Page 27 - The Winter of Islam and the Spring to Come

HARUN YAHYA (ADNAN OKTAR)
25

The revelation of the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad (saas)
continued for a period of 23 years. During the first 13 years of this pe-
riod, Muslims lived as a minority under a pagan order in Mecca and
faced much oppression. Many Muslims were harassed, abused, tor-
tured, and even murdered, their houses and possessions plundered.
Despite this, however, Muslims led their lives without resorting to vio-
lence and always called the pagans to peace.
When the oppression of the pagans escalated unbearably, the
Muslims emigrated to the town of Yathrib, which was later to be re-
named Medina, where they could establish their own order in a freer
and more friendly environment. Even establishing their own system
did not prompt them to take up weapons against the aggressive pagans
of Mecca.
Furthermore, the Prophet Muhammad (saas) established a secure
and peaceful social environment for Muslims and pagans alike by sign-
ing the peace agreement of Hudaybiya which conceded to the pagans
most of their requests. The party who violated the terms of the agree-
ment and started hostilities once again were the pagans. With rapid
conversions into Islam, the Islamic armies mustered a great force
against the pagan Arabs. However, Muhammad (saas) conquered
Mecca without bloodshed and in a spirit of tolerance. Our Prophet
(saas) did no harm to any one of the pagans who had so persecuted and
tortured him and other Muslims in the past. He forgave them and
treated them with the utmost tolerance. In the words of John Esposito, a
Western expert on Islam, "eschewing vengeance and the plunder of
conquest, the Prophet instead accepted a settlement, granting amnesty
rather than wielding the sword toward his former enemies."
Pagans, who would later convert to Islam of their own free will,
could not help admiring such nobility of character in the Prophet (saas).
Not only during Mecca's conquest, but also in the course of all the
battles and conquests made in the time of the Prophet Muhammad
(saas), the rights of innocent and defenseless people were meticulously
protected. The Prophet Muhammad (saas) reminded believers numer-