Time passed and the Prophet ‎ﷺ did not openly propagate in the general gatherings of the Quraysh. The Muslims were not able to openly perform their worship in fear of the wrath of the Quraysh. Whoever wished to worship went to the mountain paths of Makkah to worship unseen. When no more than thirty people had embraced the religion and they felt the need to meet with the Messenger ‎ﷺ to receive guidance and instruction, they chose the house of al-Arqam bin Abī il-Arqam, one of those whose embracing Islam we mentioned.

He ‎ﷺ continued to preach in secret until He Almighty ﷻ revealed in Sūrat ul-Hijr:

“So proclaim that which you are commanded, and withdraw from the idolaters” [The Quran – 15:94]

The private invitation was replaced with a public call in accordance with the command of his Lord ﷻ. This, with unwavering trust in His ﷻ promise and help.

He ‎ﷺ ascended Mount as-Safā and called out: “O children of Fihr! O children of ‘Adī!” …to the families of Quraysh. Every man unable to respond in person sent a representative to hear the announcement. Abū Lahab bin ‘Abd ul-Muttalib also came with the Quraysh. He ‎ﷺ asked: “What would you think if I were to inform you that horsemen are in the valley intending to attack you, would you believe me?” They replied: “Yes we would, we’ve never experienced you telling a lie.” He ‎ﷺ said: “I am warning you of a painful punishment.” Abū Lahab retorted: “Damn you, is this what you gathered us for!” Allah Almighty ﷻ revealed about him:

“The power of Abū Lahab will perish, and he will perish. His wealth and gains will not exempt him. He will be plunged in flaming Fire. And his wife, the wood-carrier. Will have upon her neck a halter of palm-fibre.” [The Quran – 111]

‘The wood-carrier’ is a metaphor for slanderer. This is because she would spread rumours about the Messenger of Allah ‎ﷺ amongst the womenfolk. Then it was revealed to him ‎ﷺ in Sūrat ush-Shu’arā:

“And warn your tribe of near kindred”. [The Quran – 26:214]

His ‎ﷺ near relatives are the Children of Hāshim, Children of al-Muttalib, Children of Nawfal, and Children of ‘Abd Shams. All from the family of ‘Abd Munāf.

“And lower your wing in kindness to those believers who follow you. And if they (your kinsfolk) disobey you, say: Indeed I am innocent of what you do.” [The Quran – 26:215-216]

The Prophet ‎ﷺ assembled them and said to them: “A leader does not lie to his people. By Allah! If I lied to all people, I would not lie to you. If I misled everyone, I would not mislead you. By Allah Who there is none worthy of worship except He, I am the Messenger of Allah to you in particular, and to all humankind. By Allah! You will die just as you sleep, you will be raised just as you awake, you will be held to account for what you do, you will be repaid good for good and evil for evil, and it will be an eternal paradise or eternal hell!” The people responded gently except his uncle Abū Lahab, who was a staunch enemy. He said: “Shackle him before the Arabs turn on him. If you surrender him to them, you will be dishonoured. If you shield him from them, they will kill you.” Abū Tālib said: “By Allah we will protect him as long as we live.” People then dispersed.

When the Prophet ‎ﷺ openly propagated the Quraysh derided him. They mocked him ‎ﷺ at their gatherings. When he ‎ﷺ passed by them they would say: “This is the son of Abū Kabsha, who is spoken to from the heavens! And, “This is ‘Abd ul-Muttalib’s boy, who is spoken to from the heavens!” They would not say more than that. When he ‎ﷺ took exception to their deities and found fault in their reasoning, he said to them: “O people, by Allah, you have opposed the way of your forefather Ibrāhīm”. Loyalty to ignorance stirred in their minds a sense of honour in defending the deities their forefathers worshipped. They went to his ‎ﷺ uncle Abū Tālib, the chief of the Banū Hāshim, who had taken it upon himself to protect him ‎ﷺ from his enemies. They demanded that he either didn’t stand between them and he ‎ﷺ, or stopped him ‎ﷺ from what he was saying. He responded to them skilfully and they left him. The Messenger of Allah ‎ﷺ continued as he wished, nothing hindering him from his mission.

The matter intensified. The Quraysh harboured spite and hatred towards the Messenger of Allah ‎ﷺ and they stoked these feelings in each other. They came to Abū Tālib a second time and said to him: “You are experienced, honoured and respected amongst us. We asked you to stop your nephew but you didn’t. By Allah, we can no longer be patient upon the ridiculing of our forefathers, insulting of our intelligence, and the faulting of our deities.”

They insisted upon customs in order to continue ignoring the pursuance of the truth. Their fault was that they did not utilise their intelligence for what it was created for. Allah Almighty ﷻ says in Sūrat ul-Baqara:

“And when it is said to them: Follow that which Allah has revealed, they say: We follow that wherein we found our forefathers. What! Even though their forefathers were wholly unintelligent and had no guidance?” [The Quran – 2:170]

He ﷻ said in Sūrat ul-Māida:

“And when it is said to them: Come to that which Allah has revealed and to the Messenger, they say: Enough for us is that wherein we found our fathers. What! Even though their father’s had no knowledge whatsoever, and no guidance?” [The Quran – 5:104]

And He ﷻ said in Sūrat Luqmān:

“And if it be said to them: Follow that which Allah has revealed, they say: Nay, but we follow that wherein we find our fathers. What! Even though the devil were inviting them to the doom of flame?” [The Quran – 31:21]

And He ﷻ says in Sūrat uz-Zukhruf to expose their false proof:

“No, for they say only: Indeed we found our fathers following a religion, and we are guided by their footprints.” [The Quran – 43:22]

As many nations before them were mistaken in making this statement signifying their obtuseness and stubbornness, He ﷻ said:

“(And the warner) said: What! Even though I bring you better guidance than you found your fathers following? They answered: Indeed in what you bring we are disbelievers.” [The Quran – 43:24]

As they insisted on following their forefathers, it led to describing their forefathers as lacking intellect and guidance. This ignited their enmity. They warned Abū Tālib: “Either you stop him or we will renounce you both in this matter till one party perishes”. They then left.

The prospect of separation from his people weighed heavily upon Abū Tālib. He couldn’t soothe himself by disappointing his nephew so he said: “O nephew! The people came to me and this is what they said to me. Continue by yourself and don’t burden me with what I have no strength to endure.” The Messenger ‎ﷺ thought his uncle was forsaking him, so he responded: “O uncle, by Allah, if they were to place the Sun in my right hand and the Moon in my left, in order that I abandon this mission, I will not. Allah will make it prevail or I will die in pursuit.” He ‎ﷺ then wept and turned away. Abū Tālib said: “Turn to me, O nephew”, and as he ‎ﷺ did, he continued: “Go, and preach as you will. By Allah, I will not forsake you.”