Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 11 - The Second Revelation - Yasir Qadhi | October 2011
Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 11 - The Second Revelation - Yasir Qadhi | October 2011
The Second Revelation
We return to the long hadith of revelation in Bukhari, Jabir ibn Abdillah continues the story and mentions the Prophet PBUH stopped getting revelation. Ibn Abbas says the Prophet PBUH would wander Makkah and its valleys wanting to see Jibril AS again. Some scholars say this period lasted 2 or 3 years (but this is way too much). A riwayat from Ibn Abbas says 40 days. Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri said, "This period lasted for many days, for around a month [40 days]." Thus for an entire month and 10 days the Prophet PBUH was confused. And this is when he says, "I was worried for myself" - meaning, he thought he was hallucinating. And he would go to the Mountain of Hira expecting to see Jibril again, but everyday he would go and there's nothing there. Until finally one day the Prophet PBUH was coming down the mountain and he heard his name being called. He looked in front and behind and couldn't see anyone. Then the Prophet PBUH said, "I looked up and there was the angel I had seen at Hira, (sitting) on a throne between the heavens and the earth." Then the Prophet PBUH began to tremble out of fear - subhan'Allah he wanted to see Jibril but when he saw him he trembled immensely. One report says the Prophet PBUH dropped onto his knees out of shock and fear. So he rushes home again saying, "Cover me, cover me," and this was when the second revelation was revealed: the first 7 verses of Surah al-Muddaththir.
يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ
قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ
وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ
وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ
وَالرُّجْزَ فَاهْجُرْ
وَلَا تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ
وَلِرَبِّكَ فَاصْبِرْ
What is the wisdom of these 30~40 days that the Prophet PBUH was not inspired? The scholars say one wisdom is to prepare him for the second reunion. To make him recover and recollect energies and make him feel enthused. Indeed the Prophet PBUH was coming to the mountain everyday to try to meet Jibril. But despite this preparation he still became terrified when he saw him. All of this shows us the humanity of the Prophet PBUH. This surely isn't something a fraud, a charlatan, a two-faced liar would do - if someone wanted to claim to be a prophet, the stories that are invented are all grandiose - they always put themselves to be the hero. But look at the story of the Prophet PBUH - we find a human reaction and one that is sincere.
What is the relevance of these particular verses in the second revelation? The revelation occurred in the house of Khadija RA. This shows Jibril AS must have followed the Prophet PBUH back to the house and when he is covered up, Jibril then said, "O you who is wrapped up in a garment" - and the symbolism here is, "O you who are living in comfort and ease, stop this life of ease, stand up, be active, leave this sheltered life, and go out and warn the people." And, "While you are doing this warning, praise and glorify your Lord." And, "Make sure your garments are clean - (1) in a literal sense: make sure you don't have any najasa on your clothes and have a presentable appearance; and (2) make sure you have no sins to pollute you, make sure you have a pure soul and a good heart." And, "As for idols, get rid of them and leave them." Then Allah says, "Don't remind people of the favors that you've done" - meaning, when you do good, don't do it to get the favors back from people or be repayed back. Again this goes back to the concept of sincerity - when somebody does something purely for the sake of Allah, nobody can challenge that person's intention; but when somebody has other intentions then it tarnishes that person's reputation. Therefore the Prophet PBUH was not allowed to take charity or zakat - such is the standard of the prophets, so that they can say to their people, as Allah says in the Qur'an, "Tell the people: I am not getting your payment" [42:23] nor "your wealth" [11:29] (in return for conveying the message of Islam). And the last ayah in the second revelation was, "For the sake of your Lord, be patient." This shows that there WILL be calamities and troubles - but be patient. And the only way you are going to be patient is by doing it for the sake of your Lord.
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The 7 Means of Revelation
What exactly is revelation? How does it occur? What happens when a person is inspired? Wahy (وحي) or inspiration is a direct communication from Allah to mankind. Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned that the Prophet PBUH was inspired by 7 different means/methods/ways:
1. True dreams. Lowest form of inspiration is true dreams. This is the only form of inspiration that is still open to mankind. And anyone can get this. The Prophet PBUH saw these before and after his prophethood. True dreams are not restricted to prophets.
2. Whispering of the angels other than the angel Jibril - this is called ilham (إلهام). Example is the mother of Musa being inspired by Allah, "We inspire the mother of Musa" [Qur'an, 28:7]. This type of inspiration happens to the extremely righteous people that Allah chooses. Similarly the mother of Isa AS. So this type of inspiration does not make you a prophet or a prophetess. It comes from Allah through the angels - the angels give you this type of message to the heart.
3. To see the angel in human form in front of you directly, and to speak to him directly. Sometimes the sahaba see him, and sometimes they don't. This is what happened many times. [In Madani seerah,] usually when Jibril AS would come to the Prophet PBUH, he would come in the form of a sahabi called Dihyah al-Kalbi, an Ansari, who was considered to be the most handsome of all sahaba. Many times people thought they saw Dihyah when actually it was Jibril AS. Aisha RA, on more than one occasion, saw the Prophet PBUH talking to Dihyah and asked, "What did Dihyah want from you?" But the Prophet PBUH said, "That wasn't Dihyah, that was Jibril." This was easier for the Prophet PBUH to bear (compared to the next form of wahy).
4. The Prophet PBUH would go into what we would call a 'trance' and Jibril AS would communicate with the Prophet PBUH in that state. The Prophet PBUH would lower his face, his eyes would close, and the world around him becomes unknown - doesn't matter what's happening, he is in his own world, the world of wahy. In this state, Aisha RA said, "I have seen him on multiple times, that when the wahy was coming down on a cold day, he would break into a sweat" - it's very difficult for the Prophet PBUH. In another hadith in Sahih Bukhari, "When Surah al-Ma'idah came down, the Prophet PBUH was sitting on a camel, and the surah was so heavy that the camel had to sit down." As Allah says in the Quran, "We will give you a heavy speech" [73:5]. In another hadith, the Prophet PBUH was resting on a sahaba and when wahy began, the sahaba said he thought his thigh bone would crack. In Sahih Bukhari, Hakim ibn Hizam asked the Prophet PBUH, "How does wahy come to you, ya Rasulullah?" So the Prophet PBUH told us #3 and #4, "Sometimes Jibril AS comes to me in the form of a man and I understand what he says. And sometimes he communicates with me and I hear a noise like the ringing of a bell, and this is more difficult for me - and I understand what he tells me."
5. The Prophet PBUH would see Jibril AS in his original angelic form. Scholars have differed how many times this has happened - for sure this happened at least twice, once when iqra was revealed, another in the journey of Isra' wa al-Mi'raj. What is Jibril's original form? All we know is that he was so big he blocked the horizon, and he has 600 wings (the most number of wings of an angel).
6. (This is disputed how and when it occurred, but Ibn al-Qayyim mentions it) : Allah's direct wahy. Allah inspired the Prophet PBUH directly without the intermediary of the angels. [Sh. YQ is still wondering whether he would agree with this, as there's no example to support this point, but Allah knows best]
7. The highest form of wahy possible: Allah's direct Kalam. Allah's direct Speech. This only happened once to the Prophet PBUH in the journey of al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj. Only once did Allah speak to him directly - Jibril AS was not there. Even Jibril said, "You go on, ya Muhammad [PBUH]. I don't have permission to go beyond this." So the Prophet PBUH went to a place where he could hear the Scribes writing. And he was closer than two bows' lengths. And he could see the Hijab of Allah AWJ - the Veil of light; and this was when Allah spoke to him directly, like Allah spoke to Musa AS. However, our Prophet PBUH was preferred over Musa AS, in that, Allah spoke to Musa on Tur Sina, but Allah called our Prophet PBUH to His Presence in above the seven heavens.
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The Difference Between Nabi (نبي) and Rasul (رسول)
Some scholars claim that the Prophet PBUH became a nabi through the revelation of iqra, and he became a rasul through the revelation of Surah al-Muddaththir. This leads us to another tangent: what exactly is a nabi, what exactly is a rasul, and what is the difference between a nabi and a rasul, and what was our Prophet Muhammad PBUH? There are many opinions, but for the sake of brevity, we will only mention four:
1. One group of scholars say there is no difference. Nabi = rasul; they are synonyms, just like tawba and istighfar are synonyms. This does not seem to be the strongest opinion, because of many reasons; of them is the verse in the Quran, "We didn't send before you either a rasul or a nabi except that..." [22:52]. Had nabi and rasul been the same thing, this would be against the eloquence of the Arabic language to phrase something like this. It doesn't make sense to put them together in this manner. So this is not the strongest opinion.
2. A nabi is one who is inspired by Allah with a revelation but he is not told to preach it to the people. Whereas a rasul is somebody who is told to proclaim it to mankind. This is problematic on multiple levels. Firstly, the ayah [22:52] above clearly says that nabi is also 'sent'. Also in Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet PBUH said, "I saw all of the prophets on the DoJ, and there was a nabi with a huge ummah, and there was a nabi and he had a small group, and there was a nabi and he had 5 people, and there was a nabi he had 2 people, and there was a nabi he had no people following him" - shows that nabis were also preaching to the people, and have followings. Also this opinion doesn't appear to be correct because even scholars are told if you conceal knowledge, you are going to be punished. In fact the Muslims are told, "بلغوا عني ولو آية" - so even the average Muslims has to preach. How then can somebody be inspired by Allah and he doesn't preach? Thus this opinion is also not the strongest.
3. A rasul is someone who has been given a new sharia (code of laws). Whereas a nabi is someone who follows the sharia of the rasul before him. This opinion seems to be good but it doesn't match up to all of the examples. E.g. By this definition, Yusuf AS wouldn't be a rasul. But the Qur'an [40:34] clearly mentions Yusuf as a rasul. Another example is: If a nabi is someone who follows the sharia of the previous prophets, Adam AS would have been a rasul. But in Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet PBUH said, "The first rasul is Nuh AS." So Adam is a nabi but not a rasul. Also Idris AS - he is not a rasul according to this same hadith. Yet another example: Dawud and Sulayman AS were rasul even though they followed the sharia of Musa AS. Dawud AS had Zabur - but Zabur contain nothing but praise, tasbih, and tahmid; with no law at all - shows that a rasul doesn't necessarily have to come with a new law. So all of these shows that the raw data doesn't match up with the hypothesis, so this third opinion is proven to be not true.
4. The correct opinion seems to be the one that Ibn Taymiyyah propounded. He says let's look at the linguistic meaning of nabi and rasul. Nabi comes from naba'a which means information. So a nabi is somebody who informs you what Allah wants him to inform - nabi has information from Allah and has to preach and teach - The word nabi automatically implies he is speaking to you a message from Allah. Rasul comes from arsala yursilu rasulan which means to send (a delegate/emissary/representative/ambassador). So a rasul is somebody Allah sends, generally to a nation that he is not on friendly terms with i.e. a nation that does not believe in him. Whereas a nabi teaches to a people that already accepts him. If you look at this definition, all the raw data fits into place. Did any of Adam's children reject him? No. Did any of Idris's people reject him? No. How about Nuh? People rejected him. And in Sahih Bukhari, the the Prophet PBUH confirms that he is a rasul. Yusuf AS is also a rasul because he is sent to the non-believers of Egypt. Dawud and Sulayman too had to fight to establish a kingdom, so they were rasul. Another classic example is Yahya AS and Isa AS; two cousins, their mothers were sisters. But one is a nabi and the other a rasul because they accepted Yahya and rejected Isa. So this definition seems to be precise.
And then Ibn Taymiyyah says: Generally every rasul does have a new sharia (but this is not a rule, it's just a symptom/adjective which has exceptions).
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Can There Be Female Prophets?
Can there be female prophets i.e. prophetesses? This is an interesting question. Maryam AS and Ummi Musa are the foremost example for those who believe there are female prophets. Of the scholars who held this opinion were Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, al-Qurtubi, and Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi. So let us see how Maryam AS and Ummi Musa were described in the Qur'an. It's agreed that the angel Jibril AS showed himself to Maryam AS - but does this make her a prophetess? No. The sahaba also saw Jibril AS but that didn't make them prophets. And of the evidence the scholars who held this opinion gave is: Allah used the word 'wahy' in the Qur'an [28:7] for Ummi Musa - but does this make Ummi Musa a prophetess? No. We already mentioned that ilham is not given ONLY to the prophets. And further Allah says in Surah al-Ma'idah:
مَّا الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ وَأُمُّهُ صِدِّيقَةٌ
"The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a rasul; [other] rasuls have passed on before him. And his mother was a siddiqah." [5:75] - Notice how Allah says Isa AS is a rasul just like rasuls before him; and as for his mother, she was a siddiqah. Clearly Allah is mentioning the difference. And we know from other ayah [4:69] that of the levels of the righteous people are: (1) nabiyyin (2) siddiqin (3) shuhada, and (4) salihin. Isa AS was level #1 and his mother was level #2. And Allah says in the Qur'an [3:42] to Maryam that, He has "chosen you above the women of the worlds" - [so if the best woman in the world is a siddiqah, then surely there can't be any female prophets.] And in another ayah, Allah mentioned two conditions for prophethood:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُّوحِي إِلَيْهِم مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَىٰ
'For every person that we send before you was (1) a man (2) from the people of the cities.' [12:109]
So clearly therefore, putting all the evidences together, the majority opinion has always been that the prophets of Allah have only been men.
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Number of Nabi and Rasul
In a hasan hadith in Musnad Imam Ahmad, Abu Dhar al-Ghifari asked the Prophet PBUH, "How many messengers (rasul) did Allah send?" The Prophet PBUH said, "310 and something." (Side note: "310 and something" was also the exact number of Badr, and also the exact number of the people of Talut [the people who crossed over the river [Qur'an, 2:249]]. This number seems to be recurring and seems to have some type of power to it.) And then Abu Dhar RA asked, "And how many prophets were there?" The Prophet PBUH said, "124,000." So this is another indication that rasul and nabi are not the same. And from this we derive that every rasul is a nabi, but not every nabi is a rasul. Out of the rasuls, there are elite rasuls called the Ulu al-Azm (أولو العزم) - and these are of course Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa and Muhammad PBUTA.
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Why Does Mankind Need Prophets?
What is the purpose of prophets? Why do we need them? This is the crux of the difference between us [adherents of Abrahamic religions] and the rest of humanity. We believe that the only guidance that is ultimate guidance is the guidance that comes from Allah SWT through the prophets. Whereas the bulk of the world believe that they can find their own way in life by experimenting with different laws and customs. But we believe that the best law is the law of Allah, and only Allah has the right to ultimately legislate, and Allah knows what is best for us, and that is why Allah sends prophets continuously. To deny Allah sends prophets is to deny the mercy and power of Allah. There are many people on earth who say, "Yeah, God created us, but then He let us be, and He has nothing to do with us anymore" - this is insulting to Allah AWJ; and Qur'an [6:91] mentions this:
وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ إِذْ قَالُوا مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ بَشَرٍ مِّن شَيْءٍ
This is difficult to translate, but can metaphorically be translated as: "They did not give the respect that is due to Allah when they say Allah does not reveal anything to mankind" - they insulted Allah when they claimed He didn't send anything. We say, "For God so truly love the world, He continue to send prophets to us from the beginning up until the very end." The sending of the prophets is the sign of Allah's love for us. There is always going to be prophets preaching the truth. Without knowledge of the prophets, there is no ultimate knowledge of truth. How do we know what is right and wrong; how do we know what is good and bad; how do we know what is moral and immoral - unless there were prophets of Allah? Look around us, societies and nations - all of their laws differ. No two countries, or even two states in the US, have the exact same laws. One thing might be legal in one land, but illegal in another land. Logically, this doesn't make sense - if it's illegal in one land why should it be legal in another? This is what's going to happen when they don't have a standard. Thus it's necessary for us mankind to have prophets sent by Allah.
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The Early Converts
Getting back to the seerah, in this early time when "arise and warn" [74:2] was revealed, we only have a few brief stories as to what the Prophet PBUH did. That is he preached to his immediate friends and family.
The first convert was Khadija bint Khuwaylid RA (خديجة بنت خويلد), she converted without even knowing what it is she is converting to, which shows how much faith she had in her husband. She said, "Allah is never going to humiliate you. Allah is never going to cause you to go astray. You are a person who is kind, merciful, tender."
The second convert would have been Waraqa ibn Nawfal (ورقة بن نوفل), which a lot of people overlook. He converted without even saying the shahada, because there was no shahada to say at that point in time. But [technically] he converted by saying, "You are a prophet." He died without ever praying a prayer; but because he had that sincerity and he affirmed the prophethood of the Prophet PBUH, [so] the Prophet PBUH saw him in Jannah.
The third convert is either Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abu Bakr or Zayd ibn Harithah RA. Scholars differed over who of the three converted first. One of the easiest ways to resolve this is to say: The first child to convert was Ali, the first adult free man was Abu Bakr and the first freed slave was Zayd.
As for Ali ibn Abi Talib (علي بن أبي طالب), there is no question that he was of the earliest of converts because he is being raised by the Prophet PBUH and Khadija RA themselves in their household. At this time he was probably around 10 years old. As we mentioned, when the Prophet PBUH got married to Khadija, he PBUH offered Abu Talib that, "I'll take care of your newborn (Ali)," as Abu Talib was very poor. So Ali was raised in the house of the Prophet PBUH.
The conversion of Abu Bakr (أبو بكر) is well known. The Prophet PBUH praised Abu Bakr like he praised no other companion, and he mentioned the conversion. We don't know an exact story, all we know is that when the Prophet PBUH presented Islam to him, he converted instantaneously. This is mentioned in a hadith that the Prophet PBUH said later in Madinah: Once when the companions began to disagree amongst themselves, the Prophet PBUH got a little bit frustrated with something that Umar RA had done, so he said to him, "Allah sent me with the truth, but all of you accused me of being a liar; and it was only Abu Bakr who said, 'You are telling the truth.'" In another hadith, the Prophet PBUH said, "There was not a single person whom I invited to Islam except that he had some doubts before he converted, except for Abu Bakr." i.e. "As soon as I presented, he did not hesitate - and accepted." Thus by unanimous consensus of all Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah, Abu Bakr RA is the best of all companions. In Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet PBUH said, "Allah has chosen me as a khalil (sincere friend), so I cannot choose a khalil - but were I to choose a khalil, it would have been Abu Bakr." We already mentioned that the only sahabi to be mentioned by name in the Qur'an is of course Zayd; and the only other sahabi that is directly referenced by pronoun is Abu Bakr RA - when Allah says, "When the TWO of them were in the cave." [9:40] So Allah called Abu Bakr, 'the Second of the Two.' That is, second to none but the Prophet PBUH. And that is enough of an indication of his rank in this ummah.
And then of course Zayd ibn Harithah (زيد بن حارثة) whose story we went through.
These coverts were directly from the Prophet PBUH.
The next batch of converts all converted from the hands of Abu Bakr RA. And this shows us how Allah helped the Prophet PBUH by Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr RA went to these four people and they all converted:
1. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas
2. Uthman ibn Affan
3. Zubayr ibn al-Awam
4. Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (سعد بن أبي وقاص) was the youngest, around 16, and he was from a great family of the Quraysh. When he left idolatry, his mother threatened him, tried to torture him etc. She then used emotional blackmail, "I am going to stop eating and drinking until you worship idols. And I will die a painful death in front of you until you leave your faith." He tried to convince her but she withered away and sickening and weakening on her deathbed until Sa'd became very emotional and said to her, "I swear by Allah, O my mother, that I'm not going to give this religion up no matter what you do - even if I had 100 ruhs in me and I had to give up every ruh and see you die in every single one of them, I will still not go back to worshiping idols." When his mother saw this determination, she broke her fast and started eating again. In response to this, Allah revealed in the Qur'an:
وَإِن جَاهَدَاكَ عَلَىٰ أَن تُشْرِكَ بِي مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا ۖ وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِي الدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًا
"If they force you to try and worship idols, don't listen to them. But be good to them in this world." [31:15]
- Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas is the first person to ever throw a bow and arrow for the sake of Islam.
- He is the only person where the Prophet PBUH said to him, "May my father and mother be given to you in ransom" (فداك ابي وامي) - this is an expression in Arabic which basically means, "I would give up everything for you." The Prophet PBUH never said this to anyone except for Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, and this is a huge honor.
- And he was one of those who was chosen in the shura when Umar RA was on his deathbed and says, "I will choose the only people left alive whom I am sure that the Prophet PBUH was well pleased with when he died." And Umar chose number one amongst them Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.
Uthman ibn Affan (عثمان بن عفان) was also in this shura and there are many blessings to say about him, we will discuss later.
Zubayr ibn al-Awam (الزبير بن العوام) was the third convert of Abu Bakr - a direct cousin of the Prophet PBUH through the aunt. His mother is Safiyyah bint Abdul Muttalib. He is a sahabi himself, the son of a sahabiyat, the father of a sahabi, and the brother of a sahabi. He is of the most noble of all sahaba in this sense. The Prophet PBUH said, "Every prophet has been given a special disciple (حواري), and Allah has given me as my disciple Zubayr ibn al-Awam."
And Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf (عبد الرحمن بن عوف) who is very well known as a businessman/trader. He is in his 30s and the eldest of these converts after Abu Bakr. He is very wise and honest in his business/dealings. He is the famous one who when he left Makkah, he had to give up all of his belongings to the Quraysh. And he came to Madinah with just the clothes on his back. And his Ansari Brother, Sa'd ibn al-Rabi' said to him, "I have two gardens, I'll give one to you; I have two wives, I'll divorce and give one to you; I have two storeys in my house, choose one." Abd al-Rahman responded, "May Allah bless you. Just tell me where is the marketplace, and let me just go and start selling things." He took some butter that was his food for the day and start selling this and that, this and that, until finally he came with some gold and got married etc. and became a rich businessman again who lived a long and noble life afterwards.
All of these converts are noblemen of Quraysh who all have prominent lives in Islam. We as Muslim should really know these names by heart. Every one of these early converts became a legend. Every one of them is a mountain in and of himself.
The next companion to convert was Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (عبد الله بن مسعود). One of the first to convert who was not of the nobleman of the Quraysh, but he was not of the slaves either. He was a servant class from Yemeni tribe. He was hired to be a shepherd for Uqba ibn Abu Mu'ayt in Makkah.
- Ibn Mas'ud tells us his story: "One day I was with my flock and I saw two men coming in the distance (the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr RA). I didn't recognize who they were. They say, 'O young man, we are thirsty. Can you give us some milk?'" Ibn Mas'ud said, "I'm afraid I can't because these don't belong to me" - this shows his honesty masha'Allah. So the Prophet PBUH said, "Very well. Show us an [elderly] she-goat that has stopped producing milk." So Ibn Mas'ud showed, "That one is now beyond the age of giving milk." And then the Prophet PBUH made du'a and rubbed the udder of the goat and lo and behold it became full in front of the eyes of Ibn Mas'ud. And they milked it right then and there and drank it. This is a miracle from Allah so they didn't need the permission from its owner, because the milk does not come except from the blessing of Allah. And so Ibn Mas'ud is astonished, he is seeing a miracle, he asks, "Who are you?" And he is told, 'This is Abu Bakr,' 'This is the Prophet PBUH' - so he converts right then and there, and became the 6th convert to Islam.
- He is the one whom the Prophet PBUH said, "If you want to know how to read the Qur'an, read it the way Ibn Mas'ud does."
- He is the one who said, "I learned over 70 surahs directly from the mouth of the Prophet PBUH."
After this, the next batch of converts was a lot of the slave class. Those who were not the freemen of Makkah. A lot of them converted. Most famous amongst them are of course Bilal ibn Rabah (بلال بن رباح), Khabbab ibn al-Aratt (خباب بن الأرت), Yasir (ياسر) and his wife Sumayyah (سمية), and their son Ammar (عمار).
One final story, a very interesting story of a Yemeni by the name of Amr ibn Abasah (عمرو بن عبسة). He narrates his own story, "In the days of Jahiliyyah, I knew that idol worshiping was wrong. And I knew my nation was upon misguidance, so I didn't join them. News came to me that somebody in Makkah is preaching something like I was saying (that idolatry is wrong). So I traveled all the way from Yemen to Makkah. And I found him mukhtafi (not being public/hiding). I was gentle and nice to him, I kept on talking to him and then asked, 'What are you?' The Prophet PBUH said, 'I am a prophet.' Then I said, 'What is a prophet?' And the Prophet PBUH said, 'A prophet is someone whom Allah has sent.' So I asked, 'With what? (What has He sent you with?)' The Prophet PBUH said, 'To fulfill the tie of kinship, to be good to the family, to break all idols, and that only Allah SWT be worshiped.' I asked, 'Who has followed you?' He said, 'One free man, and one slave (Abu Bakr and Bilal).' I said, 'I want to be your follower.' Then I became a follower." Amr is the first non-Makki person to come and say he wants to convert. But in this early era, the Prophet PBUH said, "You cannot do this now. Don't you see my situation, that I have to hide from my own people?" - if Amr converted, he would have been killed. The early dawah, the Prophet PBUH was only preaching to his own people. So he told Amr, "Go back to your people and when you hear that I have been victorious over my people, then come back to me." Subhan'Allah. Amr said, "I went back to Yemen waiting and knowing that eventually his message would be supreme. And when I heard the Prophet PBUH had emigrated to Madinah, I went all the way there, entered the Mosque of the Prophet PBUH and said, 'Ya Rasulullah, do you recognize me?' The Prophet PBUH said, 'Yes, you are the man who came to me from Yemen in Makkah.'" That's when he accepted Islam and became one of the Muhajirun (one who emigrates to Madinah).
Full hadith:
Amr ibn Abasah al-Sulami reported: "I in the state of the Ignorance (before embracing Islam) used to think that the people were in error and they were not on anything (which may be called the right path) and worshiped the idols. In the meanwhile I heard of a man in Makkah who was giving news (on the basis of his prophetic knowledge) ; so I sat on my ride and went to him. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) was at that time hiding as his people had made life hard for him. I adopted a friendly attitude (towards the Makkans and thus managed) to enter Makkah and go to him (the Holy Prophet) and
I said to him: What are you? He said: I am a prophet.
I again said: What is a prophet? He said: I have been sent by Allah.
I said: What is that which you have been sent with? He said: I have been sent to join ties of relationship (with kindness and affection), to break the idols, and to proclaim the oneness of Allah (in a manner that) nothing is to be associated with Him.
I said: Who is with you in this (in these beliefs and practices)? He said: A free man and a slave. [The narrator said: Abu Bakr and Bilal were there with him among those who had embraced Islam by that time.]
I said: I intend to follow you. He said: During these days you would not be able to do so. Don’t you see the (hard) condition under which I and (my) people are living? You better go back to your people and when you hear that I have been granted victory, you come to me.
So I went to my family. I was in my home when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) went to Madinah. I was among my people and used to seek news and ask people when he arrived in Madinah. Then a group of people belonging to Yathrib (Madinah) came. I said (to them): How is that person getting on who has come to Madinah? They said: The people are hastening to him, while his people (the polytheists of Makkah) planned to kill him, but they could not do so. I (on hearing it) came to Madinah and went to him and said: Messenger of Allah, do you recognize me? He said: Yes, you are the same man who met me at Makkah. I said: It is so."
So initially the dawah was private and closed and this is important to note. We will explain further next time.