The Seerah · Chapter 9
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PART 2 · THE MAKKAN PERIOD · الْعَهْدُ الْمَكِّيُّ

STAGE 3 · THE OPEN CALL

الْإِيذَاءُ وَالصَّبْرُ

Chapter 9: Persecution and Patience

Quraysh tried mockery, pressure and torture — and the believers stood firm

Sheikh Mohamed Fawzyالشيخ محمد فوزي

© 2026 Sheikh Mohamed Fawzy. All rights reserved. Version 1.7

Quraysh fight back أَسَالِيبُ قُرَيْشٍ

How Quraysh fought the message

Mockery

Tap to open

They called him a poet, a magician, a madman — to stop people from listening.

Pressure on Abū Ṭālib

Tap to open

They asked his uncle again and again to stop him or hand him over.

Torture

Tap to open

They tortured the weak Muslims who had no tribe to protect them.

أَحَسِبَ ٱلنَّاسُ أَن يُتۡرَكُوٓاْ أَن يَقُولُوٓاْ ءَامَنَّا وَهُمۡ لَا يُفۡتَنُونَ ۝٢ وَلَقَدۡ فَتَنَّا ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِهِمۡۖ فَلَيَعۡلَمَنَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُواْ وَلَيَعۡلَمَنَّ ٱلۡكَٰذِبِينَ ۝٣
2 Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? 3 But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.
Surat al-‘Ankabūt 29:2–3سورة العنكبوت: ٢–٣

Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm lists the methods of Quraysh in this order. The verses explain that tests are Allah’s way of showing who is truthful.

They harmed him too أَذَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ

Harmed while praying

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: بَيْنَا النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سَاجِدٌ وَحَوْلَهُ نَاسٌ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ جَاءَ عُقْبَةُ بْنُ أَبِي مُعَيْطٍ بِسَلَى جَزُورٍ، فَقَذَفَهُ عَلَى ظَهْرِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَلَمْ يَرْفَعْ رَأْسَهُ فَجَاءَتْ فَاطِمَةُ عَلَيْهَا السَّلَامُ فَأَخَذَتْهُ مِنْ ظَهْرِهِ، وَدَعَتْ عَلَى مَنْ صَنَعَ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ «اللَّهُمَّ عَلَيْكَ الْمَلَأَ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ أَبَا جَهْلِ بْنَ هِشَامٍ، وَعُتْبَةَ بْنَ رَبِيعَةَ، وَشَيْبَةَ بْنَ رَبِيعَةَ، وَأُمَيَّةَ بْنَ خَلَفٍ أَوْ أُبَيَّ بْنَ خَلَفٍ» ...
‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd said: “While the Prophet ﷺ was in prostration, with people of Quraysh around him, ‘Uqbah ibn Abī Mu‘ayṭ came with the inner remains of a slaughtered camel and threw them on the Prophet’s back. He did not raise his head — until Fāṭimah came, took it off his back, and prayed against the one who did it. The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘O Allah, deal with the chiefs of Quraysh: Abū Jahl ibn Hishām, ‘Utbah ibn Rabī‘ah, Shaybah ibn Rabī‘ah, and Umayyah ibn Khalaf — or Ubayy ibn Khalaf…’”
Sahih al-Bukhari 3854Sahih

Look who came to defend him: his young daughter Fāṭimah. The strong men of Quraysh stood laughing; a girl had the courage to act.

Handle calmly. The point: even the Prophet ﷺ was humiliated for his prayer — and he did not stop praying.

The worst day أَشَدُّ مَا صَنَعُوا

“Will you kill a man because he says: My Lord is Allah?”

عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ ابْنَ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ أَخْبِرْنِي بِأَشَدِّ، شَيْءٍ صَنَعَهُ الْمُشْرِكُونَ بِالنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ بَيْنَا النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُصَلِّي فِي حِجْرِ الْكَعْبَةِ إِذْ أَقْبَلَ عُقْبَةُ بْنُ أَبِي مُعَيْطٍ، فَوَضَعَ ثَوْبَهُ فِي عُنُقِهِ فَخَنَقَهُ خَنْقًا شَدِيدًا، فَأَقْبَلَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ حَتَّى أَخَذَ بِمَنْكِبِهِ وَدَفَعَهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ ﴿أَتَقْتُلُونَ رَجُلًا أَنْ يَقُولَ رَبِّيَ اللَّهُ﴾ الْآيَةَ ...
‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr said: “I asked [‘Abdullāh] ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Āṣ: tell me the worst thing the idol-worshippers did to the Prophet ﷺ. He said: While the Prophet ﷺ was praying in the Ḥijr of the Ka‘bah, ‘Uqbah ibn Abī Mu‘ayṭ came, put his cloth around his neck and choked him violently. Abū Bakr came, took him by the shoulder and pushed him away from the Prophet ﷺ, saying: ‘Will you kill a man because he says: My Lord is Allah?’…”
Sahih al-Bukhari 3856Sahih
وَقَالَ رَجُلٞ مُّؤۡمِنٞ مِّنۡ ءَالِ فِرۡعَوۡنَ يَكۡتُمُ إِيمَٰنَهُۥٓ أَتَقۡتُلُونَ رَجُلًا أَن يَقُولَ رَبِّيَ ٱللَّهُ وَقَدۡ جَآءَكُم بِٱلۡبَيِّنَٰتِ مِن رَّبِّكُمۡۖ وَإِن يَكُ كَٰذِبٗا فَعَلَيۡهِ كَذِبُهُۥۖ وَإِن يَكُ صَادِقٗا يُصِبۡكُم بَعۡضُ ٱلَّذِي يَعِدُكُمۡۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهۡدِي مَنۡ هُوَ مُسۡرِفٞ كَذَّابٞ ۝٢٨
And a believing man from the family of Pharaoh who concealed his faith said, "Do you kill a man [merely] because he says, 'My Lord is Allah' while he has brought you clear proofs from your Lord? And if he should be lying, then upon him is [the consequence of] his lie; but if he should be truthful, there will strike you some of what he promises you. Indeed, Allah does not guide one who is a transgressor and a liar."
Surat Ghāfir 40:28سورة غافر: ٢٨

Abū Bakr quoted the believer of Pharaoh’s family — he was a living example of that verse.

The tortured الْمُسْتَضْعَفُونَ

Bilāl, ‘Ammār and Sumayyah

Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ بِلَالٌ

A slave from Abyssinia. He was dragged through the streets of Makkah and left in the burning sun — and he kept repeating: “Aḥad, Aḥad” — “[Allah is] One, One.” Abū Bakr later bought him and set him free.

‘Ammār and his mother Sumayyah آلُ يَاسِرٍ

‘Ammār, his father Yāsir and his mother Sumayyah were tortured together. Sumayyah held firm until she was killed — the historians report that she was the first martyr in Islam.

Sources: the first Muslims who were tortured, and Bilāl repeating “Aḥad, Aḥad”, are reported by Ibn Mas‘ūd in Sunan Ibn Mājah (no. 150), graded ḥasan (sound) by al-Albānī (Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah 122) and Shu‘ayb al-Arna’ūṭ. That Sumayyah was the first martyr is reported by the historians, as in Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm. Told here in summary.

Bilāl later became the first mu’adhdhin of Islam. Ask: what gave a slave the strength to say “Aḥad” under torture?

Patience الصَّبْرُ

“Allah will complete this matter”

عَنْ خَبَّابِ بْنِ الْأَرَتِّ قَالَ: شَكَوْنَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَهْوَ مُتَوَسِّدٌ بُرْدَةً لَهُ فِي ظِلِّ الْكَعْبَةِ، قُلْنَا لَهُ أَلَا تَسْتَنْصِرُ لَنَا أَلَا تَدْعُو اللَّهَ لَنَا قَالَ «كَانَ الرَّجُلُ فِيمَنْ قَبْلَكُمْ ... وَمَا يَصُدُّهُ ذَلِكَ عَنْ دِينِهِ، وَاللَّهِ لَيُتِمَّنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ حَتَّى يَسِيرَ الرَّاكِبُ مِنْ صَنْعَاءَ إِلَى حَضْرَمَوْتَ، لَا يَخَافُ إِلَّا اللَّهَ أَوِ الذِّئْبَ عَلَى غَنَمِهِ، وَلَكِنَّكُمْ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ».
Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt said: “We complained to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was resting on his cloak in the shade of the Ka‘bah. We said: ‘Will you not ask Allah to help us? Will you not pray for us?’ He said: ‘Among those before you, a man would be put in a hole dug in the ground… [and tortured terribly,] and that would not turn him away from his religion. By Allah, Allah will complete this matter until a rider travels from Ṣan‘ā’ to Ḥaḍramawt fearing no one but Allah, and the wolf for his sheep — but you are in a hurry.’”
Sahih al-Bukhari 3612Sahih

Look back

Believers before them suffered even more and stayed firm.

Look ahead

He promised safety across Arabia — and it came true, as the Companions lived to see.

Ṣan‘ā’ and Ḥaḍramawt are both in Yemen; a lone traveller crossing that land safely was unthinkable then.

Lessons دُرُوسٌ وَعِبَرٌ

What we learn

1

Faith is tested

Every believer is tested; the test shows who is truthful (al-‘Ankabūt 29:2–3).

2

Defend the oppressed

Fāṭimah and Abū Bakr did not stay silent when the Prophet ﷺ was harmed.

3

Patience brings victory

“You are in a hurry” — Allah’s promise always comes, in its time.

Review مُرَاجَعَةٌ

Quick quiz

Score: 0 / 4
1.Who removed the camel waste from the Prophet’s back?
Correct (al-Bukhari 3854).
It was his daughter Fāṭimah.
2.What did Bilāl keep saying under torture?
Right.
He said “Aḥad, Aḥad” — Allah is One.
3.Abū Bakr’s words “Will you kill a man because he says: My Lord is Allah?” are from…
Correct.
They are a verse: Ghāfir 40:28.
4.What did the Prophet ﷺ tell Khabbāb and the tortured believers?
Yes (al-Bukhari 3612).
He told them Allah would complete this matter, but they were in a hurry.

They held firm — “Aḥad, Aḥad”

ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam ﷺ

NEXT · Chapter 10: The Migration to Abyssinia · الْهِجْرَةُ إِلَى الْحَبَشَةِ

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