Part One: SEERAH (Biographical Sketch) CHAPTER

C:\Users\Admin\Dropbox\The Message - Material of Maulana\16. Books and Review\Apa's Books\Life And 22 them brutally and some of them were beaten to death. But they suffered all this patiently. Abu Bakr spent much of his wealth on freeing these slaves. Even the wealthy Muslims were not spared. They were also persecuted. Their own relatives turned against them. After the death of Abu Talib and Khadijah, people were emboldened to persecute the Prophet. They threw rubbish on him as he passed through the streets. They spread thorns in his path. They made noises when the Prophet stood up in the Kabah to pray. The Makkans did all that they could to turn people away from the Prophet. But in spite of all their efforts Islam continued to spread. Some of the powerful men of Makkah accepted Islam. Hamzah, the Prophet’s uncle, Umar ibn Al-Khattab, who was famous for his bravery, and Abu Dharr Ghifari were among them. The Makkan chiefs were more enraged than before. They made life so difficult for the Muslims that a number of them migrated to Abyssinia, an area nearby, with the Prophet’s permission. At first fifteen men and women migrated to Abyssinia. Slowly, the number reached 83. This safe haven of the Muslims made the Makkans all the more angry. They sent two of their men to Negus, the king of Abyssinia. These men brought him precious gifts and requested him to turn these ‘ignoble’ people out of his land as they had forsaken their forefather’s religion to follow a new religion. Negus sent for the Muslims and asked them to explain their case. Thereupon Jafar, son of Abu Talib, briefly explained to him the teachings of Islam and recited some portions from the Quran from the chapter called ‘Mary’. Negus was very impressed and he said: “Go forth into my kingdom; I shall not extradite you at all.” Then he turned to the Makkans and said: “Go away, I cannot give up these people. They are following the true faith.” With the passage of time, the Makkan chiefs became more and more bitter. They felt that it was Muhammad’s clan, the Banu Hashim, headed by Abu Talib that was responsible for all this misery and that if they had given up Muhammad, all his activities could have been stopped without delay. They