Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets (The Divine Call I)

 By: Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

Muhammad was now approaching his fortieth year. Always pensive, he had of late become even more thoughtful and retiring. Contemplation and reflection engaged his mind, and the moral debasement of his people pressed heavily on him. His soul was perplexed with uncertainty as to what was the right path to follow. Thus burdened, he frequently retired to seek relief in meditation amongst the solitary valleys and rocks near Mecca. His favourite resort was a cave in Mount Hira, a lofty conical hill two or three miles north of Mecca. Thither he would retire for days at a time, and Khadija sometimes accompanied him.

During this period he began to see dreams, which were fulfilled according to their true import. This was an indication that he had now come up to the standard mentioned in 20:41 with reference to Moses. It was on a Monday in the last ten days of the blessed month of Ramadhan when he was occupied in worship in the cave that he suddenly perceived an unfamiliar presence before him. It addressed him and said, ‘Recite’, to which he replied: ‘I am not able to recite’. Thereupon the presence seized him and, clasping him to its bosom, squeezed him hard and then, releasing him, directed him again, ‘Recite’, and received the same reply as the first time. This was repeated once more, as if the embrace had been intended each time to influence Muhammad’s heart and to prepare him for the message that was to be delivered to him. After the third embrace, the presence released Muhammad and directed him: ‘Recite in the name of thy Lord Who created. He created man from a clot of blood. Recite, for thy Lord is Most Beneficent, Who has taught by the pen, taught man that which he knew not’ (96:2-6).

Thereafter the presence disappeared, leaving Muhammad much agitated and perplexed. His heart was beating fast and he did not understand the import of what had happened and what it portended. In that condition he left the cave and returned home all atremble and said to Khadija: ‘Cover me up, cover me up.’ Khadija, witnessing his agitation, became anxious and quickly covered him up. After a while, when his agitation had somewhat subsided, Muhammad related the whole of the incident to Khadija and said, ‘I am afraid for myself’, to which Khadija responded: ‘Nay, be of good cheer. Surely, Allah will not humiliate thee. Thou dost carry out the obligations of kinship, thou art truthful, thou relieve people’s burdens, thou possessest high moral qualities which have become rare, thou honourest thy guests and thou dost succour the distressed.’

This was Muhammad’s first experience of verbal revelation. The import of the words revealed to him puts it absolutely beyond doubt that it was true revelation from God Almighty. The direction of the presence to Muhammad to ‘recite’ can also mean that he should read, and his response in that case could have meant ‘I am unable to read’. It is a fact that Muhammad was unlettered and was not able to read or write. This is testified to by the Holy Quran, which has affirmed: ‘Thou didst not recite any book before the revelation of the Quran, nor didst thou write one with thy right hand in that case, those who reject it as a fabrication would have had further cause for doubt’ (29:49).

But the direction ‘Recite’ conveyed to Muhammad that he was called upon to undertake a particular enterprise which would require him to convey a message to mankind, and his response was that he was not able to do so. The purpose of the repeated embraces was to influence and strengthen his heart so that he should be prepared to undertake the responsibility that God was about to place upon his shoulders.

Khadija took Muhammad to her cousin, Waraqa bin Naufal, who had discarded paganism and had become a Christian and had some knowledge of the Scriptures. He was now old and almost blind. Khadija asked him to hear what Muhammad had to say. Having heard him, he said, ‘The angel who used to descend upon Moses has descended upon thee. Would that I were stronger and could survive till thy people will expel thee from thy home.’ Muhammad was surprised and exclaimed, ‘Will they indeed expel me?’ Waraqa replied, ‘There has been no messenger who has not been opposed by his people. If I survive till that time, I shall help thee with all my strength.’ But he lived only a short time thereafter.

After his first experience of revelation, Muhammad received no further revelation for about six weeks. He passed this period in great perplexity and restlessness. He did not completely understand what had happened and what it might portend. Was it indeed a message from God or was it a secret urging of his own mind? This was a period of great anxiety for him. In the middle of this struggle in which his mind and soul were involved, he was one day walking from Hira to his home when he suddenly heard a voice, as if someone was speaking to him. He looked around him in all directions, but observed no one. He raised his eyes towards heaven and he beheld a grand chair suspended between heaven and earth on which was seated the same presence whom he had seen in the cave. He was greatly upset and hurried home, and arrived there he asked Khadija to cover him up, which she did. As soon as he lay down, he heard a majestic voice addressing him in the following words: ‘O thou standing ready, wearing thy mantle, up and warn; and magnify thy Lord; and purify those around thee; and stamp out idolatry’ (74:2-6).

Thereafter he began to receive revelation continuously. He had now been comforted, and he realized that he had been commissioned by God to call people to his Lord. Accordingly, he began to call people to the Unity of God and to condemn idol-worship. But he did not, at that stage, make any public announcement. He worked silently and confined his message only to those who were his close associates.

Did these two experiences of Muhammad constitute in truth his being commissioned by God, or were they in the nature of hallucinations, or the result of his imagination, or his invention? They could not possibly have been his invention, deliberate or unconscious, for if that had been so, he would not have behaved as he did immediately after his first experience in the cave and during the period of six weeks when there was a cessation of all revelation. He would have determined in his own mind what course he would follow after pretending that he had gone through the experience, which he mentioned to his wife on reaching home from Hira. Nor would he have been perplexed and agitated during the period of the cessation of revelation.

It is equally utterly impossible that those experiences were the result of hallucination. Both messages are replete with wisdom and good sense and could not possibly have been induced by hallucination. Reflect for a moment on the grand prophecy contained in the very first word of the first message: ‘Recite’, or convey repeatedly. This was a clear indication that God intended to convey to him, through verbal revelation, that which would need to be repeatedly recited and to be conveyed far and wide. The fulfilment of this prophecy is conclusive proof that the experience was not the result of hallucination. Consider also the further grand disclosure that mankind was about to be admitted to profound and great truths which would be propagated widely through the agency of the pen; that the pen would become the instrument of spreading knowledge of every description widely among mankind. Is there any trace of hallucination in this? The matchless wisdom comprised in the revelations that were continuously vouchsafed to him thereafter also constitutes conclusive proof of the utter sanity and perfect sincerity of the recipient of those revelations.

The same considerations prove that the Holy Prophet, for such he was now, peace be on him, had not merely imagined those two experiences. The very fact that, throughout the rest of his life, he continued to be the constant recipient of revelation which comprised grand verities, knowledge of the unseen, assurances of help and success, which was completely carried out, prophecies that were fulfilled to the letter and have continued to be fulfilled ever after, excludes any possibility that the revelation that the Holy Prophet claimed was constantly vouchsafed to him was only the product of his too lively imagination. We must, therefore, conclude that these experiences were the beginning of his prophethood, in which, from that moment onwards, he believed with the utmost sincerity, which belief continued to be strengthened and fostered every moment of his life till its end.

What was his mission? Briefly, it was the propagation of Islam, which means utter submission to God Almighty. The central pillar of Islam is the Unity of God, that is to say, that the Creator and Master of the universe is God, Who is One in His being and His attributes and has no associate. He is Eternal, Ever-Living. All that is in heaven or on earth is His creation and exists only through His support; therefore, all worship is due to Him and all deities beside Him that are worshipped by people are fiction and falsehood.

The Holy Prophet, peace be on him, taught further, that God Almighty had created the universe with the purpose that mankind should recognize Him and, become the manifestations of His attributes, should provide for their eternal welfare. For this purpose, God had divided human life into two parts, one the life of this world which is the period of action, and second, the life hereafter, which is, the unending period of recompense. He appointed death as the dividing line between these two parts. He also stressed that God Almighty raises messengers and prophets for the guidance of mankind on the basis of knowledge vouchsafed to them by God. Such messengers and prophets had appeared among all people, in all regions and in all ages; and he too was a messenger of God.

These teachings were supplemented and expounded as the Holy Quran continued to be revealed till the whole structure of the faith was perfected. As his message was for all people and for all time, and he was endowed to perfection with all the excellences, which had been bestowed in various degrees on previous prophets, he was appointed, by God Almighty, the Seal of the Prophets.

The first to believe in him was his wife, Khadija, who accepted him as true without any hesitation. Ali, who was at the time but ten years of age, and Zaid bin Haritha, the freedman of the Holy Prophet, were both members of his family. They also believed in him the moment he announced his mission. No express affirmation on their part was needed. Outside his family, Hazrat Abu Bakr, who was his most intimate friend, believed in him without question the moment he learnt of his claim.

Abu Bakr had long been associated with the Holy Prophet. He lived in the same quarter of the city as Khadija and thus the intimacy between him and the Holy Prophet was close and his attachment to him was now riveted by his implicit faith in the Holy Prophet, who said of him, on a later occasion, ‘I never invited anyone to the faith who displayed not hesitation and perplexity excepting only Abu Bakr; who, when I had propounded Islam to him, tarried not, neither was perplexed.’

Abu Bakr was about two years younger than the Holy Prophet; short in stature, and of a small spare frame; the eyes deeply seated under a high projecting forehead. His complexion was fair, and face comely but thin, so that one could see the veins upon it. His nature was mild and sympathetic, but not incapable of firm purpose when important interests required. Impulse and passion rarely prompted his actions; he was guided by reason and calm conviction. Faithful and unvarying in his attachment to the Holy Prophet, he was known as Siddiq, the True.

Abu Bakr had a tender and compassionate heart. He was a diligent and successful merchant, and, being frugal and simple in his habits, possessed at the time of his conversion to Islam a capital of about 40,000 silver pieces. His generosity was rare and his charity unwearying. The greater part of his fortune was now devoted to the purchase of such unfortunate slaves as were persecuted for their attachment to the new faith; so that but 5,000 pieces were left when, twelve years later, he emigrated with the Holy Prophet to Medina. He was unusually familiar with the history of Quraish, who often referred to him for genealogical information. His judgment was sound and impartial, his conversation agreeable, and his demeanour affable and engaging. His society and advice were much sought after by Quraish, and he was popular throughout the city.

It is strong proof of the Holy Prophet’s truth and sincerity that the earliest converts to Islam were not only of upright character, but his own bosom friends and people of his household; who, intimately acquainted with his private life, could not otherwise have failed to detect those discrepancies which have ever more or less existed between the professions of the hypocritical deceiver abroad and his actions at home. Abu Bakr’s adherence to the Holy Prophet and his attachment to him were a source of comfort and strength for him. His influence was freely employed in the cause of Islam, and five of the earliest converts believed as the result of his persuasion and example.

Three of them were but striplings. Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas was in his sixteenth or seventeenth year. He was a nephew of Amina, mother of the Holy Prophet. Zubair, the nephew of Khadija and the son of the Holy Prophet’s aunt, Safiya, was even younger; about the same age as Talha, a relative of Abu Bakr and a renowned warrior in later days.

The fourth convert was Uthman, son of Affan, who succeeded Umar as Khalifa; though he was of the Umayyad stock, on his mother’s side he was the grandson of Abdul Muttalib. At this time Uthman was about thirty-five years of age. The Holy Prophet’s daughter, Ruqayya, being now free from her connection with Utba, son of Abu Lahab, the Holy Prophet gave her in marriage to Uthman, and on her death some twelve years later, he gave his third daughter, Um Kulthum, in marriage to Uthman.

The fifth convert was Abdul Rahman, ten years younger than the Holy Prophet, a man of wealth and character. Abdul Rahman, Uthman, and Talha were, like Abu Bakr, merchants. On his first visit to the Holy Prophet, Abdul Rahman was accompanied by four companions who embraced Islam at the same time: Ubaidah, son of the Holy Prophet’s uncle, Harith; Abu Salama; Abu Obaida, subsequently a warrior of note; and Uthman, son of Maz’un. The latter had already given up the drinking of liquor, and was with difficulty persuaded by the Holy Prophet to renounce the austerities of an ascetic life. His family was well inclined towards Islam, for two of his brothers; a son and some other relatives of his were among the early believers.

Other early converts included Abu Huzaifah bin Utbah of Banu Umayya, who became a martyr in the battle of Yamamah, fighting against Musailamah; Saeed bin Zaid of Banu Adi, brother-in-law of Umar, who died in the time of Muawiyah; and Arqam of Banu Makhzoom, in whose house the Holy Prophet later used to meet the Muslims and any visitors.

Then there were the two brothers, Abdullah and Ubaidullah, sons of Jahsh, who were cousins of the Holy Prophet, their mother being the sister of the Holy Prophet’s father. They were not of Quraish. Zainab, who married the Holy Prophet later after her divorce by Zaid, was their sister. Ubaidullah was married to Um Habeebah, daughter of Abu Sufyan, who married the Holy Prophet after she became a widow.

Another notable Muslim of this period was Abdullah bin Masood. He was not of Quraish and belonged to Hudhail. He was a very poor man and after he became a Muslim he spent most of his time in the company of the Holy Prophet. He became a great scholar and jurist.

Then there was Abu Dhar Ghaffari. When he heard of the claim of the Holy Prophet he sent his brother to make enquiries. Not being satisfied with his report, he went to Mecca himself and, on meeting the Holy Prophet, embraced Islam. He was a man of great piety and of simple habits. He believed that it was not permissible to collect wealth, and this doctrine of his sometimes became the subject of controversy between him and the other Companions of the Holy Prophet.

Of the slaves and freedmen who believed in Islam at this stage, the most outstanding was Bilal bin Rabah, owned by Umayya bin Khalf who, on Bilal’s becoming a Muslim, used to persecute him savagely.

He would take him out during the noon-day heat and make him lie down on the burning sand, would put hot pieces of stone on his chest and urge him to deny the Unity of God; but Bilal would continue to repeat ‘Ahad, Ahad’ (‘One, One’). Abu Bakr took pity on him and purchased his freedom from Umayya. After the Migration to Medina, he was appointed the first muezzin by the Holy Prophet. After the latter’s death Bilal gave up calling the Azan as it reminded him too poignantly of the beloved Prophet. After the fall of Damascus in the time of Hazrat Umar Bilal was persuaded to call the Azan once more, which he did and which plunged everyone present into a paroxysm of grief. Umar held him in such high esteem that when Bilal died Umar observed, ‘Today the Muslims have been bereaved of their chief.’

Aamir bin Fuhairah was another slave whose freedom was procured by Abu Bakr and who became his servant. Khabbab bin Arat was a freedman who worked as a blacksmith in Mecca and had become an early convert to Islam.

The wives and children of these early believers were generally included along with them among the Muslims. Those who have been specially mentioned in this context are Asmaa, daughter of Abu Bakr; Fatima, daughter of Khattab, wife of Saeed bin Zaid; and Um Fazal, wife of Abbas, uncle of the Holy Prophet. Curiously, Abbas himself had not so far become a Muslim.

Of these early converts, Abu Bakr was the only one who possessed a standing and influence among Quraish. Leaving aside the slaves and freedmen, most of the Muslims were poor and of little account. Some of them, no doubt, were connected with respected families of Quraish, but a majority was youths who possessed no influence among their families. Those who were of ripe age were too poor to be held of any account. Thus the general impression among Quraish was that only the weak and the indigent had believed in Muhammad. This is another indication of the truth of Muhammad, as, in the beginning, a prophet is acknowledged only by the weak and the poor.

In the beginning, for about three years, the Holy Prophet carried on the propagation of his faith only privately. There was, during that time, no central place where the Muslims could meet together. The Holy Prophet received such seekers after truth that sought him out, in his own house or at some place outside the town. Not all the Muslims of that period knew each other intimately. At that time, Quraish generally confined their opposition to the new creed to derision and ridicule.

The practice of Islam in those days was confined to Prayer, which had not yet been established as regular Salat to be performed five times daily at appointed hours. The Muslims carried on worship in their own homes, or two or three or four of them together in one of the neighbouring defiles outside Mecca. It is related that, on one occasion, the Holy Prophet was engaged in worship along with Ali in a defile when Abu Talib came upon them. He had not so far heard of Islam. He watched the two together engaged in this new form of worship, and when they had finished he inquired from the Holy Prophet, ‘Son of my brother, what is this new creed that you have taken up?’ The Holy Prophet replied, ‘Uncle, this is the religion of God which was the faith of Abraham,’ and he invited Abu Talib to accept Islam. Abu Talib put him off, saying, ‘I cannot give up the religion of my fathers.’ But he told Ali, ‘Son, adhere to Muhammad, for I am sure that he will not invite you to anything but good.’

About the same time, on one occasion, Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas and some Muslims were engaged in worship in a defile when some Quraish, happening to pass by them, admonished them against indulging in a new form of worship, which led to some controversy, but did not bring on a confrontation.

In the beginning of the fourth year of his ministry, the Holy Prophet received the revelation ‘Declare openly that which thou art commanded to proclaim’ (15:95), and shortly after was revealed the verse ‘Warn thy nearest kinsmen’ (26:125). In compliance with these directives, the Holy Prophet ascended to a height and called every one of the tribes of Quraish by its name. When they had collected: together, he addressed them as follows: ‘O Quraish, were I to tell you that a large host has collected together on the other side of this height and is preparing to attack you, would you believe me?’ They responded: ‘Surely, we would believe you as we have always found you truthful.’ Upon this, he said: ‘Then listen; I warn you that God’s chastisement is approaching. Believe in God so that you may be safeguarded against it.’ Hearing this, they burst out laughing. Abu Lahab said: ‘Ruin seizes thee. Didst thou call us only for this?’ They then went their way laughing and joking.

The Holy Prophet then directed Ali to have a meal prepared and to invite the descendants of Abdul Muttalib to partake of it, so that the occasion might be utilized for conveying the divine message to them. About forty persons responded to the invitation. At the end of the meal, the Holy Prophet wanted to say something but again Abu Lahab made some observation, which caused the guests to disperse.

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