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