I Will Not Abandon My Faith

“When I had completed my purchases and business dealings in Yemen, I came to him at the time of my departure.

At that time, he said to me:

‘Listen to some verses from me that I have composed in praise of this Prophet.’

I said:

‘That is fine. Recite them.’

Then he recited those verses to me.

After that, when I reached Makkah al-Mukarramah, the Noble Prophet ﷺ had already announced his Prophethood.

Immediately, some of the leading chiefs of Quraysh came to me. Among them were ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu‘ayt, Shaybah, Abu Jahl, and Abu al-Bakhtari.

They said to me:

‘O Abu Bakr! The orphan of Abu Talib has claimed that he is a prophet. If we had not been waiting for you, we would not have remained patient until now. Now that you have arrived, dealing with him is your responsibility.’

They said this because Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه was a close friend of the Noble Prophet ﷺ.

Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه says:

‘I dismissed them politely and went straight to his house and knocked on the door.

He ﷺ came outside. When he saw me, he said:

“O Abu Bakr! I have been sent by Allah as a Messenger to you and to all mankind. Therefore, believe in Allah.”

Hearing this, I said:

“Do you have any proof of this?”

He ﷺ replied:

“The verses that old man recited to you.”

Hearing this, I was astonished and said:

“My friend! Who told you about them?”

He ﷺ said:

“That great angel who used to come to all the prophets before me.”

Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه said:

“Give me your hand. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah.”

You ﷺ were extremely happy at my acceptance of faith. You ﷺ embraced me, and after reciting the Kalimah, I returned from your presence.’”

After becoming a Muslim, the very first thing Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه did was to preach Islam.

He conveyed the message of Islam to people he knew. He invited them toward Allah and His Messenger.

As a result of his preaching, Hazrat ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan رضي الله عنه accepted Islam.

When Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه’s uncle, Hakam, came to know that he had become a Muslim, he seized him and said:

“You have abandoned the religion of your forefathers and accepted Muhammad’s religion! By Allah, I will not release you until you abandon this religion.”

Hearing this, Hazrat ‘Uthman Ghani رضي الله عنه said:

“By Allah, I will never leave this religion.”

When his uncle saw his determination and steadfastness, he made him stand in smoke and subjected him to hardships.

Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه remained steadfast.

A Hadith concerning the virtue of Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه states that the Noble Prophet ﷺ said:

“Every prophet will have a companion in Paradise, and my companion there will be ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan.”

Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه continued preaching Islam.

Through his efforts, after Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه, Hazrat Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam رضي الله عنه also accepted Islam.

At that time, he was eight years old.

Similarly, Hazrat ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf رضي الله عنه also accepted Islam through the efforts of Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه.

During the Age of Ignorance, his name was ‘Abd al-Ka‘bah. The Noble Prophet ﷺ changed his name to ‘Abd al-Rahman.

Hazrat ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf رضي الله عنه says:

“Umayyah ibn Khalaf was my friend. One day he said to me:

‘You have abandoned the name that your father gave you.’

I replied:

‘Yes, I have abandoned it.’

Hearing this, he said:

‘I do not know al-Rahman, so I will name you ‘Abd al-Ilah.’

Thus, from that day onward, the polytheists began calling me ‘Abd al-Ilah.”

Hazrat ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf رضي الله عنه describes his acceptance of Islam in the following way:

“I used to frequently travel to Yemen.

Whenever I went there, I would stay at the house of ‘Asqalan ibn ‘Awakif al-Himyari.

Whenever I visited him, he would ask me:

‘Has that man appeared among you about whom there is so much fame and talk? Has anyone declared opposition regarding the matter of your religion?’

I would always reply:

‘No, no such person has appeared.’

This continued until the year in which the Noble Prophet ﷺ appeared.

That year, I went to Yemen and stayed with him.

He asked me the same question.

I told him:

‘Yes, he has appeared. He is also being opposed.’”

The Noble Prophet ﷺ said about Hazrat ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf رضي الله عنه:

“You are trustworthy among the people of the earth as well as among the inhabitants of the heavens.”

After Hazrat ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf رضي الله عنه, Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه also invited Hazrat Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه to Islam.

He showed no hesitation and immediately came to the Noble Prophet ﷺ.

He asked him about his message.

The Prophet ﷺ explained it to him, and he accepted Islam immediately.

At that time, he was nineteen years old.

He belonged to the Banu Zuhrah family.

The Noble Prophet’s ﷺ respected mother, Aminah, also belonged to this family.

For this reason, Hazrat Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه was called the maternal uncle of the Noble Prophet ﷺ.

Once, the Prophet ﷺ said about Hazrat Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه:

“This is my maternal uncle. Is there anyone who has an uncle like mine?”

When Hazrat Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه accepted Islam and his mother came to know that he had become a Muslim, she was extremely displeased.

Hazrat Sa‘d رضي الله عنه, on the other hand, was very obedient to his mother.

His mother said to him:

“Do you not understand that Allah Almighty has commanded you to honor your elders and treat your parents well?”

Hazrat Sa‘d رضي الله عنه replied:

“Yes, absolutely.”

Hearing this answer, his mother said:

“Then, by Allah, I will not eat anything until you declare the message brought by Muhammad to be disbelief and go and touch the idols Asaf and Na’ilah.”

At that time, the practice of the polytheists was to put food and drink into the open mouths of these idols.

His mother then stopped eating and drinking.

Hazrat Sa‘d رضي الله عنه said to his mother:

“By Allah, mother! You do not know that even if you had a thousand lives, and every one of them were to end one after another because of this, I would still never leave the religion of the Noble Prophet ﷺ.

Therefore, it is up to you whether you eat or do not eat.”

When his mother saw his firmness, she began eating.

However, she then did something else.

She came to the door and began crying out loudly:

“Can I not find helpers who will assist me concerning Sa‘d, so that I can imprison him in the house and he either dies while imprisoned or abandons his new religion?”

Hazrat Sa‘d رضي الله عنه says:

“When I heard these words, I said to my mother:

‘I will not even come toward your house.’”

After this, Hazrat Sa‘d رضي الله عنه did not go home for several days.

His mother became distressed and sent him a message:

“Come home. Do not embarrass us by becoming a guest in other people’s homes.”

Therefore, he returned home.

Now the members of his family began advising him with love and affection.

His mother would give him the example of his brother ‘Amir and say:

“Look how good ‘Amir is. He has not abandoned the religion of his forefathers.”

But then his brother ‘Amir also accepted Islam.

At this, his mother’s anger and fury reached its extreme.