Introduction:
This blog is about the migration to Abyssinia which showed how much Muslims clung to their faith.After the first revelation of the Holy Quran in the cave, there was a period of time when this revelation stopped. Therefore, this was very important for prophet Mohammad. It prepared him for what was to come. Consequently, when the revelation of the Holy Quran went on again, there was the clear command that prophet Mohammad had to warn his closest relatives and call and invite them to embrace islam. So, Prophet Mohammad did what Allah commanded thim o do. However, the first converts were: Khadija, the prophet’s wife, abu bakr, the prophet’s closest friend, Ali ibn Abi Talib, the prophet’s young cousin whom the prophet brought up.
Diverse people embraced islam:
Scholars thought on a large scale that the first converts to Islam were mainly slaves and poor people. Nevertheless, a lot of the elite of Makkah justified their rejection to Islam that they didn’t like to do what the poor and the marginal people did by embracing Islam. However, this was not true at all. The first converts included influential men like Abu Bakr, Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn abi Talib and other rich Qurashi men. Of course there were some poor and marginal people who embraced islam as well.
Who were the first converts?
Basically, Islam doesn’t care for or value the social classes. Rather, Islam came to call for the equality of all humans. Trully, there were a lot of people who were thirsty for the sublime values of Islam and the Holy Quran. In Fact, they were thirsty for freedom, equality and appreciating human life. Islam and the Holy Quran call its followers to get ready for life after death. Consequently, the new converts clung to their faith, knowing that their salvation was in embracing Islam.
What Makkah hated about Islam:
Amazingly, these same sublime values were deadly to the lifestyle of the elite of Makkah. The Quraish saw Islam as a direct threat to their materialistic interests. However, the people of Makkah thought Islam and the Holy Quran came only to spoil their children and slaves. They saw that Islam came to ruin their joys of gambling, adultery and wine drinking. They used to respect the man whom they called virtuous, honest and truthful was then their sole enemy. Mohammad and the Holy Quran, were always calling to the most abhorrent things to the people of Makkah.
The call continued, the persecution went on:
Mohammad insisted on what he was doing. Allah asked through the Holy Quran Mohammad to carry on with his call. The converts clung more and more to their faith. The Makkans and Quraish increased their torture and prosecution to the converts, regardless of their social classes.
The prophet encouraged Muslims to migrate:
The best Quran and Islamic studies teachers and tutors teach their kid and adult students that due to the increasing torture and pressure, the companions complained to prophet Mohammad about what they were facing. They asked him for advice. Prophet Mohammad asked them to be more patient. However, he suggested that they had to leave Makkah altogether. They thought about migration to Abyssinia as a safe haven to the suffering long persecuted and vulnerable Muslims.
The first migration to Abyssinia:
A dozen male Muslims and only four women comprised the first migrant to Abyssinia. They chose Abyssinia as a safe haven because the ruler of the country was a just and fair king. The king was a Christian good man who could protect such prosecuted migrants. Therefore, the Muslim converts fled to his country. Amongst those first migrants were Uthman ibn Affan and his wife Ruqayya the daughter of prophet mohammad himself. This fact nullifies the claim and false assumption that the first converts were only poor slaves. This is because Uthman ibn Affan was one of the wealthiest merchants of makkah before and after Islam.
Quraish’s reaction to this migration:
In their online courses of Quran and Islamic studies for kids and adults students learn that Quraish wanted to strangle Islam in its cradle. They would even try to physically kill prophet Mohammad himself. The Quraish had attempted to kill prophet mohammad morally by calling him names. The elite of Makkah had called him a poet, a soothsayer and a magician. The prophet’s enemies aimed to make people avoid him and reject his call.
