لَمَّا بُعِثَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ، دَعَا أَوَّلًا زَوْجَتَهُ خَدِيجَةَ فَآمَنَتْ بِهِ. ثُمَّ دَعَا ابْنَ عَمِّهِ عَلِيًّا فَآمَنَ بِهِ ﷺ. ثُمَّ دَعَا مَوْلاهُ زَيْدًا فَآمَنَ بِهِ ﷺ. ثُمَّ دَعَا صَدِيقَهُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ فَآمَنَ بِهِ أَيْضًا ﷺ. وَلَمْ يَزَلْ ﷺ يَدْعُو النَّاسَ إِلَى الْإِسْلَامِ، فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ آمَنَ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ رَفَضَ.

When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was sent, he first invited his wife Khadijah and she believed in him. He (pbuh) then invited his cousin ‘Ali and he believed in him. He then invited his servant Zayd, and he believed in him. And then he invited his friend Abu Bakr, who also believed in him. He continued to invite people to Islam, some believed and others rejected.

لَمَّا أَسْلَمَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ، نَشَرَ عَقِيدَتَهُ بَدَوْرِهِ فِي الَّذِينَ يَثِقُ بِهِمْ، وَدَعَاهُمْ إِلَى اللهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَإِلَى رَسُولِهِ ﷺ. وَكَانَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ مَكِينًا عَزِيزًا فِي قَوْمِهِ، يَأْنَسُونَ بِصُحْبَتِهِ، وَيَسْتَشِيرُونَهُ دَائِمًا فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْأُمُورِ. فَاسْتَعَانَ بِنُفُوذِهِ عَلَى إِقْنَاعِ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ عَفَّانَ، وَالزُّبَيْرِ بْنِ الْعَوَّامِ، وَعَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَوْفٍ، وَسَعْدِ بْنِ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ، وَطَلْحَةَ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ اللهِ بِالْإِسْلَامِ، فَجَاءَ بِهِمْ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ، فَأَقَرُّوا جَمِيعًا بِإِيمَانِهِمْ وَصَلَّوْا مَعَهُ. ثُمَّ أَسْلَمَ عَامِرُ بْنُ الْجَرَّاحِ (الْمَعْرُوفُ بِأَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ)، وَكَذَلِكَ عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْأَسَدِ (الْمَعْرُوفُ بِأَبِي سَلَمَةَ)، وَالْأَرْقَمُ بْنُ أَبِي الْأَرْقَمِ، وَعُثْمَانُ بْنُ مَظْعُونٍ وَغَيْرُهُمْ. ثُمَّ دَخَلَ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ عَدَدٌ كَبِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ، حَتَّى صَارَ حَدِيثَ النَّاسِ فِي قُرَيْشٍ.

When Abu Bakr embraced Islam, he in turn carried his belief to the people whom he trusted and called towards Allah (swt) and His Messenger (pbuh). Abu Bakr was held in high esteem among his people, they enjoyed his company and always consulted him on many issues. He used his influence to persuade ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, together with Zubayr ibn al-’Awwam, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Auf, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas and Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullah to embrace Islam. He brought them to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) where they all confirmed their belief and offered prayer. Then, ‘Amir ibn al-Jarrah (known as Abu Ubaydah) embraced Islam, and so did ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-Asad (known as Abu Salamah) as well as al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam, ‘Uthman ibn Maz’un and others. Scores of people subsequently embraced Islam, until it became the topic of discussion amongst the people of Quraysh.

في البداية، كان رسولُ الله ﷺ يزورُ الناسَ في بيوتهم، يُخبرهم أنّ الله تعالى أمرهم بأن يعبدوه وألّا يُشركوا به شيئًا. وقد دعا النبيُّ ﷺ الناسَ إلى الإسلام في مكةَ علانيةً، فامتثل بذلك أمرَ الله.

In the beginning, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would visit people in their homes, telling them that they had been commanded by Allah (swt) to worship Him and to associate none with Him. He (pbuh) openly invited people to Islam in Makkah, thus abiding by Allah’s command,

{يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ قُمْ فَأَنْذِرْ} [المدثر: ١-٢]

“O you enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn!” [Al-Muddaththir, 74:1-2].

بعد ذلك، كان رسولُ اللهِ ﷺ يتّصلُ بالناسِ سرًّا ليعلّمَهم الإسلامَ ويجمعَهم على أساسِ الدّينِ.

After this, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would contact people secretly to teach them Islam and gather them on the basis of the Deen.

كان الصحابة يصلّون في التلال المحيطة بمكة بعيدًا عن قريش. وكلما أسلم أحدٌ، كان رسول الله ﷺ يرسل إليه أحدًا ممن أسلموا قبله ليعلّمه القرآن. فأرسل خبّابَ بنَ الأرتّ ليعلّم القرآنَ فاطمةَ بنتَ الخطّاب وزوجَها سعيدًا. وفاجأهما عمرُ بنُ الخطّاب ذات مرة وهما مجتمعان في حلقتهما، فأسلم في الحال. غير أن رسول الله ﷺ أدرك أن هذا لا يكفي، فجعل دارَ الأرقمِ بنِ أبي الأرقم مركزًا لدعوته، ومكانًا يعلّم منه المسلمين القرآنَ ويرسّخ معرفتهم بالإسلام، ويحثّهم على تلاوة القرآن وفهمه. وكلما أسلم أحدٌ، كان رسول الله ﷺ يلتقيه في دار الأرقم. واستمر على هذه المهمة ثلاث سنوات، يعلّم هذه الجماعة من المسلمين، ويؤمّهم في الصلاة، ويقوم معهم الليل، ويحفّز نفوسهم، ويقوّي إيمانهم بالصلاة والتلاوة، ويعينهم على تحسين طريقة تفكيرهم وعلى التدبّر في آيات القرآن وفي خلق الله ﷻ. وعلّمهم كيف يصبرون على كل الشدائد بالاستسلام لله ﷻ.

The Sahabah (Companions) used to offer prayers in the hills on the outskirts of Makkah away from the Quraysh. Everytime someone embraced Islam, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) would send him or her someone from those who had embraced Islam earlier to teach them the Qur’an. He (pbuh) sent Khabbab ibn al- Arrat to teach the Qur’an to Fatimah bint al-Khattab and her husband Sa’id. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab once surprised them while they held their circle, and he embraced Islam then and there. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) however realized that this was not enough, so he set up the house of al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam as the centre of his call, a place from which he taught Muslims the Qur’an and perfected their knowledge of Islam, encouraging them to recite the Qur’an and understand it. Whenever someone embraced Islam, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) would meet him in the house of al-Arqam. He (pbuh) pursued this task for three years, teaching this group of Muslims, leading them in prayers, and performing Tahajjud at night, motivating their souls, strengthening their belief through prayer and recitation, helping them to improve their way of thinking and to reflect on the verses of the Qur’an and the creation of Allah (swt). He (pbuh) taught them how to endure all hardships by submitting to Allah (swt).

بقي رسول الله ﷺ مع جماعته من المسلمين في دار الأرقم حتى أنزل الله عز وجل قوله،

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) remained together with his party of Muslims in the house of al-Arqam until Allah (swt) revealed his saying,

فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ [Al-Hijr, 15: 94]

“Therefore, proclaim openly, that which you are commanded, and turn away from “Al-Mushrikun” [Al-Hijr, 15: 94]