12/15/00


Salaams, Ramadan Mubarak. Welcome to the Muslimsworldwide newsletter.
For all of you who join me today, the article entitled The First
Muslims was 1 of many article about the detailed life of Prophet
Mohammad(pbuh). If interested, browse through the many articles.
Allah Hafiz
May Allah be with you every step of the way...
M. Editor

THE FIRST MUSLIMS
AFTER that momentous day in the month of Ramadan, Revelation came
again and again to the Prophet (pbuh). He understood now what he had
to do and prepared himself for what was to come. Only a strong and
brave man, helped by Allah, can be a true prophet because people
often refuse to listen to Allah's message.
Khadijah was the first to believe the Prophet (pbuh) and accept as
true what he brought from Allah. Through her, Allah made things
easier for the Prophet (pbuh). Khadijah strengthened him, helped him
spread his message, and stood up to the people who were against him.
Then Revelation ceased for a time. The Prophet (pbuh) was upset and
unhappy, thinking that Allah had left him, or that he might have
angered Allah in some way so that Allah no longer thought him worthy
of His message. However, the Archangel Gabriel came back to him and
brought this surah, or chapter, of the Koran:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
By the morning hours
And by the night when it is stillest,
Thy Lord hath neither forsaken thee nor doth He hate thee,
And verily the Last will be better for thee
than the First.
And verily thy Lord will give unto thee so that
thou wilt be content.
Did He not find thee an orphan and protect thee?
Did He not find thee wandering and guide thee?
Did He not find thee destitute and enrich thee?
Therefore the orphan oppress not,
Therefore the beggar drive not away,
And as for thy Lord's blessing, declare it.
(Koran: xciii.1-11)
The Prophet (pbuh) began to speak secretly of Allah's message to
those Who were close to him and whom he could trust. At that time
Mecca was going through hard times. There was very little food to be
had. Abu Talib, the Prophet's uncle, who had taken care of him after
his grandfather's death, was finding it very difficult to feed his
large family. The Prophet (pbuh) said that he and another uncle, al-
'Abbas, who was a rich man, would each bring up one of Abu Talib's
children in order to help him. The Prophet (pbuh) took `Ali and
his
uncle took Ja'far.
One day, when the Prophet (pbuh) was outside the city, the Archangel
Gabriel appeared to him. The Archangel kicked the side of a hill and
a spring of water began to flow out. He then began to wash himself in
the running water to show the Prophet (pbuh) the ritual ablution to
be made before prayer.
Then the Archangel showed him all the positions of Muslim prayer-the
various movements and things to be said with each movement. The
Prophet (pbuh) returned home and taught all these things first to
Khadijah and then to his followers. Since then Muslims have continued
to purify themselves before prayer by performing the ritual ablution
and have followed the same movements and prayers first performed by
the Prophet (pbuh).
To begin with, though, only the Prophet (pbuh) and his wife knew of
these things. Then one day `Ali entered the room and found the
Prophet (pbuh) and Khadijah praying. He was puzzled and asked what
they were doing. The Prophet (pbuh) explained to him that they were
praising Allah and giving thanks to Him. That night 'Ali stayed up
thinking about all that the Prophet (pbuh) had said; he had great
admiration and respect for his cousin. Finally he came to a decision
and the next day he went to the Prophet (pbuh) and told him that he
wanted to follow him. Thus Khadijah was the first woman to embrace
Islam, the teachings which the Prophet (pbuh) brought from Allah,
and `Ali was the first
young man. Shortly after they were joined by Zayd ibn Harithah, a
slave, freed and adopted by the Prophet (pbuh). The Prophet (pbuh)
began to leave Mecca with 'An in order to pray. One day Abu Talib
happened to pass by and when he saw them he stopped and asked them
what they were doing. The Prophet (pbuh) told him that they were
praying and following the same religion as Abraham. He explained
that, like Abraham, he had been ordered to guide the people to
Allah's truth. Abu Talib looked at his son, 'Ali, and said: 'Muhammad
(pbuh) would never make you do anything that was wrong. Go with him.
But I cannot leave the religion I now follow and which was followed
by my father.' Then he turned to the Prophet (pbuh), saying, 'Even
so, I promise you, Muhammad (pbuh), that no one will hurt you as long
as I am alive.' And with that Abu Talib went on his way.
At about this time the news of Muhammad (pbuh) being the Prophet
reached an honest, wise, and respected merchant of Mecca called Abu
Bakr. He knew Muhammad (pbuh) well and believed he could never lie,
so he went to find out for himself if the story were true. The
Prophet (pbuh) told him that he had indeed been sent by Allah to
teach everyone to worship the one true Allah. On hearing this from
the Prophet's own lips Abu Bakr knew it to be the truth and became a
believer instantly. Later the Prophet (pbuh) was reported to have
said that everyone he ever invited to accept Islam showed signs of
disbelief and doubt, except Abu Bakr; when he was told of it he did
not hold back or hesitate.
Because of his wisdom, honesty, and kindness people had always turned
to Abu Bakr for advice. He was, therefore, a man of some influence
and through him many people came to Islam. Among these was Sa'd ibn
Abi Waqqas as, the uncle of Aminah, the Prophet's mother. The night
before Abu Bakr came to visit him and tell him about Islam, Sa'd ibn
Abi Waqqas dreamt that he was walking in darkness. As he walked he
saw the moon and when he looked at it he saw 'Ali, Abu Bakr, and
Zayd, the Prophet's freed slave, beckoning to him to come and join
them. Whe at home. Abu Bakr talked to the slave about Islam and
before he left, Bilal, too, had become a Muslim.
The number of people following the Prophet (pbuh) began to grow.
Sometimes they would all go out of the city to the mountains around
Mecca to hear him recite the Koran and to be taught by him. This was
all done very secretly and only a very few people knew about Islam in
those early days.

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