From early converts to emigration: This section concentrates on the early converts to Islam. It covers their early assembling together, their opposition from the citizens of Mecca which lead to the first emigration to Abyssinia. This is termed the first ‘Hegira’ or flight to Abyssinia, as being distinguished from the later and more extensive emigration to the same land. On this occasion the emigrants were few, but the part they played was of deep importance in the history of Islam. It convinced the Qurraish of Mecca of the sincerity and resolution of the converts, and proved their readiness to undergo any hardship rather than deny the faith of Muhammad.
Early Converts
Towards Muhammad’s forty-fourth year he clearly and unequivocally asserted that he was ordained a prophet with a commission to the people of Arabia, reciting his warnings and exhortations as messages that emanated direct from God, and himself implicitly believing (to all outward appearance) the inspiration and mission to be divine. We find him already surrounded by a little band of followers, all animated by ardent devotion to his person and earnest belief in God as his guide and inspirer.
It is strongly corroborative of Muhammad’s sincerity that the earliest converts to Islam were his bosom friends and the people of his household; who, intimately acquainted with his private life, could not fail otherwise to have detected those discrepancies which more or less invariably exist between the professions of the hypocritical deceiver abroad and his actions at home.
> Khadija: The faithful Khadija was probably the first convert to his doctrines. ‘So Khadija believed’ (runs the simple tradition), and attested the truth of that which came to him from God. This lightened the burden of Muhammad for when he heard nothing but rejection by the people, he had recourse unto her, and she comforted, reassured, and supported him.’
> Zaid: the former slave and his wife Omm Ayman (or Baraka) the nurse of Muhammad. Though Zaid was now a free man, yet being the adopted son and intimate friend of Muhammad, it is probable that he lived in close connection with his family, if not actually a member of it. He, too, was one of the earliest believers.
> Ali: His cousin Ali, now thirteen or fourteen years of age, Ali already gave tokens of the wisdom and judgment which distinguished him later. Though possessed of indomitable courage, he was meditative and reserved, and lacked the stirring energy which would have rendered him an effective propagator of Islam. He grew up from a child in the faith of Muhammad, and his earliest associations strengthened the convictions of maturer years. It is said that as Muhammad was once engaged with the lad in prayer, in a glen near Mecca where they had retired to avoid the jeers of their neighbours, Abu Talib chanced to pass by, and said:’ My nephew! What is this new faith I see thee following? ‘O my Uncle’ replied Muhammad, ‘this is the religion of God, and of his angels, and of his prophets; the religion of Abraham. The Lord hath sent me an Apostle unto his servants ; and thou, my uncle, art the most worthy of all that I should address my invitation unto, and the most worthy to assist the Prophet of the Lord.’ Abu Talib replied: ‘I am not able, my nephew, to separate from the religion and the customs of my fore-fathers, but I swear that so long as I live no one shall dare to trouble thee.’ Then, turning to his son, the little Ali, who professed a similar faith and the resolution to follow Muhammad, he said: ‘Well, my son he will not call thee to aught but that which is good; wherefore thou art free to cleave unto him.’
> Waraka: To the family group it is hardly necessary to add the aged cousin of Khadija, Waraka, whose profession of Christianity and support of Muhammad are recorded in tradition. It is generally agreed that he died before Muhammad entered upon his public ministry.
> Abu Bakr: In the little circle there was one belonging to another branch of the Qurraish, who, after Khadija, may claim precedence in the profession of Islam. Abu Bakr had long been the friend of Muhammad and with him probably lamented the gross darkness of Mecca, and sought after a better faith. He lived in the same quarter of the city as Khadija. When Muhammad moved into the area their friendship became stronger. Ayesha his daughter (born about this period, and destined while yet a girl to be the Prophet’s bride) could not remember the time when both her parents were not true believers and when Muhammad did not daily visit her father’s house morning and evening. Of Abu Bakr, the Prophet said; ‘I never invited any one to the faith who displayed not hesitation and perplexity, excepting only Abu Bakr; who, when I had propounded unto him Islam, tarried not, neither was perplexed.’ The character and appearance of this chief of Islam, and bosom friend of Muhammad, demands detailed description. Abu Bakr was about two years younger than the Prophet; short in stature, and of a small spare frame; the eyes deeply seated under a high projecting forehead. His complexion was fair, and face comely, but thin so that you could see the veins upon it. Shrewd and intelligent, yet he lacked the originality of genius; his nature was mild and sympathetic but not incapable of firm purpose when important interests required. Impulse and passion rarely prompted his actions; he was guided by reason and calm conviction. Faithful and unvarying in his attachment to the Prophet, he was known as Al Siddiq, ’the True’. (His proper name was Abdallah son of Othman Abu Cahafa). It is not clear when he obtained the name of Abu Bakr. If, as appears probable, it was given him because his daughter Ayesha was Muhammad’s only virgin bride, then it must have been after the emigration to Medina, when the Prophet, by marrying many widows, had given a distinction and peculiarity to his marriage with Ayesha) He was also styled ‘the Sighing,’ from his tender and compassionate heart. Abu Bakr was a diligent and successful merchant, and being frugal and simple in his habits, possessed at his conversion about 40,000 dirhems. His generosity was rare and his charity unwearying. The greater part of his fortune was now devoted to the purchase of such unfortunate slaves as were persecuted for their attachment to the new faith; so that but 5,000 dirhems were left when, ten or twelve years after, he emigrated with the Prophet to Medina. Abu Bakr was unusually familiar with the history of the Qurraish, and was often referred to for genealogical information. His judgement was sound and impartial, his conversation agreeable, his demeanour affable and engaging; his society and advice were much sought after by the Qurraish, and he was popular throughout the city.
> Sa’d, Zubeir, Talha, Uthman son of Affan and Abd al Rahman: five of the earliest converts are attributed to the exertions and example of Abu Bakr, three were youths. Sa’d, the son of Abu Waqqas, converted in his sixteenth or seventeenth year. He was the nephew of Amina, the mother of Muhammad. Sa’d pursued the trade of manufacturing arrows and is renowned as the first who shot an arrow on the side of Islam. Zubeir, probably still younger, was the nephew of Khadija, and the son of Muhammad’s aunt Safia. He was a butcher and his father a grain merchant or as others have it, a tailor. He became a distinguished leader and warrior. About the same age was Talha, the renowned warrior and related to Abu Bakr himself. The fourth was Uthman son of Affan (successor of Umar in the Caliphate) who, though of the Umayyad stock, was on the mother’s side a grandson of Abd al Muttalib. Muhammad’s daughter Rockeya, being now, or shortly after, free from her connection with Otba (son of the hostile Abu Lahab), the Prophet gave her in marriage to Uthman, whose wife she continued to be until her death some ten or twelve years afterwards. Uthman was at this period between thirty and forty years of age. The fifth was Abd al Rahman, ten years younger than the Prophet, a man of wealth and character. Abd al Rahman, Uthman, and Talha were, like Abu Bakr, merchants.
> Four converts with Abd al Rahman: Abd al Rahman was accompanied on his first visit to the house of Muhammad by four companions, who at the same time embraced Islam. Ubeida, son of Muhammad’s uncle Harith; Abu Salma; Abu Ubeida, subsequently a notable warrior and Othman son of Matzun. The latter had already abandoned wine before his conversion, and was with difficulty persuaded by Muhammad to renounce the asperities of an ascetic life. His family appears to have been well inclined to Islam, for we find two brothers, a son, and other relatives, in the list of early believers.
> Converted slaves. Bilal: Of the slaves ransomed by Abu Bakr from persecution, the foremost is Bilal, the son of an Abyssinian slave-girl. He was tall, dark, and gaunt, with Negro features and bushy hair. Muhammad distinguished him as ‘the first fruits of Abyssinia’; and to this day he is known throughout the Muslim world as the first Muazzin, or crier to prayer. Amr ibn Fohiera, after being released from severe trial, was employed by Abu Bakr in tending his flocks. Abdallah ibn Masud, ‘small in body, but weighty in faith,’ the constant attendant who waited upon Muhammad at Medina; and Khobab, a blacksmith, were also converted at this time. The slaves of Mecca were peculiarly accessible to the solicitations of the Prophet. As foreigners they were generally familiar either with Judaism or Christianity. Isolated from the influences of hostile partisanship, persecution had alienated them from the Qurraish, and misfortune made their hearts susceptible to spiritual impressions.
> In addition to the twenty persons now mentioned, tradition enumerates at least thirteen others as having believed ‘before the entry of the Prophet into the house of Arcam;’ besides this little group of thirty- three individuals, the wives and daughters are mentioned as faithful and earnest professors of Islam.
Persecution caused by attachment to national idolatry and weakness of Muhammad’s position.
An important change now occurred in the relations of Muhammad with the citizens of Mecca. Their hostility was aroused, and believers were subjected to persecution and indignity. The main ground of this opposition was a deep-seated attachment to the ancestral idolatry of the Ka’aba. Their was a strong hereditary affection for practices associated from infancy with the daily life of every inhabitant of Mecca, and patriotic devotion to a system which made his city the foremost in Arabia. These advantages he would not lightly abandon. Amidst the declaration and rhetoric of the Arabian Prophet no proof whatever (excepting his own conviction) was advanced in support of the divine commission. Idolatry might be wrong, but what guarantee had the idolater that Islam was right? This was without, doubt the sincere objection of the Qurraish; and the conviction, though mingled with hatred and jealousy, and degenerating often into intolerance and cruel spite was the real spring of their long sustained opposition.
Advantages of opposition
Persecution though it may sometimes have deterred the timid from joining his ranks, was eventually of unquestionable service for Muhammad. It furnished a plausible excuse for casting aside the garment of toleration; for opposing force to force against those who ‘obstructed the ways of the Lord;‘ and last of all for the compulsory conversion of unbelievers. Even before the Hegira it drove the adherents of the Prophet in self-defence into a closer union, and made them stand forth with more resolute aim and a bolder front. The severity and injustice of the Qurraish, overshooting the mark, aroused personal and family sympathies; unbelievers sought to avert or to mitigate the sufferings of the followers of the Prophet; and in so doing they were sometimes themselves gained over to his side.
It was not, however, till three or four years of his ministry had elapsed, that any general opposition to Muhammad was organised. Even after he had begun publicly to preach, and his followers had multiplied, the people did not gainsay his doctrine. They would only point at him slighting as he passed by, but (adds tradition) when the prophet began to abuse their idols, and to assert the perdition of their ancestors who had all died in unbelief, then they became displeased and began to treat him with contumely.
Hostility, once excited, soon showed itself in acts of violence. Sa’d, it is related, having retired for prayer with a group of believers to a valley near Mecca became involved with some of his neighbours who passed by unexpectedly. A sharp contention arose between them, followed by blows. Sa’d struck one of his opponents with a camel goad: and this was ‘the first blood shed in Islam.’
The House of Arkam
It was probably about this time the fourth year of his mission – that in order to prosecute his endeavours peaceably and without interruption, Muhammad took possession of the house of Arkam (a convert), situated a short distance from his own dwelling, upon the gentle rlse of Safa. Fronting the Ka’aba to the east, it. was in a frequented position; and pilgrims, in the prescribed course between Safa and Marwa, needed to pass before it regularly. Anyone who showed any leaning towards Islam was taken there and there Muhammad expounded to them his way more perfectly. It is recorded about a number of the believers that ‘he was converted after the entry into the house of Arkam and the preaching there;’ So famous was it as the birthplace of believers, that it was in after times styled the House of Islam.
There is nothing to show on what footing Muhammad occupied this building; whether continuously with his family or officially and only as a place of retreat from observation and annoyance. From several incidental notices of converts remaining there concealed during the day, and slipping away in the evening, the latter appears to be the most probable view. Umar, converted at the close of the sixth year of Muhammad’s mission, is said to have been the last brought to this house; for his influence enabled them to dispense with secrecy.
The story of Mus’ab. (Musab distinguished himself at Bedr and was killed at Uhud).
The story of Mus’ab, a great-grandson of Hashim, will illustrate the obstacles at this time opposed to the progress of Islam. His wife was a sister of Obeidallah, the enquirer, and it was probably through the influence of her family that he visited the house of Arkam, listened to the exhortations of Muhammad and embraced his doctrine. But he feared publicly to confess the change; for his mother, who doted upon him (and through whose fond attention he was known as the most handsomely dressed youth in Mecca), and the whole tribe were opposed to Muhammad. His conversion being at last known; his family seized and kept him; but he escaped, and went to Abyssinia with the first Muslim emigrants. When he returned, he looked so altered and wretched that his mother had not the heart to abuse him. At a later period, having been chosen by Muhammad to teach the converts at Medina, he revisited Mecca in company with them. His mother, on his arrival, sent to him saying: ‘Ah, disobedient son! wilt thou enter a city in which thy mother dwelleth and not first visit her?’ ‘Nay verily,’ he replied, ‘I shall never visit the house of any before the Prophet of God.’ So, after he had greeted and conferred with Muhammad, he went to his mother, who thus accosted him: ‘Well! I suppose thou art still a renegade.‘ He answered; ‘I follow the Prophet of the Lord, and the true faith of Islam.’ ‘Art thou then well satisfied with the miserable way thou hast fared in the land of Abyssinia and now again at Medina?’ But he perceived that she was meditating his imprisonment, and exclaimed: ‘ What! Wilt thou force a man from his religion? If ye seek to confine me, I will assuredly slay the first person that layeth hands upon me.’ His mother said: ‘Then depart from my presence’ and she began to weep. Mus’ab was moved, and said: ‘ Oh, my mother! I give thee affectionate counsel.
Testify that there is no God but the Lord, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger. ‘She replied: By the sparkling stars! I shall never make of myself a fool by entering into thy religion. Begone! I wash my hands of thee and thy concerns, and cleave steadfastly unto mine own faith.”
The story of blind Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum
The following tradition will illustrate at once the anxiety of Muhammad to gain over the principal men of the Qurraish, and the readiness with which he turned to the poor and un-influential citizens of Mecca. The Prophet was engaged in deep conversation with the chief, Walid; for he greatly coveted his conversion. Then the blind man Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum chanced to pass that way, and asked to hear the Quran. Muhammad, displeased at the interruption, spoke roughly to him. Other leading men came up and still farther occupied his attention. So he turned from the blind man frowningly and left him. But the heart of Muhammad smote him, because he had thus slighted one whom God perhaps had chosen, and paid attention to those whom God had reprobated. As usual, the vivid conception of the moment was framed into a divine revelation, which at once afforded relief to his own mind and ample amends to the neglected enquirer.( Sura ‘Abasa 80:1-12)
Abdullah, though related to Khadija, was at present but of little consideration yet he was not an ordinary man. He became remarkable for his knowledge of the Quran, and at Medina was repeatedly placed in positions of command.
Persecution of converted slaves.
Shortly after Muhammad began to occupy the house of Arkam, several slaves professed themselves his converts, including Yasar and Jabr. The latter was the Christian servant of a family from Hadhramaut, the former, better known under the name of Abu Fokeiha was subjected to great persecution. Both these slaves died probably before Muhammad left Mecca. Another freed slave, was Ammar, a stranger from Yemen, his mother, and his brother, were also believers. The jealousy and enmity of the Qurraish were aggravated by the continued success of the new sect, which now numbered more than fifty followers. The brunt of their wrath fell upon the converted slaves and strangers, and the citizens of the lower classes who had no patron or protector. These were seized and imprisoned; or they were exposed, in the glare of the mid-day sun, upon the scorching gravel of the valley. The torment was enhanced by intolerable thirst, until the wretched sufferers hardly knew what they said. If under their torture they reviled Muhammad and acknowledged the idols of Mecca, they were refreshed by water, and then taken to their homes. Bilal alone escaped the shame of recantation. In the depth of his anguish, the persecutors could force from him but one expression, Ahad! Ahad! ’One, one, only God! On such an occasion, Abu Bakr passed by, and secured liberty of conscience to the faithful slave by purchasing his freedom. Some of the others retained the scars, sores and wounds inflicted to the end of their lives. Later, Khobab and Ammar used to exhibit with pride and exultation the marks of their suffering to a wondering generation, in which fortune and glory had well-nigh effaced the very thought of persecution as a possible condition of Islam.
Converts permitted to dissemble.
To those in trying circumstances, Muhammad showed much commiseration, he even encouraged them to dissemble, in order that they might escape their torment. Happening to pass by Ammar, as he sobbed and wiped his eyes, Muhammad enquired of him what the matter was. ‘ Evil; O Prophet! They would not let me go until I had abused thee and spoken well of their gods. ‘But how dost thy find thine own heart?’ ‘ Secure and steadfast in the faith.’ Then,’ replied Muhammad, ‘if they repeat their cruelty, repeat thou also thy words.‘ A special exemption for such unwilling deniers of Islam was even provided in the Quran <‘Whoever denied God after that he hath believed (Excepting him who is forcibly compelled thereto, his heart remaining steadfast in the faith) on such resteth the wrath of God.’”
Muhammad himself was safe under the influence of the venerable Abu Talib, who, although unconvinced by the Prophet, scrupulously acknowledged the claims of the kinsman, and withstood resolutely every approach, of the Qurraish to detach him from his guardianship.
First emigration to Abyssinia – A.D. 615.
To escape these indignities Muhammad now recommended such of his followers as were without protection, to seek an asylum in Abyssinia. Abyssinia was well known at Mecca as a market for the goods of Arabia; and the Court of the Negus, or king was the ordinary destination of one of the annual caravans. In the seventh month of the fifth year of Muhammad’s mission, eleven men, some mounted, some on foot, and four of them accompanied by their wives, set out for the port of Shueiba; where, finding two vessels about to sail, they embarked in haste, and were conveyed to Abyssinia. The Qurraish pursued them, but they had already left the port. Among the emigrants were Uthman son of Affan, followed by his wife Rockeya, the Prophet’s daughter. The youths Zubeir and Mus’ab were also of the number. Othman son of Matzun was the leader. They met with a kind reception from the Negus and his people. The period of exile was passed in peace and in comfort. This is termed the first ‘Hegira’ or flight to Abyssinia.
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