Friday, January 08, 2021

WEEK 01
DAY 04
Preaching by the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H)
After the prophet received his first revelation in the cave of Hira, he only told his wife khadija and her cousin
Waraqa bin Nawfal, about the event. Khadija was the first to accept the message. Waraqa confirmed the
prophethood, and for some days there was a break in revelation which is known as Fatrah tul wahi.

1. Secret Preaching:
The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) passed this time in restlessness and anxiety, until one day, he saw angel Jibrael
again, in the sky seated on a chair. The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) became frightened and rushed home. He
asked Khadija to cover him up. She covered him up, after which he received another revelation which said:
“O you wrapped up (in a mantle)!
Arise and deliver your warning!
And your Lord do you magnify. (74: 1-3)
In obedience to the command of Allah, the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) invited his friends and relatives to the
religion of Islam. He preached to them the oneness of Allah and warned them of the consequences of
following their evil ways. But, he did not, at this stage, make any public announcement.
• The first person to believe in him was his wife, Khadija, who accepted his message without any
hesitation.
• This was followed by the acceptance of Islam by ten years old, Ali, son of Abu Talib.
• The first freed slave to accept Islam was Zaid bin Haris.
• The first Person to become a Muslim outside the Prophet’s immediate family was his close friend,
Hazrat Abu Bakr, who invited many people to Islam and many prominent companions Muslim
through him.
• Khalid ibn Sa’id, a friend of Hazrat Abu Bakr, was guided through a dream in which he saw himself
being saved from fire by the Prophet. Hazrat Abu bakr R.A interpreted Khalid’s dream and he
accepted Islam.
Within a period of three years, while the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) was preaching his message in secret, about
forty righteous and God-fearing people accepted Islam. Among them were, Talha, Zubair, Jaffar, Usman
Abdur Rahman bin Auf, Sa’ad bin Abi Waqas and Abdullah bin Masud.
These early converts were the people who had witnessed the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H) private and public life very
closely and had arrived at the conclusion that such a gentle and honest person could not mislead the people.
The house of Hazrat Arqam became the first preaching centre of Islam, where the Prophet (pbuh) met these
early converts and taught them the revelations he received. Muslims prayed twice in a day and would often
go to the mountains outside Makkah to worship secretly.
• None of the Holy Prophet’s (P.B.U.H) uncles accepted Islam. Abu Talib gave protection to the Holy
Prophet . Abu Lahab believed that his nephew was self-deceived.

2. Preaching to Banu Hashim:

After the revelation of the verse, “And warn your nearest relatives.” (26:214)
• the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) called Hazrat Ali and asked him to prepare a meal and assemble the Banu
Hashim. Hazrat Ali R.A did what he was told and most of the clan of Hashim came to the meal, about
forty of them. After the meal Abu Lahab said to everyone, ‘Your host has placed a spell upon you’
and with that they dispersed before the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) could say more.
 • The next day, the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) asked Hazrat Ali R.A to do the same and invited his kinsmen
for a meal; but this time he made sure he addressed them. ‘ O sons of Abd-ul-Mutalib ! Allah has
commanded me to call you unto Him. Which of you, then, will help me in this, and be my brother
and my successor?’
When no one responded, the young Hazrat Ali R.A spoke up and said, “O Prophet of Allah, I will be
your helper in this. I will fight him who fights you”.
• The men laughed at the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H), but from among the women, the Holy Prophet’s
(P.B.U.H) aunt, Safiyah, accepted Islam as her son Zubair had done. Umm-al-Fadl, the wife of the
Holy Prophet’s (P.B.U.H) uncle Abbas, and her sisters Maymunah, Salma, and Asma also came into
the faith.

3. Open Preaching:
Soon afterwards he received another revelation through which the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) was given the
order: “Expound openly what you are commanded and turn away from those who join false gods with
Allah.” (15:94)
• Following this command, the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) assembled the people of Makkah at the Safa hill
and said to them: “O Quraish, if I were to tell you that a large army has gathered on the other side
of his mountain and is ready to attack you, would you believe me?” They all said that they would,
since they had never heard him tell a lie. But when he asked them to believe in one Allah and his
Prophethood, they became angry and some of them shouted: “You have gone mad”.
• Abu Lahab, one of his uncles, said, ‘may you perish forever, did you call us for such a thing?’. The
Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) was shocked at the harsh response and the rejection by the Makkans. Allah
comforted him by revealing the following verses regarding the punishment awaiting Abu Lahab: ‘May
the hand of Abu Lahab perish, doomed he is. His wealth and his properties shall not safe him; he
shall be thrown into a flaming fire of hell.’(111:1-3)
After this, all of them dispersed.
The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) now started to address the people in public and private gatherings and on
approach routes to Makkah which were used by pilgrims to the Holy city. His efforts were successful and
people started embracing Islam. After this event the prophet and his followers had to face persecutions
which continued until they migrated to Madina.

3.(b)

• yes, it was significant

• because the message was new and so the Prophet and his closest followers needed time to get used
to it.
• Also, they did not know how the Quraysh would react so it was better to wait until they had some
strength in numbers before openly preaching.
• It was also better to wait until they were guided by God to preach Islam openly as the Prophet (pbuh)
always followed divine instructions.
• It symbolises the importance of Spiritual and Mental Jihad. While they were secretly preaching, they
capitalised on their intellect, character and habits. It was the secret preaching due to which
Muhammad (PBUH) garnered support that lifted Islam.