The Start of the Public Invitation

Having made the public invitation for some time, the Holy Prophet received an order from God to make his propagation public and not to be afraid of the infidels:

Therefore, declare openly what you are bidden and turn aside from the polytheists. Surely, We will suffice you against the scoffers. (15:94-95)

Having received this revelation, the Holy Prophet rose up in the Abtah[56] and declared:

I am God's apostle. I invite you to my new faith to worship the One and Only God. Stop worshipping idols which are neither useful nor can they create, nor provide you with sustenance, nor give you life, nor cause you to die. [57]

From then on, the Prophet's invitation entered a new stage as he was engaged in the propagation of his faith in social gatherings, at the Hajj ceremonies, at Mina, and among the tribes living in the outskirts of Mecca.

Struggle with Quraysh

People of Quraysh did not show any severe reactions during the early stages of the propagation for Islam. However, as soon as the Holy Prophet started explicitly negating their idols, calling them senseless and useless entities, they became exasperated; they started animosity against him. [58] With regards to the tribal system which existed in Mecca, attacking Muhammad (s) would entail revenge-taking of Banu-Hashim. Therefore, the chiefs of Quraysh, after much deliberation, came to the conclusion that they would better make use of his uncle, Abu-talib, and talk to him is such a way so that he could discourage his nephew from the way he was following. To this end, they arranged for several meetings with Abu-talib during which they reminded him of his dignity and high social status. They asked him to discourage his nephew from cursing their idols, humiliating their customs and belittling their ancestors. They used threats at times and tried to bribe him by offering wealth and social ranks. Receiving no positive feedback from him, they offered to exchange Muhammad with `Imarah ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah, the young, powerful, and handsome poet. Abu-talib did not accept either. Once, when Abu-talib and his nephew were threatened with death, the Holy Prophet had the following reaction:

“If they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in the left, I would not stop my way. I have two options, either God will help me or I will be destroyed.”[59]

Abu-talib's Announcement of Assistance

Upon these threats, Abu-talib announced his support to Muhammad (s) and mobilized the members of Banu-Hashim, both Muslims and non-Muslims, to protect Muhammad (s). He warned the chiefs of Quraysh against a bloody revenge by Banu-Hashim in case anything would happen to his nephew. [60] Since tribal wars were hazardous and their consequences unpredictable; and due to the fact that the chiefs of Quraysh lacked the capacity for such a war, they could not carry out their threats; rather, they became disillusioned. Out of Banu-Hashim, only Abu-Lahab joined the enemy front.

Motives of Quraysh's Oppositions

A question is raised here as to why the Quraysh did not show animosity toward Muhammad (s) in the first years of his propagations during which not many verses of the Holy Qur'an were revealed to him yet. What kind of threats did they feel in the first verses revealed during the early days of prophethood? Did they oppose him because of their insistence on their idolatry or were there other reasons?

Of course, we are talking about the motives of the chiefs of Quraysh, because the general publics were simple and naive followers of those chiefs; and to mobilize them against the new religion was not a hard job. This is because they were not strong believers of their sect and customs anyhow.

Considering Quraysh's influence and high social status in Mecca, we could easily find the reasons behind their opposition. This is because, as we have seen above, Quraysh had monopolized some social privileges related to Mecca, such as social and economic power; they would not tolerate any rival. They used to receive tribute and toll from other tribes by force and imposed their own policies over other tribes related to the pilgrims.

Thus, it was natural for them not to tolerate Muhammad (s), because they found out very early in Muhammad's propagations that the new faith was in conflict with their ideology. They could also anticipate that one day, the Holy Prophet would become famous and this was in conflict with their pride.

However, an investigation of the content of some surahs and verses revealed to the Holy Prophet at Mecca, we could pinpoint some of the most significant motives for the opposition of Quraysh to the Holy Prophet during the first years of propagations:

(1) Worry over the disintegration of the social order

Concerning the tribal system dominating the social order in Mecca and due to Quraysh’s special prerogatives, a form of aristocratic government was prevailing there. The chiefs of Quraysh were accustomed to this system; they did not expect any blow to be leveled against it. This was the social condition while the first followers of Muhammad (s) were the youths, the impoverished, the deprived and the slaves. Muhammad (s) did not belong to the nobility. From his childhood, he was an orphan; and during his youth, he was poor belonging to the second class inside Quraysh. His uncle, Abu-talib, despite his ancestral prestige and dignity, was insolvent. All these were warnings to the tribal system of Quraysh that the very basis of their social order would be shaken. Having noticed that, they worried about the youth and the deprived for their inclinations towards the new faith. The envoy of Quraysh to Abyssinia to bring back the Muslim migrants introduced themselves to the king as the special envoy of the Meccan nobility.

The Holy Qur'an reveals the Quraysh's aristocratic attitude in their objection to the idea of prophethood not being offered to one of the noblemen of either Mecca or ta’if:

And they say: Why has not the Qur'an been revealed to a man of importance in the two towns? (43:31)

According to an interpretation, by men of importance is meant Walid Ibn Mughirah, the head of Banu-Makhzum in Mecca, and `Urwah ibn Mas`ud al-Thaqafi, the well-known wealthy man of ta’if. [61] The reason behind the revelation of this verse is said to be the following event:

Once, Walid said, “Why should the Qur'an be revealed to Muhammad and not to me while I am the head of Quraysh?”[62] Thus, the Quraysh showed their animosity to Muhammad (s) because his faith was a real threat to their social order.

(2) Economic Worries

Some recent researchers have considered the economic factor among the motives for Quraysh’s opposition to Islam. This is because a series of Meccan verses of the Holy Qur'an[63] severely reprimand the hoarders and money-mongers of those days. The great Meccan wealthy men, who had earned their huge wealth in the trades and through the supervision over the Kaaba, felt a great danger when they heard these verses. The progress of Islam would jeopardize their benefits badly. Here are some samples of such verses:

Leave Me and him whom I created alone, and give him vast riches, and sons dwelling in his presence, And I adjusted affairs for him adjustably; and yet he desires that I should add more, By no means! Surely, he offers opposition to our communications. (74:11-16)

I will cast him into hell. And what will make you realize what hell is? It leaves naught nor does spare naught. It scorches the mortal. (74:26)[64]

Perdition overtake both hands of Abu-Lahab, and he will perish. Neither his wealth nor what he earns will avail him. He shall soon burn in fire that flames, and his wife, the bearer of fuel. (111:1-4)[65]

Woe to every slanderer, defamer, who amasses wealth and considers it a provision against mishap; He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal. Nay! He shall most certainly be hurled into the crushing disaster, and what will make you realize what the crushing disaster is? It is the fire kindled by Allah, which rises above the hearts. Surely, it shall be closed over upon them, in extended columns. (104:1-7)

Then as for him who gives away and guards against evil, and accepts the best, We will facilitate for him the easy end. And as for him who is niggardly and considers himself from need of Allah, and rejects the best, we will facilitate for him the difficult end. And his wealth will not avail him when he perishes. (92:4:11)[66]

A careful observation of the content of these surahs reveals that they were revealed to the Holy Prophet after Quraysh’s opposition. The increase in number of opponents might have been the reason for the revelation of these verses. However, the toughest opponents of the Holy Prophet were the traders and the wealthy. In accordance with a historical report, when the Messenger of God started guiding his people towards the light of the Religion, they at first did not go away from him; rather, they were about to accept his ideology. Then he started insulting their idols and the wealthy people from ta’if. [67] These people did not like his statements; they began struggling against him and invoking their followers against him. Then, the mass offended and deserted him. [68]

(3) Fear of the Neighboring Power

The Holy Qur'an refers to their fear of the neighboring states and powers and finds this worry baseless:

And they say: If we follow the guidance with you, we shall be carried off from our country. What! Have We not settled them in a safe, sacred territory to which fruits of every kind shall be drawn? Sustenance from Us; but most of them do not know. (28:57)

Once, Harith ibn Nawfal ibn `Abd-Manaf said to the Holy Prophet, “We know that what you say is right; but if we believe in you, we fear that the Arabs might throw us out of our land and we are not strong enough to confront them.[69]

From their statements, worry could be observed and fear of the Iranian kings and Roman emperors[70] could be identified; this was the Arabs’ weak point towards the neighboring political powers.

This fear could be seen in the following event: The Holy Prophet had invited some of the great Arab personalities and read them some of the verses of the Holy Qur'an which dealt with ethical training. All of them were highly impressed and each one of them started admiring them. However, their leader, Muthanna, said, “We are caught between two waters: on one side are the Arab waters and shores, and on the other side there lie Iran and Khosrow rivers. Khosrow has ordered us not to use any turmoil and not to shelter any wrongdoer. The acceptance of your faith by us is not palatable for the kings. If we do anything wrong here in our land, it might be excused. However, such an error around Iran is not pardonable by their king.”[71]

(4) Tribal Competition and Jealousy

Tribal competitions and false pride were prevalent among the Arab tribes and communities. Since the Holy Prophet belonged to Banu-Hashim, the chiefs of the other tribes—due to their jealousy—could not accept his faith, which was in the long run a sign of dignity for Banu-Hashim. Abu-Jahl, who was from Banu-Makhzum tribe and one of the most influential and wealthy people of Quraysh, frankly revealed his secret, “We struggled against the children of `Abd-Manaf over the attainment of dignity. They fed the needy; so did we. They gave horses to the needy; so did we. They provided the needy with money; so did we. Then we were neck to neck. But, then, they say that they have a prophet among themselves who gets revelation from God. Now how can we ever get equal to them? By God, we shall never believe in what he says nor shall we ever confirm him.”[72]

Umayyah ibn Abi-salt, a nobleman and great poet of ta’if, did not believe in Islam for the same reason. For years, he waited for the arrival of the Promised Prophet and at the same time, he wished that he himself would be that Prophet. When he heard about the prophethood of Muhammad (s), he abstained from following him and the reason he offered for his denial was the following: “How could I tell the women of ta’if that another person had obtained the status of prophethood? I have always told them that I would be the promised prophet. Now how could I endure this shame on my side to follow the young man of `Abd-Manaf?”[73]