In discussing the trials of Islam one has to keep in mind the conditions of Arabia: its hot and dusty climate; its people (the Arabs, who lived a somewhat senseless life at that time); its business center, which was Mecca, and which not only invited traders to is bosom but offered 360 idols to the Arabs as well as worshippers of other denominations; the Kaabah (black-clothed building) which till today still serves as a centre for Muslim pilgrims all over the world. These, plus the fact that Muhammed (pbuh) was an Arab himself, all played a vital role in the spread of Islam.
We have mentioned previously that the Arabs were not a very sociable kind of people. We spoke of the way they believed that woman had no standing in the community and as such could be used and abused at will by their husbands. We learnt from history that these Arabs also believed that a female baby brought bad luck to the family and as such had to be buried alive to reverse the evil that had befallen them!
One can then imagine the mammoth task that awaited Muhammed (pbuh) in his quest to bring the Message of the One God to these people. One can but feel sympathy for him as he wrestled with his own inner turmoil in trying to understand what was happening to him (i.e. encountering the Archangel Gabriel in the cave on the 'Mountain of Light' and being told to read) and not to yield to the jeers and ridicule that was being heaped upon him regularly by not only the inhabitants of Mecca, but his own family!
In the beginning we find that the first converts to Islam were the Prophet's wife, Khadija; his cousin Ali, son of Abu Talib, his uncle; Zaid bin Thabit, a freed slave, who stayed with the Prophet (pbuh); and Abu Bakr, Muhammed's (pbuh) close friend.
Initially, the Qureish tribe, being the Prophet's (pbuh) fiercest criticisers, were not overly concerned about the Prophet's (pbuh) ministries. In fact, they found it rather amusing that the early converts were people of not very high standing in the community. Apart from Muhammed's (pbuh) wife Khadija and Abu Bakr, his close friend, who also happened to be quite wealthy, the other converts who followed were either slaves or beggars, not to mention Ali, his cousin, who was only ten years of age at that time!
We think of Bilal, a black, Abbyssinian slave, who became Muslim and preached Islam to all that he came in contact with. We think of the beggar woman who stopped begging and devoted her life in prayer to Allah. The Qureishites, being the masters of many a slave, would find great merriment in taunting these converts to Islam. They would demand that these slaves bring proof of the god that they believed in; proof tantamount to that of the idols, whom they called the 'Sons and Daughters of Allah'.
Article comments
1 - roger nowosielski
You've just done that.