Minorities in an Islamic State — Page 1
i ْم بِسْمِ اهللِ الرَّح ْ نِ الرَّحِي ِ م The Meccans and the Advent of the Prophet sa : The claim of the Holy Prophet sa as a divinely inspired Reformer angered the people of Mecca. The Chiefs of Quraish decided to oppose Islam. The idol- worshippers would not tolerate the new religion to spread in Arabia. They were determined to crush Islam in the very beginning. They decided to employ all means at their disposal to deal with this menace. The common folk joined the Quraish in their fight against the Muslims. There started a period of severe trials and hardships for the Muslims. Their lives, properties and honour were in constant danger. They were beaten, boycotted and abused. They were denied even the ordinary civic rights that every citizen enjoyed. It was impossible for them to preach their religion or even to praise it openly. To accept Islam, even to praise it openly, at that time meant death. Even the Prophet sa was no exception to this. He was insulted and abused. To give but one example of the way in which the Meccans treated him, we reproduce here a tradition by Hadrat ‘ A ’i shah ra — wife of the Prophet sa. She reports that referring to these days of troubles and miseries the Holy Prophet sa once said: i In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. [Publishers]