~*~Morale lifting/inspirational stories~*~

i know there is a thread dedicated to short stories, but this one is slightly different. sometimes you read things and see things on tv where Muslims are being tortured, etc and it tends to kill your morale a little and/or makes you feel a little hopeless and think 'is there any way out?' but alhamdulillah, there always seems to be, innit. plus, it is a comfort to know that people before you have gone through it as you have someone to relate to, as well as giving us knowledge about to how to deal with it as we know what grounds to walk on, so to speak. so, in other words, you dont feel so lost...

anyway, i want this thread exclusive for short inspirational stores where we have been battered and bruised, and are put through some severe trials, yet get through it successfully and are immensely rewarded!

stories posted can be from past/previous nations or from present times.



inshallah, ill post mine later...

these excerpts are taken from "The Sealed Nector." to give a bit of background, the Message had been revealed...there was a period wherein the early converts to Islam had to practice in secret as this would not have enraged the Quraish. After a while, preaching openly became apparent and as a result the Muslims were faced with unspeakable tortures, etc...

ATTEMPTS MADE TO CHECK THE ONWARD MARCH OF ISLAM:
Having fully perceived that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) could never be desisted from his Call, Quraish, in a desperate attempt to quell the tidal wave of the Call, resorted to other cheap means acting from base motives:

1. Scoffing, degrading, ridiculing, belying and laughter-instigating cheap manners, all of which leveled at the new converts in general, and the person of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in particular, with the aim of dragging the spirit of despair into their morale, and slackening their ardent zealotry. They used to denounce the Prophet (Peace be upon him) as a man possessed by a jinn, or an insane person:

And they say:

O you [Muhammad (Peace be upon him) ] to whom the Dhikr (the Qur'an) has been sent down! Verily, you are a mad man. [15:6]​

or a liar practicing witchcraft,

And they (Arab pagans) wonder that a warner [Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)] has come to them from among themselves! And the disbelievers say: This [Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)] is a sorcerer, a liar. [38:4].
​

Their eyes would also look at the good man as if they would eat him up ' , or trip him up, or disturb him from the position of stability or firmness. They used all sorts of terms of abuse madman' or one possessed by an evil spirit', and so on:

And verily, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes through hatreds when they hear the Reminder (the Qur'an), and they say: Verily, he [Muhammad (Peace be upon him) ] is a madman! [68:51]​

Amongst the early converts, there was a group who had unfortunately no strong clan at their back to support them. These innocent souls were ridiculed and jeered in season and out of season.

Referring to such people, the highbrow Quraish aristocrats used repeatedly to ask the Prophet (Peace be upon him), with jest and scorn:

Allah has favoured from amongst us? [6:53]​

And Allah said:

Does not Allah know best those who are grateful? [6:53]​

2. Distorting Muhammad's teachings, evoking ambiguities, circulating false propaganda; forging groundless allegations concerning his doctrines, person and character, and going to excess in such a manner in order to screen off any scope of sound contemplation from the public. With respect to the Qur'an, they used to allege that it was:

Tales of the ancients, which he [Muhammad (Peace be upon him) ] has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon. [25:5]​

The iniquitous went on ceaselessly inculcating in people's ears that the Qur'an was not a true Revelation:

This (the Qur'an) is nothing but a lie that he [Muhammad (Peace be upon him)] has invented, and others have helped him at it. [25:4]​

They claimed:

It is only a human being who teaches him. [16:103]​

They also raised another baseless and superficial objection:

Why does this Messenger [Muhammad (Peace be upon him) ] eat food and walk about in the markets (like ourselves)? [25:7]​

They were sadly ignorant and painfully at fault for they could not perceive that a teacher for mankind is one who shares their nature, mingles in their life, is acquainted with their doings, and sympathises with their joys and sorrows.

The Noble Qur'an has vehemently refuted their charges and allegations and has explained that the utterances of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) are the Revelations of the Lord and their nature and contents provide a bold challenge to those who attribute his Prophetic expressions to some base
origin, at times to the mental throes of a dreaming reformer, at others to the effusion of a frenzied poet or the incoherent drivelling of an insane man.

3. Contrasting the Qur'an with the mythology of the ancients in order to distract people's interests from Allâh's Words. It is narrated that An-Nadr, at a later stage, headed for Heerah where he got conversant with the traditions of the kings of Persia and the accounts of people like Rustum and Asphandiar, and then returned to Makkah. Here he would always shadow the Messenger's steps in whatever audiences the later held to preach the new faith and to caution people against Allâh's wrath. An-Nadr would directly follow the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and narrate to the same audience long tales about those people of Persia. He would then always append his talk with a question cunningly inquiring if he did not outdo Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) related that An-Nadr used to purchase songstresses who would through their bodily charms and songs entice away from Islam anyone developing the least attachment to the Prophet (Peace be upon him); in this regard, Allâh says:

And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing, etc.) to mislead (men) from the Path of Allâh. [31:6]​

4. In a fresh attempt to dissuade Muhammad (Peace be upon him) from his principled stand, Quraish invited him to compromise on his teachings and come to terms with their pre-Islamic practices in such a way that he quits some of his religion and the polytheists do the same. Allâh, the All-High says:

They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. [68:9].​

On the authority of Ibn Jareer and At-Tabarani, the idolaters offered that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) worship their gods for a year, and they worship his Lord for a year. In another version, they said: If you accept our gods, we would worship yours. Ibn Ishaq related that Al-Aswad bin Al-Muttalib, Al-Waleed bin Al-Mugheerah, Omaiyah bin Khalaf and Al-As bin
Wa'il As-Sahmy, a constellation of influential polytheists, intercepted the Prophet (Peace be upon him) while he was circumambulating in the Holy Sanctuary, and offered him to worship that they worshipped, and they worship that he worshipped so that, according to them, both parties would reach a common denominator. They added Should the Lord you worship prove
to be better than ours, then it will be so much better for us, but if our gods proved to be better than yours, then you would have benefit from it. Allâh, the Exalted, was decisive on the spot and revealed the following Chapter:

Say: O Al-Kâfirûn (disbelievers in Allâh, in His Oneness, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, in the Day of Resurrection, in Al-Qadar, etc.)! I worship not that which you worship, nor will you worship that which I worship. And I shall not worship that which you are worshipping, nor will you worship that which I worship. To you be your religion, and to me my religion (Islamic Monotheism). [109]​

...to be continued, inshallah...

...continued...

Persecutions
At the beginning of the fourth year of the Call, and for a period of some months, the polytheists confined their harassment tactics to the above-mentioned ones. But on realizing the futility of these procedures, they decided to organize a full-scale opposition campaign. They called for a general meeting and elected a committee of twenty-five men of Quraish notables with Abu Lahab, the Prophet’s uncle, as a chairman. Following some lengthy deliberations, they reached a decisive decision to take measures deemed to stop the tidal wave of Islam through different channels. They were determined to spare no effort, in combatting the new faith. They decided to malign the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] and put the new converts to different sorts of torture using all available resources. It was easy to put the resolutions relating to the new converts who were deemed weak into effect. As for the Prophet [pbuh] , it was not easy to malign him because he had such gravity, magnanimity and matchless perfection of character that deterred even his enemies from committing any act of folly against him. He had, as well, Abu Talib, his uncle, who came from a noble descent and had an awe-inspiring clan to support him. This situation was a source of great worry to the infidels, but they felt that they could no longer exercise patience or show any tolerance before a formidable power marching steadily to annul their religious office and temporal authority.

Abu Lahab himself took the initiative in the new series of persecutions, and started to mete out countless aspects of harmful deeds, hatred and spite against Muhammad [pbuh] . Starting with flinging stones at him, forcing his two sons to divorce their wives Ruqaiya and Umm Kulthum, the Prophet’s daughters [Fi Zilal Al-Qur'an 30/282; Tafheem-ul-Qur'an 6/522], gloating over him on his second son’s death calling him ‘the man cut off with offspring’, and then shadowing his step during the pilgrimage and forums seasons to belie him and entice the bedouins against him and his Call [At-Tirmidhi].

His wife, Umm Jameel bint Harb, the sister of Abu Sufyan had also her share in this ruthless campaign. She proved that she was not less than her husband in the enmity and hatred she harboured for the Prophet [pbuh] . She used to tie bundles of thorns with ropes of twisted palm-leaf fibre and strew them about in the paths which the Prophet [pbuh] was expected to take, in order to cause him bodily injury. She was a real shrew, bad-tempered with abusive language, highly skilled in the art of hatching intrigues, and enkindling the fire of discord and sedition. She was deservedly stained as ‘the carrier of firewood’ in the Noble Qur’ân. On receiving this news, she directly proceeded to the Mosque with a handful of pebbles to hurl at the Prophet [pbuh] . Allâh, the Great, took away her sight and she saw only Abu Bakr who was sitting immediately next to the Prophet [pbuh]. She then addressed Abu Bakr most audaciously threatening to break his Companion’s mouth with her handful of pebbles, and recited a line of verse pregnant with impudent defiance: "We have disobeyed the dispraised one, rejected his Call, and alienated ourselves from his religion." When she had left, Abu Bakr turned to the Prophet [pbuh] and inquired about the matter. The Prophet [pbuh] assured him that she did not see him because Allâh had taken away her sight.[Ibn Hisham 1/335]

Abu Lahab and his household used to inflict those shameful examples of torture and harassment in spite of the blood relation that tied them for he was the Prophet’s uncle and both lived in two contiguous houses. Actually, few of the Prophet’s neighbours abstained from maligning him. They even threw the entrails of a goat on his back while he was performing his prayers. He always used to complain about that unbecoming neighbourliness but to no avail for they were deeply indulged in error.

Al-Bukhari, on the authority of Ibn Mas‘ud, narrated that once when the Prophet [pbuh] was prostrating himself while praying in Al-Ka‘bah, Abu Jahl asked his companions to bring the dirty foetus of a she-camel and place it on his back. ‘Uqbah bin Abi Mu‘ait was the unfortunate man who hastened to do this ignoble act. A peal of laughter rose amongst the infidels. In the meanwhile, Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet [pbuh], happened to pass that way. She removed the filth from her father’s back. The Prophet [pbuh] invoked the wrath of Allâh upon them, especially upon Abu Jahl, ‘Utbah bin Rabi‘a, Shaibah bin Rabi‘a, Al-Waleed bin ‘Utbah, Omaiyah bin Khalaf and ‘Uqbah bin Mu‘ait. It is recorded that all of them were killed in the battle of Badr. [Bukhari 1/37]

Scandal-mongering and backbiting were also amongst the means of oppression that the chiefs of Makkah, in general, and Omaiyah bin Khalaf, in particular, resorted to in their overall process of evil-doing. In this regard, Allâh says:


‘Uqbah bin Al-Mu‘ait once attended an audience of the Prophet [pbuh] and listened to him preaching Islam. A close friend of his, Ubai bin Khalaf, heard of this. He could not tolerate any act of this sort, so he reproached ‘Uqbah and ordered him to spit in the Prophet’s holy face, and he shamelessly did it. Ubai did not spare any thinkable way to malign the Prophet [pbuh] ; he even ground old decomposed bones and blew the powder on him. Al-Akhnas bin Shuraique Ath-Thaqafi used to detract from the character of the Prophet [pbuh] in season and out of season. The Noble Qur’ân, in direct reference to this man’s ignominious deeds, attached to him nine abominable traits:

"And obey not everyone who swears much, — and is considered worthless, a slanderer, going about with calumnies, hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, cruel — after all that base-born (of illegitimate birth)." [Al-Qur'an 68:10-13]​

[Ibn Hisham 1/356]

Abu Jahl’s arrogance and haughtiness blocked all avenues that could produce the least light of belief in his heart:


He, moreover, wanted to debar the Prophet [pbuh] from the Noble Sanctuary. It happened once that the Prophet [pbuh] was praying within the precinct of the Sacred House, when Abu Jahl proceeded threateningly and uttering abusive language. The Prophet [pbuh] chided him severely to which Abu Jahl answered back defiantly claiming that he was the mightiest in Makkah; Allâh then revealed:


In another version of the same incident, the Prophet [pbuh] took Abu Jahl by his neck, rocked him severely saying:


Not withstanding this reproach, Abu Jahl would never wake up to himself nor did he realize his foolish practices. On the contrary, he was determined to go to extremes, and swore he would dust the Messenger’s face and tread on his neck. No sooner had he proceeded to fulfill his wicked intention than he was seen turning back shielding himself with his hands (as if something horrible in his pursuit). His companions asked him what the matter was. He said: "I perceived a ditch of burning fire and some wings flying." Later on, the Messenger commented saying, "If he had proceeded further, the angels would have plucked off his limbs one after another." [Fi Zilal Al-Qur'an 29/312; Muslim]

Such was the disgraceful treatment meted out to the Prophet [pbuh], the great man, respected as he was by his compatriots, with an influential man, his uncle Abu Talib, at his back to support him. If the matters were so with the Prophet [pbuh], what about those people deemed weak with no clan to support them? Let us consider their situation in some detail. Whenever Abu Jahl heard of the conversion of a man of high birth with powerful friends, he would degrade his prudence and intellect, undermine his judgement; and threaten him with dire consequences if he was a merchant. If the new convert was socially weak, he would beat him ruthlessly and put him to unspeakable tortures. [Ibn Hisham 1/320]

The uncle of ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan used to wrap ‘Uthman in a mat of palm leaves, and set fire under him. When Umm Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair heard of her son’s conversion, she put him to starvation and then expelled him from her house. He used to enjoy full luxurious easy life, but in the aftermath of the tortures he sustained, his skin got wizened, and he assumed a horrible physical appearance. [Rahmat-ul-lil'alameen 1/57; Talqeeh Ahl-al-Athar p.60]

Bilal, the slave of Omaiyah bin Khalaf, was severely beaten by his master when the latter came to know of his conversion to Islam. Sometimes a rope was put around his neck and street boys were made to drag him through the streets and even across the hillocks of Makkah. At times he was subjected to prolonged deprivation of food and drink; at others he was bound up, made to lie down on the burning sand and under the crushing burden of heavy stones. Similar other measures were resorted to in order to force him to recant. All this proved in vain. He persisted in his belief in the Oneness of Allâh. On one such occasion, Abu Bakr was passing by; moved by pity, he purchased and emancipated him from slavery. [Ibn Hisham 1/317-318; Rahmat-ul-lil'alameen 1/57]

Another victim of the highhandedness of Quraish was ‘Ammar bin Yasir, a freed slave of Bani Makhzoum. He, along with his mother and father, embraced Islam in its early phase. They were repeatedly made to lie on the burning sand and were beaten severely. ‘Ammar was at times tossed up on embers. The Prophet [pbuh] was greatly moved by the atrocities which were being perpetrated upon ‘Ammar and his family. He always comforted them and raised his hand in prayer and said: "Be patient, you will verily find your abode in the Paradise." Yasir, the father, died because of repeated tortures. Sumaiyah, ‘Ammar’s mother was bayoneted to death by Abu Jahl himself, and thus merited the title of the first woman martyr in Islam. ‘Ammar himself was subjected to various modes of torture and was always threatened to sustain severe suffering unless he abused Muhammad [pbuh] and recanted to Al-Lat and ‘Uzza. In a weak moment, he uttered a word construed as recantation though his heart never wavered and he came back once to the Prophet [pbuh] , who consoled him for his pain and confirmed his faith. Immediately afterwards the following verse was revealed:


Abu Fakeeh, Aflah, a freed slave of Bani ‘Abd Ad-Dar was the third of those helpless victims. The oppressors used to fasten his feet with a rope and drag him in the streets of Makkah. [Eijaz At-Tanzil p.53]

Khabbab bin Al-Aratt was also an easy victim to similar outrages on every possible occasion. He experienced exemplary torture and maltreatment. The Makkan polytheists used to pull his hair and twist his neck, and made him lie on burning coal with a big rock on his chest to prevent him from escaping. Some Muslims of rank and position were wrapped in the raw skins of camels and thrown away, and others were put in armours and cast on burning sand in the scorching sun of Arabia. [Talqeeh Fuhoom Ahl-al-Athar p.60; Rahmat-ul-lil'alameen 1/57]

Even the women converts were not spared, and the list is too long to include all of them. Zanirah, An-Nahdiyah and her daughter, Umm ‘Ubais and many others had their full share of persecution at the hand of the oppressors — ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab included — of course before his conversion to Islam. [Ibn Hisham 1/319]

Abu Bakr, a wealthy believer, purchased and freed some of those she-slaves, just as he did with regard to Bilal and ‘Amir bin Fuheirah.

i shall continue on my lonely mission then...

The Tyrants’ Decision to kill the Prophet [:saws:]

Now that all the schemes and conspiracies of Quraish had failed, they resorted to their old practices of persecution and inflicting tortures on the Muslims in a more serious and brutal manner than ever before. They also began to nurse the idea of killing the Prophet [:saws:] . In fact, contrary to their expectations, this new method and this very idea served indirectly to consolidate the Call to Islam and support it with the conversion of two staunch and mighty heroes of Makkah, i.e. Hamzah bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib and ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab[R] .

‘Utaibah bin Abi Lahab once approached the Prophet [:saws:] and most defiantly and brazenly shouted at him, "I disbelieve in: "By the star when it goes down." [53:1] and in "Then he (Gabriel) approached and came closer." [53:8] In other words: "I do not believe in any of the Qur’ân." He then started to deal highhandedly with Muhammad [:saws:] and laid violent hand on him, tore his shirt and spat into his face but his saliva missed the Holy face of the Prophet [:saws:] . Thereupon, the Prophet [:saws:] invoked Allâh’s wrath on ‘Utaibah and supplicated:

"O Allâh! Set one of Your dogs on him."

Allâh responded positively to Muhammad’s supplication, and it happened in the following manner: Once ‘Utaibah with some of his compatriots from Quraish set out for Syria and took accommodation in Az-Zarqa’. There a lion approached the group to the great fear of ‘Utbah, who at once recalled Muhammad’s words in supplication, and said: "Woe to my brother! This lion will surely devour me just as Muhammad [:saws:] supplicated. He has really killed me in Syria while he is in Makkah." The lion did really rush like lightning, snatched ‘Utbah from amongst his people and crushed his head. [Tafheem-ul-Qur'an 6/522; Quoted from Al-Isti'ab, Al-Isaba, Dala'il An-Nubuwwah, etc]

It is also reported that a wretched idolater from Quraish, named ‘Uqbah bin ‘Abi Mu‘ait once trod on the Prophet’s neck while he was prostrating himself in prayer until his eyes protruded. [Mukhtasar Seerat Ar-Rasool p.113]

More details reported by Ibn Ishaq testify to the tyrants’ deeply-established intentions of killing the Prophet [:saws:] . Abu Jahl, the archenemy of Islam, once addressed some of his accomplices: "O people of Quraish! It seems that Muhammad [:saws:] is determined to go on finding fault with our religion, degrading our forefathers, discrediting our way of life and abusing our gods. I bear witness to our god that I will carry a too heavy rock and drop it on Muhammad’s head while he is in prostration to rid you of him, once and for all. I am not afraid of whatever his sept, Banu ‘Abd Munaf, might do." The terrible unfortunate audience endorsed his plan and encouraged him to translate it into a decisive deed.

In the morning of the following day, Abu Jahl lay waiting for the arrival of the Messenger of Allâh [:saws:] to offer prayer. The people of Quraish were in their assembly rooms waiting for news. When the Prophet [:saws:] prostrated himself, Abu Jahl proceeded carrying the big rock to fulfill his wicked intention. No sooner had he approached closer to the Prophet [:saws:] than he withdraw pale-faced, shuddering with his hands strained the rock falling off. Thereupon, the people watching hurried forward asking him what the matter was. He replied: "When I approached, a male-camel unusual in figure with fearful canines intercepted and almost devoured me." Ibn Ishaq reported that the Prophet [:saws:], in the context of his comment on the incident, said "It was Gabriel, if Abu Jahl had approached closer, he would have killed him.[Ibn Hisham 1/298]" Even so the tyrants of Quraish would not be admonished, contrariwise, the idea of killing the Prophet [:saws:] was still being nourished in their iniquitous hearts. On the authority of ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘As, some people of Quraish were in a place called Al-Hijr complaining that they had been too patient with the Prophet [:saws:] , who suddenly appeared and began his usual circumambulation. They started to wink at him and utter sarcastic remarks but he remained silent for two times, then on the third, he stopped and addressed the infidels saying:

"O people of Quraish! Hearken, I swear by Allâh in Whose Hand is my soul, that you will one day be slaughtered to pieces." As soon as the Prophet [:saws:] uttered his word of slaughter, they all stood aghast and switched off to a new style of language smacking of fear and even horror trying to soothe his anger and comfort him saying: "You can leave Abul Qasim, for you have never been foolish." [Ibn Hisham 1/289]

‘Urwa bin Az-Zubair narrated: I asked Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘As to tell me of the worst thing that the pagans did to the Prophet [:saws:] . He said: "While the Prophet [:saws:] was praying in Al-Hijr of Al-Ka‘bah, ‘Uqbah bin Al-Mu‘ait came and put his garment around the Prophet’s neck and throttled him violently. Abu Bakr came and caught him by his shoulder and pushed him away from the Prophet [:saws:] and said: "Do you want to kill a man just because he says, My Lord is Allâh?" [Bukhari 1/544]