Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
10. The Prophet in Makkah
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Muhammad, and the monotheistic religion he
taught, they were saving themselves from financial
ruin.
Once the Prophet started to preach his message, his
person became the subject of general curiosity.
According to the historian Abu Ya’la, people who
saw him used to ask one another: “Is this him?” He
might be travelling amidst a host in a caravan, but
people would single him out for mention. Anyone
who came to Makkah would, among other things,
take back news of the Prophet. “Muhammad, the
son of, Abdullah, has laid claim to prophethood and
the son of Abu Qahafah has followed him,” they
would say. The Quraysh used to call the Prophet
“muzammam,”
meaning blameworthy, instead of
Muhammad, meaning praiseworthy. They used to
accuse him of insulting their ancestors. Once, as the
Prophet’s biographer Ibn Hisham has related, when
the Prophet noticed the litter which his fellow
Quraysh had put in the street on which he was
passing, he said in dismay: “What bad neighbours
the Banu ‘Abd al-Manaf are. “
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While the Prophet’s uncle, Abu Talib, was alive,
