Why Quraysh's Rumors Actually Spread Islam

Prophet remained in Mecca with his companions. course, Quraish had ramped up there aggression to the point that it wasn't just aggression. It was persecution. and they persecuted the Muslim in for one reason only. And that was for their belief in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And their disregard. or the religion of polytheism and idolatry. And because of this decision, because of this choice they decided to pursue the Muslims Even those of them who chose to leave peacefully, were pursued and chased. And very vicious rumors began to swirl. to the point that at every Hajj season, you know, when when people would come into Mecca during that time, the sacred months in the Islamic calendar are the same sacred months the Quraish at that time. We have four sacred months. We have three of them which are subsequent. So, we have or or sequential. We have and Muharam. These three in a row. This is the time for Hajj. This was always the time for Hajj. This was always the season for Hajj. And those three sacred months are the same sacred months for Ibrahim Alaihi Salam. This observation of the sacred months that Quraish had and this somewhat at least their their claim to really hold these sacred months in high regard and their reverence and veneration of these sacred months is something that was upon them and amongst them since the time of Ibrahim Alaihi Salam. There were a number of things which were practiced by Ibrahim, practiced by Ismael, practiced by their offspring and their lineage all the way until the prophet Muhammad reminances. and so these sacred months are the same sacred months in Islam. The prophet tells us that sacred months in the book of Allah, in the religion of Allah are for. They are three sequential months. Or successive months. We have the eleventh 12th and first month of the Islamic Lunar Calendar which is and Muharam and then we have the month of Rajab Which is the seventh month. In the Islamic lunar calendar. And that seventh month that Rajab month is the time for Umrah. Omrah is a minor Hajj. It's a visitation. And the reason why these sacred months were observed the main focus of these sacred months is a general ceasefire, a general truce and war was something that was frowned upon and viewed to be a major, major sin. That a person would fight his enemy in Mecca or fight his enemy in these sacred months. Why? in order to give people that are coming and going from Mecca for the sake of pilgrimage in order to give them safe passage. Usually, it was a month the month of or the was to arrive at Mecca, a month of to be there, and a month of Muharam to return. To wherever it is they came from. And since Umrah is kind of off season and it's much less intensive and much less lengthy during the month of Rajab. This was a month that many people would frequent the Kaaba for a kind of minor visitation or Hajj. However, they attested and claimed and even boasted and took great pride in the fact that they observe this the sacredness of these months but really it was just talk. They did not observe the sacredness of these months. And they did not observe the sacredness of the haram of Mecca. They the Muslims there. They persecuted them. They would not harm an animal there but the Muslims, yes. They prohibited people and barred people from coming to the Kaaba, barred people from simply because they were Muslim. Likewise, did what is called a Nasi. A Nasi is a type of type of a method of calculation that they did to try to offset the sacred months. So, if they had planned something of warfare or something that would go against the sacredness of those months, they would calculate their calendar to shift the name of that month to the month before it or after it, right? This is called the Nasit. So, it was a very superficial holiness, very superficial claim that they made with regards to their reverence for the Kaaba, reverence for the Haram, and their reverence for these sacred ones. There aggression and persecution of the Muslims became so intense. That they actively spread false rumors to all of the tribes during the months of sacred months. So, when it's time for Hajj, they would literally designate men, certain men groups of men to stand at all of the different gates of Mecca that the different tribes would arrive through and as the tribes arrive, hey, we have someone here named Mohammed. He's got people with him. They call themselves Muslim. Make sure that you listen to them. this man is a a madman or this man is a magician or he's a soothsayer, he's a sorcerer, or he's possessed by a devil and stuff this. Don't listen to him. Whatever you do, do not allow him to entrance you with his Quran. Now, obviously, this had the opposite effect because if they had just left it alone, you know, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had written and ordained that this religion was going to spread. And it was going to spread not just in spite of its antagonist but this religion is going to spread largely because of its antagonist. Meaning that the prophet has said he said that Allah is going to spread this religion and raise it in people's thought. Even if upon thee even if by even even through or even by the way of this religion's antagonist. Even by those who are sinful. And so because they said all of these things and human beings naturally to hear stories of chaos and stories of misery stories of and they love to hear rumors and things like that. They peaked everyone's curiosity. So, when everybody came in, they're not curious. Now, they're going to go out of their way to catch a glimpse of this Muhammad character that they say that they're speaking about. They're going to go out of their way to try to hear this Quran. What's so fantastic about it? Why is Quraish acting so scared of it? And Because of these efforts, Islam spread all the way to the far regions of the Arab Peninsula and beyond even before the prophet migrated to Medina. And so, when that happened, when when people go back from Mecca to wherever they came from, they take their stories with them. They take news with them. They take information with them and rumors of what other are doing and what's going on and so one of those things that they would take back is the curious case of the prophet Muhammad while we were there we met a man. His name was this. He recites a book this. He claims he's a messenger from Allah, etcetera, etcetera. Now, people that were not planning to go to Hajj are going to go to Hajj just to catch a a glimpse of the Muslims and their prophet, right? And so, this was a major advancement for the Muslims. Because a person garners attention Quarts attention. When Islam gets into the mind and the consciousness of the general masses. If they come, to the source of that religion, the prophet Muhammad the Quran being the most pure source of the religion of Islam. They will in awe of the of what they hear and the message will have been conveyed properly. And so many of the people that heard of him were curious, came to catch a glimpse. They wanted to kind of gawk at this person that has Quresh. So indignated. And would end up accepting Islam. And going back to their tribes and their families and all far corners of the Arab Peninsula and Arab world and convey what it is they have heard, convey what it is they had learned and memorized and so, the harder they tried to put it out to put the light of Islam out, the more intense it became. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said about this He said Allah that they seek to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths. But Allah refuses but that his light be perfected and completed upon mankind. In spite of the disbelievers and so, the harder they tried to spread rumors about Islam and so forth, the more people started to accept Islam and this is the way that it will be until the end of time. The message of Islam will not be transmitted under any light except that his purity will touch people's heart. And so, as they saw that this was only making things worse, Only making them worse. It's only, it's only in their mind. It's only making the prophet more relevant. It's only, it's only causing to draw people to Islam rather than hinder people from Islam with these rumors. They decided on another strategy. And that strategy was to have a financial embar go on the prophet and anyone who is affiliated with him and stands between Quraish and the prophet this was not just directed towards the Muslims. This was an active this is an act of war When when when a place is financially cut off, importation, exportation. Marriage, etcetera. There's an act of war, right? And so, they began to wage this warfare on all of Benny Hashem. So they got together and said we all agree We are not going to speak even. We're going to, we are not going to marry to these folks or marry from them. We're not going to trade with them. commerce, any kind of financial aid or any kind of trade when they come to buy something from you, it is illegal to sell them anything. Right As a matter of fact, we're going to all agree not even to speak to them. We are going to socially excommunicate them and ostracize them. So, this is what they decided to do. And they directed this towards Benihashem and Benil Muktalib. The prophet tribe. They decided anyone who is affiliated with them, stands with them, any antagonist of them or sympathizer will not be shown mercy and will be shown the exact same treatment. So, kind of you know, you're either with us or you're with them. If you're not with us, by default, you're with them. and so they got together to write this. Writing something was very, very rare. Only a select is only very select things were written down on paper They would, it's kind of if you if you think about it, right? In our culture writing something down on paper is not a big deal, right? But if you make a monument and engrave it, that's kind of a big deal in our culture. In that time, writing something on paper is essentially memorializing that thing. That means that is a big deal because there's only a handful and when I say a handful, I mean less than three people in all of Quraish that know how to actually read and write. and that was the house of Abu Sufian. Abu Sufian, his son, etcetera. They were the ones who were literate because they had gone outside of the Arab Peninsula and studied Arabic lettering to be able to have the skill to write. And so, when they decide to write something, it's only because this thing is absolutely the pinnacle of sacredness, right? We have to understand the significance of this. Imagine with me something the Geneva Convention right? We know what the Geneva Convention is. It was basically an agreement in lieu of the World Wars. That certain things would not be used as an agreement amongst warring countries. Certain, you know, a lot of things are added to it over the over time. you know, certain kinds of mines and landmines and things that are that name or torture a person, etcetera. Any weapon that and they have list of things in the different countries sign or agree to it. curiously, America has not signed the Geneva Convention but they recognize it, right? I mean, we don't really agree but we agree. So, we haven't officially signed it but we recognize it. And so, this is the same kind of thing. Imagine all of these countries come together and make this kind of huge monumental timeless agreement. This is the same kind of thing that happened between the tribes of Quraish. They got together. found someone literate to write for them and they decided to write down these conditions. Abdul Qa He says.

[Silence]

Uncle. And others in his status, in his bracket started to accepted Islam. This was a very big problem for them. And so, they decided to do this or undertake this embargo against. Benny Hasham and Benny Almo Talib. And they got together. and they got a man named Baril Ibn Amir Ibn Hashem. Is a fitting name for him. In the Arabic language is someone who is deeply hated. Right? Now you would wonder why would someone name his son deeply hated. Well because they did this to me and deeply hated by their tribe's enemies. This is what they meant by Israel. Lot of these names were changed by the prophet when people would enter into Islam. And so They got this man Hashem and they told him to write the following contract. They will not sell or trade or engage in any commerce with Benny Hasham and Benny Al Muktalib. They will not marry from them or to them. They will not speak with them and they will not share company with any of them. Until A step aside and hand over the prophet and so wrote this and they took this document and they hung it in the Kaaba. This is the place they chose to hang it. So, they're essentially saying, this is the set most sacred of sacred documents that we must uphold and they hang this in the Kaaba. They hang it in the Kaaba. That they revered obviously as the house of Allah. Which is very ironic that you would try to separates between the house of Allah and the messenger of Allah. However, this is what they did. Later, when the prophet heard who had written this document, he made dua. supplicated against and it said that his arm became permanently disabled for the remainder of his life. Said.

[Silence]

The prophet uncle. The Muslims from amongst Benny Hashim and Benny Al Mut Talib. And the non Muslims alike were all treated the same. And they were all forced into that shed. And they remained there for about three years. Under circumstances. Under those conditions, three years They remained there and this was in the around the seventh year after the prophet was communicated and sent as a prophet Seven years after they were They were forced into this sheb, into this valley, and they remained there for 3 years under those conditions. They endured such hunger and famine. That anyone who frequented Mecca, anyone who walked in any of the streets of Mecca, at any time of day or night, it said that this person, that if you were in any of the streets of Mecca, day or night, you could always hear the faint cries of the children and women of hunger there in that sheb. And so they were under constant strain for those three years Three years, they remained there to the point that it became almost mythical. The proportions of their of their agony.

[Silence]

So, here's the thing. There is a very famous it's it wasn't really a it wasn't hung in the Kaaba but it's it's well deserved of that. He has a very Abu Talib had a very distinct poem that he wrote. And it's referred to as a La Mia. And he professes his love for the prophet he professes his belief in the prophet message and that he is a messenger and he acknowledges that. However, he refuses to become Muslim. Or to ad here to Islam. Because of the social pressures. And because of his anxiety that he be considered less in the eyes of his fellow tribesmen from amongst Quraish for abandoning their religion of their forefathers. Abu Talib died as a non-Muslim according to the consensus of historians. As a matter of fact, in Bukhari, a Muslim his final words were Abdul Muktalib. His final words of this world War, upon the religion the pagan ways of Abdul Muttalib, right? Meaning, I hereby die upon the pagan ways of of Abdul Muktalib. These were his final words. The prophet discusses this in a few narrations. In which he speaks of his intercession. On behalf of Abu Talib that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive him anyway That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did not forgive Abu Talib. Instead he lightly decreased his agony in hell. However, it was made clear to the prophet and his companions that noone who knowingly rejects Islam and dies upon that. Having made the decision to do so will ever be permitted into paradise and Allah sent down the verse a this verse in knowingly having chosen making a choice to die as disbelievers. and so as this torment continued as this famine continued and a person may think, well, why was there a famine? I mean, it's just Quraish. Why didn't they travel to other parts of the Arab Peninsula and buy from other tribes? It's not that easy. As we said, the influence of Qureish. Upon the other tribes throughout the entirety of the Arab Peninsula was so overwhelming. That when they made Hijra, the first and second time, they had to cross the Red Sea and flee to a completely different continent in order to guarantee or escape the political reach of Qureish. All the tribes in Yemen, all of the tribes in the Arab Peninsula are not going to sacrifice their ties with Quraish over a person that they don't know. And so if Quraish decides that we are not going to do business with these folks, we are not going to sell anything to them. We're not going to buy anything from them. Not even one grain of sustenance. If they decide that and they decide that anyone who helps them or aids them is one of them you're going to risk a lot. You're going to risk even your tribe's own livelihood, your own survival, to break your connections and ties with Quraish. Because because is they are the gatekeepers of Mecca. They are the gatekeepers of the Kaaba at that time. And some tribes, many tribes. We're completely reliant upon Hajj season for their livelihood throughout the year. Imagine that you you have some trade that you make. and that usually is going to be one time a year. Whatever it is, heroes. Even if you're a seamstress, even if you're, you know, even if you're a blacksmith, whatever. You're going to travel to Mecca, do all of your business during those three months and then travel home and that's your livelihood for the rest of the year. Right? and so you're not going to risk that for protecting or dealing with someone that you don't have any emotional bond with or even if you do, it's it's a bad political move. So, they kind of shamed and forced everyone into this agreement. So, they had nowhere to go to purchase anything, not even a bag of of grain. They had nowhere to buy anything from. This is why there was a famine. famine took place During this time because Abu Talib was wealthy. much of Beni Hashem and were wealthy. But if you don't if you can't find anyone to accept your money what what good is the money going to do you? Right? Money itself does not secure resources. political ties can secure resources and so due to the political reach of Quraish, a famine ensued during those three years. However, They started to have what I started to experience some dissonance amongst one another with regards to the the anguish that they were putting their own tribesmen through and some of them their own family members through. How is that? Well, you know, when they signed this agreement in the seventh year, they signed this agreement and they thought, look, you know, once they start getting really hungry, they're going to give up 6 months, a year. They're going to abandon him, abandon Muhammad and will be able to deal with him swiftly and everything can go back to normal. This is what they expected. but when it dragged on for a year, 2 years, three years, their own tribesmen are dying. They are dying of malnutrition, their babies are dying, their children are dying, this person's grandchildren, this person's daughters, this person's, it started to get really, really, become more and more unacceptable to a lot of people in Quresh. Right? And so, they, the tribe's leaders, Abu Jahil, Abu Lahab, these guys that were instigating this. Abu Sufian, they started to experience a lot of dissonance from the rest of their tribesmen. look, you know, this is going on long enough. Look what we're doing to these poor people over what? Right? And so, this dissonance that started to sprout throughout Quraish is what really Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala used to end this embargo. He says.

[Silence]

About the elephant in the room, right? Look at what we're doing. This can't be okay. We don't agree with this. It's really too bad what we're doing to our own people and so forth. And so, The prophet was shown in a vision or was told by way of revelation. that termites had eaten away this paper that was in the Kaaba. It's whole agreement. It's been eaten entirely. Everything haram in it has been completely devoured. The only thing that is left is whatever part of it has Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's names in it. So, the prophet told Abu Talib about this. Abu Talib took this as an opportunity to try to come to try to reach some kind of resolution and so, he came as a delegate to the nobility of Quresh and he said, look, this is what my nephew has told me That this agreement that's in the Kaaba, you guys know as well as we do, there's no possible way any of us has taken a look at it since it was there. He's told me that it's completely been eaten away except for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's name. Listen, if that is the case, you go and check on it and find that that's true. Then, relieve us of this embargo. This has to end. And if not, if what he said is not true, we will let you do whatever you want to. and so, they went and they said, you know what? That's actually very fair. Why? They were blinded by it being an opportunity for them to kill the prophet with impunity. So, they went arrogantly and looked at it and found that it was exactly as Abu Talib told them. And so, they were shamed into allowing them back and ending the embargo. However, in their hearts, they were increased in their disbelief and disdain for Islam and the prophet to feverish heights. So, this is enough for tonight inshallah. We'll continue next week.

[Arabic recitation]