A number of the prominent men of Quraysh visited Abu Talib and said:
O Abu Talib! Your nephew curses our gods, criticises our way of life, mocks our religion and belittles our forefathers. Either you restrain him, or you let us deal with him. You stand against him just as we do, and we will relieve you of him. Nevertheless, the Prophet ﷺ continued with the da’wah, and the more they saw him inviting others, the more they discussed the matter. They visited Abu Talib again and insisted that he put a stop to his nephew’s activities. If these activities were to continue unimpeded, he ﷺ would bring considerable hostility upon himself. Abu Talib was concerned about this threat. He said to the Prophet ﷺ:
Spare me and yourself and do not burden me with what I cannot bear.
The Prophet ﷺ thought that his uncle would no longer support him, so he answered:
O my uncle! By Allah, if they were to place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand, on condition that I abandon this path, I would not abandon it until Allah grants me victory or I perish in the attempt.
The Prophet ﷺ stood up, and as he turned away from him, his uncle called out to him and said:
Go and proclaim whatever you wish, for by Allah, I will never abandon you.
The Quraysh Make a Second Attempt
After the Quraysh realised that Abu Talib would never abandon the Prophet ﷺ, other prominent men went to him to speak with him once more. This time they brought along a young man named 'Umarah bin Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah. They said:
O Abu Talib, we have brought you a clever young man in the prime of his youth so that you may benefit from his intelligence and his strength. Take him as a son in exchange for your nephew who has gone against your religion, has caused social conflicts and criticises our way of life, so that we may kill him and relieve you of his endless problems. A man for a man.
Abu Talib responded:
It is truly an unfair exchange. You give me your son to raise, and I give you my son to kill! By Allah, it is something unthinkable.
Atrocities Against the Prophet ﷺ
Abu Lahab took the initiative to begin a further series of persecutions and began harming the Prophet ﷺ in various ways. He threw stones at him ﷺ, he forced two of his sons to divorce their wives Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum ﵄ (two daughters of the Prophet ﷺ), he showed his delight when the two sons of the Prophet ﷺ died. He mockingly called him: the man without offspring. He shadowed the Prophet ﷺ during the pilgrimage or during important markets so that wherever he went, he could spread lies about the Prophet ﷺ and convince the Bedouins to turn against the Prophet ﷺ and his call.
His wife Umm Jamil Bint Harb, the sister of Abu Sufyan, also participated in the atrocities. She tied thorny bushes together with rope and blocked the paths and roads that the Prophet ﷺ would use in order to harm him. When she heard that she was mentioned in the Quran as the carrier of firewood, she went directly to the Ka’bah to throw stones at the Prophet ﷺ. Despite Abu Lahab and his family being blood relatives of the Prophet ﷺ, and despite living next door to him, they were constantly intent on harming him and sabotaging the da’wah.
The group that harmed and slandered the Prophet ﷺ were:
- Abu Lahab
- Al-Hakam bin Abul-'As bin Umayah
- 'Uqbah bin Abu Mu’ait
- ‘Adi bin Hamra’ Ath-Thaqafi
- Ibn Al-Asda’ Al-Hudahali
One threw the womb of a sheep on him ﷺ while he was in prayer, while another threw the same into his cooking pot. When the Prophet ﷺ was performing prayer at the Ka’bah, Abu Jahl said to his companions:
Which of you will bring the entrails of a camel so that we can place it on Muhammad’s back while he prostrates?
'Uqaba bin Abi Mu’ait stood up and brought the entrails. He waited until the Prophet ﷺ prostrated and placed the entrails between his shoulders. They began laughing so hard that they fell upon one another. He remained in prostration until his daughter Fatimah ﵂ removed the entrails from his back. He ﷺ stood up and said three times:
O Allah! Destroy the disbelievers of the Quraysh.
Then he ﷺ said:
O Allah! Destroy Abu Jahl, 'Utbah bin Rabi’ah, Shaibah bin Rabi’ah, Al-Walid bin 'Utbah, Umaiyah bin Khalaf, Uqbah bin Abi Mu’ait and 'Umarah bin Al-Walid.
Ibn Mas’ud ﵁, who was present but could do nothing at that moment, said:
By Allah in whose hand my life is, I saw the bodies of those whom the Prophet ﷺ named in the Qalib (one of the wells of Badr).
The Enemies of the Da’wah
I want to take this opportunity to tell more about these 7 enemies of Islam. It is important to go into somewhat more detail about who they were so that we better understand why they were among the greatest enemies of Islam. Besides those mentioned above, there were also other prominent enemies whose role in the fight against Islam was inextricably linked to Makkan politics.
Abu Jahl: The Pharaoh of this Ummah
Abu Jahl, whose real name was 'Amr ibn Hisham, was called “Abu Jahl” (father of ignorance) by the Muslims, while his own people called him “Abu al-Hakam” (father of wisdom). The Prophet ﷺ called him “Fir’awn hadhihi al-ummah” (the Pharaoh of this community), which underscores his position as the chief enemy of Islam.
Abu Jahl belonged to the most influential families of Makkah and used his position to systematically undermine the da’wah. He organised boycotts against the Muslims, prevented people from listening to the Prophet ﷺ, and threatened anyone who showed interest in Islam. His hostility was so intense that he personally harassed and insulted the Prophet ﷺ, even to the point of throwing filth on the Prophet’s ﷺ head while he was praying.
The Brothers 'Utbah and Shaibah bin Rabi’ah
'Utbah bin Rabi’ah and his brother Shaibah bin Rabi’ah were among the most prominent merchants of Makkah. 'Utbah was the one who came to the Prophet ﷺ on behalf of the Quraysh with the famous proposal in which he offered wealth, power and marriages in exchange for giving up the da’wah. When the Prophet ﷺ began to recite from Surah Fussilat, 'Utbah was so struck by the beauty of the Quran that he returned to his people in silence. Despite this moment of realisation, both brothers continued to fight Islam. They used their economic influence to boycott the Muslims and together with others organised the systematic exclusion of Banu Hashim and Banu al-Muttalib.
Al-Walid bin 'Utbah
Al-Walid bin 'Utbah, the son of 'Utbah, was one of the most arrogant young men among the Quraysh. He followed his father’s example in fighting Islam and showed particular cruelty towards weaker Muslims. His youthful arrogance and his position as heir to a powerful family made him a dangerous adversary.
Umayyah bin Khalaf: The Oppressor of Bilal
Umayyah bin Khalaf was the owner of sayyidina Bilal ﵁, and his name is synonymous with the extreme torture of early Muslims. When Bilal ﵁ accepted Islam, Umayyah subjected him to terrible tortures. He laid him on the hot sand of the desert with a large stone on his chest, all to force him to give up his faith.
The story of Bilal ﵁ perfectly illustrates how these enemies of Islam operated: they used their social and economic power to oppress the weak in society and to prevent them from accepting the truth.
'Uqbah bin Abi Mu’ait: The Mocker
'Uqbah bin Abi Mu’ait was one of the most hateful enemies of the Prophet ﷺ. He went so far in his hostility that he physically attacked and insulted the Prophet ﷺ. It is reported that he tried to strangle the Prophet ﷺ with his own garment, and that he threw filth and refuse at him. His behaviour was so extreme that when he was later captured during the Battle of Badr, he was executed for his war crimes against the early Muslim community. This was highly exceptional, as prisoners were usually released in exchange for ransom.
'Umarah bin Al-Walid
'Umarah bin Al-Walid also belonged to the influential families of Makkah and joined the systematic campaign against Islam. He used his position to ridicule the message of the Prophet ﷺ and contributed to the organisation of the boycott against the Muslims.
The story of these seven enemies teaches us several important lessons about the nature of the da’wah and the resistance it will encounter.
- It shows that the resistance against Islam is often systematic and organised, led by those who hold the most power and influence in society.
- It demonstrates that the da’wah will always clash with the established order, because Islam offers a complete alternative outlook on life that challenges the existing power structures.
- It illustrates the necessity of patience and perseverance in the da’wah, knowing that Allah ﷻ will ultimately cause the truth to prevail over falsehood.