A.

The danger faced by a person who embraced Islam was confined to the tribe or clan to which he belonged, whether through birth, alliance, or slavery. The wider society and other clans had no involvement in the matter. Therefore, the difficulty of responding to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and entering Islam varied from one person to another.

Those who suffered harm and torture were harmed by their own clans. As for a person whose position within his clan protected him from danger, or whose clan had a weak tribal leadership, or whose clan was small and socially insignificant, he faced no danger if he embraced Islam.

There were also individual cases, such as Naufal ibn Khuwaylid ibn Asad ibn Abd al-Uzza, known as Ibn al-Adawiyya. He tied Abu Bakr and Talha together while torturing them. Both belonged to the Taym tribe, but their tribe did not dare to untie them because Naufal was a violent and evil man. Ibn Sa'd says, 2/215: “When Abu Bakr and Talha ibn Ubayd Allah embraced Islam, Naufal ibn Khuwaylid ibn al-Adawiyya seized them and tied them together with a single rope. The Banu Taym did not prevent him! Naufal ibn Khuwaylid was known as the Lion of Quraysh, and for this reason Abu Bakr and Talha were called ‘the two companions tied together.’” See: Ibn Hisham, 1/181; al-Isabah, 6/77.

This demonstrates the extreme weakness of Banu Taym! At the Battle of Badr, Ibn al-Adawiyya was shouting and raging. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “O Allah, protect me from the evil of Ibn al-Adawiyya.” Ali (peace be upon him) then killed him.

B.

Some narrators exaggerated the harm and torture suffered by some of the early Muslims, may Allah be pleased with them. Government-affiliated narrators also fabricated many accounts concerning the number of those who were tortured, the types of torture they endured, and its duration, in order to establish virtues for the ruler and his supporters!

For example, they claimed that Abu Bakr embraced Islam before the death of the mockers, and that his clan protected him, meaning that he had no need for anyone's protection or for migration.

They then spoke of the virtues of those who were tortured for the sake of Allah, including Abu Bakr among them. They said that Ibn al-Adawiyya used to tie him to a rope together with Talha, and that the two were therefore called “the companions tied together.” Ibn Hisham, 1/181.

In al-Isabah, 6/77, however, another person is said to have been the one who tied the two together!

They then spoke about the virtues of migration, claiming that Abu Bakr migrated to Yemen out of fear of Quraysh, where the chief of the Ahabeesh granted him protection. Ibn Hisham, 1/249.

Quraysh's persecution of the Muslims was in fact limited to individuals whose number did not reach twenty. Likewise, those who migrated to Abyssinia numbered fewer than one hundred people.

C.

Despite exaggerating the torture of the Muslims, some narrators concealed the names of those who tortured them. Thus, in their accounts, one often reads descriptions of a certain person being tortured without the name of the perpetrator being mentioned. This was because the torturers and their sons later became among those responsible for governing after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Government narrators therefore recorded their crimes as having been committed by unknown perpetrators! They reluctantly mentioned Umar's name, saying that he used to torture a black female slave belonging to Banu Adi.

D.

The period of the public call to Islam began in the third year, and during it the torture of some of the oppressed began. We find no incident of assault or torture against a Muslim before this period, except in the case of Abu Dharr, may Allah have mercy on him, when he publicly announced his Islam in the mosque and called upon Quraysh to embrace Islam.

After Allah destroyed the mockers and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) openly proclaimed his message, some young men and slaves began embracing Islam publicly, while others accepted Islam secretly. When their Islam was discovered, they were harmed. Abu Uhayha began persecuting his son Khalid ibn Sa'id, while Abu Jahl persecuted the family of Yasir, who were allies of Banu Makhzum. There is no mention of al-Walid ibn al-Mughira participating in their torture, even though they were under his authority. This suggests that they either embraced Islam or that their Islam was discovered after al-Walid, the leader of the mockers, had died.

A narration summarized in al-Manaqib, 1/53, from al-Saduq's Book of Prophethood, on the authority of Imam Zayn al-Abidin (peace be upon him), describes a discussion between the leaders of Quraysh and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and his uncle Abu Talib. It states that the torture occurred afterward. He said:

“Quraysh gathered before Abu Talib while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was with him. They said: ‘We ask you to be fair regarding your nephew.’ He said: ‘What do you mean by being fair regarding him?’ They said: ‘Let him leave us alone, and we will leave him alone. He should not speak to us, and we will not speak to him; he should not fight us, and we will not fight him. This call of his has created distance between hearts, planted hostility, and produced hatred!’

He said: ‘O son of my brother, did you hear them?’ He replied: ‘O uncle, if the sons of my uncle were fair with me, they would answer my call and accept my advice. Indeed, Allah Most High has commanded me to call people to His true religion, the religion of Abraham. Whoever responds to me will have Allah's pleasure and eternal residence in Paradise. Whoever disobeys me, I will fight him until Allah judges between us, and He is the best of judges.’

They said: ‘Tell him to stop insulting our gods and not to speak ill of them.’ Then the verse was revealed: “Say: Is it other than Allah that you order me to worship, O ignorant ones?”

They said: ‘If he is truthful, let him tell us who among us will believe and who will disbelieve. If we find him truthful, we will believe in him.’ Then the verse was revealed: “Allah would not leave the believers in the state you are in until He distinguishes the wicked from the good.”

They said: ‘By Allah, we will insult you and your God.’ Then the verse was revealed: “And the leaders among them went forth, saying: Walk on and remain steadfast in the worship of your gods. Indeed, this is something intended.” (Sad, 38:6)

They said: ‘Tell him to worship what we worship, and we will worship what he worships.’ Then Surat al-Kafirun was revealed.

They said: ‘Tell him: Has Allah sent him specifically to us, or to all people?’ He replied: ‘Rather, I have been sent to all people, to the white and the black, to those upon the tops of the mountains and those in the depths of the seas. I will also call Persia and Rome to it.’ Then the verse was revealed: “Say: O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all.” (Al-A'raf, 7:158)

Quraysh then became arrogant and proud and said: ‘By Allah, if Persia and Rome heard of this, they would snatch us from our land and tear down the Ka'bah stone by stone.’ Then the verse was revealed: “And they say, ‘If we were to follow the guidance with you, we would be swept away from our land.’ Have We not established for them a secure sanctuary?” And also His saying: “Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?”

Mut'im ibn Adi said: ‘By Allah, O Abu Talib, your people have been fair to you and have made every effort to rid themselves of what you dislike. I do not see why you refuse to accept anything from them!’

Abu Talib replied: ‘By Allah, they have not been fair to me. Rather, you have all joined together to abandon me and support the people against me. So do whatever you wish.’ Then every tribe rose against the Muslims among its members, torturing them and trying to turn them away from their religion. Some people from Quraysh came from Ta'if and objected to this. A conflict then occurred, and the Prophet ordered the Muslims to migrate to the land of Abyssinia.”

Ibn Ishaq said, 2/128: “Then Quraysh consulted among themselves about the members of the various tribes who were companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and had embraced Islam. Every tribe rose against the Muslims among its members, torturing them and attempting to turn them away from their religion. Allah protected His Messenger from them through his uncle Abu Talib.”