Chief of the Prophets

Chief of the Prophets — Page 57

Chapter Four 57 Among the Quraish, ‘Uthmān ra was beaten up after being tied with ropes. Zubair bin al-‘Awwām ra was wrapped up in a mat, and made to inhale smoke. ‘Abdullāh bin Mas‘ūd ra was beaten up so badly in the courtyard of the Ka‘bah that he almost died. Abū Dharr Ghifārī ra was beaten up so badly, that if ‘Abbās bin ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib ra had not come to his rescue, he would have died. Among the slaves, Bilāl bin Rabāḥ ra was tortured by laying him on the burning hot rocky fields of Makkah, and hot stones were placed on his chest, and every effort was made to make him forsake Allah and His Messenger. The story of the hardships of Lubainah and Zunairah is no less disturbing. Though Ṣuhaib bin Sinān Rūmi ra and Khabbāb bin al-Arat ra were former slaves, they also were severely tortured. The torture inflicted upon ‘Ammār bin Yāsir ra , his father Yāsir bin ‘Āmir, and mother Sumayyah was beyond imagination. This is just a sample of the atrocities inflicted upon the Muslims. Even Muḥammad sa , who had the support of Banū Hāshim and Banū Abdul-Muṭṭalib was not spared from the badgering and rebuking of the Quraish. During this period of time, close to the time for Ḥajj , the Quraish were concerned that the Arabs coming from different places would ask questions about Muḥammad sa. They feared that if they gave conflicting responses about who Muḥammad sa was, it would further strengthen the visitors’ suspicions and excite their curiosity and interest. They therefore decided to come up with one unified response. They gathered at the house of Walīd bin Mughīrah and one of them said: Our answer is simple: This man is a soothsayer. And through his soothsaying, he has gathered a few people around him. Walīd said: