Persecution Analyzed
The Prophet of Islam and his devoted band of followers had
patiently endured untold hardship, tyranny and oppression for thirteen years
and ultimately had to abandon their hearths and homes, sacrificing whatever
worldly possessions they had. They had not wanted any worldly gains, nor had
they aspired for any position of worldly eminence or share in the
administration. The Prophet had unequivocally told the Meccans:
"I desire neither riches nor eminence nor dominion. I
am sent by God Who has ordered me to announce glad tidings to you. I convey to
you the words of my Lord. I admonish you. If you accept the message I bring
you, God will be favorable to you both in this world and in the next. If you
reject my admonition, I shall be patient and leave God to judge between you and
me."
The early Muslims were harassed and persecuted simply
because they believed in God, the Lord of the universe, and worshipped Him
without ascribing to Him any partner or colleague. They had not exercised any
compulsion, for the Qur'an had said:
There is no compulsion
in religion; truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error;
therefore, whoever disbelieves in the rebels (i.e. false deities) and believes
in Allah, he indeed has laid hold of the strongest handle which shall not break
off. (Qur'an, 2:256)
The Qur'an only appealed to the inner consciousness of man,
to his reason and intellect. Nevertheless, the new religion was in sharp
contrast with the cults practiced by the Quraish, which ages of observance and
belief had sanctified for them. The Prophet preached equality of man and
stressed the point that in righteousness alone lay the superiority of one over
the other. The Quraish saw in this leveling of distinctions the end of their
authority and privileges as the guardians of the Ka'bah, of their political and
social hegemony, and of their vested interests at large.
The new religion placed restraints upon the promiscuous and unbridled
license indulged in social intercourse. It heralded the end of licentious ways,
of sensual pleasure and drunken orgies to which the Quraish were, by and large,
espoused. It imposed spiritual discipline in the form of prayers, fasting and
continence and frowned upon avarice, greed, slander, falsehood, indecency and
other vices with which society was permeated. In short, it meant the giving up
of old ways and the taking to a new life of austere piety and chastity. The
opposition of the Meccans was, therefore, sharp and violent. They relentlessly
persecuted the followers of the new faith and made life so difficult for them
that ultimately the Prophet and his followers had to abandon their hearths and
homes for more congenial surroundings. The Prophet did not even invoke the
wrath of God on them. When once he was requested by Khabbab son of Arrat to
curse the Quraish, the Holy Prophet pulled him up by saying:
"People have gone by who were sawn and torn to pieces
in the cause of God, but they did not desist from their duties. God will
accomplish His plan till a rider will go from Sinai to Hadramaut fearing none
except God."
How true was the prophecy!
The Prophet at Medina
Living in contact with the Jews, the Aws and the Khazraj
were not foreign to the idea of the unity of God. They had heard from the Jews
that a Prophet was to come. Some of their people had come into contact with the
Prophet at Mecca and had been deeply impressed by Him. The deputation they had
sent to Mecca had returned entirely satisfied and had accepted Islam. The
disciples who had preceded the Prophet were spreading the message of Islam
throughout Yathrib. Unlike the Meccans, the Yathribites had no vested interest
standing in the way of their accepting the new religion. Islam had already
taken roots in Yathrib thus before the Prophet arrived there on the invitation
of the people of Aws and Khazraj. No wonder they gave the Prophet a tumultuous
welcome at Yathrib.
The name of the city was then changed to Madinat-un-Nabi,
the City of the Prophet. Islam effaced the age-long enmity between the
tribes of Aws and Khazraj.and they were given the honorific designation of
"Ansar" (helpers or supporters). The emigrants, forty-five in
number, were called "Muhajirun" (exiles). The construction of a
mosque, Masjid-un-Nabi (mosque of the Prophet), was now underway,
and the Prophet worked at it like any other laborer. Soon, a simple,
unostentatious mosque with walls of unbaked bricks, with trunks of palm trees
as pillars, and a thatch of palm leaves was built with a few adjoining rooms of
similar material. On the completion of these rooms, the Prophet, who meanwhile
was living with Abu Ayyub, moved into one of them.
The doors of the houses of some of the companions opened
into the mosque (Masjid-un-Nabi). The Prophet ordered the doors of
all of them except that of 'Ali to be closed. The companions raised some
objections against this order. The Prophet, thereupon, stood up and addressed
them. Having praised Allah, he said:
"In accordance with the decree of Allah, I ordered you
to close the doors and 'Ali to keep his open. Your wrangling is undesirable.
Neither did I open nor close any door of my own accord. I only acted as I was
ordered by Allah."
The Muhajirun needed some meaningful relief. To ensure their
economic security and also to establish brotherly ties between them and the
Ansar, the Prophet joined each Muhajir with an Ansar in a tie of
"Brotherhood" that became even more precious and enduring than the
bond of blood relationship. The Ansar volunteered to share half and half with
their contractual brothers everything they earned or possessed. It is to this
unification of interests that the Qur'an refers in the following passage:
Surely those who believed and migrated and strived hard in the way of
Allah with their property and souls, and
those who sheltered and helped them, these are indeed friends (and protectors)
of one another. (Qur'an, 8:72)
The Muhajirun were anxious not to remain a burden on their
brothers. Soon, many of them settled down to trade and do business. In the
course of time, they were rehabilitated, and within a few years, they were no
longer in need of any financial support. It was then that the following verse
was revealed:
And the possessors of
relationships are nearer to each other. (Qur'an, 8:174)
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