Salam Alaikum peace beyond you. Welcome to another episode of Islam and focus. I’m your host Humbert Rashid. Today we have our excuse me our 58 program in our series dealing with Mohamad, last messenger of Allah, our second program discussing the early meccan period. I’m very pleased to have joining me on the program she was Willa Dr. Jamal, betta. We have segment UNIVERSITY OF THE Jamal al Salam aleikum. Ali, could you very quickly summarize the main points that we touched on when we began our discussion of the saralee meccan period in our last program? Sure, very briefly, we continued the discussion in the very beginning about claim of prophethood and not particularly the
issue of the parallels that might be there between the Koran and the other religious literature, especially the Bible indicated that the parents actually indicates that the source of revelation to all of these prophets is the same rather than one of them, copying from the other.
But most of the program actually dealt with the examination and analysis of the meccan period, and not particularly the beginning of embracing of Islam on the part of people within the household of the Prophet. We mentioned Khadija, his wife the first, then his cousin Adi, than his adopted son at that time, inside and outside of the household, we spoke briefly about Abu Bakr, his close friend. And in each of these four cases, we tried to explain the significance and the symbol symbolic and meaning of their embracing of Islam.
During our discussions, you mentioned that Abu Bakar succeeded in persuading a number of other people to
join Islam.
There’s many of them turned out to be among the more prominent Muslim leaders. Can you give us some names and perhaps explain if they had anything in common? Sure. The first group after this first four actually included some prominent people including us man, who happens to be elected as the third Calif after the prophet and other very famous names that you might come to later in coverage of Islamic history like the audio is debatable and when I’ll hide now by the law and sad nappy rock costs, after this group of five Then came a number of people, some of whom
belong to the family of the profit, some work from outside and those from within the family of the Prophet was Jafar son of Abu Talib was a cousin of the Prophet as well as
Jennifer’s wife. But outside of that, they were as Matt and Ayesha, the two daughters of Abu Bakr.
And by the way, I’d like to make a side remark here. In a previous program, we dealt with the managers of the Prophet and he managed to Ayesha we discussed some of the various reports as to how old she was when the Prophet married her, yes. Now, this reports that we find about Ayesha becoming Muslim in the very early period, which is the first three years of the mission of the Prophet indicates that she must have been at least 16 years old when she married the Prophet. Because after that initial three or four years, there was another 10 years in Makkah, and she was married to the Prophet, or the manager was consummated only after he went to Medina. So she must have been at least
at the age of five or six, to be able to understand Islam or accepted. So six plus 10 seemed to indicate that she probably was 16 interesting remark that even though a lot of people wrote about this, I didn’t notice that anyone picked on that issue and tried to correlate it to the age of Arusha, but this is that I can say this side side demographer found interesting. In addition to this, there were other people also, who became quite famous also in Islamic history. There was Fatima, the sister of armour, who, after he became Muslim, he became the second Caliph after the prophet and her husband side of the Messiah and his friend had Barbican and
there were also people who were not necessarily very prominent, like the family of mi ss,
including the SS sumaiya. His wife, who was the first martyrs to die in the, for the sake of Islam, and unmerge their son.
They were other famous people. Also, some people like a boy by duck Ninja, have the right message returned later on to be one of the most famous narrators of Hadith and jurist. He was a very good jurist and out of
Come up until Arkham, in whose house the profit for some time, as we see letters used to meet with his companions in the early days, it included the sohaib, who was actually a Roman fellow, it was not even from the tribe of Christ. As far as the main characteristic of those people
age Why is some scholars noted that
most of them were either younger than the prophet or about the same age of the Prophet, which was at that time about 40 years. Why? A possible reason is that, in a tribal society, like this changing of one’s religion was not really looked upon very favorably, especially when you get older, so that might become very difficult for them. So usually, it’s the younger people are more responsive to that, as far as the tribes from which they came when they have a cross section coverage of various clans. In fact, the clan that was closest to the Prophet Benny, Hashem did not have too many who embraced Islam.
On the contrary, Abu lahab was the uncle of the Prophet. According to some historians, the two of his sons were engaged to the two daughters of the Prophet. But after the Prophet did, you know started to preach Islam, he asked his sons to break the engagement with the daughters of the Prophet. And the in the opinion of Raja headquarters, he says that this shows that the mission of the Prophet and the relationship with those who embraced Islam was far more than just the relationship of clan or family because he was persecuted most by his closest by some of his closest relatives.
There’s another observation also about the the early people who embraced Islam, like I said, not all of them come from the northern tribes included, for example, so hype, it was a person, federal, I mean, Roman fellow, and others.
And finally, it may be observed also that according to most historians, they say that the number of people who embrace this, in the nearly three to four years of the initial meccan period
was not very much really it goes anywhere between about 40 to less than 60.
As a result of all that effort, and very small number, why, in your view, was such a small number accepted Islam during this entire period? Do you have any views on that? Well, of course, there could be some reasons which might be common with all prophets.
That when the Prophet comes, he faces people with the teaching with revelation, which might be different from the kind of customs and habits and traditions which those people inherited from their predecessors. And that might be particularly applicable in the case of Arabia as a tribal society. The question of tribal loyalty, following you know, the norms of the tribe was very, very, very strong. And we will talk about that for the past when it comes to the analysis of opposition to the prophet in good times.
And other possible reasons, again, is that this early followers of the Prophet is as smooth as they may be,
presented really a very important nucleus, which later on carried the measure of burden and responsibility and offered all kinds of sacrifice, to support the the new faith. And as such, it was very important for this nucleus to inculcate the face their hearts, to deepen their commitment to God to Allah. This was very crucial, much more important than sheer numbers.
In the beginning, at least, that was very essential. The quality to more observations on this that Dr. On booty suggests
is that some orientalist non Muslim writers try to explain the phenomenal success of Islam, at least as time went on.
By saying that the herbs were at a stage where they were really ready for this logical and simple message of monotheism, monotheism, but the Prophet
wrote,
but again, he said that if that were true, why is it that only such a few people embraced Islam in a span of three to four years is if the herbs were really ready
for the message you would expect? A lot
And number two flock to them even though they could be other reasons for opposition. The other observation also he adds is that
there should be a distinction between the duty to convey the message to preach the faith on one hand, and the use of judgment in the selection of the proper strategy or means of communication, depending on the circumstances of time, place and the surrounding environment. There may be cases, for example, where the public proclamation may be delayed for a little while, this right at least on the part of the followers, on the confrontation with the forces that tried to stop them,
that should be related to the context of the time in which they’re living. So at times, they may be a necessity to avoid unnecessary confrontation. That’s as far as the Muslim themselves, the new Muslims, and maybe that’s why they try to keep a low profile.
But as far as the Prophet himself, it’s obvious that from the very beginning, he was engaged actually, in confronting the people with the with the new message is read as a prophet will given that
these early stages said particularly there was a need for some secrecy. How did the early Muslims global practicing their of their faith,
when there are some historical relations especially find that in English and others, that for example, whenever they wanted to pray together, sometimes they want us to go out in the desert, sometimes they pray in a small group at times individually.
There have been as a side of that is that they would meet in a house and close the doors and just worship so that they would not be harassed by the unbelievers. There are some incidents however, that seems to indicate that some of them were caught praying, that term can be used.
And sometimes, skirmishes took place between the Muslims, the early Muslims and the the pagans.
Sham For example, I mentioned a number of them. He said, for example, in one instance, sod, the son of waqqas, went with a number of Muslims to one of the, you know, passages and muck outside the city itself. So a number of pagans passed by them, they expressed dismay to towards those muslims for praying in a different way they scolded them, they criticized them. So an argument took place between both groups, adopted even an actual fighting between them in which one of the unbelievers one of the pagans was injured.
And another occasion narrated another historical reference, which says that the Prophet once went out with a group of Muslims. And they prayed together or one separately, just in small setting. And one two Muslims were playing the some of the unbelievers passed by they abused them, they stone them, until they finish their prayer to the left, then
it is possibly because of some of those reasons as some scholars suggest, that the Prophet, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him advised Muslims to take you know, or play a role, a key emotion in their face, they should hide a little bit, stay home and maybe take a period of cooling off, so that they would not necessarily be in conflict with others just to avoid physical confrontation. Some even say that, at one point, the prophet peace be upon him and some of his followers used to go to the house of an orphan. The one we mentioned, among the early Muslims outcome, the son of an African also and stayed there for some time, just by way of cooling off probably, how long did they this period of
cooling off? Or perhaps staying in the heart of the House of Commons? How long did this continue? What they have been some variations in reports as to the length of that period, some put it
as long as one month?
There are questions as to whether this was a continuous period of stay or was it intermittent but they meet sometimes during the day for prayers, learning about Islam during the prayers or reciting the Quran. According to Dr. Amanda de Lille, he says that after sifting through this report,
he believes that this period or this study
In the house of an outcome, as a quiet or isolated house, took place, probably towards the end of the third year of the mission of the prophet or the very beginning of the fourth year of that mission. But the historian seems to agree, it seems likely that this was a place whereby people could go, people who wish to listen about or to know about Islam without harassment and use pressure from others, they could go without intimidation. Some even report that some of the visitors to Mecca strangers, passers by, who heard about this land, they used also to go to that house so that they might meet someone who might explain to them what Islam is all about.
In any case, this period,
essentially, was a period of avoiding direct confrontation with the, with the non believers with the takens in particular.
Trouble interesting,
this period, a period of secrecy, how in your view, does it relate to the situation that many Muslims find themselves a day?
I think it said it’s an issue which is of interest and has some application to Muslims living in as minority, especially in the Western world, and in particular, you’re quite right.
It relates also to the situation of Muslims in Muslim countries. And mind you It’s well known that many Muslims in in the so called Muslim countries do not have the religious freedom as Muslims in their rulers are Muslims by name. And many of the Muslim countries as we all know, are ruled by dictators under different places. And in a situation like that, especially the latter one.
It might be useful to make a distinction between college between being steadfast in seeing the truth and not compromising one’s principles and convictions on one hand, which is the first step towards assimilation if you compromise on on principles.
On the other hand, the one also should keep in mind the necessity of caution and wisdom,
avoiding unnecessary violence, which is consonant with the spirit of Islam. And it’s teaching generally that whenever it’s possible to avoid violence and confrontation, there is no need for that. There’s no absolute
requirement for that, especially in the case of Muslims who are resisting or opposing dictators, with very limited resources, they may Muslims might be smaller number, and equipped, and as such to get involved in confrontation with those clinical holes, and rollers. At one point when they are not strong enough to stand up to this
could be more harmful could do more harm than good already, because it could result in the
early abortion, yes, of their movement is before it even reaches the age of viability. Just like when the child or the baby is born very early before the age of viability, it may not survive. So to avoid this early abortion, especially on the part of those who get disturbed,
to know that there is a group who stand against their authority under dictatorship, who speak the truth, which stand against the falsehood, obviously, the would try to resist by on me. And this is a matter of fact, that relate to what the scholars call a CSS Sharia is a matter of the standard jurisprudence pertaining to the selection of the proper strategy, which are more close to the spirit of Islamic teaching and its objectives and life in general.
I think it’d be useful to elaborate more on this last point, the convention that is on the relationship of the strategy of Islamic jurisprudence, could you do that? Sure, there have been met some writings on this one of the best that summarize that as it relates to the situation of early Muslims, was suggested by Dr. Muhammad, Syed Ramadan and booty
and basically says that the consensus among Muslim scholars jurists
is that if Muslims at any particular point of time, were few in number,
and lacking in resources, in such a way that it is not very likely that they would be
that they would be victorious in any confrontation with the enemy.
That it might be easier for the enemies or for the dictators to just finish them off. Then in that case,
They are not supposed to engage in that confrontation prematurely. Yes. The jurisprudential foundation of this is that,
as the great scholar, and now with the project, he says that the genuine objectives of systemic law and jurisprudence in German is the preservation of the preservation of life, preservation of mind, preservation of owners,
and preservation of property, and perhaps in that order of priority.
Now, you say, then, that if you get two of those objectives of Sharia the preservation of faith by struggling, saying the word of truth, resisting to me, which is all right, that’s that’s one objective. And you have another objective, which is preservation of life, preservation of the lives of those few Muslims. And then he says, when the preservation of religion is probabilistic, it’s not certain. In other words, the whole group could perish, and the fifth would not benefit. So with the preservation of faith, even though it takes priority is probabilistic,
then there is no sense then, of sacrificing so many lives for this. And that such even though the preservation of life comes next to preservation of faith, it took precedence when there is this probability when did not searching, okay. And as of Naga Salaam, another Muslim jurist, jurist explained that also by saying that, if the few believers who are forming their faith and ready to sacrifice their life, that’s fine. But if they find it, the forces of unfaith are children. Under these circumstances, the circumstances where the victory would not, would not be possible at all, even under the circumstances, then the actual result of that confrontation would be the killing
subduing of the believers, which might give more pride and
arrogance to the forces of tyranny. And that would not be very beneficial. I’ll go to comment on this and says, actually, it’s not the idea of preservation of the lives of individuals. These are the preservation of faith. Because he says that the preservation of the lives of the few believers who are not yet in this period, at this stage of viability is in itself,
a preservation of faith. Because this is if the only few believers who are really committed, who carry something good, that would benefit mankind, if they are finished and killed. It’s not that they lost their lives, but that he says itself, with the hurt, because nobody else with that understanding with that commitment with this pent up after the death to, to offer it to mankind. So the interest is not just personal interest for their own lives, but interest also of the, for the face itself. In brief, then basically what we’re saying that if
avoiding confrontation at one stage, even by keeping silent on some of the wrongs, that’s that’s taking place.
If taking a low profile in the face of very severe tyranny, might be productive, at least in a given stage, then this is the action that that should be taken, people should not rush into a rash action that would hurt them and hurt others, and help the cause of faith. hostility. So that probably was the case of Muslims in this early stage. I think it’s a very interesting
consistency and application of how Islamic law relates to
the practical issues like this. Yes. On that note, I’d like to perhaps have you comment once again, on how in your view, this might have some applicability or to the situation of Muslims living in North America or in that, for that matter in the West generally.
What would you comment on my perspective? Okay, I’m glad that you brought that up, because it seems that my answer to the previous question was mostly either too general or dealing with the situation of Muslims living under dictatorial rules. But I’m glad to say that, fortunately for Muslims who are living
even as a small minority, in Canada, in the US, or Western Europe, or many other similar countries, they might be small in number, but they have the full freedom to practice their faith. They have the full freedom to speak up and share their faith with LSM. This program could be one example.
Part of this, giving this kind of openness in societies where they’re living, at least to the extent of being able to practice and talk about their faith,
I don’t see any point really, of any Muslim trying to hide his or her identity as a Muslim, not on the hype, I mean, it might be even incumbent on the person to share it with others to talk to others about and to inculcate good relationship with their neighbors, with their colleagues or fellow citizens at work in schools, and other context. But without losing their identity as Miss without trying to hide it or feel ashamed of it, which unfortunately, is the case with some Muslims who still
fear or could not overcome the sorts of
feeling that they had when they were living in a Muslim country under certain dictatorial type of rules, they should realize that that situation is definitely
to be overly cautious under that circumstance, under the circumstances, and to try to hide one’s identity
might reflect not really the caution and wisdom that other scholars were talking about when I address the previous question. It might reflect the unnecessary fears.
More concern, gaining approval of people rather than getting the approval, and pleasures of the creator of God, it might reflect the fear of for jobs or possessions or other things that men should not be the main determinant of their of their position.
And they have a duty to fulfill they have a mission. And when God bless them, with such a society where these freedoms are guaranteed, I think they should, they should not keep hiding. Let me just to give an example of some of this attitude that I found rather unfortunate.
I’m just given a scenario may or may not apply to one particular case or the other, but it might reflect this attitude of unnecessary fear.
We all know that in Islam, partaking
any alcoholic beverage is forbidden. And by analogy, of course, anything that relate to intoxication or be clouding the mind, like drugs, or cocaine or others.
Now, if Muslim, for example, is in a position where he is invited, or with a company and a company of other people who are not Muslims, who find it or believe that it’s alright to drink in moderation.
And somebody says, what it offers him a drink, alcoholic drink? Well, unfortunately, those who cannot distinguish between the use of wisdom and between declaring their identity without offending others might give a very apologetic answer. No, thanks. I don’t think it’s too strong for me. So somebody can come back here. How about
let’s, let’s light is only 10%. And then you find himself caught the dilemma and say, well, well, I really don’t like to have the coke, I prefer something else. I
don’t like to have beer. And then somebody say, why not? You said that strong, but this was not very strong. You see, once you get into this apologetic answers, which is unnecessary, there’s no need for that. There’s no fear, to say what you believe.
Then the person gets into a vicious circle. And it could actually lead to answers, which are not really useful type of answers. So what I’m saying basically, to apply that to a situation like that,
one can still remain courteous,
does not have to compromise this principle. And it can still speak ye who does not wish to have alcoholic drink. I wouldn’t bet situation, I would simply Thank you very much. I don’t drink. And I wouldn’t even I would go beyond that. Even though I said because I’m a Muslim, it’s so late to my religious belief is I’d rather take juice or tops or something else, punch whatever, provided the punch, of course doesn’t have.
Well, actually, I find in my own experience, and maybe many other people, also men and women who have been in that situation. If they do it in karate, in confidence without hiding their identity. People even ask them all tell me more about that religion that you know
prohibit alcoholic drinks or intoxication and that would be a good chance to share with with others. So I think it does have the application also even for Muslims in the West as well.
Jamal, thank you for today’s program. I want to thank you all for watching and invite you back next week when you will continue with our series. Thank you for watching Assalamu alaikum peace
