All prophets and messengers received harsh treatment from their people, particularly those who enjoyed positions of power and influence, realizing that the divine faith was bound to limit their authority and ensure a higher standard of social justice. It is inevitable that the powerful in society would always try to increase their power, strengthen their authority and protect their privileges. When they are confronted by a person who declares that their power and privileges have no basis and they have to revert to divine law, they automatically adopt a hostile attitude. Some prophets were killed by their people, as they advocated faith. Some were humiliated and treated very harshly. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was also at the receiving end of such treatment, particularly after the death of his uncle Abu Talib, who never wavered in his support. The Quraysh respected Abu Talib’s attitude, as it was based on the traditions of the tribal society of Arabia. Abu Talib did not follow Islam, but extended his support and protection to the Prophet merely on the basis of the bond of kinship between them.
There are numerous reports about the ill treatment the Prophet received from his people when he did nothing other than calling on them to believe in God. One such report is given by Al-Harith ibn Al-Harith who mentions that he was with his father in Makkah when they saw a group of people. “I asked my father what group were they, and he said that they gathered against one from among their ranks who had abandoned their religion. As we dismounted, we saw God’s Messenger calling on people to believe in God’s oneness, while they spoke roughly to him and tried to harm him. This continued until midday when they began to disperse. A woman came over, revealing her neck and carrying a jug and a handkerchief. He took the jug and drank before he performed his ablution. He lifted his head to the woman and said: “My daughter! Cover your neck and do not worry about your father.” We inquired about the woman and we were told that she was Zaynab, his daughter. (Related by Al-Tabarani and also by Al-Bukhari in his book Al-Tarikh.)
This report does not give any details about what the Prophet said or the sort of abuse hurled on him. It simply mentions that he called on them not to associate partners with God, while they tried to cause him harm. However, it mentions that when his daughter came over to help him, he reassured her but told her to cover her neck. Another report, perhaps of the same incident, is given by Muneeb Al-Azdi who says: “I saw God’s Messenger in my pre-Islamic days when he stood up saying: ‘My people! Declare that there is no deity other than God and you will be successful.’” Some of them spat in his face, while others threw dust over his head, and some others abused him verbally until it was midday. A woman then came over carrying a large jug of water, and he washed his face and hands. He said to her: “Daughter, do not fear that your father might be harmed or humiliated.” I asked who the woman was and I was informed that she was Zynab, his dauther, who looked pretty.” (Related by Al-Tabarani.) This version tells us more about what the unbelievers did to the Prophet. We learn that they abused him physically and verbally, and that he needed to be comforted by his daughter. Nevertheless, it was he who reassured her, because she must have felt very upset on seeing her father, God’s Messenger, in such a state.
We can imagine what a group of abusers could do to one standing in their midst. We might have seen something of the sort and felt strong sympathy with the victim. But the unbelievers were set against him and did not care what happened to him. Indeed some of them tried even to kill him. Urwah ibn Al-Zubayr reports that he asked Amr ibn Al-Aas about the worst thing the unbelievers did to the Prophet. He said: “While the Prophet was praying in the Hijr, close to the Kaaba, a man called Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt came over and placed a garment round his neck and pulled hard to strangle him. Abu Bakr then came and pulled Uqbah away by his shoulders, saying: ‘Will you kill a man for nothing other than saying to you, God is my Lord, while he has given you clear proof from your Lord?’” (Related by Al-Bukhari.)
Uqbah was one of the hardest enemies of Islam, but he could not do this to the Prophet without feeling reassured that the people around him approved of what he did. In this instance the Prophet needed the help Abu Bakr provided. While we know that Uqbah could not have killed him, because God would have saved him, the fact that someone like Uqbah tried it tells us how hostile the environment in which the Prophet preached Islam was.
A more detailed version of this incident is given by Ibn Abi Shaybah who quotes Amr ibn Al-Aas as saying: “I never saw the Quraysh trying to kill the Prophet except on one occasion when they were seated close to the Kaaba while he was close by Maqam Ibraheem offering his prayers. Then Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt went up to him and placed his garment around his neck and pulled it. The Prophet then fell to his knees and people shouted, thinking that he was about to be killed. Abu Bakr came over hurriedly and supported the Prophet by his shoulders, shouting at people: ‘Will you kill a man for nothing other than saying to you, God is my Lord?’ They then left the Prophet alone and he stood up and prayed. When he finished his prayers he left. As he passed by them, he said: ‘You Quraysh people! By Him who holds my soul in His hand, I have been sent to you with throat cutting.’ He signaled, pointing to his own throat. Abu Jahl said to him: ‘You are known not to indulge in abuse.’ The Prophet said to him: ‘You are one of them.’”
We can imagine the scene, with a number of people sitting close the Kaaba while one of them goes to a person worshipping God and tries to strangle him. None of them tries to help the victim, but they all sit and watch. What sort of people can do this to one who belonged to their community? It was left to his companion, Abu Bakr, to defend him and pull the would-be killer away. Abu Bakr quotes a verse of the Qur’an that describes the situation most accurately. They were trying to kill the Prophet for no crime other than stating his belief in God’s oneness.
But what sort of man the Prophet was? When he was saved by his companion, he continued his prayer, realizing that in prayer he could find the best comfort. His resolution was at its highest by the time he finished praying. This is why he confronted the unbelievers with dignity, telling them that if they were to persist in denying the message of the truth, this would end in a confrontation that could lead to their killing. This is indeed what took place.
