Page 90 - The Vision of Islam

Seerah as a Movement

conversation between Dhu’l Jaushan Al-Dhubbai and the Prophet
shows the simplicity of the Arabs’ thinking:
‘“Why don’t you accept Islam,’ the Prophet said to Dhu’l
Jaushan, ‘so that you may be counted among the first to have done
so?’ Dhu’l Jaushan said that he would not. The Prophet asked why.
‘I have heard that your people are after your blood,’ Dhu’l Jaushan
said. ‘Have you not heard about their defeat at Badr?’ asked the
Prophet. Dhu’l Jaushan said that he had. ‘We are only showing
you the path of guidance,’ said the Prophet. Dhu’l Jaushan said
that he would not accept Islam, until the Prophet had conquered
Makkah, and won control of the Kabah. ‘If you live, you will see
this happen,’ said the Prophet. Dhu’l Jaushan says that later he
was with his family in Ghaur when a rider came up. Dhu’l Jaushan
asked him what was afoot. ‘Muhammad has conquered Makkah
and taken control of the Sacred Territory,’ he said. ‘Woe betide me,’
said Dhu’l Jaushan. ‘If only I had accepted Islam on that day: if I
had asked Muhammad for an emerald, he would have given it to
me.” (Tabarani)

reacTion To The message of islam

When the Prophet of Islam commenced his preaching mission,
he met with exactly the reaction one would expect from a
society hearing a new message. People were at a loss to grasp the
meaning of his teachings. Once the Quraysh nobility sent ‘Utba
ibn Rabi’ya as their representative to the Prophet. He embarked
on a long denunciation of the Prophet and his teachings. When
he had had his say, the Prophet asked him: “Have you finished?”
‘Utba said that he had. ‘In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the
Merciful,’ the Prophet began, and then went on to recite the first
thirteen verses of chapter forty-one of the Quran entitled ‘Ha
Mim As-Sajdah.’ ‘Don’t you have anything else to say?’ ‘Utba asked
indignantly. The Prophet said that he did not. When he returned to
the Quraysh, they asked him what had happened, ‘I said whatever

89