Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
10. The Prophet in Makkah
~ 271 ~
Hamzah was famed as a fighter all over Arabia.
After he took this action, people gained new
courage and the number of Muslims went up to
thirty. At this time there were two highly influential
people in Makkah—’Umar ibn al-Khattab and Abu
Jahl ibn Hisham. The Prophet offered a prayer to
God: “Lord, strengthen Islam by means of ‘Umar
ibn al-Khattab or Abu Jahl ibn Hisham.” This
prayer was accepted in the former’s case. In the
sixth year of the Prophet’s mission, ‘Umar ibn al-
Khattab accepted Islam. Along with him, several
other people converted, and the number of Muslims
increased to forty. During this period the Muslims
had a hideout in Dar al-Arqam. According to the
historian, Ibn Kathir, thirty-nine people used to
gather there.
But such a small number could not combat the
might of the conventional system, which in
numbers and resources was far stronger. It was not
long before oppression of the Muslims started
again. The Prophet was subjected to every form of
persecution, but all attempts to kill him failed. The
tribal system was still protective to the Prophet. No
one could dare to take his life, for to do so would
