Chapter 14 : The First 5 Months

Question 1

What was the general timeline of the Spiritual Development of The Prophet

Answer 1

From 37 - 40

• The Prophet begins receiving guidance through dreams

From 40 - 43

• The Prophet becomes a Prophet [ Mab’ath ], prays and preaches only underground to close family and friends who he is sure will convert

At 43

• The Quranic Revelation begins and The Prophet begins preaching publicly [ Including his extended family ]
• Within the first 5 Months, 46 Surahs are revealed
• During this time, The Prophet is presumably preaching in a semi private way [ Challenging the false beliefs and immoral practices of society but in private gatherings ]

Question 2

What was the order of Quranic Revelation

Answer 2

• The order of The Revelation of the Surah’s is as follows :-

1. Surat Al Alaq [ The Clot ] [ Surah 96 ]

• The dominant view is that Surat Al Alaq was the First Surah to be revealed in its entirety

” Have you seen the one who forbids a servant when he prays ? Have you seen if he were upon guidance, or called to Godwariness ? Do you see if he denies and turns away, does he not know that God is seeing ? Nay ! If he does not cease, We shall seize him [ la - nasfa’an, from saf ] by the forelock, a lying, sinful forelock ! Then let him call out his comrades [ nadiyah ]. We [ Too ] shall call the keepers of hell [ al - zabaniyah ]. Nay ! Do not obey him, but prostrate and draw near [ iqtarib ]. “

• Verse 9 to 19
• Verses 9 - 19 refer to someone who forbade The Prophet from praying
• Verse 10 tells us that there was some form of prayer practiced by The Prophet which included prostration as indicated by Verse 19
• Traditions name Abu Jahl [ Amr Ibn Hisham ] and Al Walid Ibn Al Mughirah as the culprits

2. Surat Al Qalam [ The Pen ] [ Surah 68 ]

• Verses 2 and 6 are rebuttals taunts that he is mad
• Verse 4 reminds The Prophet of his excellent character from which he must derive strength against his enemies
• Verses 48 - 50 tell him not to lack patience as Jonah had

3. Surat Al Muzammil [ The Enshrouded One ] [ Surah 73 ]

• Verse 10 mentions what they say and avoid them in response to real taunts
• Verse 11 mentions that God promises to take care of the repudiators
• Verse 20 mentions a group of believers with The Prophet, they are not able to keep the night vigil as long as God had advised them to

4. Surat Al Mudathir [ The Cloaked One ] [ Surah 74 ]

• It has been argued that this is the First Surah revealed or at least the first to order him to proclaim in public

” O you wrapped in thy cloak ! Rise up and warn ! Magnify Your Lord, and purify your garment, and keep away from all impurity ! And show not favour, thinking it is much And be patient for Your Lord. “

• Verse 1 - 7

5. Surat Al Fatiha [ The Opening ] [ Surah 1 ]

• Some have suggested that it was revealed before Surat Al Alaq
• It has no historical significance

6. Surat Al Masad [ The Palm Fibre ] [ Surah 111 ]
7. Surat Al Taqwir [ The Winding Up ] [ Surah 81
8. Surat Al Ala [ The Most High ] [ Surah 87 ]
9. Surat Al Layl [ The Night ] [ Surah 92 ]
10. Surat Al Fajr [ The Dawn ] [ Surah 89 ]
11. Surat Al Duha [ The Forenoon ] [ Surah 93 ]
12. Surat Al Insyirah [ The Expansion ] [ Surah 94 ]
13. Surat Al Asr [ The Time ] [ Surah 103 ]

Question 3

Why and how did The Prophet warn his closest kin [ Hadith Yawm Al Dar ]

Answer 3

• A little over 5 months after The Prophet first receives revelations, at the end of Surat Al Shu’ara [ 47th in Sequence ], God reveals the Verses of Warning

” So call not upon another God with Allah, lest you be of those who are punished. And warn your nearest relations [ ‘ashirataka al - aqrabin ]. And lower your wings for the believers who follow you. But if they disobey you, then say ‘ Surely I am clear of what you do. ‘ “

• Surah 26 [ Verse 213 - 216 ]
• Thus, Allah has commanded The Prophet to take his message to a new level [ From preaching in a semi private gathering to start preaching in public but start by warning your closest kin ]

Hadith Yawm Al Dar [ The Day of Invitation To Home ]

• The Prophet calls together 40 men from the Clans of Hashim and Muttalib for a feast of mutton and milk
• He asks Ali to make the necessary preparations
• But before he can explain the reason for the gathering, his uncle Abu Lahab disperses the crowd
• The very next day, The Prophet renews his invitation and promptly addresses his family before his uncle can intervene

” O sons of Abdul Muttalib ! I have come to you with the best of this world and the hereafter. Indeed, God has commanded me to invite you to it. So who among you will support me in this matter and become my brother, my vicegerent, and my successor among you ?”

• Everyone was quiet until Ali speaks in support of The Prophet :-

” So I said, While I was the youngest of them [ 13 Years old ] ‘ O Prophet of God, I will be your vizier in this matter. ‘ The Prophet then placed his hand on my neck and said ‘ Verily, this is my brother, my vicegerent and my successor among you so listen to him and obey him. ‘ The elders stood up and laughed and said to Abu Talib ‘ He has commanded you to listen to Ali and obey him. ‘ “

Question 4

Who were among the earliest converts in Islam

Answer 4

• As mentioned in previous episodes, the first batch to officially join Islam were Ali Ibn Abu Talib, Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid, Zayd Ibn Haritha and Jafar Ibn Abu Talib
• We can also include Abu Talib who in fact believed in The Prophet when he was a newborn
• Umm Al Fadhl, the wife of Abbas [ Uncle of Prophet ] is an early convert
• Safiyyah [ The Prophet’s Aunt ] is among the early converts as well as her son Zubayr Ibn Al Awwam
• Asma Bint Umays [ Wife of Jafar Ibn Abi Talib ] joins Islam [ Umm Al Fadhl’s Half Sister ]
• Umm Ayman is an early responder to The Prophetic Message
• She was a servant of The Prophet’s father Abdullah
• She was like a mother to The Prophet especially after the death of Aminah Bint Wahab
• He freed her at his wedding to Khadijah
• She then married a man from Yathrib and they had a son named Ayman
• She later returned to The Prophet’s Household for unclear reasons and with The Prophet’s encouragement married Zayd Ibn Haritha
• Together, they had a son named Usamah

Other notable early converts includes Mus’ab Ibn Umayr, Bilal Ibn Rabah, Ammar Ibn Yasir, Yasir, Sumayyah, Abu Dhar and Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud

• When did Abu Bakr join Islam ?
• The popularized narrative is that he was the first adult male to convert
• However, this view is contradicted by some historical reports :-

1) Tarikh Al Tabari [ Volume 2, Page 60 ] [ Sunni Historian ]

” Muhammad Ibn Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas said ‘ I asked my father, Was Abu Bakr the first of you to convert to Islam ? ‘ He said ‘ No … In fact there were fifty who converted before him … ‘ “

2) Tabarani’s Al Mu’jam Al Kabeer [ Volume 24, Page 434 ] [ Sunni Historian ]

• Tabarani reports that Abu Bakr became a believer after The Night Journey and Ascension of [ The Prophet ] which took place almost a year and a half before Hijrah
• It was then that he became called Al - Sideeq [ We don’t believe he is called that in Shia Tradition ]

3) Al Dhahabi’s Siyam A’lam Al Nubalaa [ Volume 1, Page 216 ] [ Staunchly Anti Shia Sunni Scholar ]

” Ali was the first male to become Muslim, then Zayd, then Ja’far and Abu Bakr was the fourth or fifth “

• The point is that there are many discrepancies even within Sunni Hadith Literature about when Abu Bakr actually converted
• It seems that he was definitely not among the early converts
• It’s more probable that he converted during the Middle or End of The Makkan Period
• He was definitely not the first as he would have used this as an argument in Saqeefa [ There is not a single narration that he ever mentions this in Saqeefa or even throughout his life including in Sunni Hadith Reports ]