6. A Community in the Making

(1st to 3rd year of Prophethood)

In the early period, the Prophet was directed by God

to keep his message secret

He was only to approach those whom he thoughtwould give a favourable response

Early Years of Prophethood

The first to accept the new faith was his wife,

Khadijah

She knew him to be of noble heart and uprightnature

She trusted her husband and willingly and assuredlydeclared that she believed in God’s oneness, and thatMuhammad was God’s Messenger

The First Muslim Woman

Khadijah was to give the Prophet her unwavering

support, and comfort him in the years to come whenhis message was to be met with insults, ridicule andphysical assault

The First Muslim Woman

The first male to accept Islam was the Prophet’s ten-

year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib

He was raised by the Prophet in his home as a favourto his uncle Abu Talib who was a man of limitedmeans and large family

The First Muslim Male

The first man to accept Islam after the Prophet was

his adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah

Zayd was kidnapped as a child and sold as a slaveonce or twice before ending up in the hands ofKhadijah, the wife of the Prophet

She gifted Zayd to the Prophet and the Prophetwould later adopt him as a son

The First Muslim Man

Zayd was known as Zayd ibn Muhammad until

adoption was totally forbidden some years later afterthe Prophet’s settlement in Madinah

The First Muslim Man

The first person to become a Muslim outside the

Prophet’s immediate family was his close friendsince childhood Abu Bakr

When the Prophet spoke to him about Islam, he didnot hesitate for a moment to accept it as truth

He was a merchant by trade, well respected in hiscommunity and well known for his kindly andgentle character

Abu Bakr

Abu Bakr was one of the most distinguished

authorities in Arabia on the tracing of people’slineage

People loved coming to him and listening to him talkabout the history of Arabian tribes and Arabs ingeneral

It was therefore easy for him to select some of themost intelligent and promising of the young peoplewho came to him, to explain to them the message ofIslam and to call on them to believe in God and HisMessenger

Abu Bakr

Soon some individuals began to respond favourably

as a result of Abu Bakr’s efforts

The first was Uthman Ibn Affan and others weresoon to follow: Al-Zubayr Ibn Al-Awwaam, Abd Al-Rahman Ibn Awf, Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas and TalhahIbn Ubaydillah

When all five had accepted Islam, Abu Bakr broughtthem together to the Prophet to declare their belief inGod’s oneness and in the message of the Prophet

The Early Believers

Around 40 people accepted Islam in a period of three

years when the Prophet was preaching in secret

What the early converts to Islam lacked in numbers, they compensated for in calibre

These were individuals of leadership and vision

The Early Believers

Interestingly, many of the early believers were still

very young – some not yet 20 years old

However, it is a mistake to think that idealism was their primary motive – these were individuals of sound judgement and excellent character

The Early Believers

The early Muslims did not belong to any single clan

or tribe or social class but included people of distinction, former slaves and some who were still in the bonds of slavery

As Muslims, however, they all enjoyed equality and a brotherhood that was real and eclipsed all blood relationships

Hence the universality of Islam was established and practised right from the outset

The Early Believers

As headquarters, the early Muslims used the house

of one of their number, al-Arqam, in a central position close to the hill known as al-Safa

It became the first Islamic school where the followers of the new religion received instruction direct from the Prophet

Indeed Al-Arqam’s house was a mosque, a school and a meeting-place where the new community discussed its affairs

The House of Al-Arqam

(Source: ‘Muhammad – Man and Prophet’ by Adil Salahi)

End