However, Islam did not stop there. Muhammed (pbuh) began to preach the religion openly in Mecca then! No more were there the secret gatherings at his or one of his followers' houses. No more were there the hidden or veiled meanings to his ministries. Islam was out! Islam was on the move!
Qureish was not taking this for a joke anymore. They began by seriously addressing those under their command and those in their employ. They even ferreted out those from amongst their own families who had converted to Islam and laid down their law: either you stopped your foolishness of believing in the One God of Muhammed (pbuh) and come back to us or bear the brunt of our wrath!
History tells us that Bilal was placed in the hot desert sun with a huge rock on his chest for refusing to denounce Allah, the One God. A woman, one of the members of the Qureish tribes' mother, was speared to death by her own son for declining to forsake her belief in Allah! And strangely enough, through all these trials, Islam marched on!
Then there was Abu Lahab, the Prophet's (pbuh) uncle, whose favorite pastime it was to proclaim Muhammed (pbuh) a madman to everyone he met on the streets and even brought his wife along to place thorn bushes in the path of Muhammed (pbuh).
Islam now stood at a count of 40 men and women altogether. Qureish then decided that to nip this madness in the bud once and for all, they would banish Muhammed and his followers to a valley where no one would be allowed to have any contact with them, nor to trade or have any kind of dealings with them—ike the modern-day sanctions, only worse, because the Muslims couldn't come into the city to buy foodstuffs or emergency supplies.
For two years this trial continued, until it was discovered that the parchment the injunction had been written on had been destroyed by white ants, even though it had been closely guarded, and the ban was lifted.
Article comments
1 - roger nowosielski
You've just done that.