General Invitation

Abu Jahl Lies in Ambush For the Holy Prophet

The ever-increasing advancement of Islam had made Quraysh very much uneasy. Every day a report regarding the inclination (to Islam) of one member or another of their tribe reached them. On this account therefore their anger was flaming out. One day the Pharaoh of Makkah Abu Jahl said in the assembly of Quraysh: "O people of Quraysh! You can see how Muhammad considers our religion to be worthless and abuses the faith of our forefathers and their gods and declares us to be ignorant. By God I will lie in ambush for him tomorrow and will place a stone by my side; and when Muhammad goes into sajdah (prostration) I will strike that stone on his head. On the following day the Holy Prophet arrived in Masjidul Haram to offer his prayers and stood between 'Rukn-i Yamani' and the 'Black Stone'. A group of Quraysh who were aware of the intention of Abu Jahl were wondering whether or not he would succeed in his campaign.

The Holy Prophet went into sajdah and his old enemy came out of the ambush and approached him. However it was not long before he was struck with awe and he returned to Quraysh trembling and aghast with a countenance distracted. All of them ran forward and said "O Aba Hakam! what has happened?" He said with a very weak voice which betrayed his fear and disturbance of mind "There appeared before my eyes a scene which I had never seen before in my life. It was for this reason that I abandoned my plan".

It goes without saying that an unseen force had arisen by the command of Allah and had created a spectacle which protected the Prophet of Islam from harm by the enemies in accordance with the Divine promise: "We shall protect you from the mischief of those who mock".

Numerous instances of torture by Quraysh are recorded in the pages of history. Ibn Athir has allocated a chapter to this subject and has mentioned the names of the foremost enemies of the Prophet in Makkah and the atrocities perpetrated by them. [^10] Whatever has been said above is only a specimen. The Prophet found himself faced every day by a new persecution. For example one day 'Uqbah bin Abi Mu'it saw the Prophet performing 'Tawaf' and abused him. He twisted his turban round his neck and dragged him out of the Masjid. Some persons freed the Prophet from his hands on account of fear of Bani Hashim. [^11]

The torture and persecution to which the Holy Prophet was subjected by his uncle Abu Lahab and his wife Umme Jamil was unprecedented. He happened to be a next-door neighbour of theirs. They did not refrain from throwing any sort of dirt on him and one day they threw the entrails of a sheep on his head. Eventually Hamzah with a view to take revenge thrust the same on the head of Abu Lahab.