In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.


I want to share with you some things about the challenges that Muslims faced in the early days of Islam, things you may not have heard before. The Prophet of light and mercy, Muhammad, after the beginning of his mission, invited people and friends to Islam secretly for three years. After three years, by the command of God, he began to openly invite people, which led to challenges from the leaders of Quraysh.


The leaders of Quraysh, seeing their power and influence in danger, approached his uncle, Abu Talib, and asked him to make Muhammad stop his activities. They told Abu Talib that they would offer him great wealth and power, and they would marry him to the most beautiful women of Arabia if he would tell Muhammad to cease his call to monotheism.


Abu Talib invited Muhammad to his home and conveyed the message from the leaders of Quraysh to him. However, Muhammad replied, "By God, if they were to place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand, I would not abandon this mission."


The leaders of Quraysh, unable to deter Muhammad from his goals through threats and temptations, began to mock him in public gatherings. They called him a sorcerer and a magician, sometimes saying he had gone mad or was lying. They would throw stones at him and subject him to various forms of harassment.


Yet, Muhammad remained steadfast and patient in his mission to promote the worship of the One God.

The Prophet of light and mercy would read the Quran to his companions and inform them of the divine commandments. One day, he decided to hold a grand feast to invite his family to Islam. He prepared a large banquet with plenty of food and introduced himself as the Messenger of God. He said, "Hasten towards the One God, the Truth and Reality," and whoever supports me will be my successor. He repeated this phrase three times, and each time, his cousin Ali declared that he had faith in him.


The rest of his family mocked him and returned to their homes. Among those who harassed the Prophet and his companions was Abu Lahab, his uncle, and his wife would insult the Prophet.


One of the Prophet's companions was Bilal, a black man who had become interested in the truth of Islam. He was tortured severely with whips to make him abandon his faith, but he later became the muezzin of the Prophet's mosque.


Another companion of the Prophet was Ammar. Ammar invited his parents, Yasir and Sumayyah, to Islam, and they eagerly accepted. However, the disbelievers of Quraysh severely tortured Yasir and Sumayyah. They would lay them on the hot sands of Mecca and place heavy stones on their chests, forcing them to insult the Prophet or swear by the idols of the Kaaba. But Sumayyah and Yasir refused to do such things and were martyred under torture. Sumayyah became the first female martyr in the path of Islam, sacrificing her life for her faith.


The Prophet would read the Quran beautifully and melodiously for the people, but the leaders of Quraysh had told everyone that he was a sorcerer and that they should stuff their ears with cotton. However, one night, while the Prophet was reading the Quran in his room, one of the disbelievers came and listened to his enchanting voice, realizing that several of the leaders of Quraysh had also come.


They saw each other and reproached one another, and on subsequent nights, they would return to listen to the Prophet's voice. They knew that the Quran was a miracle and that its message posed a threat to their power and authority.

The leaders of Quraysh decided to expel Muhammad and his companions from Mecca and to besiege them in the Shi'b of Abu Talib. They made a pact that none of their young men would marry any of the Muslims, and that no trade would take place between them. They signed the treaty and placed it in the Kaaba.


The Muslims lived in the Shi'b of Abu Talib for three years under harsh conditions, and all the wealth and possessions of the Prophet were spent on the Muslims. In the final year, their patience had worn thin due to hunger and poverty, when a message from God was sent to the Prophet, stating that the treaty remained only the name of Allah, as the termites had eaten the document.


The Prophet sent the message through his uncle Abu Talib to the leaders of Quraysh, but they mocked him. Abu Talib said, "Go and bring the treaty. If it is not as Muhammad says, I will hand him over to you so that you can kill him." 


They went to retrieve the treaty and found that the only word remaining was "Allah," as the termites had consumed the rest. This caused the economic blockade of the Shi'b of Abu Talib to be broken, and many people of Quraysh began to believe in the Prophet and his God. They allowed the Prophet to preach Islam near the Kaaba during specific times without endangering their positions.


Dear friends, in the next word, I would like to talk to you about the migration of the Prophet and his companions to another city and the new challenges faced by the Muslims.