Persecution, Personal Insults & Forgiveness:

“Surely there is a good example for you in the Messenger of Allah, for all those who look forward to Allah and the Last Day and remember Allah much” (33:22) The Holy Quran.

“For a Muslim, life is full of good and nobody but a true believer finds himself in that position; for, if he meets with success he is grateful to God and becomes the recipient of greater favours from Him. On the other hand, if he suffers pain and tribulation he endures it with patience and this again makes himself deserving of God’s favours.” (Bukhari Kitabut Tibb).

The Holy prophet of Islam, may the peace of blessings of Allah be upon him, spent 15 years  (or 13 years, according to different sources) after his proclamation to be the messenger of Allah in Mecca. Mecca was the city he was born in, nurtured from the very beginning; this was the city of his ancestors, the city in which the Holy Prophet of Islam spent most of his life. However, this was also the city where he and his followers were persecuted, insulted, tortured and brutally abused.Regardless of such torment the attitude he showed his people, his forgiving nature and his absolute firm belief in his Lord proved and is still proving to be of those role models who the world desperately needs to recognise. It proves that what the media today shows, that is, so-called Muslims burning down embassies and flags, stands in direct conflict with the teachings and the beautiful practices of Islam and that of the Holy Prophet of Islam.

Westerners may raise fingers and question this statement but in order to understand the beautiful nature of the Holy Prophet and what Islam teaches man today, it is important to understand the life-time of our beloved master, Prophet Muhammad (May the blessings of Allah be upon him). Without knowing and understanding the incidents which he had to face, it is pointless knowing how much patience a Muslim actually has.

During his time in Mecca he had to face persecution onan almost daily basis. Once, a group of people put a mantle around his neck and started to drag him. It put so much pressure on his head that his eyes started to peak out, he was in pain, in desperate need but did not retaliate with any violence, rather Abu Bakr (ra) who came and rescued him cried, saying, “You seek to kill him only because he says God is his master?”

On another occasion he lay prostrate in prayer and they laid intestines of a camel on to his back. He could not rise due to the heavy weight and could not move until the weight was removed. On yet another occasion, he was passing through the streets and a group of boys started to follow him, they started to excruciatingly slap our master’s neck and started telling the viewing public in a demeaning manner that he called himself a Prophet. Such was the hatred and enmity against him.

The Prophet’s house was stoned from surrounding houses. Garbage and the remains of slaughtered animals were thrown into his kitchen. On various occasions, dust was thrown on him while he was praying, so much that he had to retire to a safe spot for his public prayers.

Despite these barbaric cruelties and baseless persecution, what was his reaction? His initial reaction was to instruct his followers to migrate to another place, where preaching would not cause harm and where their religion could be practiced freely. Many Muslims obeyed his instruction but the persecution intensified even more. The opposition decided to boycott the Prophet of Islam and this caused the Muslims untold sufferings and hardships. It was during these three years that the Holy Prophet of Islam lost his beloved first wife, Hazrat Khadija (ra), the woman who stood by his side from day one of prophethood, who comforted him and supported him in everything he did. Our beloved master’s wife, who taught us immensely about Islam, could not bear the cruel treatment of the Meccans.

It is obvious that if any common man was to stand in the position of the Holy Prophet of Islam, his response would have been violent and maybe even bloodshed, yet what was the Prophet’s reaction after all these sufferings on adaily basis plus accounting the loss of his dear and beloved wife?

When he realised that nobody would listen to his peaceful message, the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) decided to take his message elsewhere, to a place where people would take heed. He went to Taif, a town located around 60 miles to the south-east of Mecca, famous for its fruit-bearings and agriculture. The Holy Prophet of Islam (saw)chose this town to convey the message of Allah. Yet when he reached there, the chiefs came to visit him but no one seemed willing to accept or listen to his message. The common man obeyed their leaders and therefore on their command dismissed the teachings of the Holy Prophet of Islam with contempt. False reports had already reached Taif which forced him to stand lonely, without any army or weapon. His only support was his companion Zaid (ra). Unfortunately, refusal to his message did not stop there, in order to please their chiefs, the people of Taif decided to gather the street boys who viciously pelted the Holy Prophet of Islam with stones, which forced him out of the city. Zaid (ra) was wounded and the Prophet of Islam(saw) started to bleed profusely. The mob continued to torture them until they were several miles out of the city. Some narrations report that the Holy Prophet of Islam(saw) was bleeding so much that his shoe formed a puddle. This grieved the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) and made him extremely sad.

One wonders, more than ever now what the reaction would have been, surely he would have retaliated, picked up weapons and returned the wage of war with violence.At that very moment an angel descended upon the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) and asked him, “O Prophet, if you wish and if you command me I can crush this city between these two mountains and kill all those people that caused you so much grief.” All the Holy Prophet of Islam(saw) had to say was in the affirmative and not even the trace of the violent people would have been seen again, however his heartfelt response was, “No! I hope that of these very tormentors would be born those who would worship the One True God.” (Bukhari)

It leaves man speechless, questioning whether such a man could really exist. Merely verbal abuse if far away, the bloodshed and pain being spoken about and the response given can only be from a true man of God. This was the case where any person would consider, maybe not consider but accepted this offer being blinded by our pain and anger but not the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw).

Throughout the 23 years of his ministry not a single year passed where his enemies did not try their utmost to eradicate him and his followers from the surface of earth. As mentioned before, it was during this period where the beloved wife of the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) was martyred, it was also during this period that one of his daughters was slain in the name of God. He also lost many family members such as his uncle Hazrat Hamza (ra). However, it is important to note that it was also during this time that the Holy Prophet of Islam had the chance of taking revenge from every single person that had ever caused harm to any of his followers and that was at the time of the conquest of Mecca.

In the 8th year after his migration he returned with an army of 10,000 men to his beloved city, to that very city whose inhabitants forced the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw)to leave and left him in remorseful conditions. It is evident that had any other soul been in that position, acommander of 10,000 men, ready with all the resources to conquer Mecca, they would have done so but the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) did not do what comes in to the minds of the illiterate when they blame him widespread on media, he could have destroyed each individual but did not, he forgave those most worthy of his hate and enmity.

After the Prophet (saw) entered Mecca peacefully, the first thing the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) did was to clear the Ka’ba of all idols and pictures drawn on the walls, after which he offered prayers of thanks inside and outside of it. On completion of all the rituals, he addressed the Meccans and said, “You have seen how true the promises of God have proved to be. Now tell me what punishment should you have for the cruelties and enormities you committed against those whose only fault was that they invited you to worship he One and only God?” To this the Meccans replied, “We expect you to treat us as Joseph treated his erring brothers.” By asignificant coincidence, the Meccans used very words for forgiveness as the brothers of Joseph (as) which God had used in Surah Yusuf, revealed to the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) 10 years before the conquest of Mecca. In this the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) was told that he should treat his Meccan prosecutors just as Joseph (as) treated his brothers. The Prophet of Islam (saw) declared “By God, you will have no punishment today and no reproof” (Hisham). After this the Meccans agreed that the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) was like Joseph (as) since he too was granted victory over his brothers.

However, some people were exempted from his general amnesty. One of them was called Habbar, the man who was responsible for the cruel murder of the Holy Prophet of Islam’s daughter Zainab (ra). Habbar, the cruel and wicked killer, cut the girths of Zainab’s (ra) camel, on which poor Zainab (ra) fell to the ground and being with a child, suffered miscarriage as well as later losing her own life.

This was one of the inhumanities that Habbar had committed for which he deserved the penalty of death. This man then came to the Holy Prophet of Islam and said, “O Prophet of God, I ran away from you and went to Iran, but the thought came to me that God had got rid of our pagan beliefs and saved us from spiritual death. Instead of going to others and seeking shelter with them why not go to the Holy Prophet of Islam himself, acknowledge my faults and ask for forgiveness?” The Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) was moved and said, “Habbar, if God has planted in your heart the love of Islam, how can I refuse to forgive you?  I forgive everything you have done before this.”

Finishing this article, it can only be done just fully with the words from our Master himself, delivering his last sermon famed in history as the farewell address, the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) said:

“O men, lend me an attentive ear. For I know not whether I will stand before you again in this valley and address you as I address you now. Your lives and your possessions have been made immune by God to attacks by one another until the day of judgement. O men, you have some rights against your wives, but your wives also have some rights against you. Your duty is to provide for them food and garments and shelter, according to you own standard of living. Remember you must always treat your wives well. God has charged you with the duty of looking after them. You brought your wives to your homes under the law of God. You must not, therefore, insult the trust which God has placed in your hands. O men, you still have in your possessions some prisoners of war. I advise you, therefore, to feed them and to clothe them in the same way and style as you feed and clothe yourselves. If they do anything wrong which you are unable to forgive, then pass them on to someone else. They are part of God’s creation. To give them pain or trouble can never be right. O men, what I say to you, you must hear and remember. All Muslims are as brethren to one another. All of you are equal. All men, whatever nation or tribe they may belong to, and whatever station in life they may hold, are equal.”

While he was saying this the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw)raised his hand and joined the fingers of one of the hand to the other and then said:

“Even as the fingers of the two hands are equal, so are human beings equal to one another. No one has any right, any superiority to claim over one another. You are as brothers.”

This was the man of God who preached love despite being the victim of ferocious and violent behaviour. He finished his sermon by citing,

“What I have said to you, you should communicate to the ends of the earth. Maybe those who have not heard me may benefit by it more than those who have heard.” (Sihah Sitta).

Adeel Shah