Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
9. The Prophetic Method
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whole of the Banu Hashim family. An interdict
stopped inter-marriage and commercial relations.
On learning of this the Banu Hashim moved to the
place known as Shi’b Abi Talib. While this interdict
was in force, preaching was confined to those
affected by it, and the Prophet took full advantage
of this. These restrictions, however, came to an end
temporarily in the sacred months. The Prophet’s
family used to benefit from this period of respite in
that they could conduct transactions. Then,
gathering together the meat of sacrifice, they would
dry it for use during the rest of the year. But the
Prophet would use this time in a different manner:
he would go to tents where various tribes were
staying, and communicate to them the message of
Islam.
Imagine how precarious the Prophet’s situation
must have been when he was emigrating from
Makkah to Madinah. Yet even during this journey he
did not miss a single opportunity to preach Islam to
those he came into contact with. When he reached
Ghamim, for instance, he communicated the
message of Islam to Baridah ibn Hasib, who then—
along with eighty members of his family accepted
