The Secret Invitation

Following Khadija, Zayd ibn Haritha, Ali ibn Abu Talib, and Abu Bakr; Uthman ibn Affan, Abdu’r-Rahman ibn Awf, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and Talha ibn Ubaydullah , may Allah be pleased with them, had also chosen Islam and had become a part of the first Muslims. From that point on, the period of secret invitation, which was to last for three years, had started. Conveying the Divine message was yet through personal efforts within a small circle. The number of people that believed in Allah and His Messenger was increasing one by one. New verses of the Qur’an were being conveyed to the Messenger of Allah, and he shared these with the first Muslims around him. For this they would mostly come together in quiet and secluded places. Most of the time, it would be our Prophet’s home that they gathered in for these meetings. In this way, they were trying to avoid any negative reaction from the Quraysh tribe.

The polytheists, who had been associating partners with Allah for years, through idols that they had been making with their own hands, were truly unhappy about these recent developments. They had no intention of abandoning the religion of their ancestors and accepting the Oneness of Allah and the Prophethood of Allah’s Messenger instead. During the first years of Islam, they had preferred to merely watch and observe the advancement of this newly emerging religion. They thought that it would be just a temporary phase. The polytheists simply made fun of whatever they heard, and they kept on denying the Messenger of Allah. Contrary to their expectations, this was certainly not the case. As days passed, the people started running towards the true religion and were enlightened by faith, one by one.

Among these first people to be honored with Islam were some of the close relatives of the Messenger of Allah. However, so far, not even one of his four uncles had decided to follow him. Abu Talib hadn’t objected to his sons, Jafar and Ali, embracing Islam yet he himself had refused to abandon the religion of his ancestors. Although his uncles, Abbas and Hamza loved the Messenger of Allah dearly, they just could not decide whether or not to choose Islam as a religion. Abu Lahab, on the other hand, explicitly accused his nephew of dishonesty and claimed that by turning away from the religion of their ancestors, he was making a very big mistake.

During this period of secret invitation to Islam, the number of people who embraced Islam was not more than thirty. Believers worshipped in their own homes and secretly read the newest revelations of the Qur’an. Most of the time, they met in quiet, secluded places outside Mecca to perform Prayer in congregation.

One day, some individuals from the Quraysh, saw the Muslims while in Prayer and made fun of this sight they had never before witnessed. A conflict rose between the two sides and Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas one of the Companions of our Prophet, hit one of the non-believers with the rib bone of a camel and wounded him. This was the first spill of blood in the name of Islam. After that day, however, they decided to stay away from any form of violence because the Revelation constantly advised the Muslims to be patient.

Allah’s Messenger’s saddened heart would find tranquility and serenity in his home. Our Prophet’s blessed wife Khadija would ease his sadness with her comforting words and would do her best to make his duty easier on him. During that first year of calling to the true religion, Islam, one of the events that brought joy into the Prophet’s home had been the birth of their daughter, Fatima. The Messenger of Allah announced the glad news of his daughter’s birth by saying, “Just now, the Archangel of revelation came and congratulated us for this new child that came into the world. Allah has given her the name Fatima.”