8-1-2013

Episode 49: Aftermath of the Boycott - Consolation & Support from Allah

Welcome to Seerah Pearls, which aims to highlight some tantalising learning points from each episode of the Seerah- Life of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam).

This episodes recounts the multiple times Allah supported the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) by sending down revelation to guide him through difficult situations.

 

1)      1) During the boycott, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) missed visiting the Ka’ba: the confrontations started again when he returned. Abu Jahl told the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) to stop cursing their idols, or they would curse his deity. However, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) never cursed their idols profanely- he just said not to worship them. Allah revealed:

6: 108 [Believers], do not revile those they call on beside God in case they, in their hostility and ignorance, revile God. To each community We make their own actions seem alluring, but in the end they will return to their Lord and He will inform them of all they did.

 2)      Another key opposition leader, Nadr bin al-Harith, approached the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and sat with him. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) always seized these opportunities to give da’wah. He recited some Quran and invited him to Islam. Nadr bin al-Harith began to tell stories of his own and claimed the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) did not have better stories than himself. Allah revealed:

25:1 Exalted is He who has sent the Differentiator down to His servant so that it may be a warning to all people.

25:2 It is He who has control over the heavens and earth and has no offspring––no one shares control with Him––and who created all things and made them to an exact measure.

25:3 Yet the disbelievers take as their gods things beneath Him that create nothing, and are themselves created, that can neither harm nor help themselves, and have no control over death, life, or resurrection.

25:4 The disbelievers say, ‘This can only be a lie he has forged with the help of others’––they themselves have done great wrong and told lies––

25: 5 and they say, ‘It is just ancient fables, which he has had written down: they are dictated to him morning and evening.’

25:6 Say, ‘It was sent down by Him who knows the secrets of the heavens and earth. He is all forgiving, all merciful.’

 3)      The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) sat with Walid bin al-Mughirah and Nadr bin al-Harith came and sat again. He interrupted and insulted the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Allah sent down:

21: 98 You [disbelievers] and what you worship instead of God will be fuel for Hell: that is where you will go-

21:99 if these [idols] had been real gods they would not have gone there- you will all stay there.

21:100 There the disbelievers will be groaning piteously, but the [idols] will hear nothing.

When he recited this, Nadr bin al-Harith became quiet and speechless. Someone else approached him and gave him some advice about a rebuttal. He advised Nadr bin al-Harith to question the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) about how he could reconcile the apparent issue of Isa (AS) being burnt in the Hellfire because people worshipped him. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) clarified that everyone or everything that claimed to be a deity and commanded people to worship them would be in the Hellfire. This would not be the case of good people who were wrongly turned into deities. Allah revealed:

21:101 But those for whom We have decreed Paradise will be kept far from Hell-

21:102 they will not hear a murmur from it- and endlessly they will enjoy everything their souls desire.

 

21:26 And they say, ‘The Lord of Mercy has taken offspring for Himself.