The Life of the Prophet Muhammad

The First Muslims

After that momentous day in the month of Ramadan, Revelation cameagain and again to the Prophet (pbuh). He understood now what he had todo and prepared himself for what was to come. Only a strong and braveman, helped by Allah, can be a true prophet because people often refuseto listen to Allah's message. Khadijah was the first to believe the Prophet(pbuh) and accept as true what he brought from Allah. Through her, Allahmade things easier for the Prophet (pbuh). Khadijah strengthened him,helped him spread his message, and stood up to the people who wereagainst him. 

Then Revelation ceased for a time. The Prophet (pbuh) was upset andunhappy, thinking that Allah had left him, or that he might have angeredAllah in some way so that Allah no longer thought him worthy of Hismessage. However, the Archangel Gabriel came back to him and broughtthis surah, or chapter, of the Qur'an: 

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful 

"By the morning hours, And by the night when it is stillest, Thy Lordhath neither forsaken thee nor doth He hate thee, And verily the Last willbe better for thee than the First. And verily thy Lord will give unto theeso that thou wilt be content. Did He not find thee an orphan and protectthee? Did He not find thee wandering and guide thee? Did He not findthee destitute and enrich thee? Therefore the orphan oppress not,Therefore the beggar drive not away, And as for thy Lord's blessing,declare it". (Qur'an: 93.1-11) 

The Prophet (pbuh) began to speak secretly of Allah's message tothose Who were close to him and whom he could trust. At that timeMecca was going through hard times. There was very little food to behad. Abu Talib, the Prophet's uncle, who had taken care of him after hisgrandfather's death, was finding it very difficult to feed his large family. 

The Prophet (pbuh) said that he and another uncle, al-'Abbas, whowas a rich man, would each bring up one of Abu Talib's children in orderto help him. The Prophet (pbuh) took Ali and his uncle took Ja‟far. 

One day, when the Prophet (pbuh) was outside the city, the ArchangelGabriel appeared to him. The Archangel kicked the side of a hill and aspring of water began to flow out. He then began to wash in therunning water to show the Prophet (pbuh) the ritual ablution to be madebefore prayer. Then the Archangel showed him all the positions ofMuslim prayer-the various movements and things to be said with each movement. The Prophet (pbuh) returned home and taught all these thingsfirst to Khadijah and then to his followers. Since then Muslims havecontinued to purify themselves before prayer by performing the ritualablution and have followed the same movements and prayers firstperformed by the Prophet (pbuh). To begin with, though, only the Prophet(pbuh) and his wife knew of these things. Then one day „Ali entered theroom and found the Prophet (pbuh) and Khadijah praying. He waspuzzled and asked what they were doing. The Prophet (pbuh) explainedto him that they were praising Allah and giving thanks to Him. That night'Ali stayed up thinking about all that the Prophet (pbuh) had said; he hadgreat admiration and respect for his cousin. Finally, he came to a decisionand the next day he went to the Prophet (pbuh) and told him that hewanted to follow him. Thus Khadijah was the first woman to embraceIslam, the teachings which the Prophet (pbuh) brought from Allah, and Ali was the first young man. Shortly after they were joined by Zayd ibnHarithah, a slave, freed and adopted by the Prophet (pbuh). 

The Prophet (pbuh) began to leave Mecca with 'An in order to pray.One day Abu Talib happened to pass by and when he saw them hestopped and asked them what they were doing. The Prophet (pbuh) toldhim that they were praying and following the same religion as Abraham.He explained that, like Abraham, he had been ordered to guide the peopleto Allah's truth. Abu Talib looked at his son, 'Ali, and said: 'Muhammad(pbuh) would never make you do anything that was wrong. Go with him. 

But I cannot leave the religion I now follow and which was followedby my father.' Then he turned to the Prophet (pbuh), saying, 'Even so, Ipromise you, Muhammad (pbuh), that no one will hurt you as long as Iam alive.' And with that Abu Talib went on his way. At about this timethe news of Muhammad (pbuh) being the Prophet reached an honest,wise, and respected merchant of Mecca called Abu Bakr. He knewMuhammad (pbuh) well and believed he could never lie, so he went tofind out for himself if the story were true. The Prophet (pbuh) told himthat he had indeed been sent by Allah to teach everyone to worship theone true Allah. On hearing this from the Prophet's own lips Abu Bakrknew it to be the truth and became a believer instantly. Later the Prophet(pbuh) was reported to have said that everyone he ever invited to acceptIslam showed signs of disbelief and doubt, except Abu Bakr; when hewas told of it he did not hold back or hesitate. Because of his wisdom,honesty, and kindness, people had always turned to Abu Bakr for advice.He was, therefore, a man of some influence and through him, many peoplecame to Islam. Among these was Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas as, the uncle ofAminah, the Prophet's mother. The night before Abu Bakr came to visithim and tell him about Islam, Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas dreamt that he was walking in darkness. As he walked he saw the moon and when he lookedat it he saw 'Ali, Abu Bakr, and Zayd, the Prophet's freed slave,beckoning to him to come and join them. When Abu Bakr told him aboutthe Prophet's religion, he understood the meaning of his dream and wentat once to the Prophet (pbuh) and declared himself a Muslim. Heunderstood that to be a Muslim means to submit oneself to Allah's Willand to serve only Him. Another person brought to Islam by Abu Bakr wasBilal. One night Abu Bakr went to the house of Umayyah ibn Khalaf, oneof the most important men of Quraysh. Umayyah was out and Abu Bakrfound only Umayyah's slave, Bilal, at home. Abu Bakr talked to the slaveabout Islam and before he left, Bilal, too, had become a Muslim. Thenumber of people following the Prophet (pbuh) began to grow.Sometimes they would all go out of the city to the mountains aroundMecca to hear him recite the Qur'an and to be taught by him. This was alldone very secretly and only a very few people knew about Islam in thoseearly days.