The first set of verses revealed to the
Prophet (peace be upon him) conveyed an order from Allah to convey the
teachings of Islam. They were meant to motivate the Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) into action and to encourage him to live up to the
duties he was being entrusted with, without caring about any obstacle
that stood in the way of his fulfilling his mission. The first verse
certainly aroused his attention:
O
you who covers himself [with a garment]. Arise and warn. And your Lord
glorify. And your clothing purify. And uncleanliness avoid. And do not
confer favor to acquire more. And for your Lord be patient. (Al-Muddaththir 74:1-8)
After the above-mentioned verses of
Al-Muddaththir were revealed, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
began by secretly inviting others to Islam; by “secretly” I mean that
he began by inviting a select group of individuals. He naturally began
with the closest people to him – the members of his household and his
close friends:
1) Khadijah
Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her)
was the first woman, or rather the first person, to believe in the
Prophet (peace be upon him). She was also the first person to hear
revealed verses from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah, and
consequently was the first person (of course other than the Prophet to
recite the Qur’an. She was also the first person who learned how to pray
from the Messenger of Allah.
The first duty that Allah made obligatory was to believe in Islamic Monotheism (i.e., Tawhid);
the second was prayer. Some narrations give an account of how the
Messenger of Allah taught Khadijah how to pray and perform ablution. It
began with Jibril performing ablution, while the Messenger of Allah
watched and learned. He then performed ablution himself in the same
manner. Jibril then stood and led the Prophet in prayer. Afterwards,
when Jibril had left, the Messenger of Allah went to Khadijah and, just
as Jibril had done earlier, performed ablution in order to show her how
she should purify herself for prayer. After Khadijah finished
performing ablution, the Messenger of Allah led her in prayer, praying
in the same manner that Jibril had prayed shortly earlier.
2) `Ali ibn Abu Talib
Shortly after Khadijah embraced Islam,
`Ali ibn Abu Talib also entered into the fold of Islam. He was the first
child to embrace Islam, being 10 years old at the time, at least
according to the strongest view in the matter, two proponents of which
are At- Tabari and Ibn Ishaq.
Earlier on in the Prophet’s life, Abu
Talib was experiencing financial difficulties. Wanting to lighten the
financial load that was holding his beloved uncle down, the Prophet
offered to take in one of his children and act as his guardian. The
child he took in was `Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). So even
before the Prophet received revelation for the first time, `Ali was one
of the members of his household. “`Ali was the third person – the
first being the Prophet and the second Khadijah- to perform prayer. The
people of knowledge mention that, during the very early days of his
Prophethood, the Prophet would, at the time of prayer, go out to the
valleys of Makkah. `Ali ibn Abu Talib would go with him, but in a
clandestine manner, making sure not to be seen by his father, his
uncles, or, for that matter, anyone else from the Quraish. They
performed all the day’s prayers in a valley, and then they would return
home at nightfall.
3) Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd, known as Hibbun (the
beloved one of the Prophet), was the first freed slave to embrace Islam.
Having first entered the household of the Prophet as a slave, Zayd ,
loved the Prophet a great deal, and his love was likewise reciprocated.
Zayd, originally a free person from a family of free people, was taken
captive as a child during a raid and was subsequently enslaved.
He was eventually purchased in Makkah,
which is how he ended up in the household of the Prophet. His father
came looking for him, and found him in Makkah years after he had been
taken a captive. When Zayd’s father explained what had happened to his
son, the Prophet said that Zayd should decide whether he wanted to stay
or return with his father. Zayd’s father readily agreed to this
proposal, for who would choose to be a slave rather than return with his
father as a free individual? But by that time, Zayd had gotten to know
the wonderful character of the Prophet, and Zayd’s love for the Prophet
(peace be upon him) was so great that he chose him over his own father.
Zayd said to the Messenger of Allah, “I would never choose anyone over
you. To me, you rank equal to a father and an uncle.’ His father and
uncle both said, “Woe unto you! Will you choose slavery over freedom!
And will you choose someone over your father, uncle, and family!” Zayd
said, “Yes. I have indeed seen such things from this man that make me
say with certainty that I would never choose anyone over him.”
The Prophet then freed Zayd and adopted
him. This of course all happened before Islam, for with the advent of
Islam, adoption (the practice of changing a child’s name, so that he
becomes known by his adoptive, and not birth, parents) became
prohibited, so that Zayd ibn (son of) Muhammad once again became known
by his original name: Zayd ibn Harithah .
4) The daughters of the Prophet
All of the Prophet’s daughters – Zaynab ,
Umm Kulthrm , Fatimah , and Ruqaiyyah – raced to embrace Islam. Even
before Islam, they benefited from the noble character of their father,
so that, like their father, they were upright people who stayed away
from the evils of the polytheistic Quraish society. With their
acceptance of Islam, the Prophet’s household became the first family
from this nation that believed in Allah and practiced the teachings of
Islam, which is one of the reasons why Khadijah is of such a high
ranking among the Prophet’s Companions. It was in that blessed household
that:
♦ The Qur’an was first recited, after verses of it were revealed in the cave of Hira’.
♦ The first follower of the Prophet resided.
♦ Prayer was first established.
♦ The three first believers gathered together: Khadijah, `Ali, and Zayd ibn Harithah.
♦ Each individual member pledged to support the Prophet, a pledge that each one of them fulfilled.
The way in which the Prophet and
Khadijah raised their children embodies the meaning that is alluded to
in the Hadith: “Every single newborn is born upon the Fitrah
(the inborn disposition of being a Muslim). Then it is his parents who
make him into a Jew, into a Christian, or into a Magian.” (Al-Bukhari)
The Prophet’s children were born upon the Fitrah (the inborn disposition of being a Muslim), and then their parents raised them in such a way as to keep them upon the Fitrah.
Islam places great importance upon both
society and the individual, and the individual is introduced into
society by means of a family. It is within the context of a family that
an individual develops his characteristics and qualities. Therefore, the
family acts as an intermediary between the individual and society. If
the intermediary is sound and good, then the entities that are at its
furthest edges – the individual and society – will be strengthened and
improved. This is why Islam stresses the importance of family. Each
family must be a strong link in the establishment of an Islamic society.
We can see the importance given to the family in the very early stages
of the Prophet’s mission. After all, the first person to embrace Islam
was his wife, Khadijah -which also establishes the important role that
women play in Islam. Then `Ali , at the time a young child, embraced
Islam, which shows the importance of performing Da`wah to the youth, to
the next generation of Muslims.
It is most interesting to contemplate
the kinds of people the Prophet first invited to Islam: Khadijah, a
woman; Zayd ibn Harithah, a freed slave; `Ali, a child. This clearly
proves that the message of Islam is directed towards all people – to the
young and old, to men and women, to masters and slaves. Each individual
member of society has an important role to play in the establishment of
a Muslim society and country.
5) Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was the first free man to
embrace Islam, and even before the advent of Islam, he was one of the
closest friends of the Messenger of Allah. Throughout their long years
of friendship, Abu Bakr became very much acquainted with the noble
character of the Prophet, which is why it is not much of a surprise that
he embraced Islam without hesitating in the least. The Prophet said,
“Every single person I invited to Islam stumbled, hesitated, and
considered the matter – except for Abu Bakr. When I invited him, he
neither wavered nor hesitated (to the contrary, he raced to embrace
Islam).” [As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah by Abu Shuhbah] Abu Bakr was
not just a free man; he was also a nobleman and was well-respected among
the Quraish for many reasons:
♦ The people of the Quraish loved him for his manners and agreeable nature.
♦ In terms of lineage, he was one of the
noblest members of the Quraish. Also, he knew more about the family
trees of Quraish’s individuals than anyone else. In fact, he was a
recognized scholar of genealogy, being well- versed in the family trees
of not just the Quraish but of all Arabs.
♦ He was a businessman who was known for his fair dealings and good manners.
♦ He was very popular among Quraish’s
nobles, who would come to him for his knowledge, his expertise in
business – or simply for his good company.
As soon as he embraced Islam, Abu Bakr
sprang into action with the passion of a fresh convert, yet, unlike
many other converts throughout history, his passion and enthusiasm never
died, and never even waned. Abu Bakr’s Islam shows that a person of
status and ranking in society often has more of an opportunity than
others do of having a positive impact upon others.
From his Islam, one can also perceive an
interesting transformation: Abu Bakr was always a close friend of the
Prophet, but prior to Islam, that friendship was based upon an affinity
of character and personality; with the advent of Islam, their friendship
was based only upon faith in Allah.
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