Chapter 17 : More Opposition Tactics Flashcards
A Summary of the Opposition Tactics of Quraysh
1) Appealing to the Chief of Quraysh [ Abu Talib ]
2) A Treacherous Offer
3) Censuring The Quran in Public Spaces
4) Mocking The Prophet and The Believers
5) Character Assassination
6) Demanding Flashy Miracles
7) Trying to Compromise With The Prophet
8) Testing The Prophet With Difficult Questions
9) Physical Torture
Regarding the plight of early Muslims in Makkah
- The Pagans tormented early Muslims, they ridiculed those with status, imposed an economic boycott on those with money and physically assaulted the poor and weak
- In the Arab Society, your tribe was your protection
- Those who had tribal bonds were somewhat protected
- The Prophet, being a Qurayshi, had his protection in his lineage
- However, the slaves and mawlas [ Freed Slaves ] did not have this protection
- Sa’id Ibn Jubayr [ Main student of Ibn Abbas ] asks Ibn Abbas :-
” How was the torture of the Sahaba in the early days ? Was it really that bad “
- To which Ibn Abbas said that the believers were so severely tortured, starved and deprived of water that they couldn’t even sit up because of the pain
- It was so bad that when they were asked by the Pagans whether Al Lat and Al Uzza were their gods, they would respond yes to them just to get rid of the torture [ Abu Jahal ( Amr Ibn Hisham ) was the main propagator of this torture ]
- Islam allows one to say these things [ To speak blasphemous words in order to protect yourself ] if you are being tortured to death as long as your heart remains on Islam
- Whenever Abu Jahl heard that someone had become Muslim, if the person had status, he would scold and degrade him and say :-
” You have abandoned your father’s religion though he was better than you. We believe you have lost your mind, made poor judgement, and we will degrade you. “
- If he was a trader, he would say :-
” We will cease trading with you and force you into bankruptcy. “
- And if he was weak, he would beat him and provoke others to beat him
- In the Tribal System, each clan was responsible for torturing its own
- There was no public prison and so they used to imprison them in their own homes
- They imprisoned, starved and made them lie on the searing hot sand while whipping them [ Sometimes killing them ]
Examples of early companions who were tortured
1) Bilal Ibn Rabaah
- He was an Abyssinian Slave owned by Umayyah Ibn Khalaf
- Umayyah tied a rope around his neck and told his own kids to tun around in the mountains and drag him
- On another occasion, he left him thirsty for a whole day then laid him on the hot sand and crushed him with a hot boulder
- Umayyah took Bilal out in the midday sun, threw him on the hot desert sand and then ordered a hot boulder to be placed on his chest and said :-
” You will remain like this until you either die or deny Muhammad and worship Lat and Uzza. “
- To which Bilal replied :-
” Ahad [ One God ], Ahad [ One God ]. “
- Some narrations continue with the following points as well
- In the meanwhile, Abu Bakr who lived in the area walked by and said :-
” Do you not fear God regarding this poor man ? Until when [ Will you continue ] ? “
- Umayyah said :-
” You are the one who corrupted him, so you save him ! “
- Abu Bakr said :-
” I will. I have a black slave who is stronger than he and follows your religion. I will exchange him for this man. “
- Umayyah accepted.
2) Umar Ibn Al Khattab Torturing A Slave Girl From Adi
- He beat her and she remained so strong that he got bored and stopped
- He mockingly told her :-
” I beg your pardon, I only stopped because I am bored. “
3) Ammar and his parents Yasir and Sumayyah
- They were tortured by the Clan of Makhzum
- They tied them down on the hot sand
- Sumayyah resisted and became the first Muslim Martyr [ First ever Martyr in Islam was a woman and not a man ]
- Ammar was tortured so badly that the scars remained with him the rest of his life
- He ended up recanting his faith under Taqiyyah and Surah 16 : 106 was revealed to sanction his action :-
” Whoever rejects God after having believed - Except him who was forced while his heart was solidly in faith - but those who let unbelief into their hearts, then the wrath of God is upon them and they will have a terrible punishment. “
- Al Quran [ 16 : 106 ]
4) Suhayb Ibn Sinan Al Rumi
- He was among the companions of The Prophet and the first Muslims who accepted Islam at the same time with Ammar
- Eventhough he was called Al Rumi [ The Roman ], he was not of Roman Lineage
- He was an Iraqi, captured as a boy and sent to Rome where he grew up in
- But he knew he was an Arab so he eventually fled and was sold to Abdullah Ibn Jud’an in Makkah
- Ibn Jud’an was known to be more merciful than others to his slaves
- Therefore the torture of Suhayb was not as bad
- Infact, Suhayb was actually a Business Manager for Ibn Jud’an because of his knowledge and ability to read and write
- He became wealthy
- After Ibn Jud’an died, Suhayb was free because Ibn Jud’an wrote in his will that Suhayb would be free when he dies
- He participated in all battles of The Prophet
- When Umar Ibn Khattab was sick, he led the prayer on his behalf
- After Umar died, Suhayb Ibn Sian performed the prayer upon his body according to his will
- After the assassination of Uthman, he did not give Bay’ah [ Pledge of Allegiance ] to Imam Ali
- In Rijal Al Kashshi [ Muhammad Ibn Umar Al Kashshi - Shia Scholar ], it is reported that Imam Al Sadiq said :-
” Bilal was a righteous servant [ Of God ] and Suhayb was an evil servant. He wept over Umar. “
5) Khabbab Ibn Al Aratt
- He was among the first people who believed in The Prophet and embraced Islam
- Many historians said that he was the 6th person to accept Islam before the arrival of The Prophet at the house of Al Arqam Ibn Abi Al Arqam
- Others said that he was the 10th, 11th or 20th Muslim
- He is the first or among the first few Muslims who manifested their religion publicly for the first time
- Khabbab was an Arab Slave [ Arab Slaves were treated a little better than Slaves of other ethnicities ]
- His master was a female, Ummi Anmar
- When she found out that Khabbab converted, she got a gang together to beat him up
- She would use the iron that he would use to forge swords to burn his back
- Imam Ali eulogized [ Praised Highly in Speech or Writing ] him saying :-
” May God have mercy on Khabbab Ibn Al Aratt for he accepted Islam eagerly and emigrated obediently. He was content with mere subsistence, was pleased with God and lived fighting [ For God ]. “
- Nahjul Balagha [ Proverb 43 ]
