The Prophet Muhammad Pocket Guide

For a while the Prophet stood motionless. On the one hand, there was his old uncle weakened by the people’s opposition, and on the other hand, there was the responsibility to proclaim the truth till his last breath. So he decided to discharge his duty whatever the cost. In a firm and calm voice, and with tears in his eyes, he said: “O Uncle! By God Almighty, I swear that even if they were to place the sun on my right hand and the moon on my left hand, I would not give up my mission. I must go on carrying it out till I die.” Abu Talib, touched by the sincerity and force of the words uttered by his nephew, remained motionless for a while. Then he turned to the Prophet and said: “My nephew, go your way. Do your duty. Let my people turn against me. I am with you. No one shall harm you as long as I live.” Opposition Intensified When the Quraysh saw that the pressure on Abu Talib had failed, they decided to make life unbearable for the Prophet and his followers. Slaves, the weakest sections of society, were the worst sufferers. Their masters beat 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. 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 (Ethiopia), a nearby country, 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 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.” Social Boycott With the passage of time, the Makkan chiefs became more and more bitter. They felt that it was the Prophet Muhammad’s clan, the Banu Hashim, headed by Abu Talib, that was responsible for all this misery and that if they had given up the Prophet Muhammad , all his activities could have been stopped without delay. They made it known to the Banu Hashim that if they did not surrender Muhammad to them, they would have to suffer the consequences.