The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) appeared in a society afflicted with the worst of human spiritual illnesses; the mental decline had reached to such a level that every tribe had their own idol…
He cured the illness of their beliefs with the medicine of knowledge and faith in a way that they praised to Creator of the world, fell in prostration before Him, and said,
“Glory be to my Lord, the High, and praise be to Him”
When the Prophet (PBUH&HP) announced his convocation, threatening and tempting reached its peak. Therefore, people of Quraysh came to Abu Talib and said, “O Abu Talib! Your nephew has certainly depreciated our patience, blasphemed our gods, corrupted our youth and divided our assembly. If lacking is making him do this, then we will collect for him wealth so that he may be the wealthiest of the Quraysh. We will marry him to any woman he wants.” They even offered him properties and sovereignty. But the answer of the Prophet (PBUH&HP) to that was:
“(Even) If you placed the Sun on my right hand and the Moon on my left hand, I would not want them” (1).
When they saw that temptation does not affect him (PBUH&HP), then they deliberated to threaten and torture. For example, whenever he stood for prayers in the Sacred Mosque (in Mecca), two persons would stand whistling on his right and two others would stand clapping their hands on his left. They would do this to torture him and to disturb him in his prayer (2). They would throw dust on his head, or throw intestines of a sheep at him while he was prostrating (3).
After the death of Abu Talib, when the Prophet (PBUH&HP) left Mecca for Ta’if on his own to ask for help from the chiefs of the tribe of Thaqif in preaching Islam, they sent crazy men and slaves after him to tease him. Then he took shelter in a garden and sat under the shadow of a grape plant; but his condition was so awful that one of the pagans pitied him. So he said to his Christian slave, called “Addas”, that,” Take some grapes to him”. When the slave put the grapes in front of the Prophet (PBUH&HP), he stretched his hand towards the dish and said: “In the Name of Allah”.
The slave said,” People of this city do not say such a word”.
Prophet (PBUH&HP) asked,” Which land do you belong to? What is your religion?”
He replied,” I am a Christian from Naynawa”.
Prophet (PBUH&HP) said,” From the city of Yunus, son of Mata”.
Addas asked,” How do you know Yunus?”
Prophet (PBUH&HP) replied,” He was my brother; he was a Prophet, and I am too”. So Addas showed respect to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) (4)…
They had tortured his companions with the most severe forms of torture. They tortured the mother of Ammar Yasir, who was an elderly lady, to turn her back from her religion and to disbelieve. But she did not, thus they killed her (5).
Despite all the tortures the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) suffered from those people, when some people asked him to pray against those ignorant pagans, he said,
“Indeed, I have not been appointed but as a mercy for the worlds” (6)
And in turn for all those tortures, he would pray for those people:
“O Allah! Guide my people, for they do not know” (7)
He would ask for mercy rather than punishment, a mercy that has no like, which is the blessing of guidance. Rather than complaining, he would intercede for them before Allah (SWT), and he would make excuse for them that they did not know.
Such a person can say: “I was appointed to accomplish the noble moral traits and acts.”(8)
Verily this is the manifestation of the glad tidings the previous Prophets had given in their Divine books. In fact, studying the life, merits, and virtues of the Prophet (PBUH&HP) is sufficient for any just person to be convinced to believe in his Prophethood…
(The above is a selection taken from “Principles of Religion”, by Ayatullah Vahid Khorasani)
The Roshd Website congratulates all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon 27th of Rajab, the anniversary of the appointment of the Last Prophet and the commencement of decent of the Holy Quran.
Footnotes:
1- Tafsir Qummi, under explanation of verse 4 of Chapter 38 of the Holy Quran (vol. 2, p. 228)
2- Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 18, p. 160
3- Al-Kaamil fi at-Tarikh, vol. 2, p. 63
4- Manaqib Aal Abi Talib, vol. 1, p. 68
5- Ilam al-Wara, p. 48
6- Ihtijaj, vol. 1, p. 212
7- Al-Kharaa’ij Wa Al-Jara’ih, vol. 1, p.164
8- Mustadrak al-Wasaail, vol. 11, p. 187