The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 195
VI - Commencement of Prophethood 195 An Illustration of Muslim Suffering The actual extent of the suffering that befell the Muslims during these days could fully be comprehended only by those who were compelled to endure these afflictions. However, the extent to which history has vouchsafed these instances (which are much less than the actual cases at hand) are mentioned below: Ḥaḍrat ‘ Uthmān ra was from the Banū Umaiyyah. He was a man of a relatively mature age and was well off. However, after the issuance of the above mentioned verdict, his paternal uncle, Ḥakam bin Abil-‘Āṣ, tied him with ropes and beat him, but this helpless soul did not say a word. 1 Zubair bin Al-‘Awwām ra was from the Asad tribe and was a gallant young man, but his ruthless paternal uncle would wrap him in a mat and force him to inhale the smoke of fire, that he may forsake Islām. But he delightfully accepted this difficulty and would say, “I cannot reject the truth once I have recognized it. ” 2 Sa‘īd bin Zaid ra , who was the brother-in-law of Ḥaḍrat ‘ Umar ra , was from the Banū ‘Adiyy and was honoured among his people. When ‘Umar bin Al-Khaṭṭāb was informed of his Islām, he threw him down and sat upon his chest and also wounded his own sister during this tussle. 3 ‘ Abdullāh bin Mas‘ūd ra , who was from the Hudhail tribe, was brutally beaten by the Quraish in the very courtyard of the Ka‘bah until he was disoriented. 4 Abū Dharr Ghifārī ra was beaten by the Quraish to the extent that he was nearly killed. He was almost beaten to death, but ‘ Abbās bin ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib saved him from the Quraish by saying, “Do you not know that this man is from the Banū Ghifār which controls your Syrian trade route. If they find out, they shall stop your passage. ” 5 This was the violence against people of powerful tribes, but to read the condition of slaves and other weaker factions of society is terrifying. The examples mentioned below are but a glimpse of the cruelties of the Quraish: Bilāl bin Rabāḥ ra was the Abyssinian slave of Umaiyyah bin Khalaf. In the scorching heat of the afternoon, when the rocky ground of Makkah burned 1 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 3, p. 31, Bābu Dhikri Islāmi ‘Uthmān bin ‘Affān ra , Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Muḥammad bin ‘Abdul-Bāqī Az- Zarqānī, Volume 1, p. 457, Bābu Awwalu man Āmana billāhi wa Rasūlihī sa , Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 3 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, pp. 251-252, Bābu Islāmi ‘Umar bin Al-Khaṭṭāb ra , Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 4 Usdul-Ghābah, Volume 3, pp. 280-281, Bābu ‘Abdullāh bin Mas‘ūd ra , Dārul-Fikr, Beirut (2003) 5 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābu Manāqibil-Anṣār, Bābu Islāmi Abī Dharr Ghifārī ra , Ḥadīth No. 3861