The First Revelation
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was deeply troubled by the moral and spiritual decline of his people. He could see no way of rescuing them except with God’s help. He formed the habit of retiring to the cave on Mount Hira, where he spent his time in prayers and meditation. This practice continued for ten long years until he was forty years of age.
In the year 610 AD, on one night of Ramadhan, when he was busy praying, as usual, he saw someone in a vision who was commanding him to recite:
“Read in the name of thy Lord Who created;
created man from a clot of blood.
Recite! And thy Lord is the most Beneficent;
Who taught man by the pen;
taught man what he knew not”
(The Holy Qur’an, (96: 2-6)
Start of Preaching and the First Believers of Islam
After his proclamation as a prophet of God, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, started preaching secretly. Hadhrat Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her, was evidently the first person to declare faith in him. Then his freed slave, Zaid, may Allah be pleased with him, his cousin, Hadhrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, (about eleven) and his childhood friend, Hadhrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, accepted Islam.
The preaching in secret continued for about three years. Then, under Divine guidance, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, started preaching openly and to his own tribe the Quraish. He advised the people of Mecca to worship only one God, give rights to the slaves, and be kind to the poor. The poor and the slaves of Meccans were attracted to the Islamic teachings which established their rights in the society. However, the rich and their chiefs, rejected his message and started persecuting and torturing the new converts, especially the slaves.
This was in fact the Archangel Gabriel who had brought to him the first Qur’anic revelation from God. This was evidently the start of his Prophethood. He was afraid in view of this great responsibility from God. His wife Hadhrat Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her, gave him moral support and assured him that God would never leave him alone in his Divine mission.
Emigration to Abyssinia
In the fifth year of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, mission, when tyranny towards the Muslims reached it climax, he advised his followers to seek refuge in a foreign land, when a small party of Muslims (14 men and women) migrated to Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). There, they were given refuge by the Christian King name Negus, despite opposition from the Quraish. The following year, another group (101 men and women) of Muslims emigrated to Abyssinia, where they stayed peacefully until the Holy Prophet’s emigration to Medina.
The Muslims Besieged
In the sixth year after Prophethood, two highly influential persons – Hadhrat Hamza, may Allah be pleased with him, and Hadhrat Umar bin Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, embraced Islam. This important event brought high support to the Muslims. However, the Quraish took it as a turning point for the spreading of the Holy Prophet’s influence.
They decided to punish the whole Hashimite clan (Muslims and non-Muslims). They were besieged in the valley of Sha’b-Abi-Talib and their complete boycott was declared. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and some other Muslims were among them. During this period all supplies of food were cut off. This terrible situation lasted three years.
The Year of the Grief and Visit to Taa’if
After the boycott had ended, both his wife Hadhrat Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her, and his uncle Abu Talib passed away one after the other. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was much grieved due to these two great personal losses, and called this year “The Year of the Grief“.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was even more disturbed when he saw that, in Mecca, nobody paid attention to his preaching at that time. He decided to go to Taa’if, a small town near Mecca, for preaching his message. There, too, he faced an extremely difficult situation – vagabonds and street boys pelted him with stones and drove him out of the town.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not lose heart and continued his preaching. During the season of Hajj, he met twelve newly converted Muslims from the city of Yathrib, at a place called ‘Aqaba. They all took an oath at the Holy Prophet’s hands, called the First Pledge of ‘Aqaba (621 AD).
During the next Hajj season, another group of 73 people from Yathrib took an oath at the Holy Prophet’s hands and invited him to come to Yathrib. This oath is called the Second Pledge of ‘Aqaba (622 AD).
After the second pledge of ‘Aqaba, the Muslims in Mecca started to migrate to Yathrib, as advised by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
In the end, when only the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and some of his companions were left in Mecca, the Quraish decided to kill the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Quraish failed in their desperate efforts to arrest the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who escaped Mecca in the company of Hadhrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and took refuge in the cave Thaur and later, safely reached Yathrib on the 27th June, 622 AD
The Islamic Calendar, called the Hijrah (from emigration), dates from the above event. Also, Yathrib changed its name to Medina-tun-Nabi (The city of the Prophet) and later it was shortened to Medina .
On his way to Medina , the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, stayed at Quba (a village near Medina ) for a few days. There, he laid the foundations of the first mosque ever built by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him .