Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 111
111 later became a great Muslim general, was wrapped up in a mat by his uncle, smoked from underneath and tortured by suffocation. But he would not recant. He had found Truth and would not give it up. Abu Dharr, of the tribe of Ghifar, heard of the Prophet and went to Mecca to investigate. The Meccans dissuaded him, saying that they knew Muhammad well and that his Movement was only a selfish design. Abu Dharr was not impressed; so he went to the Prophet, heard the Message of Islam straight from him and was converted. Abu Dharr asked if he could keep his faith secret from his tribe. The Prophet said he could do so for a few days. But as he passed through the streets of Mecca he heard a party of Meccan chiefs abuse the Holy Prophet and make vile attacks. No longer could he keep his faith secret, and he declared at once: "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and that there is no one like Allah; and Muhammad is His Servant and Prophet. " This cry raised in an assembly of disbelievers seemed to them an effrontery. They rose in wrath and belaboured him until he fell down senseless. The Prophet’s uncle ‘Abbas, not a convert yet, passed by and began to remonstrate on behalf of the victim. "Your food caravans pass through Abu Dharr’s tribe," he said, "and angered at your treatment, his people can starve you to death. " The following day Abu Dharr stayed at home. But the day after he went again to the same assembly and found them abusing the Holy Prophet as before. He went to the Ka‘bah and found people doing the same. He could not restrain himself, stood up and made a loud declaration of his faith. Again he was severely handled. The same thing happened a third time, and Abu Dharr went back to his tribe. The Holy Prophet himself was no exception to the cruel treatment meted out to the Faithful. On one occasion he was in prayer. A party of disbelievers put a mantle round his neck and dragged him; his eyes seemed protruded. Abu Bakr happened to come and rescued him, saying, "You seek to kill him, because he says, God is his Master?" On another occasion he lay prostrate in prayer and they laid the entrails of a camel on his back. He could not rise until the weight was removed. On yet another occasion he was passing through a street and a group of street boys followed him. They went on slapping his neck and telling the people that he called himself a Prophet. Such was the hatred and enmity against him, and such was his helplessness. The Prophet’s house was stoned from surrounding houses. Garbage and the remains of slaughtered animals were thrown into his kitchen. On many occasions dust was thrown on him while he was praying so that he had to retire to a safe spot for his public prayers. These cruelties, perpetrated against a weak and innocent group and their honest, well-meaning but helpless Leader, were not wasted, however. Decent men saw all this and became drawn to Islam. The Prophet was once resting on Safa, a hill near the Ka‘bah. The Meccan Chief Abu Jahl, the Prophet’s arch-enemy, passed by and began to pour vile abuse on him. The Prophet said nothing and went home. A woman-slave of his household was a witness to this distressing scene. Hamzah, the Prophet’s uncle,