Chief of the Prophets — Page 69
Chapter Five 69 Muḥammad sa was so pleased to hear these words that he joyously proclaimed, “ Allāhu Akbar! ” 1 Following him, the companions raised the slogan of “ Allāhu Akbar ” with such intensity that an echo could be heard from the hills of Makkah. 2 The acceptance of Islam by ‘Umar ra and Ḥamzah ra greatly strengthened the hearts of the Muslims and they started offering Ṣalāt openly in the Masjid al-Ḥarām 3. Plea for Reconciliation When powerful people like Ḥamzah ra and ‘Umar ra started entering the fold of Islām, the Quraish became quite worried. After mutual consultation, at first, they sent ‘Utbah bin Rabī‘ah 4 as their representative to Muḥammad sa to convince him to stop the propagation of Islām. But when ‘Utbah failed in this mission, they gathered near the Ka‘bah and deliberated. It was decided that a few chieftains collectively speak to Muḥammad sa. Thus Walīd bin Mughīrah, ‘Āṣ bin Wā’il, Abū Jahl, Umayyah bin Khalaf, ‘Utbah, Shaibah, Abū Sufyān, and a few others assembled near the Ka‘bah and Muḥammad sa was sent for. When he arrived, the Quraish said: O Muḥammad! You are a noble person, and you belong to a noble and honourable tribe. Look at how you have created dissention and division amongst your people. We wonder what your real objective is. If your endeavour is with the purpose that you might gather riches and become wealthy, then we shall give you such wealth so you may be deemed the wealthiest person in Arabia. If you seek power and respect, we are prepared to make you our leader and chieftain. If you desire authority, we are not even reluctant 1 Allah is Great. [Publisher] 2 Ibni Hishām. 3 Masjid al-Ḥarām is located in Makkah and is also called the Sacred Mosque or the Grand Mosque. The Ka‘bah, the holiest place of Muslims, is located inside Masjid al- Ḥarām. [Publisher] 4 One of the prominent leaders of the Quraish. [Publisher]