Life of the Prophet

again in their daily prayers and at the same time read out passages to others. In this way the Quran was compiled during the life of the Prophet, and to this day it has remained in the same form. Subsequently the first Caliph, Abu Bakr, had this compilation prepared in the form of a bound volume. Gradually, copies of it were circulated to all the provincial centers. After Muhammad received the prophethood, his lifestyle changed completely. He stopped going to the cave of Hira and engaged himself fully in the communication of the message he had received from God. At that time, idolatry being prevalent in Makkah, the Prophet began to tell people that idolatry was the practice of empty rituals. The true religion was the worship of one God, obedience to His commands alone, and a life lived in accordance with His will. He stressed that the idolatrous religions would not be acceptable in the Hereafter; only to monotheism would any value be attached. The true monotheists would be rewarded by God with heaven in the Hereafter. His method of propagating the true faith (dawah) consisted mostly of reciting a passage from a part of the Quran to the people (madu). Sometimes he would go to a place where people had gathered and would say: “O people, say there is no Being worthy of worship save God and you will be successful.” In this way the Prophet continued to communicate the message of monotheism to the idolaters around him. In the beginning the Prophet adopted the method of conveying the message privately to people at an individual level. About three years later he began publicly to invite people to accept monotheism. It was then that he met with opposition. At that time the Makkans as well as other tribes of Arabia had adopted idolatry as a religious practice. They apprehended that the Prophet wanted them to abandon the religion of their ancestors and follow a new religion. But this was something they could never tolerate. In that case it was but natural for them to oppose the message of monotheism. Furthermore, there was another dimension to idolatry for the Makkans. No economic resources or agriculture existed in Makkah. The only thing of value that it possessed was the sacred house built by Abraham and Ismail. The Makkan leaders had placed therein all the idols, numbering 360, which were worshipped by different Arab tribes. The Arabs would visit the Kabah all the year round to make offerings to these deities. Over and above this, the large gathering of pilgrims was also responsible for the flourishing of trade in Makkah. These were the two main reasons for the majority of Makkans becoming staunch opponents of the Prophet of Islam. However, the serious-minded people of Makkah did not fail to realize the truth of his message, and gradually began to accept Islam. About 200 people from Makkah as well as the surrounding areas entered the fold of Islam after a 13-year period of dawah activity. The Makkan leadership was in the hands of the Quraysh tribe. Such leaders as Abu Jahal, Abu Lahab, etc., turned hostile to the Prophet. First, they wanted to stop the spread of the religion by