HOLY LIFE OF HAZRAT MUHAMMAD
(HAYYAT-E-TAYYABA)
Maulana  A. S. Muhammad Abdul  Hai (Rah.)

Chapter-I
Chapter-II
Chapter-III
Chapter-IV
Chapter-V
Chapter-VI
Chapter-VII
Chapter-VIII
Chapter-IX
Chapter-X
Chapter-XI
Chapter-XII

  In the Name of ALLAH, Most  Gracious, Most Merciful

CHAPTER-I

 Islamic Movement and Pre-Islamic Scenario

1. Importance of Islamic Movement

2. Adistinctive Features of the Islamic Movement

3. Roman Empire

4. India

5. Jews

6. Conditions of Arab

7. Arabian Traits for Islamic Movement

8. Difficulties in Reforming Arabs

Islamic Movement and Pre-Islamic Scenario

Islam or the message of Muhammad (PBUH) is the magnificent reformatory movement of the world. The same movement that has been launched by several other prophets in all times and every part of the world. This movement reformed not only the spiritual but all aspect of human life which has no parallel. This is a holistic movement encompassing simultaneously the spiritual, moral, social, economic and political aspects of human life, and no aspect of human life is out of the purview of this movement.

Importance of Islamic Movement: There has been innumerable reformatory and revolutionary movements in the world. But Islamic movement is the most distinctive features. How this movement emerged? How was it presented? What reactions did it evoke? Such questions arise to every one who is introduced to the movement. Replies to these queries are not so simple. Rather related academic questions lead to understanding a movement that has the capacity to resolve the issues that still confront the humanity. This movement makes one realize the actual meaning of loss and profit and the realities of the eternal life that is the ultimate destination of a man.

The movement gives a complete code of worldly life that adorns not only the eternal life but shapes worldly life in a manner that one gets rid of all the complexities of life that had always bothered the mankind.

This is the distinction of Islamic movement that has drawn the attention of every student with a view to observe and understand the movement and the claim that it makes about itself.

A large number of books has been written and shall continue to be written and with their help a clear introduction of Islamic movement is available. But as the perception of light can not be separated from the lamp and the feeling of fragrance can not be separated from the flowers, the understanding of such a magnificent movement cannot go without the prime mover of the movement. As such whenever there is a reference to this movement people demand to know the life and events of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) .They also demand the meaning and the interpretation of Holy Qur'an, the real source of this movement, which is quite natural.

Distinctive Features of Islamic Movement:
The greatest service to humanity is to instil values and moral training. To eradicate evils and to present before them a complete code of life by following that one could succeed in life in its true sense, Many people have worked for it in their own way. But most of them chose a specific field of reformers for this purpose and dedicated themselves in their chosen area. Some adopted morality and spirituality while others tried to adorn the civilization. Some entered the vast meadows of politics. But those reformers who decided to reform the whole life of the human beings where none other than Prophets (PBUH) of God.

It is the greatest favour of the Creator of this universe that the teachings and message of the last prophet and details of his life has been protected and preserved in an unparallel manner. The biography of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was penned in a way that no other historical records could get such authenticity. Moreover, the coverage and comprehensiveness of it is such that every event of his life, his dealings, the manners of his sitting, walking, eating habits, style of sleeping and getting up and the style of smiling and speaking are minutely described. In short, the details that are not available about the greatmen of past one or two centuries are available about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) even after 1500 years of time.

Before we study the events of Prophet's (PBUH) life, we should keep one thing more in our minds that every work is valued with reference to the circumstances in which it was done. Favourable circumstances soon lead a movement to flourish. It takes sufficient time for an ordinary movement to gain ground and when someone rises for a cause, the masses show sympathy for the movement. In this way, the movement gets a momentum. For instance, take any freedom movement, people are against the atrocities of the foreign oppressors and develop a hatred towards them and if a man of courage rises and gives a call for freedom people join him. Even if the number of those who actually join the movement is small due to fear, but the sympathy and support of all countrymen is with the movement. Same is the situation in case of economic movements. Economic exploitation compels the people to fight the exploiters and black marketers. In short, every movement needs favourable conditions and the support of masses for its success. But the movements that are launched in unfavourable conditions soon get into the rough weathers. For example if a person, in a free land, invites his countrymen to accept the slavery of a mighty nation, then, think about his fate and sufferings that the person is going to face.

Nobody can gange the real importance and the greatness of the task entrusted to the inviter to Islam i.e. Prophet   Muhammad (PBUH)  unless he glances the then prevailing conditions in Arabian Peninsula as well as in the rest of the world.

Global Condition at the Time the Call to Islam was Given : The essence of Islam is Tawheed (Oneness of God). But this was the very light that the Arabs and the whole world was deprived of . The human mind was devoid of the true concept of Tawheed. It is a fact that thousands of prophets (peace be upon them) before Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) illuminated every corner of the world with the message of unity of god. But to the misfortune of humanity it had forgotten the true message and has started including the moon, sun, stars, jinns, angels, gods and goddesses, mountains, rivers, animals other human being into the folds of divinity. Thus he entangled  himself in worshipping innumerable mortal objects and deprived himself of the calm of worshipping  one God.

There were two super powers on the face of the earth at that time. They were Persia and Rome. Persians were following zoroastrianism which had its effect from Iraq to India. Romans had faith in Christianity. The whole Europe and African continent were under the impact of Christianity. Hindus and Jews were also two important religious sects. Everyone used to claim to be on the right path.

Worshipping of stars was common in Iran. The kings and elites also had religious status and they were prostrated before. The people used to sing songs in their praise. In short, Persia was bereft of the concept of Tawheed.

Roman Empire :  After the cessation of Greek empire, Romans were considered to be the super power of the world but by the end of 6th century A.D. this empire had reached at the brink of its downfall, mal-administration, fear of foes, restlessness within the  country, utmost degradation of moral values, limitless leisure had become their identity. Some people were worshipping stars and idols. But those who embraced Christianity, were also bereft of the concept of Tawheed. They believed in the divinity of son and father, Ruhul Quds (Holy spirit) and Mary. Hundreds of religious sects had cropped up and they used to fight amongst themselves. Worshipping of graves was a common practice. The popes were prostrated before. Popes and subsequently other religious leaders had adopted imperial as well as divine powers. They used to decide the lawful and unlawful. Their words were considered divine by the masses. The concept of religiosity was to denounce the world and to keep the human body devoid of all worldly comforts.

India :India was passing through Puranic age.  This was considered as the darkest period in Indian history. Brahmanism was once again gaining ground and Buddhist were almost perished. Polytheism had crossed all bounds. The number of deities was touching 33 crore mark. It is said that in Vedic ages, idol worship was not in practice, but it had become common in temples. The priests were the personification of moral degradation. Masses were vulnerable targets for these priests. Casteism had ruined the whole society. In the begining there was no such social discrimination but the casteism had distroted  the entire social fabric in a manner that defied all senses of judgement. The gentry was given privileges on hereditary and family grounds. Consuming liquor was very common. Monastic life was considered essential part of religion. Superstitions and fantacies were on their peak. Innumerous ritual and faith in spirits had made the human life as blind. Every extraordinary thing for them  was god. To prostrate before every mighty or strange thing was their religion. There were innumerable deities and goddesses. Women priest and devdasis (woman  slaves) were submerged in the mire of moral degradation. All these heinious acts were going on in the name of religion.. Women were put at stake in gambling. Ploygamy was a common practice. Widows were deprived of all worldly comforts. This inhuman attitude of society used to compel a woman to lay on the pyre of her husband. Female genocide was common due to fear of defeat and insult and this inhuman act was a matter of boasting for them. Naked women and men were worshipped. They used to loose sense after consuming liqour. In short, from moral religious and social point of views, this land of Allah was a hotbed of satanic activities.
J e w s: Being the bearer of the A l l a h ' s Deen  (religion) jews were the ones to bring submerged in the quagmire of sins. Their long history was replete with heinious acts. They were too sinful to bring about any reforms. They martyred a number of prophets sent by Allah for their reformation. They were of the view that they had a special relationship with Allah and He will not chastise them due to this relation. They used to regard all heavenly blessings as their fundamental rights. For them, prophesy was their inherited legacy. The jew scholars were worldly people and they were enjoying its delicacies. They used to amend the religious laws day in and day out to please the elites and rulers. They used to follow only those divine laws which they found easy and abandoned the rest. They use to engage in bickering .Greed had overpowered them so much that they never used to do anything that may have any adverse effect on their wealth or lives. Their moral condition was worse. Polytheistic idolatry had made inroads among their beliefs. Witchcraft, superstitions, amulet, sorcery and evil practices had tarnished the real concept of Tawheed. When the Holy Prophet presented before them the clear concept of Tawheed, the jews crossed all limits and said, "the polytheists of Arabic were better than these Muslims."
Condition of Arabian Peninsula: Let's have a glance over Arabia, the land from where the Holy Prophet launched his movement and underwent all kinds of miseries and hardships.
A major part of Arabia, i.e., Valley of Qura, Khaiber and Fadk were inhabited by the Jews. They were at the helm of power in Madinah as well. Rest of Arabia was engaged in polytheistic activities. They used to worship trees, idols, stones, stars, angels and jins, even though concept of one God was there and they used to regard Him as the greatest of gods. But this belief had become so faint that they continued worshipping the "smaller gods",. They were of the view that their day-to-day problems were solved by these deities., so, they were mostly engaged in offering sacrifices and votive offerings before these deities. They used to take solemn pledges in the names of these deities. They used to think that they can please Allah by pleasing these "smaller gods".
These people used to regard the angels as the "daughters of Allah" and the jinns as close relative of Allah and partner in divinity. They used to seek their help. They had carved out idols of these "partners" in divinity and used to worship that if they found a beautiful stone, they would start worshipping it, if they don't get anything they would make a mound of clay, sprinkle goat milk over it and an idol was ready. These were innumerable idols in Arabia. They used to worship stars as well. Among stars, they used to prefer sun and moon. Jinns and ghosts were also worshipped. Several tales were prevalent about them. All polytheistic superstitions were there in Arabia.
A long with these religious distortions, infightings were also common. Trifle issues used to result into wars among tribes that used to last for generations. No other nation could come at par with them in gambling and consuming liquor. Their poetry was nothing but praise of wine and the consequent obscene activities. They were beasts in human form due to their obsession for usuary, plunder, cold bloodedness, shedding blood, fornication and other dirty acts. They use to bury their daughters alive. Exposure was so common that naked men and women used to make rounds of K'aba in the name of religion. In short, Arabs had touched the bottom of mire of sins. They had submerged their religion, morality, social values politics and their all in this mire.
Arabian traits for Islamic Movement :  Not only Arabia rather the whole world was engulfed in such a darkness of misguidance. Then the world desperately needed the guiding light which could dispell this darkness and show the right path to Allah's deviated slaves. Why was Arabia chosen by Allah Almighty to dispel this darkness, needs a serious thinking:
Allah Almighty had chosen Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as the last messenger for guidance and light and the message of invitation (to Islam) was to spread in the whole world. It is apparent that this gigantic task could not be completed by an individual so, it was a must that the Holy Prophet organize a group of reformers who could carry this mission on even  after the Prophet leaves the world. The qualities required for this grand task were commonly found in Arabs. In addition to it, the geographical location of Arabia such that it lies in the central part of inhabited world. So,. it was easy to convey this message (of Islam) to the surrounding regions. Another cogent reason was that Arabic language had the potential that was required for the vastness of  topic. In this way, Arabic language had an upper hand over other languages. The greatest virtue of Arabs was that they had never been under any foreign rule. They were not acquainted with the evils of slavery. They had Persian and Roman empires around them, but these empires could not make them bow to them. They were extremely chivalrous and fearless people. They used to pay no heed to dangers. Wars were their favourite pastime. They were full of  fervour and strong will power. They were free of malice. They had sharp memory, had the ability to learn the finer things fast. They were generous and had self esteem and self respect. The difficult desert life style had made them practical in their approach and if once accepted a thing it was difficult for them to confine themselves to its appreciation from a distance. Rather they used to rise and involve their life in their chosen task.

Difficulties in Reforming Arabs: The above mentioned qualities made Arabs a nation, due to which Allah decide to entrust them with the responsibility of spreading the true message. On the other hand the miseries that Holy Prophet faced in reforming these people were no less. As stated earlier that to evaluate a work it is essential to look into the circumstances in which it had been done. So, the flourishing of Islamic movement is the greatest achievement in terms of circumstances in which this movement was launched. So, the way the Holy Prophet prepared this nation for Islamic cause is nothing but a miracle.
Without putting forth these adverse situations one can not guess the real greatness of this grand reformatory task accomplished by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The obstacles that hindered the Holy Prophets are mentioned here:
Arabs were an illiterate nation. They had no concept of Allah's qualities, importance of the message, meaning of revelation, understanding Allah's Book, concept of life hereafter and the real meaning of Ibadat (worshipping). These people were blind followers of their ancestral customs and rituals. Islam brought the true concept of Tawheed which was contrary to their beliefs. All polytheistic evils had taken roots in them. Superstition had taken away their wits. Infightings were their prominent features. They had lost the power of reasoning and thinking seriously. Their thinking was limited to wars and revenges. Their main occupation was loot and plunder. So, when the Holy Prophet  invited them to Islam, they became amazed and exasperated. This invitation (Islam) was against their ancestral religion and beliefs. Islam demanded them to lead a peaceful life. It proclaimed that loot is unlawful. It further demanded them to give up negative thinking, bad habits and unlawful activities to gain livelihood. So, it was an uphill task to persuade these people to give up what they were practising for centuries. In short, the prevailing conditions in Arabic and rest of the world, Arabs and their habit and tendencies apparently nothing was favourable for the movement. But when the result came, it appeared that the Islam like a tornado took over the entire Arab. And this is the miracle that generates a desire to  know each and every aspect of the Holy Prophet's life. The following chapter will take you face-to-face with this great personality and its achievements.

CHAPTER-II

         10. Birth and Childhood
         11. Lineage
         12. Birth
         13. Fostering and Childhood
 

Lineage : The name of Prophet Muhammad's father was Abdullah s/o Abdul Muttalib. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the sixtieth branch of Prophet Ibrahim's (peace upon him) geneological tree. The name of Prophet's dynasty was Quraysh. This dynasty was the distinguished one among dynasties of Arabs. Many persons like Nadr, Fahr and Qusai Bin Kalab from this dynasty were prominent in terms of honour and wealth. Qusai was appointed as the trustee of the sanctuary of K'aba in his time, this added to their honour. Qusai did some commendable jobs like providing Hajis with drinking water and food. Later on, these works were carried on by his successors. The trusteeship of K'aba and making proper arrangements for Hajis, got this dynasty an honourable and distinguished place amongst other dynasties of Arabs. so much was the reverence of this dynasty that nobody dared to touch the caravans of this clan. Quraysh were comfortable in taking their merchandise from one place to another.
Abdul Muttalib had ten or twelve sons. But five of them gained fame due to their association with Islam or heathensim. One of them is Prophet Muhammad's father Abdullah, second is Abu Talib, though he did not embrace Islam but acted as Prophet's guardian for a long time. Hazrat Hamzah and Hazrat Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) were the third and fourth respectively who embaraced Islam and  gained a high status in Islamic history. Abdul Mutallib's fifth son was Abu Lahab who is notorious for his anti-Islamic activities.
Abduallah got married to  the Wahab Bin Abd-Manaf's daughter Aamna, She was an eminent personality in Quraysh tribe. Abdullah was 17 years of age at the time of tying nuptial knot. He stayed with his inlaws for three days as was their custom. Then, he set off for Sham (Syria) for commercial purpose. On his way back to Makkah, he had serious illness and died in Madinah. Hazrat Aamna was pregnant at this time.
Birth : It was the blessed morning of 9th day of Rabi-ul-Avval, the day was Monday (corresponding to 20th April 571 A. D.) that the Mercy for the Worlds, opened his eyes on this blessed land. This was the light which was to dispell darkness of the world and to bestow the message of guidance to the humanity. This message was last till Doomsday and was the greatest blessing of the Creator of the universe. As father Abdullah had died, grandfather named him Muhammad.
Fostering and Childhood : First of all Hazrat Aamna suckled him and then Abu Lahab's maid Saubiya suckled the infant. It was customary for Arabs to sent their infants to rural areas for lactating and upbringing, so that, they may get the full of fresh air of suburbs and learn the eloquent way of speaking Arabic. Bedouins were regarded more eloquent than those living in towns. Women from rural areas used to visit the towns to take babies with them for suckling and fostering. So, after a few days, some women form Havazin tribe came to Makkah. Halima Sa'adia was among these ladies. This is the lady who got the honour of suckling Muhammad.
She came back to Makkah after two years to handover Muhammad to his mother Aamna. But Makkah, at that time, was reeling under epidemic, so, Hazrat Aamna sent her back with Muhammad . In this way, Muhammad stayed with Hazrat Halima for six years.
When Muhammad attained the sixth year, his mother Aamna took him to Madinah. Perhaps she went there to visit her husband Abdullah's grave or to meet her relatives in Madinah. She stayed there for one month. When she was going back to Makkah, she became ill and died at a place called Abwa. She was buried at the same place.
Muhammad's grandfather Abdul Muttalib shouldered the responsibility of grandson's upbringing. He always kept gandson with him. But he died after two years. Before leaving this mortal world, he entrusted Muhammad to his son Abu Talib who performed his duty well. Abu Talib and Prophet's father Abdullah were from the same mother. Abu Talib had a deep love for Muhammad. He used to avoid his own children for Muhammad's pleasure. He used to take Muhammad with him wherever he went.
Muhammad, at the age of 10 or 12 started grazing the goats with other children. Grazing the quadrupeds was very common occupation of children even the ones from noble families used to graze goats.
Abu Talib was a trader. According to the rules of Quraysh, he used to visit Sham once a year. Prophet was in the twelfth year that Abu Talib intended to go to Sham (Syria). He did not want to take Muhammad with him due to the inconveniences of the desert  journey. But as he  was setting off, Muhammad hugged him and insisted to accompany him. So, the affectionate uncle took the nephew with him.

CHAPTER-III

14. Pre-Prophecy Events
15. Battle of Fijar
16. Hilful Fudul
17. Construction of Holy K'aba
18. Trade
19. Nikah
20. Unusal Events

Battle of Fijaar : A neven ending series of wars was on in Pre-Islamic period. Battle of Fijaar is one of these fierce and bloody battles, This battle was fought between Quraysh and Qais tribes. As the Quraysh were justifiable, Prophet Muhammad sided with Quraysh tribe. But he raised his hand on none. Qais tribe dominated the battlefield, but, they were overpowered by Quraysh tribe. The war ended on a compromise.
Hilful Fudul : The endless serie0s of wars destroyed hundreds of households. There was no clam in life. After the battle of Fijar was over, some peace-loving people came forward and launched a reformatory movement. One of prophet's uincle Zubair proposed that we should take some concrete steps to keep the situation under control. So, the elderman of Quraysh tribe sat face-to-face and a treaty was reached. It read :
1. We will eradicate restlessness from within the land.
2. We will provide protection to travellers.
3. We will help the destitute.
4. We will stretch a helping hand to oppressed people.
5. We will not let any oppressor to operate from within Makkah.
The Prophet Muhammad was also present there and he joined the treaty and loved it. So, once in his prophecy time, he said, "If I was offered with red camels for breaking this treaty I would have not accepted. If I get a fresh call for such a treaty, I will be there."
Construction of Holy K'aba : K'aba was a roofless construction. The walls were not very high, the building was in low-lying area. The rain water used to flow towards this direction. So, a dam was built to stop the inflowing water but this dam was too weak to stop the gushing water and often it collapsed. The water used to damage the Holy Construction. So, it was settled to rebuilt Holy K'aba. All Quraysh tribes joined hands to rebuild it. The construction work was divided among the tribes because nobody wanted to be deprived of this noble deed. But the re-installation of Hajr-e-Aswad* became an issue. Every tribe claimed the honour. The swords took the place of spades.This dispute lasted for four days. On the fifth day, an elderly Quraysh suggested that we should appoint a judge to solve this issue and the first person who enters the sanctuary in the morning will be the judge. By the virtue of Allah the Holy Prophet was  the first one to enter the sanctuary. So, the Holy Prophet asked all the claimant tribes appoint their representatives and each tribe will send one man only. Then, he spread a sheet on the ground and put the holy relic on it and asked the chiefs to hold onto the corners of the sheet and raise it. When they lifted the stone in this manner upto the proper height, the Holy Prophet inserted the stone in its place. In this way, a bloody war was averted.
The new building of K'aba was roofed. But due to the insufficient construction material, a part of land was left out and new foundations were laid. This left-out part is today known as Hatim.
Trade : Arabs and Quraysh in particular were traders for ancient times. Prophet's uncle Abu Talib was also a trader. So, the Holy Prophet also adopted the trade as his profession. Prophet's journey with his uncle gained him a lot of experience. So, when the prophet started that business, the people found him an honest person in dealings and people started investing money in his trade. Keeping of the words, fair in dealing, righteousness and honesty, all these qualities made him extremely respectable among Quraysh. The people started calling him Sadiq (true of words) and Ameen (trustworthy). The Prophet made several tripes to Syria, Basra and Yemen for commercial purposes.
Nikah (Matrimonial rites) : Hazrat Khadija was a rich and prestigious lady of Makkah. She was a remote cousin of Prophet Muhammad. She got married two times but both the husbands died and now she was a widow. She was a decent and well-mannered lady having high moral status. People used to call her Tahira (chastel lady). She was very rich. She used to operate her business through hired traders.
Prophet Muhammad was 25 years old at this juncture. He had made several commercial trips. He had established himself as man of high moral status and a trustworthy trader. So, Hazrat Khadija sent a man to Prophet Muhammad and asked him to take her merchandise for trade. She offered handsome remuneration for it. Prophet Muhammad accepted the offer and set off for Basra with her merchandise. He performed his job well. Then, he came back to Makkah. After three months, Hazrat Khadija proposed him. He accepted the proposal and the date was fixed. On the appointed day, Prophet Muhammad, accompanied by Abu Talib, Hazrat Hamza and other elder persons of his clan, reached Hazrat Khadija's house. Abu Talib read out the Nikah sermon and the Nikah was solemnised on 500 gold dirhams.
At the time of marriage, Hazrat Khadija was 40 years old and had two sons and one daughter from her earlier husbands.
Unusal Events : Prominent personalities generally show signs of their bright future right from their birth. These are the persons who do some reformatory work in a particular field but the personality who was to be entrusted for providing guidance to the whole world and to reform each and every aspect of human life, must show such signs in abundance. Such extraordinary events regarding Prophet Muhammad's life are mentioned in numerous biographies. But here we are mentioning a few authentic events :
Prophet Muhammad ordered that, "while I was in my mother's womb, she saw a dream that a light originated from her body which illuminated the palaces of Syria". There are many narratives prevalent in this regard that in those days jews and christians were waiting for the arrival of an incoming Prophet and used to give prophesy about him.
Another incident is related to Prophet's early childhood. Some construction work was on inside the sanctuary K'aba, children along with elders were fetching bricks. Prophet Muhammad was also among these children. Prophet's uncle asked him to untie his leg-sheet and put it on shoulder in order to avoid the friction by bricks which was causing burning sensation. In Arabia, such behaviour was not uncommon even the elders felt no shame in exposing their bodies. But as Muhammad did this, he fell unconcious due to the feeling of nakedness and his eyes wide open. When, he came back to senses, he was uttering these words, "my leg-sheet, my let-sheet". The people around him tied the leg sheet around his waist. When Abu Talib asked about the reason of his felling unconcious, he replied that, "I saw a man in while clothes who asked me to cover my body from naval  to knee." Most like it was the first hidden voice that prophet had heard.
Story telling was very common in Arabia. They used to gather around fire at night and a story teller take the centre stage and narrate the concocted stories throughout the night. Once Muhammad also intended to be there but it happened so, Muhammad halted at a place to see a marriage function. The sleep overtook him. In the morning he came back to his house. The same incident took place on an another occasion.. In this way Allah Almighty kept him away from such a bad company.
Prophet Muhammad was a child and Makkah was the centre of idols. There were 360 idols in K'aba and his elders were priests. But Muhammad never bowed before these idols nor he took part in politheistic rituals. As far as such polytheistic customs were concerned, Prophet Muhammad never sided with Quraysh nor with his clan.

CHAPTER-IV

21. Begining of Prophecy
22. Cave Hira
23. First Revelation

Now Muhammad started feeling a revolution in his mind., His heart started inclining to worship Allah in soilitude and to ponder over the religious and moral degradation among his people. He used to think that my people have made these idols their god. Their moral condition is worst. He used to think of ways to eradicate these evils. He wanted to show them the right path. He used to ponder over the ways that how to worship the Creator of this boundless universe. Such thoughts used to hover over his mind. He used to spend hours in solitide pondering over these thoughts.
Cave Hira :There was a cave at a distance or three miles from Makkah. Muhammad used to stary in this cave for hours worshipping Allah. He used to take eatables with him, when he run out of eatables he used to come back to his house for provisions or Hazrat Khadija used to fetch eatables for him.
First Revelation : One day Muhammad was busy in worshipping Allah as usual. It was the month of Ramzan that an angel sent by Allah, appeared before him. This angel was Hazrat Jibril (peace be upon him), who has the most elevated place among angels and who has been bringing Allah's messages to prophets. Hazrat Jibril appeared and asked the prophet, "read". Prophet Muhammad replied that "I am illiterate". Hearing this Hazrat Jibril started pressing the Prophet so much so that he got tired. Then, Hazrat Jibril loosened his grip and asked him "read". But Prophet Muhammad  again denied, then Hazrat Jibril pressed him the third time and after loosening his grip, he asked the prophet to say:

Proclaim! (or read!) In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, who created - Created man, out of a leech like clot:
Proclaim! And thy Lord is the most Bountiful
He Who taught (the use of ) the pen,---
Taught man that which he knew not.
(Q. 96:1-5)
This was the first revelation. The Prophet Muhammad came back to his house, having a trembling heart*. He asked Hazrat Khadija, "Wrap me in a blanket, wrap me up in a blanket." She wrapped him up in a blanket. When Prophet Muhammad  felt clam, he told Hazrat Khadija about what had happened to him in Whatever the prophet said and the way Hazrat Khadija pacified him is nothing but natural feeling.
The Cave Hira, He further added that, "my life is in danger". Hazrat Khadija solaced him and said, "no! never, there is no threat to your life, Allah will not disgrace you, you take care of your relatives, load yourself with the burden of others, help destitutes and  feed them, entertain the travellers. You suffer on behalf of others for sake of justice." After these pacifications, she took the Prophet to Waraqa Bin Naufal, an elder Christian priest. He used to recite Taurah. Hazrat Khadija (May Allah be pleased with her) narrated to him the whole incident of Cave Hira. Hearing all this, Waraqa said that, "This is the Gabriel**. (Jibril who knows the hidden secrets) who used to bring messages for Musa also. I wish that I were alive when your people would banish you." The prophet asked, "will my people force me to leave the native land" Then, Waraqa further added that, "the guidance you brought was brought by several other messengers before you but all of them had been targeted by their people. If I remain alive till that time, I will help you". But Waraqa died after sometime.
Prophet Muhammad used to visit Cave Hira and pray there. Six months passed over the first revelation, this gap helped the Holy Prophet to overcome the effect of the first experience. Now, the Holy Prophet was curiously waiting for the descending of second revelation. Hazrat Jibril used to visit the Hoy Prophet to pacify him and assure him that he has been selection to shoulder this responsibility of conveying the message of Allah to his slaves. After some time Hazrat Jibril (peace be upon him) started frequenting the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

CHAPTER-V

24. Commencement of the Invitation to Islam
25. Tow phases of the Message
26. Life of Makkah
27. Four Phases of Makkan Life
28. Secret Invitation
29. Impact of Qur'an
30. Rectification of Beliefs
31. Salahs (prayers) in Hiding
32. Traits of Believers of this Period
33. Proclamation of Invitation to Islam
34. Opposition to the Invitation
35. Reasons for Opposition to Islamic Cause
36. Opponents' Compulsions
37. Dealing with the Opponents
38. Masses Pay Attention to Invitation
39. Offer from the Opponents
40. Trial and Test
41. Migration to Abyssinia---5  Prophethood
42. Muslims in the Court of Negus
43. Negus Embraces Islam
44. Hamza Embraces Islam
45. Umar Embraces Islam
46. Confinement in the Valley of Abi Talib
47. Pace of the Call to Islam
48. Extreme Oppression and Cruelty
49. Preaching Outside Makkah
50. Night of Jinn
51. Islam in Madinah
52. Intensity in Opposition
53. First Oath of Allegiance ;at Uqba
54. Second Oath of Allegiance at Uqba

The second revelation in Cave Hira was the initial ayahs of Chapter Al-Muddasssir:

O thou wrapped up (in a mantle)! arise and deliver thy warning!
And thy Lord do thou magnify! And thy garments keep free from
stain! And all abomination shun! Nor expect, in giving any increase
(for thyself)! But, for thy Lord's (cause) be patient and constant!
This was the begining of prophecy. Now the Holy Prophet got the word, "rise and show the path of success and prosperity to the deviated humanity and warn them that there is no way of success but the slavery of Allah. Whoever will tread on this path of slavery, will succeed. Warn them of the deadly end in hearafter in case they deviate from the right path. The basis of human life is the slavery of Allah and admission of his greatness and magnificence. In this way the human life can be consecrated from all apparent and hidden desecrations. Worsipping someone other than Allah the basic deviations that destroys a human being. Humans should behave well with each other without having any greed ulterior motives.
Phase of Spreading the Message : Henceforth the period of the invitation to the movement starts. We can devide this period into two parts. The first one is the period that is called Makkan period and the second one is post-migration Madinite period. The first period spans over 13 and the second over 10 years respectively.
Life of Makkah : The Makkan period of invitational work is very significant from the point that it was the period during which Islamic seeds were sown in. This is the period which produced personalities that took the world by storm to establish Islam.
Makkan period is scantily mentioned in available books on history and prophet's biography. To gaugee the importance of this period one must go through that part of the Holy Qur'an which was revealed during stay Makkah. These chapters throw proper light on the nature of invitation, prevailing condition, detail of events, arguments regarding Tawheed and hereafter, instructions for character building, and the details regarding the struggle between Islam and heathenism and the fervour of protagonists of Islamic cause. The Holy Qur'an plays a decisive role in providing all these details. We are mentioning some of these events briefly:
Four Phases of Makkan Life : The part of Holy Prophet's life in Makkah prior to migration can be divided into four major segments according to the various phases of struggle between Islam and atheism.
First Phase : This phase spans over three years when the invitational work was done secretly.
Second Phase : It spans over two years. When the Holy Prophet proclaimed his prophecy, the people laughed at him, showered him with allegations and revile language. All efforts were on to curb the sapling of Islamic movement through false propaganda.
Third Phase : When this sapling grew into a plant and all atrocities met rough weather, then, the neophytes were targetted. This phase spans over 5 or 6 years and muslims underwent  excessive callourness throughout this period.
Fourth Phase :After the demise of Abu Talib and Hazrat Khadija, the Holy Prophet and his companions suffered the worst of calmities and agonies. This period spans over three years.

First Phase
Secret Invitation : After conferment of Prophethood the first stage was to decide as to whom the message of praying only one God should be given first. We have already briefly mentioned about the prevailing social conditions in Arabia. It was a hard test for the Holy Prophet to say something which was contrary to the beliefs and customs of Arabs. So Prophet Muhammad decided to invite those who were close to him and knew about the righteousnessand piety of Muhammad. It was not possible for them to contradict Muhammad. Hazrat Khadija (May Allah be pleased with her) was the closest to the Holy Prophet them there were Hazrat Zaid and Hazrat Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with them) Hazrat Ali was his cousin, Hazrat Zaid was Prophet's slave and Abu Bakr was a close friend of his. All these were enjoying the Prophet's decent company for years. So, the Holy Prophet conveyed the message to Hazrat Khadija and then to rest three. All of them listened to the message and certified it as if they had already embraced Islam. These were the first four muslims. The Hazrat Usman, Hazrat Zubair, Hazrat Abdur Rehman Bin Auf, Hazrat Sa'ad Bin Abi Waqas and Hazrat Talha entered the folds of Islam on the persuation of Hazrat Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with them). In this way, Islamic invitation started like a secret mission and the number of muslims started increasing.
Impact of Qur'an : The chapter of the Holy Qur'an that were revealed in this period were based upon phrases and short sentences. The style and arrangement of words are superb. The literary impact was such that entered the hearts of listeners. Everyone who used to listen to these ayahs wanted to recite them again and again.
Rectification of Beliefs : These chapters of the Holy Qur'an were describing the realities of heareafter and the true concept of Tawheed and had such arguments that used to effect the hearts. The examples were taken from their surroundings with which Arabs were well acquainted. Things were explained to them with the help of events from their own history and their traditions. Mention was made to the deviation that has occured in their own belief. The deterioration in their collection morality and the social evils in their society with which they were themselves aware were emphasised units. That was the reason that whoever heard these ayahs was deeply impressed. Allah's Prophet started the invitation to the movement alone, but then this was period of revelation of initial ayahs of Qur'an which immensely helped the movement which was slowly spreading.
Along with the convincing presentation of the concept of Tawheed, and life hereafter Prophet Muhammad was also being prepared to take on this grand job of spreading the message of Islam. He was also being guided about the modalites of accomplishing this job.
Salahs (prayers) in Hiding : Till now, all the activities were secret. Secrecy was uppermost priority in Islamic circle. Prophet Muhammad used to perform salah in the valley of a mountain. It happened one day that Prophet Muhammad along with Hazrat Ali was performing salah in mountain pass. Then, Abu Talib, Prophet's uncle, appeared on the scene. He kept watching this new way of praying with astonishment. When the salah was completed he asked, "What is this religion?"  Prophet Muhammad replied, This is the religion of your grandfather Prophet Ibrahim." Abu Talib said, "I can't adopt it but you are allowed to follow it, nobody will resist you."
Traits of Believers of this Period :This was the period when embracing Islam and siding with Prophet Muhammad was like putting one's life at stake. The persons who embraced Islam in this period has some qualities that prompted them to advance in this field. These people were fed up with polytheistic rites and were looking for the true guidance. These people were pious and believed in good moral values.
The invitation to the movement continued for three years secretly. But how long? How long the clouds could conceal the sum which was to illuminate the whole world with the light of guidance. So, the movement entered the second phase.

Second Phase
Proclamation of Invitation to Islam : Now the guidance came from Allah to proclaim openly the invitation to Islam. So, one day Prophet Muhammad climbed mountain Safa and called out at the top of his voice, "Ya Sabaha ".It was Arab's custom that in case of a peril, someone used to climb an elevated place and call out these workds and people use to gather at this call. So, when the Prophet called out these words atop the mountain Safa, a large number of people gathered there. Among them was Prophet's uncle Abu Lahab. When people gathered, the Holy Prophet said, "O people ! if I tell you that a grand army is waiting behind this mountain to attack you, will you believe me?" All replied, "Definitely by all means, you have never told a lie and we regard you as truthful and trustworthy." Then, the Holy Prophet said, "O people! I call you towards praying God and I want you to refrain from the evils of idolatry. But if your deny (Allah's religion) I warn you of a severe and painful chastisement"
Quraysh, hearing this, got incensed and Abu Lahab asked angrily, "had you called us only to convey this?"
It was an open call to message of Islam. Now, Allah's Prophet declared openly the task that was assigned to him and the message to which he was inviting them all. The prophet has proclaimed that Allah is the sole Creator and Owner of this universe. He created man and He is the master of all creatures. The man's place is nothing more than being Allah's slave. It is man's duty to serve Allah and Obey His commands. Allah has bestowed the honour of being a supreme creature to man, so, he should not make partners in Allah divinity. Akkah is the Creator, Ruler and Cherisher of the whole universe and its creatures. No one other than Allah, deserves to be worshipped, or to be obeyed and adored. Allah has bestowed some powers to man. This worldly life is a time-bound test. When the time of this test will be over, the man must go back to his Lord. Then, Allah will decide his fate according to the good or bad deeds performed by that man. The proclamation by Prophet Muhammad was not an ordinary one. The Quraysh and other people were extremely angry with the Holy Prophet because he had hurt their "religious sentiments". Everyone in Makkah was talking about the invitation given by Muhammad and his claim of prophecy. A few days later, Prophet Muhammad asked Hazrat Ali to make arrangements for a feast. All members of Abdul Muttalib's (Prophet's gandfathe) clan were invited to this feast. Hamza, Abu Talib and Abbas all  were there. When the eating was over, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) stood up and addressed the gathering, "I brought the thing which is sufficient for both this world and hereafter. Who will help me in conveying this message?" It was a tense moment because the "help" meant that the helper will have to face the enmity of the whole Arabia. All he gets for helping Muhammad was the success in hereafter and the honour before his Lord. No other benefit was in sight. The silence dominated the gathering. And then, to everyone's surprise, Hazrat Ali rose from hihs place and said, "Though I have a sore eye (his eyes were soring), my legs are thin and weak, but I will support you actively." This show of valour and extraordinary determination by a 13 year's old boy took the gathering by surprise.
Opposition to the Invitation : There were forty plus muslims in Islamic group. So, Prophet Muhammad proclaimed Tawheed within the sanctuary of K'aba. For polytheists of Makkah it was the greatest insult. This proclamation evoked a furore. All of them fell avidly upon the Holy Prophet. Haris Bin Abi Hala rushed to rescue him. But he succumbed to multiple wounds of swords and got martyrdom for the sake of Islamic cause. The Holy Prophet managed to escape and the tumult was somehow subsided.
Reasons for Opposition to Islamic Cause :This open invitation to Islam was most perplexing for Quraysh and they were opposing the call vehemently. K'aba was the source of honour and dignity for Makkah and the Quraysh were the trustee and caretaker of K'aba. So in a way, Quraysh were ruling the whole Arabia from the religious point. People used to seek their counsel in affairs regarding religion and regard them reliable. So, the first target of Islamic invitation was the very religion led by Quraysh. It was obvious that the blind faith in ancestral religion does not let the believers to listen to the word of guidance. This was the reason that polytheists used to get exasperated on hearing the message of guidance. Quraysh elites and men of power were viewing the downfall  of their "religious dominance" , in case this new faith (Islam) takes roots. So, everyone of them was opposing the call to Islam with as much force as they had. Quraysh were also engaged in activities which were contrary to their religious status. The polytheistic religion did not prohibit them from these wrong doings and they were enjoying a lofty status among their people. The masses used to avoid their misdeeds due to the status and dignity enjoyed by them.
The Holy Prophet Muhammed on one hand used to describe the evils of idolatry and invite the people towards pure Tawheed, he used to make them realize the day when they will be presented before their Lord and will be questioned about their deeds. On the other hand he used to describe their evil customs and warn them of their deadly end if they did not accept the true message (Islam). The Holy Prophet used to expose the weakness of their basic values and its result. This used to incite the respectable peoples amongst Quraysh, because they had no courage to give up their evil acts nor they could justify their actions. so, they used to feel that they were being disagraced before their won people who were criticizing them behind their back. This was enough to make them perplexed. The Holy Qur'an was also warning these idolators of painful chastisement. These Ayahs were presented  in a simple manner, but the people used to know clearly, as to what they are referring to.
These cogent reasons were enough to oppose the Islamic movement and it was possible for those powerful people to physically annihilate the small groups of Muslims to settle the score once for all. But Allah willed otherwise, these handful neophytes were selected as the protagonists of Islamic movement and they were chosen to spread Islam in the length and breadth of the world. So, these were some compulsions which prefented Quraysh from taking this extreme step.
Opponents' Compulsions : The battles in near past had broken Quraysh. They were so frustrated with wars (after the war of Fijar) that they hated any further war. This small number of muslims comprised of men from different tribes and their killing meant declaring a war aginst all these tribes. In those days, the killing of one person from a tribe meant the disgrace of the tribe, so these people used to take revenge. So, a single murder used to take revenge. So, a single murder used to result into the loss of hundreds of people. sine it was feared that the whole Makkah will turn into a battlefield, Quraysh decided to adopt some other ways to curb this movement.
They started making fun of the movement and its followers & tried to incriminate them wrongly. They showered the protagonists of Islamic movement with abuses. They invented novel ways of false propaganda. They called him insane and mad, awarded him the titles of poet and sorcerer. They used to disturb the gatherings where the Holy Prophet used to invite the people to Islam.
Dealing with the Opponents : The part of the Holy Qur'an that was being revealed in this period was full of instructions to cope with this situation. The objections of opponents were met with proper replies. For example, in chapter Al-Qalam, Allah Almighty has pacified the prophet :

Thou art not, By the grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed.
Nay, verily for thee is a reward unfailing : and surely thou
hast sublime morals. Soon with thou see, and they will see,
which of you is afflicted with madness. Verily it is thy Lord
that Knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from
His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true)
guidance. So obey not to those who deny (the truth). Their
desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant.
Then leave Me alone with such as reject this message: by
degrees shall We draw them on little by little from directions
they perceive not. A (long) respite will I grant them: truly
powerful is My plan. Or is it that thou dost ask them for a
reward, to that they are burdened with a load of debt? So
wait with patience for the command of thy Lord.

This chapter is a specimen from the Holy Qur'an that was revealed in this Makkan period of Islamic movement. It was made crystal clear that the inviter to Islam was neither a soothsayer not a sorcerer. Compare the qualities of the Holy Prophet with the characteristics of poets, sorceres and soothsayers. There is no similarity between the Holy Prophet and those wrong doers.
Masses Pay Attention to Invitation : Quraysh's anti-Islamic propaganda was causing curiosity in the hearts of people. they wanted to see and listen to Holy Prophet's sermons so as to know the reality. The visitors to K'aba or the traders who used to visit Makkah, started visiting Holy prophet secretly. Deeply touched by Prophet's compassionate being and divine ayahs, these people, on return to their home towns, used to invite others to Islam in their respective regions.
A large number of people from adjoining areas started pouring in Makkah only to have a glimpse of Holy Prophet. Hazrat Abu Zarr's (May Allah be pleased with him) incident is a good example. Ghifar tribe was located on the route used by Quraysh to reach Sham (Syria). When the word about the prophet reached in this tribe, Hazrat Abu Zarr got curious to meet the Holy Prophet. First, he sent his brother Anees to Makkah to collect information about the Holy Prophet and his preachings. Anees did as his brother asked him and told Hazrat Abu Zarr that "the person (the Holy Prophet) bears a moral character, teaches good manners and invites the people to one God and the ayahs, he recite, are quite different from poetic words."
Abu Zarr could not calm down his desire to meet the Holy Prophet. So, he got ready for the journey to Makkah.
When he reached Makkah, he got frightened and could not ask anyone about the Holy Prophet. When he was in the sanctuary of K'aba, he met Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him). He stayed for three days with Hazrat Ali, only the he could collect enough courage to describe the motive of his journey to Makkah. Hazrat Ali took him in the benign presence of the Holy Prophet. As a  result of this meeting, he embraced Islam. The Holy Prophet ordered him to go back to his people but the effect of Tawheed had ward off all his fears and anxieties, so he reached in the sanctuary and called out

Hearing this, the people from all directions fell upon him. Allah Almighty sent Hazrat Abbas at this time, he told the gathering that this man is from Gifar tribe and you people pass by this tribe with your merchandise. So, if yoy kill him, you lose that route. This warning worked and they let Hazrat Abu Zarr free.
Hazrat Abu Zarr, when back among his people, invited his people to embrace Islam, half of the tribe responded positively to his call and embraced Islam. Aslam tribe was located in the vicinity of Ghifar tribe. The people of this tribe also embraced Islam. In this way Islamic invitation started spreading. The spread of Islam was tormenting the infidels of Makkah. So, some elites and other privileged people called on Abu Talib to complain about the Prophet. They told Abu Talib that "Your nephew insults our idols, calls our ancestors deviated people and term all of us foolish and wrong doers. So, either you persuade him or permit us to settle the issue once for all." Abu Talib realized the gravity of matter, he knew that he can't face the Quraysh single handedly. So, he said to the Holy Prophet, "My dear nephew! don't load me with the burden that is unbearable for me." The Holy Prophet realized that now Abu Talib is retreating, so he said calmly to his uncle "By God, if these people put the sun on my one hand and moon on the other, I will not fight shy from fulfilling my duty. Either Allah will accomplish the task or I will sacrifice myself for this noble cause." This determination and bold decision encouraged abu Talib and he said to the Holy Prophet, "Go on, nobody would be able to harm you."
Offer from Opponents :  Abu Talib was the last hope for Quraysh but he disappointed them so Quraysh decided to use a soft option to finish this new movement. They sent Utba Bin Rabi' to Holy Prophet. Utba asked the Prophet, tell us Muhammad, do you want marry in a decent family? Is amassing wealth your target? We can provide you all this. We are ready to give Makkah under your rule and we will fulfill all other demands as well. But give up your  invitational work."
The adversaries' mentality was too low to reach the height and loftiness of Islamic movement. For them, material purposes were a must for a movement. They could not imagine that this person was doing all this to please his Lord and he was obeying the commands of his Lord. They knew that a person puts his life at stake for the sake of wealth and power. They did not know that some people do this for the success of eternal life in hereafter. So, Utba was confident that his offers will prevent Muhammad from doing his invitation work. But the Holy Prophet recited a few ayahs from Holy Qur'an to elaborate Tawheed, invitation (to Islam) and his prophecy.
Hearing this reply, Utba went back to Quraysh chiefs and he was impressed with Prophet Mohammad  he told the chiefs, "The divine ayahs recited by Muhammad are not a poet's words. I request you people to leave Muhammad with him. If he succeeds, he will dominate the whole Arabia which will be a matter of pride for you. And if the reverse happen, Arabs would kill him."
Now Quraysh were left with one and only option. It was to use full aggression against Islamic movement to curb it. So, Quraysh decided to inflict all kinds of hardships. They resolved to tease and torture Muslims as and when they find an opportunity.

Third Phase

Trial and Test : Until now, the Islamic invitation resulted into three forms:
1. Some fortunate person had embraced Islam and were ready to serve the Islamic cause at every cost.
2. The majority of infidels had rejected the invitation due to their blinkered vision, selfishness, misconceptions and the blind faith in their ancestral religion. i.e. idolatry. These infidels were opposing the movement.
3. The Islamic invitation was spreading outside Makkah and Islamic circle was expanding gradually.
Henceforth the struggle between the new Islamic movement and ancient Jahilityat (ignorance) begins. Those who wanted to cling on to their old religion were, determined to erase this new Islamic movement with all available resources. They inflicted all kinds of atrocities and cruelties on Muslims and tried their best to take them away from Islam. This is the period which saw the extremities of Quraysh's oppressions and endless series of atrocities and inhuman punishments.
We all are aware of the hot and dry climate of Arabia. The infidels used to force Muslims to lie on the burning sand, they used to press their hearts with stones. They used to brand them with hot iron rods, dip them into water, relentlessly beat them. In short they crossed all limits.
Historians have copied some incidents of these cruelties. We are mentioning a few below:
Hazrat Khabbad (Rad.) was Umme Ammar's slave. Only six or seven persons had embraced Islam until now, he followed the suit and became the target of  Quraysh's atrocities. One day, they laid him on burning coals and a man put his leg on his chest so that he may not turn from one side to other till the coals cooled down under his back. The burning marks were apparent on Hazrat Khabba's back even after a long time.
Hazrat Bilal (Rad.) was Umayya Bin Khalf's slave. Umayya used to make him lie on burning sand at the time of midday. He used to put a heavy stone on Hazrat Bilal's chest and say to him "deny Islam otherwise you will die one day in thie sand." But Hazrat Bilal (Rad.) even in this painful condition used to utter "Ahad Ahad" ("the One, the One"). Umayya used to a rope around his neck and handover the other end to urchins who used to drag him from one corner of the city to another.
Hazrat Ammar (Rad.) was from Yemen. He was one of the courageous men who embraced in this early stage. When he embraced Islam, Quraysh used to make him lie on burning sand and beat him mercilessly till he fainted.
Hazrat Labniah (Rad.) was a maid servant. Hazrat Umar (Rad.), before he embraced Islam, used to beat her mercilessly till he himself used to get tired but this pious lady used to repeat the words, "If you don's embrace Islam, Allah will punish you."
Hazrat Zubaira (Rad.) was also a maid servant in Hazrat Umar's clan. Once upon a time, Abu Jahal beat her so much that she lost her eyesight.
In short, Muslims were facing all kinds of inhuman punishments. But Quraysh despite all these inhuman acts could not divert a single Muslim from Islam.
When atrocities were inflicted upon these helpless Muslims, people used to get attracted towards them. The patience and endurance of Muslims forced them to think as to what was the thing that was giving power to these Muslims to cling on to their new religion. These infidels used to acknowledge that the dealings of these Muslims was fait and ideal and their Lord and they will not worship anyone other than Allah and they will follow His commands. This firm-footing on part of these Muslims used to put a question mark before many of them. Apparently this is the common matter for us nowadays and we are astonished that why those Muslims were tortured too much. The reason behind it is that neither we know the complete meaning of the word "Rab" nor we put before us all aspects of Ibadat (worship). But infidels knew the meaning of "Rab" i.e. Allah Almighty. They also knew the vastness of  "Rab" and "Ibadat". So, both, assertive and listener knew that"
(1) There is no god but Allah. So, the man should be thankful to him. He should pray and prostrate before him. No one deserves worshipping other than Allah.
(2) There is no master but Allah. So, the man should accept His slavery. The slavery and subordination to anyone other than Allah is not proper.
(3) There is no ruler but Allah. So, it is proper for man to obey Him and be thankful to Him.
Islam was the proclamation that was ceasing the "divinity" of idols. These idols were being worshipped for a long long time. Islam was an open revolutionary call against idolatry, so no religious leader or tribal chief was ready to tolerate it. More and more people were getting inclined to Islamic movement to watch it from close quarters. They were feeling a clemency in their hearts for these protagonists of Islamic movement. Atrocities on men of truth always provided ladder to success. So, on one hand the Quraysh were increasing the atrocities and on the other hand Islamic movement was spreading. There was not a single house in Makkah which was bereft of Islam. This flourishing of Islamic movement was adding to the worries and anger of opponents. In a matter of days their brothers, nephews, sisters, brother-in-law, sons and daughters had embraced Islam. In addition to it they were ready to cut off all their mundane relations for the sake of Islam. This was a vital blow for these infidels. Moreover, all the new entrants to Islam were the cream of Arabian society, their wit, moral values and general human qualities were well known. This kind of conversions used to compel the masses to ponder over the authenticity of Islam and the Holy Prophet. They wanted to know that what was the thing which fuelled their spirits so much that they (Muslims) were even ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Islam. They (infidels) witnessed that Islam has added to their (Muslims') piety, truthfulness, moral values and fair dealings. All these things were creating the grandeur of Islam in their hearts though many of them did not accept Islam.
Migration to Abyssinia, 5 Prophethood: The Holy Prophet had entered the sixth year of prophecy and he realized the continuance of Quraysh's oppressions. Though he was sure that the Quraysh would not be able to turn away even a single Muslim from Islam but as the hardships were out of their endurance and performing Islamic duties was becoming almost impossible in Makkah, the Holy Prophet Muhammad decided that some Muslims should migrate to Abyssinia which is located on the eastern coast of Africa. A just and kind Christian king was at the helm of affairs in Abhyssinia. This migration on one hand, provided solace a golden opportunity to spread Islam in far off areas.
So, the first batch of 11 men and 4 women got ready for migration. It was the month of Rajab in 5 Prophethood, these people reached the port, two people embarked on ships. The sailors charged nominal fair. When Quraysh came to know about this migration they gave a chase but by the virtue of Allah the ships had left the port.
The migrations got relief in Abyssinia and they started living in peace. When the news reached the Quraysh, they became very angry and decided to sent a delegation to the king of Abyssinia (Arabs used to call him Najashi - Negus) to request him for the extradition of these Muslim migrants. Abdullah Bin Rabi'a and Amr Bin Al-Aas were selected as emissaries. They set off for Abyssinia. In Abyssinia, they first met the popes of Negus. They told the popes that these migrants are following a new religion, when we dealt them rudely, they took shelter in your country. They requested the popes to recommend their case before the king and ask him to extradite these migrants.
Muslims in the Court of Negus : When Negus was presented with extradition request, he sent for Muslims and asked them, "what new religion you people have invented?" Muslims had chosen Hazrat J'afar Bin Abi Talib as their representative. J'afar was Hazrat Ali's brother. In reply to Najashi's question, Hazrat J'afar delivered a lengthy speech elaborating the Islam and faith in Allah. The gist of this speech is as follows:

"O king! we people were groping in the darkness of misguidance for centuries.
We were worshipping hundreds of idols in place of one God. We used to eat
dead animals. Fornification, plundering, thefts and mutual fights were our occu-
pations. Every powerful man among us, used to feel pride in dwarfing the weak .
In short  we were beast in human form. Then, Allah showered us with His mercy.
He sent a messenger among us, who is a human like us. We are aware of his
geneology. He is extremely noble, decent, trustworthy, truthful and a pious person.
Friend and foes, all acknowledge his nobility. This messenger invited us to Islam
and asked us to give up worshipping idols. He asked us to acknowledge Allah as
the owner and Master of our souls and possessions. He asked us to pray only for
Allah, speak truth, give up blood shedding, give up usurping orphan's wealth,
help our neighbours, avoid fornification and other dirty acts, spend our wealth
in the way of Allah and that way is to help destitutes. We have faith in this messenger, we gave up worshipping of idols and all evil-doings. So, our people (infidles) started oppressing us and forcing us to reconvert to their old religion (i.e. idolatry). These two persons (Amr and Abdullah) have come here to take us back to Mekkah for forcing us to reconvert."
Negus, after hearing all this, asked Hazrat J'afar to recite something of Allah's message revealed to prophet. Hazrat J'afar recited few ayahs of chapter Maryam, Najashi was so impressed that tears started rolling out of his eyes, he said, "By God,  these ayahs and Injeel both are the reflection of the same lamp." Saying this he told Quraysh plainly that these Muslims will not be handed over to you."
Negus Embraces Islam : The other day Quraysh played another trick. They reached the court of Negus and requested him to ask these Muslims about their belief regarding Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him)." These Quraysh knew that Muslims call Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him), son of Miriam instead of son of God which is contrary to the belief of Christians. When Najashi comes to know this, he will, get angry with Muslims. Negus again sent for the Muslims. When confronted with this question, Muslims first hesitated but Hazrat J'afar replied, "we will say what is truth regardless of consequences."
So Hazrat J'afar replied in the court, full of courtiers, that, "Our Prophet has told us that Hazrat Isa was a devotee and prophet of Allah." Hearing this Najashi picked a straw from the ground and said, By God! whatever you said, Isa was not more than that by the size of this straw." In this way Quraysh's this trick too met with failure. Najashi allowed Hazrat J'afar (Rad.) and his companions to stay peacefully in Abyssinia and certified the peophecy of Hazrat Muhammad and embraced Islam, Najashi's name was As hama. When he died, the Holy Prophet performed funeral prayer in absentia for Najashi. Almost 83 Muslims had migrated to Abyssinia until now.
Hamza Embraces Islam : In Makkah, on one hand was the Quraysh's oppressions and on the other hand was the patience and steadfastness of Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Amid this struggle, the gentry of Makkah was embracing Islam. Hazrat Hamza was prophet's uncle, but he had not embraced Islam yet. The merciless behaviour of infidels with Prophet Muhammad was soul-shattering, not only for his relatives but  for strangers too. One day Abu Jahal showed extreme disrespect to the Holy Prophet. Hazrat Hamza was out on hunting.  When he came back, one of his maid servants narrated this incident to him. Hazrat Hamza  got incensed, took his bow and arrow and reached the sanctuary and lambasted Abu Jahal angrily and said, "I have embraced Islam."
Though he uttered these words overwhelmed with his love for Prophet Muhammad but his heart was still not ready to leave the ancestors" religion, he kept thinking all the day long. At last the call to truth dominated him and Hazrat Hamza embraced Islam. This incident dates back to 6 prophethood. After a few days, Hazrat Umar also embraced Islam. This is a very important event in the invitational history of Islam.
Umar Embraces Islam : Before he embraced Islam, Hazrat Umar was a bigoted enemy of Islam. The Quraysh chiefs were increasing day-by-day in opposing Islam  and the caller to Islam. On the other hand mercy and love for these people used to overwhelm prophet, who used to pray to Allah for providing guidance to these deviated enemies. Abu Jahal and Umar both were hide-bound enemies of the Prophet but when all the attempts to take these  two in Islamic circle failed, the Holy Prophet made a plea in the presence of Allah Almighty that, "O my Lord, from Abu Jahal and Umar, whoever is dearer to you, honour him with Islam." After a few days Hazrat Umar got the divine help to embrace Islam. The derail are as follows:
Hazrat Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) himself narrates that, "One night, I came out of my house with the intention to tease the Holy Prophet. The prophet, was going to Masjid Haram (sacred mosque), he entered the mosque and started performing the prayer. I was all ears. The Holy Prophet recited Chapter Al-haqqa. I was amazed to listen the divine words. The order and diction of words was superb. It came to my mind that he (Holy Prophet) is a poet. As soon as this idea crossed my mind, the Holy Prophet recited these ayah:

(That this is verily the world of an honoured messenger; It is not the word of a poet : Little it is ye believe!)
As I heard these ayahs, it came to my mind  at once that this person (the Holy Prophet ) came to know what was in my mind. This person is a soothsayer. Then, the Holy Prophet recited this ayah:

(Nor it is the word of a soothsayer :
(This is ) a message sent down from the Lord of the worlds.)
The Holy Prophet recited this Surah till end and I felt that Islam is nesting in my heart. "But as Hazrat Umar was a seasoned man of firm nature, he overcame this emotional feeling and kept on moving on the path of enmity with Islam. One day fueled by frenzy, he left his house with the intention to do away with Prophet Muhammad  (Allah saves us). On his way he met Naeem Bin Abdullah. Naeem asked him, "where are you going?" Umar replied, "Today I want to settle the issue with Muhammad Naeem asked him to have the knowledge of  what is happening in his own house, he told him that his sister and brother-in-law had embraced Islam, hearing this, Umar took turn and reached his sister's house straight on. His sister was reciting Holy Qur'an. As she saw Hazrat Umar coming, she hid the Holy Qur'an. Hazrat Umar who had heard her reciting asked her, "What were you reciting?" Saying that both of you have renounced the religion of your forefathers, he started beating his brother-in-law, and when the sister tried to intervene, Umar gave her a sound beating till both of them bled. But when both of them told him plainly that they had embraced Islam and any atrocity on his part can't divert them from the path of Islam, Umar softened a little bit by their determination and said to his sister, "Okay, then let me see what you were reading", Fatima, (Umar's sister) presented before him the parts of Holy manuscript. Hazrat Umar started reading, it was chapter Ta'Ha and when he read:

"Verily I am Allah : There is no god but I :
So serve thou Me (only), and establish
regular prayer for my remembrance.
Overwhelmed with the efficacy of the Holy Qur'an, Umar called out :
There is no god but Allah
He intended to meet the Holy Prophet Muhammad and set off straight on. This was the time, the Holy Prophet was staying with Arqam. When the companion saw Hazrat Umar coming with a naked sword, they hesitated but Hazrat Hamza (peace be upon him) said, "Let him in, better if he is with sound intention, otherwise I will behead him with his sword itself". Hazrat Umar entered the house, the Holy Prophet Muhammad advanced and got hold on his garment and ordered, "Tell me Umar what brought you here?" Overawed, Hazrat Umar replied with extreme humility "To have faith." The Holy Prophet spontaneously called out "Allho Akbar" and all the companions followed the suit.
The Apostle raised the cry of "Allah-o-Akbar" and all the companions followed suit.
Islamic group became more powerful after Hazrat Umar embraced Islam. Till now Muslims were not able to perform their religious duties openly and it was almost impossible to perform congregational prayer in K'aba. But things changed after Hazrat Umar's embracing of Islam. He made his embracing (of Islam) public though it evoked a furore, but at the end of the day muslims started offering congregational prayers in K'aba. Their party became more powerful. The whole world witnessed that  the invocation of Prophet Muhammad resulted in a manner that today after fourteen hundred years back. The history is a deponent of the unparalleled honour and dignity bestowed by Allah, through Hazrat Umar to Islam.
Confinement in valley of Abi Talib in 7 prophethood : With the Islamic movement gaining momentum, the chiefs of Quraysh tribe were getting perplexed  and they were charting out plans to crush this movement. So, all the tribes intrigued untidily and reached an agreement which read; nobody will establish links with Prophet Muhammad and  his dynasty, nobody will transact with them, no one will meet them and give them eatables until they handover Muhammad to them for slaining. This written agreements was put up at the gate of K'aba.
Now Bani Hashim were left with two options, either to handover Prophet Muhammad to infidels or be ready to face the consequent calamities as a result of this economic and social boycott. So, Abu Talib, with the whole dynasty of Bani hashim, moved to a mountain valley which was a legacy of Bani hashim.
In this mountain pass these people along with Prophet Muhammad passed a harsh period of three years. Sometimes, they used to chew leaves to put off the fire of belly. Intensity of hunger compelled them to boil the dry leather and eat it. Children's wailing due to hunger was a matter of joy for hard-hearted Quraysh oppressors. But there were some people who sneaked in some eatables.
Bani Hashim remained in this pathetic condition for three years. At last, God softened the hearts of these oppressors. They themselves, took the initiative to break the agreement. Clemency entered the hearts of these people one by one. Abu Jahal and some of his like people were put aside and they were allowed to come out of the valley in 10th prophethood.
Pace of the Call to Islam : As stated earlier, the details of the struggle of Makkan period are rarely mentioned in the books of history and biography of prophet. So, the details of the work of call to Islam and its movement continued during this economic and societal boycott and what were the impacts of this movement, are not found. The revelation of Qur'an was on. The text, instructions and teaching of surahs (Chapter) of this period are an evidence of the hardships faced by this movement.
The sermons, revealed by Allah Almighty, during this long and regorous struggle, were full of fervour and efficacy. These sermons describe the religious duties of faithfuls and directs them to follow it. They also tell how to elevate their personal character to heights. To practise piousness, and elevate it is highly stressed upon. Moral elevation and improvement in behaviour have been stressed in theses sermons. A collective sense and group morality has been  cultivated. Ways of propagating the true religion (Islam) have been tole. Keeping patience in hardships and unbearable circumstances has been repeatedly emphasized.
The courage of Muslims has been motivated with the promises of success and tidings of heaven. Sustenance on the rough and hard uneven path of religion and struggle with courage in the path of Allah have been given prominence. Inculcating a passion for laying their lives and all kind of sacrifices enabled them to face any difficulty and bear every hardship.
On the other hand, adversaries and the ones who renounced the religion of Allah (Islam) had been warned continuously of their deadly end. They had been admonished by stories of those nations who adopted the path of negligence and denial and ultimately met their deadly end. Arabs, themselves knew all about these people, their attention have been drawn towards the ruins of those devastated settlements, they used to pass by. Then they were presented with the concept of Tawheed (oneness of God) and the realities of the Day of Judgment with such clear signs that they used to witness with their own eyes in their surroundings. Polytheism and its evil were made clear. They were warned of the consequences of waging a war against Allah. Estrangement in life due to the denial of Doom's day, were described openly. The loss of humanity pointed out. All these advices were logically presented and affected  the hearts.
Adversaries and atheists were given proper replies to their objections. The suspicions created by them were cleared. In short all the confusions that had and that they used to create, have been wiped off, but the hostility and enmity continued piling during this period.
Fourth Phase
Extreme Oppression and Cruelty : Prophet Muhammad came out of valley of Abi Talib and got a temporary relief from affliction of Quraysh. Abu Talib died a few days later and then Hazrat Khadija (Rad.) left this mortal world. Prophet Muhammad used to call  this year, "the year of sorrow". Opposition of Quraysh and their tormenting intensified after the deaths of these two. This was the hardest time for Islamic Movement. Now Quraysh started tormenting muslims and Prophet Muhammad with utmost cruelty.
Preaching Outside Makkah : Almost all Makkan elites and good people had joined Islam. So, Prophet Muhammad decided to go out of Makkah to spread the message of Islam. Following this programme he reached Ta'if. Ta'if housed a lot of rich and influential people. Prophet Muhammad went to them with the invitation of Islam. But the wealth and status refrained them from accepting the truth, as it happens usually. One of them said, "Was there none other than you for Allah to make a messenger?" Another said, "I can not talk to you. If you are honest then out of respect but if you are liar (God save us) then you are too mean to talk." In short these "elders" took him lightly even and incited the rowdies and hooligans of the city against him. These goons intercepted the Prophet and made mockery of his preaching and on one occasion they stoned him so much that he got wounded, and blood flew down filling his shoes. But they continued stoning and abusing till the Prophet took shelter in a garden.
One can easily guess the kind of courage and boldness is required to go alone in an alien city opposed to him and propagate religion and convey the message of Allah to the people. This is the highest example of one's complete faith and dependence on Allah and a worth-emulating model for future generations.
Different tribes used to come to Makkah at the time of Haj, Prophet Muhammad used to go to each tribe and call them to embrace Islam. Likewise he used to visit the fairs and taking the advantage he used to address the gatherings and put before them the concept of Islam. Abu Lahab and some other of his kind from Quraysh used to accompany Prophet and urge the people not to listen to his sermons. They use to say, "See don't listen to him, he has deviated from the right path and tells lies. the Prophet Muhammad at these occasions, used to narrate those ayahs of Qur'an which enter in to the hearts of  people who often used to embrace Islam. Prophet Muhammad's such visits yielded multi-faceted success. Now, the call to Islam was not strange rather it became familiar in remote areas. People who ultimately embraced Islam became the active members of Islamic movement and started the work of spreading and inviting towards Islam in their respective regions.
Night of Jinn : Jinns are a creature out of God's numerous  creation. They like human beings possess the qualities of intention and discretion. On this basis they are entitled to God's message. It is obligatory for them to have faith in oneness of God (Tawheed), prophecy and the Day of Judgment. To follow the commands by Allah, is a must  for them. Based upon this, there are good and evil Jinns among them.
There has been different views about the existence of Jinns, there used to be lot of talks amongst Arabs about Jinns. They were worshipped their help was sought. Spiritualists used to claim friendship with them. Several kinds of stories were prevalent regarding Jinns. In brief, the jinns were considered to be a part of divinity like thousands of other gods and goddesses. Islam purified these ill beliefs. It (Islam) proved that Jinns are a creature of Allah but they have no rights in divinity. Neither they can benefit someone on their discretion nor they can harm and to be the slave of Allah is must for them. There are obedient and disobedient of of Allah among them, like human beings. They will also get reward for punishment of their deeds. The Jinns, like human beings, are helpless before the boundless powers of Almighty.
Prophet Muhammad was spreading the complete religion bestowed by Allah Almighty and the world was at the receiving end. To follow this religion, was the duty of human beings as well as of Jinns. Once upon a time Prophet Muhammad was on his mission of spreading Islam and going to a popular fair Ukaz. On this way to Ukaz he stayed at Nakhla at night. In the morning Prophet Muhammad along with some of his companions was offering Namaz (prayer) and reciting Qur'an. At the same time a group of Jinns passed by there. They listened to the Qur'an. This incident is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an chapter Al-Ahqaf, like this :
 

Behold, We turned towards you a company of Jinns listening
to the Qur'an when they stood in the presence thereof, they
said, "listen in silence!" When the (reading) was finished they
returned to their people, to warn them. They said, O' our
people! we have heard a book revealed after Musa, confirming
what came before it . It guides to the truth and to a straight
path . "O' our people hearken to the one who invites (you) to
Allah, and believe in him . He will forgive you from a
chastisement grievous.

Prophet Muhammad came to know of this incident by a revelation. The details of this incident are mentioned in the "Chapter Jinn".
Islam in Madinah in 10 Prophethood : Islam was spreading in the farthest area of Arabian Peninsula. It entered madinah also. Jews had inhabited Madinah for a long time. They built their castles near Madinah. Aus and Khazraj were two brothers whose native land was Yemen, but for a long period they had settled in Madinah. Their progeny later developed into two big dynasties which were called Aus and Khazraj the same people, who were later called Ansar. These people too had built castles in Madinah and its suburbs. These people, from the faith were idol-worshippers. But, due to the interaction with Jews, they were familiar with the concept of prophethood, revelation, divine books and the beliefs regarding Doom's day. They had nothing of their own, so they were impressed by Jews and used to listen them. They head Jew erudites saying that a messenger is due to come in this world and whoever will accompany him, will be successful. The followers of this messenger will overcome the whole world. Due to these fortellings, people of Madinah got attracted towards Prophet Muhammad  and his call to Islam.
Prophet Muhammad routine was, that during the time of Haj he used to go to the chiefs of tribes. He use to make them familiar with the message of Islam. It happened in 10th year of the prophethood that Prophet gave a call to join Islam and recited some verses from Qur'an before some people of Khazraj dynasty. This recitation affected their hearts and they understood that, this was the Prophet about who Jew scholars had said that a messenger was due to come. They looked at each other and said, 'Lest it be not happen that Jews take a lead over us in accepting the faith in this messenger". Saying this, they accepted Islam. They were six in number. In this way, it was the entry of Islam in Ansars of Madinah and the settlement which was due to become, which ultimately became the cardinal point for Islamic movement.
Intensity in Opposition :  Enmity and struggle increases with the expansion of every movement. But the tempest that Islamic movement's expansion brought was a hard test for the supporters of this movement. So, on one hand, the Islamic movement was expanding and on the other hand, the conditions that (Prophet) and his followers were facing got bad to worse. Quraysh chiefs had decided that they would harass Prophet Muhammad to an extent that he will give up giving the call to Islam. All major chiefs of Quraysh were the neighbours of Prophet and some were his great foes. These people used to lay thorns in Prophet's path, make fun him while he offered Namaz. While he was prostrating, they used to put tripe on his neck. They used to roll the sheet around his neck and pull it so relentlessly that his blessed neck would become red with marks on it. They used to incite lads who abused him and clapped. When he used to deliver a sermon, they used to disrupt it and say, this is a lie. In short, they used to adopt every possible and abominable trick to annoy and harass him.
The revelations descended by Allah on his messenger, in this period, had all the means of guidance to cope with this kind of situations. Supporters of Islamic movement were being told that apparently, the hardships faced by truth, should not be considered as permanent. The worldly life is full of these kinds of odds. And the genuine test of success is not the worldly life but it is the life after the day of Judgment. There is no doubt in it that the life after death will be better for  those who will adopt a life full of fear of God.
The Prophet Muhammad was being addressed and told, "Though we know, whatever is happening to you, is extremely painful but these people, really falsifying not you but they are falsifying Me and this is not something new. Prior to this, My messengers have been facing more or less the same situation. But those messengers endured it patiently and faced all kinds of hardships and miseries until My help reached them. You are passing through the same circumstances and you will have to cope with this kind of situations. "They were repeatedly made to understand from different angles that in the struggle of good and evil, there is a definite law of Allah Almighty. Nobody can change it. From the point of view of this law, it is necessary that righteous people should be tested for a long time. Their patience, piousness, selflessness, loyality, devotion and firmness of belief be tested. This is to assess that how strong they are in their dependence on Allah and faith in Allah. This struggle creates in them the qualities which help them later in being the supporters of the religion of Allah. When these people prove them worthy in this test, the help from Allah comes on its time. Nobody can fetch it.
First Oath of Allegiance at Uqba in 11 Prophethood : Twelve men came in the presence of Prophet Muhammad and took the oath of allegiance and  expressed the desire that they want someone who can teach them Islamic rules. So, Hazrat Mus'ab bin Umair (Rad.) was sent with them. He used to visit each and every house in Madinah. He used to recite ayahs of Holy Qur'an before them and invite them towards Islam. One or two men used to embrace Islam daily. Slowly, Islam started spreading outside Madinah. The chief of Aus tribe Hazrat sa'ad bin Ma'az also embraced Islam on the invitation of Hazrat Mus'ab. The whole Aus tribe followed him and converted to Islam.
Second Oath of Allegiance at Uqba in 12 Prophethood : Seventy two men came the next year and converted to Islam in the presence of Prophet Muhammad . They did not tell their companions about it . They promised to be with Islamic movement whatever the circumstances be Prophet Muhammad selected twelve out of these 72 persons and appointed them as chiefs. Nine of these twelve were from khazraj tribe and the rest three were from Aus tribe. They promised Prophet Muhammad  :
(i)     They will worship only Allah.
(ii)    They will not steal .
(iii)   They will not commit fornication.
(iv)   They will not kill their children.
(v)    They will not bring false allegation against anyone.
(vi)   They will not fight shy from any of the Prophet Muhammad's commands.
After their taking oath of allegiance, Prophet Muhammad said to them, if you comply with these conditions, then, there is tiding of heaven for you, otherwise your matter is in the hands of Allah, He can forgive you or chastise you.
In the meantime, when these people were taking oath, As'ad bin Zararah (Rad.) stood up and said, "O brethren! Do you know the meaning of taking this oath? Keep it in your mind, this is like declaration war against Arabs and non-Arabs." All of them replied, yes we are taking the oath keeping everything in mind. Some other persons also made the same kind of enthusiastic speeches. An agreement was reached between these neophytes and : Prophet  Muhammad According to this agreement if Prophet Muhammad came to Madinah, these people would stand by his side till the last gasp. At this junture Hazrat Bar'a (Rad.)  he said, "We have been brought up under the shadow of swords."

CHAPTER-VI
55. Miracles and Me'raj
56. Splitting of the Moon
57. Night of Me'raj
58. Importance of Me'raj and Signs for Future
59. Dethroning of Jews
60. Warning to Infidels of Makkah
61. Fundamentals of Islamic Society
62. Indications for Migration
63. Importance of Supererogatory Prayer
64. Characteristics of Invitation in this Period
65. Dependence on Allah and Patience
66. Qur'an is a Miracle
67. Decisive Talk
68. Preparation for Migration

In terms of religion, a miracle means the things which Allah shows before the eyes of people to prove the claim of a messenger's prophethood. There is a peculiarity in it, that it is against the law of the Nature. For instance, fire burns but it does not burn, the sea flows but it becomes clam, the tree remain fixed at its place but it starts moving, the dead body become alive or the stick turn into a snake etc. In this world, the real cause of every function is God's omnipotence and His intention. So, there are certains rules for some function which happens, continuously. In the same way, some functions which are under Almighty's omnipotence, may happen, contradicting  the normal principles, and when Allah wills, they happen.
Most of the Prophets  had been bestowed miracles to prove their prophecy. But these miracles rarely caused the infidels to have faith and belief. Taking place of miracles is beyond reasoning. So, when the people denied a prophet even after a miracle, they have been chastised by Allah and have been erased from the face of the earth. Infidels of Quraysh, used to ask the Prophet Mohammad to show miracles. This demand of theirs was being dilly-dallied because it has been the method of Allah that if the nations are shown a clear miracle, then they would be left with one two options---  have faith or be perished, but Allah Almighty had not willed to kill them, yet. That is why, this demand of them was being evaded continuously. But ten long years had passed over the invitations to Islam and it had crossed all bounds to persuade the infidels. So, sometimes, Prophet Muhammad and other muslims used to wish, would that some signs from Allah appear causing the infidels to have faith in Allah and that sign would convince them. But Prophet Muhammad's wish was responded, "don't be impatient, go on inviting people to Islam, the way We went." Miracles are the last options. If We willed, We would soften the hearts of each and every infidel and compel them to take the path of guidance, but it is not Our method. Neither a human being's intention and discretion can be tested this way nor does it evoke that moral and spiritual revolution. But if you find that their avoidance and denial has become unbearable and you are unable to face them, then do whatever you can. Plunge into the earth or climb over the sky and bring a miracle*. But it is not that Prophet Muhammad  did not get miracles. The greatest miracle bestowed to Prophet, is the Holy Qur'an whose details are ahead. In addition to this, Prophet, showed numerous miracles at proper times. The two most important miracle were of splitting of the moon (Shaqqul Qamar) into two halves and the Prophet's excursion to the skies. Apart  from it, many fortellings, raining due to Prophet's prayer and people finding guidance, at time of need a little thing becoming sufficient, cure of ailments, flowing of water were some of the other miracles which took place from time to time.
Splitting of the Moon : Splitting of the moon is a very important of the miracles of the Prophet Mohammad in ending the arguments of the infidels of Makkah. Hazrat Abdullah bin Masood (Rad.) narrated this incident which is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim. He was present at the time of occurrence, he himself witnessed the moon, splitting into two halves. He says, "We were with Prophet Muhammad in Mina and saw that the moon splitting into two parts. One of its two pieces moved towards the mountain. The prophet said, "Be a witness" but as stated earlier that it is not necessary that miracles cause infidels to have faith in Allah rather it is so, that miracles are demanded by those who have their hearts filled with denial and obstinacy. In this way, they look out for excuses. But those who have the ability to have faith and those who are not entangled in vested interests and selfishness, for them the Prophet's self  and his preachings are not less than miracles. They take the initiative in accepting the truth. So, after the splitting of moon, the infidels said, "O! this is magic and such things happen by the power of magic for a long time." In this way, these people did not get guidance but a sin added to the list of their sins that they falsified Allah and his messenger after such an open sign.
Night of Me'raj : Me'raj means climbing up. Prophet Muhammad has used this word to describe his celestial sojourn, so this journey is called "Me'raj". The other name of this journey is Asra'. Asra' means night journey. Because the Me'raj was a nightlong journey, it is called Asra' too. In Holy Qur'an also it is termed as Asra'.
The duties of Prophet (peace be upon him) was inviting, propagating and firm-footing on the path of religion. This required solid faith and belief. So, it was essential for them to witness those realities with their own eyes. Then whatever they say, they say it forcefully and with emphasis before the people. They say to the people that, "you are denying a thing only on the basis of analogy and suspicion, but we are describing the truth which we have seen with our own eyes. You have suspicion, but we are describing the truth which we have seen with our own eyes. You have suspicion, we have knowledge. So, angels appeared before most of the Prophets (peace be upon them). The prophets have been made to see hell and paradise and what happens after death has been shown to them in their worldly lives. Me'raj or Asra' in one of such incidents. During this journey  Prophet Muhammad witnessed all those realities, which are believe by a Muslim, without seeing, only on the words of Prophet.
What is the exact date of Me'raj, is not known. But by putting forth different version, historians say that this incident occurred one and a half year prior to Hijrat (migration). If we see the versions of Bukhari and Muslim, the complete detail is as follows:
One morning  Prophet Muhammad dictated that previous night my Lord honoured me. I was sleeping when Jibril (peace be upon him) came and woke me up and took me to the sanctuary of Ka'ba. Here, he slit my chest and washed it with the water of Zam Zam (Zam Zam is a blessed well near Ka'ba) and filled it with faith and wisdom. Then, he presented before me an animal to ride which was a little smaller than mule and was white in colour. Its name was Burraq. It was very fast. As I rode it, it took no time and we were at the entrance of the mosque. I offered the prayer of two rak'at (a bending of torso from an upright position, followed by two prostrations). Then, Jibril (peace be upon him) extended two bowls to me. One bowl was filled with wine and the other one was with milk. I took the bowl containing milk ad denied the bowl of wine, Jibril, seeing this, said, you adopted the religion of nature by accepting milk bowl.
After that, the journey to the skies, started. We reached the first sky (sky of world, Jibril said to the custodian angel to open the gate. He asked, "Who is he with you?" , Jibril (peace be upon him) told him, "He is Prophet Muhammad." The angel asked, Has he been invited?" Jibril replied positively. The angel opened the gate and said, "Such a personality is welcome." When we enter in, we met Adam (peace be upon him). Jibril said to me, "He is your father (remote ancestor of human race) Adam, salute him. I salute him. he replied my salute and said, "O my noble son and noble messenger, be happy." Then, we reached the second layer of sky and faced the same questions as we faced on the first layer of sky. The gate opened and we entered inside and met Yahya and Isa (peace be upon them). Jibril introduced me with them and said, "salute them." I saluted. Both of them replied and said, "welcome O' noble brother and noble messenger." Then we reached the third layer. Here we met Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him). We exchanged salutes. On the fourth sky we met Prophet Idris (peace be upon him). On the fifth sky we met Prophet Haroon (peace be upon him) and on the sixth sky we met Prophet Musa (peace be upon him). we met Prophet Abraham on the seventh sky. In response to my salutation, Prophet Abraham said, welcome O' noble son and noble messenger." Then, I was taken to Sidratul Muntaha (the lotus three in the seventh heaven). On this tree innumerable  angels were shining like glow worms.
Here in the  seventh heaven, Prophet Muhammad  observed a lot of things. He also conversed with Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty imposed fifty prayers (Namaz) in a day and night. When Prophet came back after these observations, he met Prophet Moses (peace be upon him). He asked, "Say what have you brought from God's place?"  Prophet Muhammad  said, "Fifty prayers in a day". Moses said , "Your followers will find it too much, go back and ask Him to lessen them." So, Prophet Muhammad  went back and pleaded God and got a part slashed. But Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) sent him back again and again and got a slash every time. At last this number came down to five prayers in a day and night. Musa (peace be upon him) was still not satisfied and asked him to get some more slash, but at this point Prophet Muhammad said, "Now, I am feeling too shy to utter a word. The voice of Allah Almighty came, "We slashed the number from 50 to 5 but those who will perform five prayers a day will get  the reward of fifty prayers".
Prophet Muhammad  got two other gifts from God, one of them is last ayahs of chapter Baqra which describe the Islamic beliefs and the completion of faith and has the tiding that the period of hardship is about to over. Second good news was that whoever will avoid polytheism, will be absoluted.
In this jouney , Prophet Muhammad saw hell and heaven and what would happen after death and what kind of situations one had to pass according to one's deeds, it was all portrayed before his eyes.
When Prophet descended back to the Dome of Rock, he saw a gathering of Prophets (peace be upon them). They all performed congregational prayer. Prophet Muhammad was the Imam (leader) of the prayer. Then, he came back to his place and woke up at the same place in the morning.
Importance of Me'raj and Signs for Future :  When Prophet Muhammad narrated this incident in the morning, the infidels of Quraysh called him a liar (God save us). Those who had faith in Prophet they certified each and every word and said, "We regard the words of Prophet as true". So, this incident of Me'raj was a test for people's faith ad verification of prophecy and on the other hand it was a means of witnessing the innumerable hidden truths for Prophet Muhammad. Simultaneously it was prelude to the in coming revolution, the Islamic movement was to face soon. The details of this indication are found in chapter Bani Israel mentioning the Me'raj. The open signs found in this chapter are as follows:
Dethroning of Jews :Bani Israel were still the heirs of Allah's religion and were authorized to give the world; the message of Allah. But they did not fulfill this duty. They, themselves became a victim of worldly evils and they  were in no position to perform the duty of speading Allah's religion. So, it was decided to handover this noble cause to bani Isma'il. Prophet Muhammad was commissioned out of this dynasty. Until now Bani Israel had not been addressed directly. Now, they were told through chapter Bani Israel, "you had committed too much sins and had been tried two times prior to this, but you did not mend yourselves. And now, after the commissioning of this Prophet Muhammad you have a chance. If you follow him, you will succeed." It was a great tiding for those who were leading a miserable and humiliated life in Makkah. This tiding proved to be true later on.
Warning to Infidels of Makkah : Infidels of Makkah crossed all limits in committing atrocities and they repeatedly used to say that if he is the Prophet of Allah, why it is that they have not been chastised though he (Prophet) warned us. They were told that Allah does not punish a nation having no prophet. When a messenger is sent among them, the elites and upper caste people oppose the movement of truth. The ordinary people cooperate with them except a few who have the ability to understand the truth and come forward and accept it. Then the struggle start in the two groups of people, ultimately help comes from Allah. Time is fixed for such help. But since the man is hasty in nature he sometimes asks things that are not good for them, rather they are evil. He does not think that actions of Allah Almighty are all fixed in terms of time. Ponder over day and night, they are the signs of Allah, and come after the other, on a fixed principle. Have a look at past history, so many nations after Noah (peace be upon him) have been perished. God is fully aware of the conditions of his followers. He rewardes them according to their merits. So, the infidels of Makkah should keep it in their minds, the attitude that they adopt towards the invitation of Allah's messenger, will determine the way they shall be dealt with. A decisive time was about to come.
Fundamentals of Islamic Society : Islam's difficult time was about to be over and society based upon Islamic principles, was in the offings. So, the gift of the fundamental principles for Islamic way of life, was associated with the event Me'raj. These principles later served the Islamic system as the guiding principles. They are:
1.  There is no god but Allah. None should share with Allah in His right to devotion, life, obedience and sovereignty.
2.  Parents should be respected and obeyed (but if there is clash between parent's obedience and obedience of God, then, parents are not to be obeyed).
3.   Rights of relatives, poors and travellers should be accomplished. Right of one human being on other should not be ignored, without accomplishing other's right, no society can survive.
4.   Don't be an extravagant. Abuse of divine blessings is a satanic act. A society in which, people either spend lavishly or become miser, can never be a prosperous society. A middle way should be adopted in spending or stocking the wealth.
5.   Don't kill your children, fearing the poverty. God provides sustenance, he arranges it . Don't kill your off springs due to immense poverty. It is a very bad act and equivalent to suicide for the society.
6.   Don't approach fornication. Not only avoid this dirty act, but also end those stimulants which provoke for this heinous act. The society which will not be free from this curse, will undermine itself and will soon meet its deadly end.
7.   Don't kill anyone without a reason. The society, not providing the guarantee of life, can never be a prosperous society. Peace is the essence of every civilization. So, providing security of life and property is a basic need.
8.   Behave with orphans in a good manner. Weak people and those who can't defend their rights, deserve help. The society which can not defend the rights of such people, can not progress.
9.   Fulfill your promise. You will be questioned about it. Here we mean mutual accords and promises of people and the pledge, one takes while having faith in God.
10.  Balance your scales and correct your measures while weighing and measuring. Fair dealing and peaceful co-existence are must for a peaceful society. Where, there is mistrust among people and they generally snatch each other's rights, there will be no mutual trust and prosperity in the society.
11.  Do not persue a thing, about which you have no knowledge. Do not form a new opinion on hearsay and speculation but base it on knowledge, otherwise it will result in a mess. An ideal society should be devoid of this evil. The man should always keep it in mind that he will be questioned on all his senses, heart, mind and eyes.
12. Do not behave proud and arrogant. They lead to deterioration in moral values. A man into this evil is extremely detrimental for the society. It is necessary for congenial relations, that people do not regard others as inferior and of lower to themselves and do not treat him in an inhuman manner.
Inidications for Migration : It has been the procedure of Allah Almighty that when He sends a messenger to a nation, He grants them chances to listen to the invitation of messenger, understand it and accept. Few accept this invitation but the majority having a vested interest to continue blind pursuit of their ancestors and that carnal desires, refuse to accept this invitation and resolve to oppose it. There comes a time, when it become clear that those who have the ability to accept the truth (Islam), have accepted it and none is left in their nation who would listen to the invitation and would ponder over it.
At this stage, the people ask for miracles and often they are obliged with miracles. So, Prophet Muhammad was also asked for miracles. Miracles appeared form his holy self but the non-believers kept on denying them. So, it was decided that Prophet should desolate this nation so that they could be punished. This chastisement comes in the form of natural powers of sky or earth, like, earthquakes, floods or storms. And sometimes faithful begets this punishment. Allah Almighty explained this method in chapter Bani Isra'el and ordered clearly that these infidels will soon be at the extremity of callousness and will force prophet to migrate from Makkah. And if it happened so. Allah also warned that they too would not be able to live peacefully. This had been the practice with all messengers sent by Allah earlier and this custom would remain unchanged.
Importance of Supererogatory Prayer : A long with these conditions, God directed the Prophet, to cope with the prevalent conditions, to perform prayer especially Tahajjud prayer (this prayer is offered after midnight) and God persuaded the prophet to pray for migration, and ask like this, "O my Lord, send me to a better place and help me in migration and victory over enemies. "After this the Prophet got the glad tiding that false is due to finish and truth will prevail. False is bound to perish if the truth wages a war against it.
The obstinate objections of the infidels of Makkah were met with proper replies. In this way they have been satisfied. Then, events related to Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) have been mentioned for their admonition.
Characteristics of Invitation in this period : The chapters of Qur'an which were being revealed in this period, according to the conditions, have the following characteristics :
1. Dependence on Allah and Patience : It is human nature that when he struggles for something and the result are not in accordance with his expectations, he gets disappointed. This is the most delicate stage for the supporters of the invitation of truth (Islam). If they, God forbid, get disappointed, then, this is the greatest failure for them as well as for their mission (of Islam). A firm faith is required at this stage for a strong-footing, leaving everything on Allah and concerted efforts with complete reliance on Allah. In this last period. Allah Almighty descended particular instructions. After 12 years of continuous struggle, the result could have been discouraging for  a low-spirited person. After such a long time hardships that muslims continued to face was to strength the hearts of faithfuls and make them firm on the path of righteousness.
In this regard, the text of chapter Ankaboot (spider) is a good example. The faithful have been told clearly in it that testing and trial are must  in the way that you have adopted. This is the touchstone which tests the claim of faith and distinguishes between truth and false. But this test of faithfuls, does not mean that infidels are really gaining ground; they should keep this in their minds that they can't win against Allah. At last, the truth will prevail. But there is a condition that those having faith, prove themselves worthy of Allah's help by showing patience and persistency. Muslims have been told about the impeding hurdles in their way. But they need not to be disgusted. Allah's slaves who raised themselves for Islamic cause, came across the same circumstances. They were reminded Prophet Noah's (peace be upon him) incident that how he faced the hostility of his people for nine and half years, with patience and firmness. Similarly, Prophet Abraham, Prophet Lut, Prophet Shoaib, Prophet Saleh and Prophet Musa (peace be  upon them) came across more or less the same conditions. At last, the truth prevailed and the false fled away.
2.  Qur'an us a Miracle :It has been mentioned earlier that when the infidels asked for miracles, Prophet Muhammad and other muslims used to desire, "would that something miraculous happen causing these people to believe. The advice from Allah Almighty in response to this desire, has also been mentioned earlier. On this occasion, Allah Almighty clearly indicated the greatest miracle bestowed to the last Prophet Muhammad. He told, "you people demand miracles, you should go and see that miracle which is everlasting and has means of guidance for every person who has wit and wisdom. This miracle is Qur'an". This is the reality that Qur'an is the greatest miracle out of the miracles, bestowed to Prophet Muhammad.
Chapter Ankaboot, which was descended in this period described that everyone knew that Prophet Muhammad neither knew to read and write nor he got education, but despite this, the ayahs he had been reciting, were so eloquent and full of wisdom i.e. the Holy Qur'an. No body could bring forth such a work. What a wonder, an illiterate person is flowing the sea of eloquece before them. So, why did these people want to miracle. Tell them that the happening of miracle is on the discretion of your Lord. I am here to warn you of your end. You should ponder over the divine ayahs which I read out to you, are not they enough evidence of my prophecy? Ponder over these ayahs, you will come to know that they (ayahs) are entirely source of mercy and advice.
Prophet Muhammad himself termed the Holy Qur'an as the greatest miracle. He ordered that "Allah Almighty has bestowed each and every prophet, so many miracles that caused masses to believe. But the miracle I have been bestowed with is revelation (the Holy Qur'an) which has been revealed upon me, so, I hope that on the Doomsday, my followers will be in majority." Qur'an is a perennial miracle, other miracles were temporary miracles. They are over now. But this miracles will be here till the Day of Judgment and will continue to attract people towards it. The Holy Qur'an is full of rhythm of words, eloquence, rhetoric and concealed truths and foretellings . No human mind could reach them. Its power of efficacy, rules and teachings are so useful that till date no better system of life could come forth for human society. Despite the vastness of the topic, it is free of contradiction and metaphorical differences. The person who was reading out these ayahs, was an illiterate person. All these things were great arguments in proving the Holy Qur'an  a miracle. These arguments even today are enough for us to feel satisfied over the Prophecy of Prophet Muhammad.
3. Decisive Talk : The speciality of chapters of this period is that the infidels were being addressed decisively in a manner that the time of persuation was over. This is the last chance, accept the truth or get ready to face the consequences.
So, it was told, "I (prophet) am unwavering on a clear guidance, coming from my Lord, but you people are disbelieving it and you are inviting the chastisement. But I tell you that, I don't possess that thing you are hastening for . It is up to God. If it would have been in my hand the matter would have been settled by now. Allah has the knowledge of hidden things. He knows the time of occurrence of different things. He can chastise you at His will. Then, he further advise, the people who took the religion lightly and were lustful in worldly life. Leave it with them. But keep on reading out Holy Qur'an to them, if they do not still believe you tell them, to do whatever they wanted to do, he (prophet) was acting to his capacity. Soon they will come to know that who  was on the right track"*.
This is the specimen of the style of Qur'an. Apart from it, this style is apparent in revelations of  this period and in a sense, it was a proclamation that the matter was in the decisive phase.
4. Preparation for Migration : The Chapter of  this period also indicate towards migration so, it was advised in chapter Ankaboot (spider) that "O' my slaves, always be in my service, even if your motherland becomes narrow due to My slavery do not bother, my land is very vast." It means, do not cut off the relation of slavery with Allah, though you have to desert your homeland. Death is the greatest fear for every animate, so, believe it that everyone is to die and you will come back to Me. So, if you die in My way, there is nothing to fear. Whoever is accompanied with wealth of faith and good deeds, will be accommodated in gardens where lakes will be flowing beneath them ad it would be his eternal abode. How good this reward is for those who are pious. These righteous people keep their feet fixed on the path of Allah in worse to worst conditions and they keep relying on Allah in their struggle period.
Then, it was told that the second fear in leaving one' native land was of monetary deficit. Their faith was strengthened by telling them that the matter of providing sustenance was in the hands of Allah. There are so many animates, but they do not load themselves with  sustenance. Allah provides them with sustenance and feed them. So, why do you get disappointed of His providence or do you think that he will not provide you with sustenance.
Apart from it, in one of this period's chapter Bani Israel, invocation for migration was taught. It was like this, "O' my Lord! take me to a better place and take me out of Makkah in a good manner and give us victory over foes. O' prophet, proclaim that the truth prevailed and the false erased. The false was to be erased".
In short, this and many other indications are found in this period's chapters. These chapters, on one hand, were indicating towards the incoming storm and on the other hand were drawing attention towards the preparedness that was required to cope with these conditions. Some other characteristics were firm belief in life hereafter, uprooting the worldly delicacies, keeping in mind the requirements of genuine Tawheed, dependence and solid faith in Allah, presenting the divine advices without lessening or adding, and to offer prayer to get strength for all these purposes. The muslims were being trained and were also being advised to propagate Islam in these hard times.

CHAPTER-VII

69. Migration