Preaching Islam

After this, the Prophet ﷺ remained silent for a few days.

The Prophet ﷺ once again gathered the people and delivered the following sermon before them:

“By Allah, besides Whom there is no deity, I have been sent as the Messenger of Allah specifically to you and generally to all mankind.

By Allah, just as you wake up from sleep, one day you will also be raised again for the reckoning.

Then you will be held accountable for whatever you have been doing. You will receive a good reward for your good deeds and righteous actions, and a bad reward for your evil deeds.

There will undoubtedly be either Paradise forever and ever or Hell forever and ever.

By Allah, O Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib! To my knowledge, there is no young man who has brought something better and greater for his people than what I have brought.

I have brought goodness for you in this world and the Hereafter.”

After hearing this sermon of the Prophet ﷺ, Abu Lahab spoke in the harshest manner:

“O Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib! By Allah, this is a great trouble. Before someone else lays his hands on him, it is better that you yourselves take control of him.

This matter is such that if you listen to him and become Muslims, it will bring humiliation and disgrace upon you.

And if you try to protect him from his enemies, you yourselves will be killed.”

In response, his sister, that is, the paternal aunt of the Noble Prophet ﷺ, Hazrat Safiyyah رضي الله عنها, said:

“Brother! Is it appropriate for you to disgrace your nephew in this way?

And, by Allah, great scholars have been announcing for a long time that a prophet is going to appear from the family of ‘Abd al-Muttalib.

Therefore, I say that he is indeed that very prophet.”

Hearing this, Abu Lahab became angry and said:

“By Allah, this is nothing but nonsense and the talk of women who sit inside their homes.

When the families of Quraysh come to attack us and all the Arabs support them, what can we possibly do against them?

By Allah, compared with them, we will be nothing more than a morsel that can easily be swallowed.”

At this, Abu Talib spoke up:

“By Allah! As long as there is life in us, we will protect him.”

Now the Noble Prophet ﷺ climbed the hill of Safa and invited all of Quraysh to Islam.

He said to all of them:

“O Quraysh! If I were to tell you that an army is coming from behind this mountain and wants to attack you, would you consider me a liar?”

They all replied with one voice:

“No! Because we have never heard you tell a lie until today.”

The Prophet ﷺ then said:

“O gathering of Quraysh! Save yourselves from Hell, because I cannot do anything for you before Allah Almighty.

I am clearly warning you of the mighty punishment that lies ahead of you.

I invite you to say two statements. They are very light upon the tongue, but they are extremely heavy on the Scale.

The first is to bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah.

The second is to bear witness that I am the Messenger of Allah.

Now, who among you will accept what I am saying?”

When the Prophet ﷺ became silent, no one spoke.

He repeated his words a second time.

Then he repeated them a third time, but this time as well, everyone remained silent.

The only thing that happened was that they all listened to what the Prophet ﷺ had said in silence and then went away.

One day, the people of Quraysh were gathered in the Masjid al-Haram, prostrating before the idols.

When the Prophet ﷺ saw this scene, he said:

“O gathering of Quraysh! By Allah, you have turned away from the path of your father Ibrahim عليه السلام.”

In response to his words, the Quraysh said:

“We worship these idols only out of love for Allah Almighty, so that through them we may come closer to Allah Almighty.”

The Qur’an was revealed in response to their statement:

“Say: If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.”
(Surah Aal ‘Imran, Verse 31)

The Quraysh found this extremely objectionable.

They complained to Abu Talib:

“O Abu Talib! Your nephew has spoken ill of our gods, criticized our religion, declared us foolish, and even called our forefathers misguided.

Therefore, either you deal with him on our behalf, or step aside from between us and him.

For you yourself follow the religion that we follow, and you too oppose his religion.”

Abu Talib sent them back with gentle words, saying:

“Very well, I will speak to him.”

Meanwhile, Allah Almighty sent Hazrat Jibril عليه السلام to the Prophet ﷺ.

Hazrat Jibril عليه السلام appeared in an extremely beautiful form and with a wonderful fragrance.

He said:

“O Muhammad! Allah Almighty sends His greetings to you and says that you are the Messenger of Allah to all the jinn and human beings.

Therefore, invite them to the declaration: La ilaha illallah.”

As soon as he received this command, the Prophet ﷺ began directly preaching to the Quraysh.

At that time, the disbelievers possessed complete power, and they were by no means prepared to follow him.

Disbelief and polytheism were firmly rooted in their hearts.

Their love for idols had permeated their entire beings.

Their hearts were unwilling to accept anything other than this polytheism and misguidance.

The disease of polytheism had completely taken hold among the people.

As the Prophet’s ﷺ preaching continued to spread, his name became the subject of constant discussion among the Quraysh.

They became increasingly hostile toward him and began making plans to harm him.

They even began considering imposing a social boycott upon him.

But first, they went once again to Abu Talib and said:

“O Abu Talib! You are a highly capable, honorable, and respected man among us.

We had requested you to stop your nephew, but you have done nothing.

We cannot tolerate our gods and our forefathers being insulted, nor can we tolerate being called foolish.

You should make him understand.

Otherwise, we will confront both you and him until one of the two sides is completely finished.”