Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
10. The Prophet in Makkah
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his enemies were unable to take any action against
him for, according to tribal custom, aggression
against the Prophet would have amounted to
aggression against his whole tribe—the Banu
Hashim. Before he accepted Islam, ‘Umar ibn
Khattab once set off with the intention of killing
Muhammad, on whom be peace. It was only
sufficient for someone to say to him, “How are you
going to live with the Banu Hashim if you kill
Muhammad?” for ‘Umar to change his mind. The
same question faced anyone who sought to harm
the Prophet. Persecution in Makkah was mostly
directed against slaves who had become Muslim
people who had no tribe to protect them.
According to the Prophet’s close companion,
‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, in the early days in Makkah
only seven men actually came out into the open
about being Muslim: the Prophet himself, Abu
Bakr, ‘Ammar, Sa’id, Suhayb, Bilal and Miqdad.
“As for the Prophet, God protected him through
his uncle. As for Abu Bakr, his tribe looked after
him. The rest would be seized by the idolators who
would put coats of armour on them, and lay them
out in the boiling sun.”
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