The tormenting of Quraysh, in part, became the catalyst for the Islam of his ‎ﷺ uncle, Hamza bin ‘Abd ul-Muttalib. Hamza raged with fury from within after some of the locals blamed him for Abū Jahl’s ill-treatment of his cousin. He headed to that scoundrel, raged at him and piled scorn upon him: “How can you insult Muhammad ‎ﷺ when I too am on his path?” Then Allah Almighty enlightened his mind with the light of certainty until he became the best of men in his faith. He became the most empathetic toward the believers and the most vigorous upon the enemies of the religion, earning him the title ‘Asadullah’ – The lion of Allah ﷻ.

As the blessed Prophet ‎ﷺ was tortured, so were his Companions merely for following him ‎ﷺ. Particularly those who did not enjoy tribal support to repel the schemes of the enemy. All this torment was but like sweet fragrance to them, so long as in it was Divine Pleasure. It did not derail them from their religion. Rather, Allah ﷻ strengthened them until His ﷻ Command was fulfilled through their hands, and they became the rulers of the land after being its weakest. Just like Allah ﷻ says in Sūrat ul-Qasas:

“And We desired to show favour to those who were oppressed in the earth, and to make them examples and to make them inheritors”

[Blessed Quran – 28:5]

And what He ﷻ Willed came to pass.

Of those caused suffering for Allah ﷻ was Bilāl bin Rabāh, a slave of Umayya bin Khalaf al-Jumahī al-Qarashī. He would tie a noose around his neck and hand it to the children to play with. He, Allah ﷻ be pleased with him, would respond with: “He is One! He is One!” His troubles did not distract him from declaring the Oneness of Allah ﷻ. Umayya would take him out in the heat of the day to ar-Ramdā, a blistering sand desert where raw meat would cook if left out. He would order an enormous boulder and it would placed on his chest. He would then threaten: “You will remain like this till you die or renounce Muhammad, and worship the idols of al-Lāt and al-‘Uzzā!” He would only repeat: “He is One! He is One!”

One day Abū Bakr, Allah ﷻ be pleased with him, passed by. He said: “O Umayya! Have fear of Allah ﷻ with respect to this poor man, how long will you punish him?” He retorted: “You corrupted him, so rescue him from what you see!” So he, Allah ﷻ be pleased with him, bought him and freed him. Allah ﷻ revealed regarding him and Umayya in Sūrat ul-Layl:

“Therefore have I warned you of the flaming Fire. Which only the most wretched must endure. He who denies and turns away [Ummaya bin Khalaf]. Far removed from it will be the righteous [Abu Bakr – the truthful]. Who gives his wealth that he may grow. And none has with him any favour for reward. Except as seeking the purpose of his Lord Most High. He surely will be content.”

[Blessed Quran – 92:14-21]

Abū Bakr is the “content one”; content with what Allah ﷻ will grant him in the next life as a reward for his deeds. Allah ﷻ has marked the fact that as-Siddique, the truthful one, spent his wealth to buy Bilal and free him only for the Pleasure of his Lord ﷻ. This is ample honour and high respect for as-Siddique, Allah ﷻ be pleased with him and he with Him ﷻ. He also freed, other than Bilāl, many a slave who had embraced Islam and their masters had tortured them.

Amongst them was Hamāma, mother of Bilal, and ‘Āmir bin Fuhayra. They were tortured till they could no longer comprehend their own speech. There was also Abū Fukayha, a slave of Safwān bin Umayya bin Khalaf.

From them was a woman named Zinnīra. She was tortured till she was blinded. This did not increase her except in faith. Abū Jahl would exclaim: “Don’t you wonder about these people and their followers? If what Muhammad bought was better, they would not have accepted it before us! Has Zinnīra beaten us to guidance?!” Allah Almighty revealed in Sūrat ul-Ahqāf:

“And those who disbelieve say of those who believe: If it had been good, they would not have been before us in attaining it. And since they will not be guided by it, they say: This is an ancient lie.”

[Blessed Quran – 46:11]

From those who Abū Bakr, Allah ﷻ be pleased with him, freed after buying them was Umm ‘Unays, a slave of the Banū Zuhra. al-Aswad bin ‘Abd Yaghūth would torture her.

Of those punished for the sake of Allah ﷻ was ‘Ammār bin Yāsir, his brother, father and mother. They were subjected to fire. The Messenger of Allah ‎ﷺ passed by them and encouraged: “Patience O family of Yāsir, your promised destiny is paradise. O Lord forgive the family of Yāsir, indeed You have.” ‘Ammār’s father and mother succumbed to the punishment, Allah ﷻ have mercy on them both. He himself though buckled under the onslaught and uttered words of disbelief. It was Abū Jahl who would bring for him a suit of iron armour on a hot day, and force him to don it. The Muslims said: “‘Ammār has disbelieved.” The Prophet ‎ﷺ corrected: “From head to toe, ‘Ammār is brimming with faith.” Allah ﷻ revealed for him an exception from the rule of apostasy. Allah Most High ﷻ said in Sūrat un-Nahl:

“Whoso disbelieves in Allah after his belief – save him who is forced thereto and whose heart is still content with the Faith – but whoso finds ease in disbelief: on them is wrath from Allah. Theirs will be an awful doom.”

[Blessed Quran – 16:106]

From those persecuted for Allah ﷻ was Khabbāb bin al-Aratt, who was enslaved in the time ignorance, al-Jāhilīya, before Islam. Umm Anmār bought him. He was a blacksmith. The Prophet ‎ﷺ had befriended him before the announcement of prophethood. When Allah ﷻ blessed him ‎ﷺ with it, Khabbāb embraced it. His masters subjected him to fire. They would bring for him heated iron and scorch his back so that he would disbelieve. It only increased his faith. Once Khabbāb came to the Messenger of Allah ‎ﷺ, when he ‎ﷺ lay resting his head on his cloak in the shade of the Ka’ba. He asked: “O Messenger of Allah, can you not appeal to Allah ﷻ for us?” He ‎ﷺ sat up, his face glowed with a red hue: “Those before you were combed with iron combs till the flesh separated from the bone. A saw would be placed on the tip of the head of one of them and they would be halved. That would not deter them from their faith! Allah ﷻ will grant dominance to this religion and you shall see the rider journey from San’ā to Hadramawt. He will not fear except Allah ﷻ, whilst the wolf guards his sheep.” He ‎ﷺ claimed this in a most desperate time. When the most intelligent nor the most optimistic could remotely hope for an awaited help or future respite. By Allah! It was only a revelation revealed to him. Then Allah ﷻ revealed the beginnings of Sūrat ul-‘Ankabūt to strengthen the believers:

“Do men imagine that they will be left because they say, we believe, and will not be tested with affliction? Indeed We have tested those who were before them. Thus Allah knows those who are sincere, and knows those who feign.”

[Blessed Quran – 29:2-3]

Amongst those who were persecuted was Abū Bakr as-Siddique, Allah ﷻ be pleased with him, himself. When hardship intensified upon him he resolved to migrate from Makkah to al-Habasha. He set out until he reached Bark ul-Ghamād, where he met Ibn ud-Daghina, a leader of a large tribe named al-Qāra. Ibn ud-Daghina asked: “Where to O Abū Bakr?” He replied: “My people have driven me out, so I intend to roam the land and worship my Lord.” Ibn ud-Daghina proclaimed: “The likes of you cannot be driven out. You provide for the lost. You rekindle kinships. You support the weak. You honour the guest. You are appointed to represent truth. I am your protector. Return and worship your Lord in your homeland.” So he, Allah ﷻ be pleased with him, returned and Ibn ud-Daghina accompanied him. He visited the nobles of Quraysh and said to them: “The likes of Abū Bakr are not driven out. Are you forcing a man who provides for the lost? Who rekindles kinships? Who supports the weak? Who honours the guest? Who is appointed to represent truth?!” Quraysh did not object to the protection of Ibn ud-Daghina, rather they advised: “Tell Abū Bakr to worship his Lord at home, to pray there and to recite what he wants. Not to harm us with that and not to be brazen with it, for we fear he will corrupt our womenfolk and children!” Ibn ud-Daghina informed Abū Bakr of this and he abided by that, worshiping his Lord at home, not displaying his prayers and not reciting except at home.

Then it dawned on Abū Bakr to construct a masjid in the courtyard of his house. He began praying and reciting the Quran in it. The women and children of the idolators were in earshot. They were fascinated by him and would gaze at him. He was a soft-hearted man and could not hold back his tears when reciting the Quran. This worried the nobles of Quraysh and so they sent for Ibn ud-Daghina. When he came they said to him: “We have extended your protection of Abū Bakr to him so he may worship his Lord within his home. He has transgressed and built a place of worship in the courtyard of his house. He openly prays and recites in it. We fear he will corrupt our women and children. If he wants to restrict the worship of his Lord to his house then he can. If he insists upon being vocal with it, then ask him to refuse your obligations. We do not desire violating our agreement, nor can we allow Abū Bakr to publicise it.” Ibn ud-Daghina came to Abū Bakr and said: “You are aware of what I agreed with you. Either you limit all that or you refuse my protection. I do not want to hear the Arabs say that I violated an agreement with a man to whom I had extended it.” Abū Bakr replied: “I return to you your protection and I am content with the protection of Allah ﷻ. That was the cause of much of the tremendous troubles subjected upon Abū Bakr, Allah ﷻ be pleased with him.

In short, no Muslim was spared from the persecution meted out. However all of it came to nothing before their steadfastness and firm faith. They had not embraced it for a materialistic reward that they would gain and returning it to them would be easy. Rather, Allah ﷻ had blessed them to harbour a real belief. They considered everything else easy.

The Quraysh Negotiate

When the non-believing Quraysh saw that all that persecution was not bringing them any results, rather every increase of torment of the Muslims led to strengthening their convictions, they gathered for a consultation amongst themselves. ‘Utba bin Rabī’a al-‘abshamī of the Banū ‘Abd Shams bin ‘Abd Munāf – an active leader of his people – said: “O people of Quraysh! Shall I not confront Muhammad and speak to him? I will propose some matters to him of which he will accept some. We will give him them and he will desist from us?” They agreed: “O Abū Walīd, confront him and speak to him.” So, he went to the Messenger ‎ﷺ. He ‎ﷺ was in prayer in the masjid. He said: “O nephew! You are from us, as you know, of noble descent. You have proposed an enormity to your people. You have split their ranks. You have cast away their prospects. You have dishonoured their gods and culture. You have condemned their forefathers. Hear from me for I propose to you several matters and you consider them. Perhaps you will accept some of them.” He ‎ﷺ responded: “Talk O Abū Walīd, I will listen.”

“O nephew,” he began, “if you want wealth for what you have proposed to us of this matter, we will gather our wealth for you, making you the wealthiest amongst us. If it is honour you desire, we will make you our leader, where no decision will be taken without you. If you want a kingdom, we will make you our sovereign. If what you bring is the effect of a djinn, the possession of which you cannot repel on your own, we will summon a physician for you. We will pay from our wealth until you are cured, for occasionally a possessor subdues a man until a cure is sought.”

“Have you finished O Abū Walīd?” asked the Prophet ‎ﷺ.

“Yes.”

“Then listen to me,” said the Messenger ‎ﷺ and proceeded to recite the beginning of Sūrat Fussilat:

“Hā mīm. A revelation from the Beneficent, the Merciful. A scripture in which the verses are expounded, a lecture in Arabic for people who have knowledge. Good tidings and a warning. But most of them turn away so that they hear not. And they say: Our hearts are protected from that which you call us to, and in our ears there is a deafness, and between us and you there is a veil. Act, then. Surely, we also shall be acting. Say: I am only a mortal like you. It is inspired in me that your God is One God, therefore take the straight path to Him and seek forgiveness of Him. And woe to the idolators. Who give not the poor-due, and who are disbelievers in the Hereafter. Surely, those who believe and do good works, for them is a reward enduring. Say: Do you verily disbelieve in Him Who created the earth in two Days, and you ascribe to him rivals? He is the Lord of the Worlds. He placed in it firm hills rising above it, and blessed it and measured in it its sustenance in four Days, alike for who ask. Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth: come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: we come, obedient. Then He ordained them seven heavens in two Days and inspired in each heaven its mandate; and We decked the nether heaven with lamps, and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower. But if they turn away, then say: I warn you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of ‘Ād and Thamūd. Then their messengers came to them from before them and behind them, saying: “Worship none but Allah! they said: if our Lord had willed, He surely would have sent down angels, so we are disbelievers in that you have been sent with.”

[Blessed Quran- 41:1-14]

‘Utba pressed his lips and pleaded for him to halt it. When ‘Utba returned the Quraysh questioned him and he replied: “By Allah, I heard words, the likes of which I have not ever heard before. By Allah, it is not poetry, soothsaying, nor trickery. O people of Quraysh! Listen to me and do it for my sake. Leave the man to what he is doing. Let him be, for there is definitely a significance to the words of his that I heard. If you leave him to the Arabs, you will put an end to him at the hands of others. And if he prevails over the Arabs, his honour is your honour!”

“Muhammad has beguiled him!” they cried out.

“That’s my opinion,” he responded.

After that, they offered him ‎ﷺ to participate in their worship and they would in turn join his worship. Concerning this Allah ﷻ revealed:

“Say: O disbelievers! I worship not that which you worship. Nor do you worship that which I worship. And I shall not worship that which you worship. Nor will you worship that which I worship. To your your religion, and to me my religion.”

[Blessed Quran – 109:1-6]

It was clear from the Messenger ‎ﷺ: Do not ever think that I will respond to your demand by associating with Allah ﷻ!

They became disheartened by him ‎ﷺ. After that, they demanded him to remove from the Quran that which angered them, be it discrediting idols or the severe punishment. He could bring another Quran or alter what he already had. Allah ﷻ revealed a response to them in Sūrat Yūnus:

“Say: It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow that which is inspired to me.”

[Blessed Quran – 10:15]