A warning from atop Mount Safa

A warning from atop Mount Safa

During the same period Allah told the Prophet : “Announce openly what you are commanded, and withdraw from the idolaters.” In compliance with Allah’s order, he ascended the heights of Mount Safa, a small rocky hill near the Ka’bah, and cried out from the highest point: “Ya Sabahah!”

The cry “Ya Sabahah” was normally used to warn citizens of impending doom, surprise attacks or other great calamities. Once he had altered his fellow Makkans that something terrible was upon them, the Prophet then called every family and every household by name: “O sons of Fiher! O sons of Adiy! O sons of Abdu Munaf! O sons of Abdul Muttalib! O sons of….:

The people heard their names being called, and they rushed to Mount Safa. Those who were unable to go themselves, sent someone on their behalf to see what had happened. When they were all assembled, the Prophet said: “If I told you that the horsemen were advancing to attack you from the valley or the other side of this hill, would you believe me”

“Yes,” they replied, bewildered at his question. “We have always found you honest.” Then he said to them: “I am here to warn you before a severe chastisement reaches you. I see the enemy charging toward you, and I want to protect you from his sword, but I fear he will strike you before I can give you warning. This is why I have cried out to you from atop this hill.”

 After this vivid analogy the Prophet asked them to save themselves by declaring that Allah was one, and that he, Muhammad, was His Messenger: La ilaaha illallah, Muhammad Rasoolullah. He also explained to them that this testimony (Shahadah) was the only source of salvation in this world and the Hereafter. He tried to make them understand that if they clung to polytheism and rejected the message he had brought to them, they would face Allah’s punishment, and that he (the Prophet) would not be able to save them despite his status as Allah’s Messenger.

Addressing all segments of Makkan society, he further said:

“O people of Quraysh, ransom yourselves from Allah and save yourselves from the Fire of Hell, for I am not the master of your gain and loss, nor can I be of any help in saving you from Allah. O Banu Ka’bin Lu’ayy, save yourselves from Hell, for I am not the master of your gain and loss.
“O Banu Qusayy! Save yourselves from Hell. O Banu Abdu
Munaf! Save yourselves from Hell, for I am not the master of your gain and loss. O Banu Hashim! Save yourselves from Hell.

O Banu Abdul Muttalib! Save yourselves from Hell, for I am not the master of your gain and loss, and cannot save you from Allah. Take from my property as much as you desire, but I have no power to save you from Allah.

“O Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib! I can be of no help to you in saving you from Allah. O Aunt of the Messenger, Safiyah bint Abdul Muttalib! I can be of no help to you in saving you from Allah. O Fatimah, daughter of the Messenger! Ask for whatever you want from my property, but save yourself from Hell. I cannot be of any help to you, and I will fulfil my obligations accordingly.”

After listening to this warning from the Prophet , the assembly dispersed. There is no record of their immediate support or opposition. However, Abu Lahab is reported to have said, enraged, “May you be cursed! Is it for this you have brought us here?”

Generally, the Prophet’s audience seems to have been somewhat amazed at the Prophet’s outpourings and could not decide just then as to what they should do. Once they returned to their homes, however, their arrogance reasserted itself, and they disdained the Prophet’s warning and exhortation. Thus when the Prophet passed by their elders, they would jeer, “Is this the one who has been appointed a Messenger by Allah? Is this the boy of Abu Kabshah who is addressed from the sky?”

Abu Kabshah was an ancestor of the Prophet on his mother’s side. He had abandoned the paganism of the Quraysh and embraced Christianity. Hence, when the Prophet began proclaiming the monotheistic message of Islam, the Quraysh were quick to link him with another so-called renegade of their society.

Despite the taunts of his tribesmen and their increasing hostility, the Prophet remained firm in his mission and began to invite people to Islam. He would recite verses from the Book of Allah, giving his people the same message that previous prophets had given to their people. He would say, “O my people! Worship Allah without any partners or intermediaries, for none is your god except Allah.”

⁦⁩He also began to pray to Allah in public, offering prayers in the courtyard surrounding the Ka’bah. The Prophet’s preaching gradually gained ground. As more people, one by one, came to Islam, a gap started widening between the believers and nonbelievers even in the same house. Of course, this only increased the resentment and hostility of the Quraysh who found it unforgivable that the new Muslims would chose Islam over family, tribe, and culture

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TO BE CONTINUED IN SHA ALLAH