incident in which he called all his family members to
Mount Safa and invited them to Islam and was openly
denounced by his uncle, Abu Lahab, took place at this
time. The engagement of two of his daughters to the
two sons of Abu Lahab was called off by Abu Lahab to
punish the Prophet a for his mission.
Open invitation to all at age 44
The following year he was ordered to openly invite
all the Makkans to Islam. This sparked massive unrest
in Makka and pitted him against the tribal leaders of
Quraysh.
Alone to deal with Quraysh at 45
Up until now, the Prophet a and his followers were a
target of hate and abuse from Quraysh. To protect the
lives and faith of Muslims was more important to the
Prophet a than his own. Therefore, the Prophet a,
ordered the Muslims to migrate to Abyssinia (Habasha).
This migration took place twice in the same year when
he was 45 years old. Once again, he was mostly alone to
face the abuse of Quraysh.
First open miracle at age 46
From time to time, Quraysh would ask the Prophet a to
prove his prophethood. As a result, the famous miracle
of the splitting of moon took place when he was 46 in
Mina just outside of Makka. This miracle is also cited in
Surat al-Qamr.
Social boycott at age 47
Quraysh devised a new plan to subjugate the Prophet a.
They passed a resolution to socially boycott the Prophet
a, his followers and his supporting family members.
The Prophet a and his family members were forced to
leave their homes and take refuge in a glen. No one was
allowed to interact or do any trade with the Muslims.
This boycott lasted for three years until the Prophet a
was informed by Jibril e that the writ had been consumed
by the ants. Later, they found that the ants had
indeed eaten the whole writ except for the part where
the name of Allah was written.
Loss of wife and uncle at age 50
Not too long after the boycott, the Prophet a suffered
the loss of his two greatest supporters within the same
year: his uncle Abu Talib and his wife Khadija j. He
married Sauda, a widow, and ‘Ayesha k, the daughter of
Abu Bakr g.
Invitation outside Makka at 50
The death of Abu Talib and Khadija j gave Quraysh an
open hand to persecute and even murder the Prophet
a. It was then that the Prophet a decided to invite
tribes in the surrounding areas to Islam. He traveled to
Taif where he was ridiculed and denounced by the residents
of Taif. They stoned him until he fled the city and
was forced to take refuge in a garden outside of the city.
Outsiders accepting Islam at 51
The Prophet a would invite non-Makkans who came
for Umra and Hajj. In the 11th year of prophethood,
when he was 51, 6 men from Yathrib accepted Islam
after meeting the Prophet a in a secret place behind
a mountain pass in Mina. Thereafter, the Prophet a
allowed the Muslims to start migrating to Yathrib. This
became a turning point for Islam. Yathrib was the only
city in which most of its population accepted the invitation
to the oneness of Allah.
Events at 52 years of age
Allah rewarded the Prophet a for his forbearance with
the gift of Mi‘raj, a miraculous journey from Masjid
al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa and then to the seven heavens
where he witnessed a surreal and celestial world
that is beyond any imagination to comprehend. He also
received the order to pray five times salat in the Mi‘raj.
Events at 53 years of age
The second Pledge of Aqaba took place when he was 53
in which 73 men and 2 women from Yathrib came to
Makka and made bay‘a with the Prophet a. They also
invited the Prophet a to migrate to Yathrib and promised
to support him and his mission.
The Muslims in Makka were granted permission to
migrate to Yathrib.
The Quraysh conspired to kill the Prophet a but he
migrated to Yathrib.
22 May – June 2021 | AL-MADINAH