Holy Prophet Muhammad and His Teachings — Page 14
14 conceive that thou wouldst say that concerning. God which is not true. I bear witness, therefore, that there is no God besides Allah, and that thou art the Messenger of God. ”. Thereafter Abu Bakr began to exhort several young men who respected him for the purity of his life, and presently seven of these young men accepted Muhammad (on whom be peace and the blessings of God). . Persecution. . It is not an easy thing to accept the truth. . The people of Mecca whose principal means of livelihood was the guardianship and service of idol temples, could not be expected to tolerate the doctrine that there were none worthy of worship except God. As soon as the relatives of those who had become Muslims became aware of the fact they began to persecute them. Usman's uncle secured his body with a rope and confined him to a room in the house, declaring that he would not release him till he had repented of his new faith. Another young Muslim, Zubair, who was only fifteen years of age, was also imprison.