8-1-2013
Episode 49: Aftermath of the Boycott – Consolation & Support from Allah
Welcome to Seerah Pearls, which aims to highlight some tantalising learning points from each episode of the Seerah- Life of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam).
This episodes recounts the multiple times Allah supported the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) by sending down revelation to guide him through difficult situations.
1) 1) During the boycott, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) missed visiting the Ka’ba: the confrontations started again when he returned. Abu Jahl told the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) to stop cursing their idols, or they would curse his deity. However, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) never cursed their idols profanely- he just said not to worship them. Allah revealed:
6: 108 [Believers], do not revile those they call on beside God in case they, in their hostility and ignorance, revile God. To each community We make their own actions seem alluring, but in the end they will return to their Lord and He will inform them of all they did.
2) Another key opposition leader, Nadr bin al-Harith, approached the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and sat with him. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) always seized these opportunities to give da’wah. He recited some Quran and invited him to Islam. Nadr bin al-Harith began to tell stories of his own and claimed the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) did not have better stories than himself. Allah revealed:
25:1 Exalted is He who has sent the Differentiator down to His servant so that it may be a warning to all people.
25:2 It is He who has control over the heavens and earth and has no offspring––no one shares control with Him––and who created all things and made them to an exact measure.
25:3 Yet the disbelievers take as their gods things beneath Him that create nothing, and are themselves created, that can neither harm nor help themselves, and have no control over death, life, or resurrection.
25:4 The disbelievers say, ‘This can only be a lie he has forged with the help of others’––they themselves have done great wrong and told lies––
25: 5 and they say, ‘It is just ancient fables, which he has had written down: they are dictated to him morning and evening.’
25:6 Say, ‘It was sent down by Him who knows the secrets of the heavens and earth. He is all forgiving, all merciful.’
3) The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) sat with Walid bin al-Mughirah and Nadr bin al-Harith came and sat again. He interrupted and insulted the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Allah sent down:
21: 98 You [disbelievers] and what you worship instead of God will be fuel for Hell: that is where you will go-
21:99 if these [idols] had been real gods they would not have gone there- you will all stay there.
21:100 There the disbelievers will be groaning piteously, but the [idols] will hear nothing.
When he recited this, Nadr bin al-Harith became quiet and speechless. Someone else approached him and gave him some advice about a rebuttal. He advised Nadr bin al-Harith to question the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) about how he could reconcile the apparent issue of Isa (AS) being burnt in the Hellfire because people worshipped him. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) clarified that everyone or everything that claimed to be a deity and commanded people to worship them would be in the Hellfire. This would not be the case of good people who were wrongly turned into deities. Allah revealed:
21:101 But those for whom We have decreed Paradise will be kept far from Hell-
21:102 they will not hear a murmur from it- and endlessly they will enjoy everything their souls desire.
21:26 And they say, ‘The Lord of Mercy has taken offspring for Himself.’ May He be exalted! No! They are only His honoured servants:
21:27 they do not speak before He speaks and they act by His command.
21:28 He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot intercede without His permission––indeed they themselves stand in awe of Him.
21:29 If any of them were to claim, ‘I am a god beside Him,’ We would reward them with Hell: this is how We reward evildoers.
4) 4) Once, Walid bin al-Mughirah was sitting with Quraysh and he questioned how divine revelation could come to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) instead of himself and the chief of Taif, Abu Masood. Allah revealed:
43:30 But when the Truth came to them, they said, ‘This is sorcery. We do not believe in it,’
43:31 and they said, ‘Why was this Quran not sent down to a distinguished man, from either of the two cities?’
43:32 Do they distribute the mercy of your Lord? It is We who have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world and have raised some of them above others in degrees [of rank] that they may make use of one another for service. But the mercy of your Lord is better than whatever they accumulate.
5) Multiple people came to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) to mockingly question how God would bring a crushed bone to life. Allah revealed:
36:76 So let not their speech grieve you. Indeed, We know what they conceal and what they declare.
36:78 And he presents for Us an example and forgets his [own] creation. He says, “Who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated?”
36:79 Say, “He will give them life who produced them the first time; and He is, of all creation, Knowing.”
6) When the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was making Tawaaf on one occasion, a group of Quraysh stepped in front of him and offered a partnership where they would worship whatever he worshipped, as long as the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) worshipped their deities. Allah revealed Surah Kafirun in response, categorically rejecting this proposal.
7) Abu Jahl started to mock the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) by inviting everyone to eat Zaqqum- this is a thorny tree in the fire of hell which people will consume out of desperation. Allah revealed:
44:43 Indeed, the tree of zaqqum
44:44 Is food for the sinful.
44:45 Like murky oil, it boils within bellies
44:46 Like the boiling of scalding water.
44:47 [It will be commanded], “Seize him and drag him into the midst of the Hellfire,
44:48 Then pour over his head from the torment of scalding water.”
44:49 [It will be said], “Taste! Indeed, you are the honored, the noble!
44:50 Indeed, this is what you used to dispute.”
8) Allah was always there to show the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) how to handle situations. On this occasion, Allah advised him to give all people chances, as he can never predict the result of spreading the word of God- someone may accept and go on to benefit from the dawah, whereas others may reject. Abdullah ibn Umm-Maktum was a blind man who lived with his mother. He accepted Islam in the early days. Once, Walid bin al-Mughirah seemed to be more positive towards the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was encouraged he may be softening towards Islam. Abdullah ibn Umm-Maktum came and interrupted their discussion unknowingly and Walid started to leave. This bothered the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and he turned away and frowned. Allah revealed:
80:1 The Prophet frowned and turned away
80: 2 Because there came to him the blind man, [interrupting].
80:3 But what would make you perceive, [O Muhammad], that perhaps he might be purified
80:4 Or be reminded and the remembrance would benefit him?
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