Early Years of Islam Hardship 2 - Part 4

During the last video, we talked about the early revelation period. Islam was not preached openly; rather people learned about Islam through small group meetings and one-on-one meetings with Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The Quraysh were in firm opposition to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and actively sought out any ways that they could prevent others from learning about the message.
But the difficulties did not stop there. During these first three years, the believers faced many hardships and even torture. Here too with these events, the revelations emphasized the need for steadfastness, patience, and promise of better days to come. In this video, we will talk about some of these hardhips.
One such case was Khalid ibn Said. He had a dream in which he saw himself being dragged towards the edge of a fire that looked like Hell. His father was standing behind him and was pushing him towards the fire. Just when he was about to fall into the flames, the Pride of Humankind came to his rescue, held him by the waist, and pulled him out. After consulting with Abu Bakr, Khalid came to the presence of Muhammad (pbuh), and took the shahadah. (p.146)
While Khalid willing submitted himself, he had a very stubborn father. On hearing the news, his father took a piece of wood and hit his son until he bled. When Khalid’s response was to say, “I swear by Allah that I have submitted in faith to Him and I will never return,” his father reacted harshly, and swore, “Go wherever you will! I swear that I will not give you a penny from now on.”
Similarly, when Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas embraced Islam after a spiritual dream, his mother began to cause him problems swearing, “Either you leave this religion of yours, or I will stop eating and drinking until I die.” Thus passed a whole day and night, and Sa’d’s mother did not eat or drink. The next morning, the Truthful Gabriel descended with the message:

But if they strive with you to make you associate with Me something of which you certainly have no knowledge, do not obey them. Even then, treat them with kindness and due consideration in respect of this world. Follow the way of him who has turned to Me with utmost sincerity and commit to seeking My approval. Then, to Me is your return, and then I will make you understand all that you were doing. (Luqman 31:15)

With this revelation, Sa’d felt relieved. He went to his mother and said: “Dear Mother! If you had a thousand lives and if you died each one of them every day, I will not leave my religion.” This was not something that a man of such tender character as Sa’d would normally say. His mother saw that Sa’d was even more determined than she, so she stopped her hunger strike and started to eat and drink.

Just as children suffered from the abuse of their parents, slaves endured even greater torture as they had no tribal protection. Among these was an Abyssinian slave named Bilal, who one day while he was grazing sheep, had a chance to observe Rasul Allah (Messenger of Allah pbuh) and Abu Bakr who had gone outside of Mecca to discuss new verses and to pray together. The two friends were like the sun and the moon; it was impossible not be mesmerized by the scene. Bilal thought to bring them a bowl of milk as it gave him a reason to approach them. Other incidents followed and Bilal came to know Islam before many free men. One day, Rasul Allah (Messenger of Allah pbuh) and Abu Bakr heard that Bilal was acting rudely towards the idols in the Ka’ba. The Meccans were infuriated that a slave could speak disrespectfully about his masters’ objects of worship. They harassed his owner as well, and Umayya ibn Khalaf did not intend to put himself at risk for a slave. Bilal was a slave among numerous of Umayya’s slaves. He said to Umayya ibn Khalaf and Abu Jahl, “Take him, he can be yours, you can do whatever you like with him!”
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