The Quraishites learn about the call

This stage of call even though conducted in a clandestine manner and on an individual basis, its news leaked out assumed a public interest all over Makkah. In the beginning, the Makkan leaders didn’t care much about Muhammad and took no heed of his teaching. At first, they though Muhammad was a merely a religious philosophist such as Omaiyah bin Abi As-Salt, Quss bin Sa’idah, ‘amr bin Nufail and their ilk who used to philosophize on god ship & religious obligation. But this attitude of indifference soon changes in to real apprehension. The polytheists of Quraish began to watch Muhammad’s movements closely & anxiously for fear of spreading his call and producing a change in the prevalent mentality.

For three under ground years of activism, a group of believers emerged stamped by a spirit of fraternity & cooperation with one definite objective in their mind: propagating &deeply establishing the call unto Islam. For full three years Muhammad had been content to teach with in a rather narrow circle. The time had, however, come to preach the faith of lord openly. The angel Gabriel brought him down a further revelation of Allah’s will to confront his people, invalidate their falsehood & crush down their idolatrous practices.

“AND WARN YOUR TRIBE (O MUHAMMAD) OF NEAR KINDRED.”[26:214]. This was the first verse to be revealed in concern of preaching which included in Surah Ash-Shu’ara (chapter 26-the poets) that relates the story of Moses from his early days of prophet hood going trough his migration with the children of Israel, their escape from the pharaoh & his folk, the drowning pharaoh & his hosts. This chapter in fact narrates the different stages that Moses passed trough in his struggle with pharaoh and mission of calling his people unto Allah. Moreover, it includes stories that speak about terrible end in store for those who belied the messenger such as the people of Noah, ‘Ad, Thamud, Abraham, Lout & Ahlul-Aikah (companions of the wood; a group of people who used to worship a tree called Aikah.)

next page>>

previous page>>As-Salat (the preyer)