam). His daughter Fatimah, who was a small girl, then came and removed the fetus away.
They used to throw rubbish at the door of the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam), who in turn removed it when he (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) went out, saying: “What a bad neighborhood!”
The Quraish intensified their torture to the followers of the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam), either through stabbing, beating or cauterizing with fire. The Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) used to strengthen his Companions and urge them to be patient. He passed by the Family of Yasir while they were tortured and said: “Little more patience, family of Yasir, for your meeting place will be Paradise.” When the torture reached its climax, the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) permitted his Companions to immigrate and said: “Spread throughout the earth, for Allah will reassemble you.” He (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) advised them to travel to Abyssinia.
In the fifth year following the call, ten men and five women immigrated to Abyssinia but returned three month later. The Quraish continued their torture to the believers, which was then escalating more than ever. The Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) permitted his Companions to immigrate again to Abyssinia in the seventh year of his mission. Thus, more than eighty men and less than twenty women immigrated to Abyssinia, where Al-Najashi (Negus) honored them and gave them the freedom of belief.
As for the Messenger of Allah (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam), he remained in Makkah, suffering the torture of the Quraish with patience and trust in Allah. Both his uncle Abu Taalib and his wife Khadijah died in tenth year of the mission, which increased his grief. He (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) traveled to Ta’if to call the tribe of Thaqif to Islam, but what he (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) got was mockery and anguish. They even threw stones at him (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) until his heels bled. He (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) returned to Makkah and took the shelter of Al-Mut’im bin ‘Adi. He (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) presented himself every year to the Arab tribes in the season of Hajj, following people to their homes, asking them to worship Allah and to associate none with Him. While he was in Al-‘Aqabah, he met a group of people from Al-Khazraj. He called them to Islam and recited to them some verses from the Qur’an. When they returned to their people in Yathrib, they told them about the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) and called them to embrace Islam, until it spread among them. In the following year, twelve men from the Khazraj went to the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) and pledged allegiance to him. He sent Mus’ab bin ‘Umair with them to teach them to recite the Qur’an and to instruct them in the teachings of Islam. Islam spread in Madinah more and more. In the following year, around seventy men and two women from the Ansar went to the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) and pledged allegiance to him, pleading to defend him from the evil from which they would defend their wives and children in case he (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) immigrated to them. This was a good new start for Islam and Muslims and a cause of pride for the Ansar, may Allah be pleased with them.
Servants of Allah! What the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) incurred of harm, troubles and hardships for the sake of the Islamic call is an example for the people of sound minds.
So, fear Allah you Muslims and benefit from these lessons and be patient with what might hurt you for the sake of the call to Allah’s religion and wait, as the good end will be for the righteous and know that Allah is your Protector. Surely, He is the Best of all protectors and supporters.
Reference: http://www.alminbar.com/khutbaheng/509.htm