Stories from Early Islam — Page 15
15 immediately and related the incident to his wife Khadijah. She said to him: You are kind and considerate to your relations. You help the poor and bear their burden. You try to restore the virtues that have disappeared. You honour the guests and help those who are in difficulty. Surely God will never let you fail. She suggested that they should go to her cousin Waraqa bin Naufal, a Chris tian hermit and consult him. Waraqa heard the account that Muhammad gave him and said: I am sure the angel that descended on Moses had descended on you. I wish I would be alive to give you my support when your people will turn you out. ‘Will they turn me out?’ asked the Prophet in surprise. The Christian hermit said: ‘Never has that, which has come to you, come to anyone without his people turning against him. ’ When the Holy Prophet started his Divine mission, he was opposed by all except a few. The majority of the people rejected him and ridiculed him. Every effort was made to stop the mes- sage of Islam. He and his followers were persecuted, so much so that they had to leave Makkah and migrate to a town called Yathrib, about two hundred miles north of Makkah. The peo- ple of Yathrib accepted Islam in large numbers and so it became