PERSECUTION OF THE PROPHE

PERSECUTION OF THE PROPHET ﷺ

Because of the Prophet’s high position in Makkan society, only those of like standing dared mistreat him. Those who harrassed the Prophet in his own house were, Abu Lahab, Hakam bin Abi Al-As bin Umayya, Uqba bin Abi Mu’ayt, Aidy bin Hamra Thaqafi, Ibn Al-Asda Hadhab – all of whom were his neighbours.

When the Prophet bowed down in prayer, someone threw the fetus of a camel on his back. Others would throw similar filth at his door. The Prophet would remove it with a piece of wood and say, “O Banu Abdu Munaf! What kind of neighbourhood is this?” Whenever Umayya bin Khalaf saw the Prophet , he would taunt him before the people of Makkah. Similarly, his brother, Abi bin Khalaf, crumbled a rotten bone and threw it in the face of the Prophet . He would also say to the Prophet : “O Muhammad, I have a horse named Ud, and I feed it three heaps of food so that I can kill you while upon its back!” One day the Prophet answered this challenge by saying, “No, it is I who will kill you.” The Prophet’s words came true when he killed Abi during the battle of Uhud.

Abu Lahab’s wife Umm Jameel Ardi bint Harbre solved to punish him. She used to scatter prickly bits of wood over the path that the Prophet and his Companions would pass. When Umm Jameel heard that a short chapter of the Qur’an (Surah Abu Lahab) had been revealed to the Prophet which condemned her to Hell for this very act.

She began searching for him, armed with a rock. He was sitting near the Ka’bah with Abu Bakr . She strode up to Abu Bakr and asked him, “Where has your companion gone I have come to know that he speaks ill of me. By God, if I find him I shall hurl this stone at his face. Look, I am also a poet.” She then uttered the following verses and went away: We disobeyed the blameworthy, rejected his call, and renounced his relieigon with disdain. Abu Bakr was amazed that Umm Jameel had not seen the Prophet sitting right beside him. “O Prophet! Did she fail to see you” He said, “Yes, she could not see me because Allah seized her sight.”

Meanwhile, the Quraysh invented a new way of abusing the Prophet : they began calling him Muhammam instead of Muhammad, the meaning of which is the opposite of his real name. “Muhammad” is one who is highly praised, while
Muhammam is one who is vehmently condemned. Allah, however, protected the Prophet’s nonour by revealing that the Quraysh abused one known as Muhammam, while the Prophet was
“Muhammad” by name. As has been mentioned earlier, one of the most adamant enemies of the Prophet and his followers was Abu Jahl. His actual name was Abu Hakam, which literally means, Father of Wisdom, but his behaviour toward the Prophet and the early Muslims earned him the title Abu Jahl, Father of Ignorance.

One day Abu Jahl saw the Prophet performing his prayers and began harrassing and threatening him as he prayed. At last the Prophet caught hold of a piece of cloth around Abu Jahl’s neck and, shaking him strongly, quoted these two verses from the Qur’an: “Woe to you! Woe to you! Again, woe to you! Woe to you!” (75: 34-35)
Abu Jahl shot back, “Muhammad! You are challenging me
By God, you and your Lord cannot do me any harm. I am the strongest man in this valley.” Eager for revenge, Abu Jahl asked his comrades, “Does Muhammad put his face on the earth in your presence?”
“Yes.” They replied. “By Lat and Uzza,” Abu Jahl swore, “if I ever see him do so, I shall trample his face and neck into the dust.”

The day came when Abu Jahl saw the Prophet performing his prayers, so he marched toward him with the intention of carrying out his threat. Suddenly, onlookers saw him retreat before reaching the defenseless Muhammad , his arms clawing at the air.
“What happened, Abu Hakam?” the people asked.

SO WHAT HAPPENED TO ABU JAHL

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