The Noble House of Banu Hashim upon Deen-e-Haneef

It is a matter of the highest honour and a truth firmly established, that the blessed house of Banu Hashim — the sacred family of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaho Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam) — never bowed before any idol and never associated any partner with Almighty Allah. From Hadrat Ibraheem (Alaihi Salam) through Hadrat Isma'il (AS) and down to the blessed forefathers of the Holy Prophet (SAWAW), the Hashmi family remained steadfast upon the pure Deen-e-Haneef — the primordial religion of the Oneness of Almighty Allah. While the wider society of Makkah had sunk into the worship of idols placed around the Holy Kaaba, the blessed household of Banu Hashim preserved the pure Tauheed of Hadrat Ibraheem (AS), and it was in this most sacred and untainted lineage that Almighty Allah, by His eternal wisdom, sent the Final Prophet (SAWAW).

The Rising Hostility of Quraish

When the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) openly proclaimed the sacred message from the mount of Safa and continued to invite the people of Makkah towards the Oneness of Almighty Allah, the chieftains of Quraish rose in fierce opposition. Their hostility was not born of any doubt in the blessed honesty of the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) — for they themselves had, all their lives, called him Al-Sadiq and Al-Ameen — but of the fear that the sacred message would shake the false authority of their forefathers, dismantle their power, and end the social order upon which their pride depended.

Leaders such as Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, Utbah, Shaibah, Umayyah ibn Khalaf and others took upon themselves the mocking, slandering and public ridicule of the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) in the gatherings of Makkah, and stirred the people to obstruct the blessed Da'wah by every possible means.

The Persecution of the Earliest Believers

While the blessed personality of the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) stood protected under the honoured guardianship of Hadrat Abu Talib (AS) and the strength of Banu Hashim, the weaker and unprotected among the earliest believers — many of them slaves and freed men, and men and women without tribal backing — bore the full weight of the cruelty of Quraish.

Hadrat Bilal ibn Rabah (Radi Allah-Ho Anhu) was laid upon the burning sands of Makkah with heavy stones placed upon his blessed chest, yet with his tongue he called out only, "Ahad, Ahad" — "One, One" — affirming the Oneness of Almighty Allah. Hadrat Sumayyah (Salam Allah-Ho Alaiha), the honoured mother of Hadrat Ammar (RA), attained the blessed rank of the first shaheedah in Islam under the torture of Abu Jahl. Hadrat Yasir (RA) likewise gave his life upon the path of truth. Hadrat Khabbab ibn al-Aratt (RA), Hadrat Suhaib al-Rumi (RA), Hadrat Ammar ibn Yasir (RA) and many other blessed souls endured burning, beating, hunger and thirst — yet not one of them turned back from the sacred message.

The First Hijrah — The Migration to Habshah

As the persecution intensified, the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) directed a group of the blessed believers to migrate towards Habshah (Abyssinia), a land ruled by the just Christian king Najashi (Negus), of whom the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) said that no injustice was done in his court. Approximately in the fifth year after the blessed proclamation of prophethood, a small group of the faithful — among them Hadrat Uthman ibn Affan (RA) with his blessed wife Hadrat Ruqayyah (SA), the noble daughter of the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) — set out upon this first Hijrah in the way of Almighty Allah.

A second and larger migration followed soon after, led by Hadrat Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (Alaihi Salam). When Quraish sent envoys with gifts to the court of Najashi to demand the return of the believers, Hadrat Ja'far (AS) rose and delivered an eloquent and blessed address, describing the darkness in which the Arabs had been living, and how Almighty Allah had raised among them a Prophet of the purest lineage, the noblest character and the most trustworthy conduct, who had called them to worship the One Almighty Allah alone, to speak the truth, to fulfil trusts, to honour kinship, to protect the neighbour and to cease from every injustice. He then recited the opening verses of Surah Maryam. The just king Najashi wept until his blessed beard was moistened with tears, and openly refused to hand over the believers, declaring that the light which had come to them was from the same lamp as the light of Hadrat Isa (AS).

The Blessed Islam of Hadrat Ameer Hamza (Alaihi Salam)

In this same difficult period, Almighty Allah granted a great strengthening to the sacred mission through the blessed Islam of Hadrat Ameer Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib (Alaihi Salam) — the honoured uncle of the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) — whose acceptance of Islam sent a tremor through the chiefs of Quraish and lent open protection to the blessed personality of the Holy Prophet (SAWAW).

Shortly thereafter, Hadrat Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA), who had at first set out with a drawn sword to harm the Holy Prophet (SAWAW), was turned upon the road by the sacred verses of Surah Ta-Ha recited in the house of his own sister, and came instead to the blessed presence of the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) to affirm faith. With his blessed Islam, the earliest believers, for the first time, offered Salah openly at the Holy Kaaba.

The Boycott in the Valley of Shi'b Abi Talib

Failing to break the sacred mission by ridicule, torture or bribery, the chiefs of Quraish drew up a written pact of boycott against Banu Hashim, in which they pledged to have no marriage, no trade and no dealing of any kind with the blessed clans of the Holy Prophet (SAWAW) until they surrendered him to be killed. The pact was suspended within the Holy Kaaba itself.

Upon this, Hadrat Abu Talib (Alaihi Salam), out of his deep love and unbending loyalty, gathered the entire Banu Hashim — believers and non-believers alike, but excluding only Abu Lahab who sided with Quraish — into the narrow valley afterwards known as Shi'b Abi Talib. There they remained besieged for approximately three long years, cut off from food, trade and social contact. Provisions reached them only in secret, and the blessed household endured hunger so severe that at times the cries of the children were heard from beyond the valley. Yet Hadrat Abu Talib (AS) stood firm as an unshakeable shield around the Holy Prophet (SAWAW), and Banu Hashim, upon the noble Deen-e-Haneef of their forefathers, refused to surrender the blessed personality of the Final Prophet (SAWAW).

At length, by the special decree of Almighty Allah, the parchment of the boycott was found eaten away by insects, with only the Name of Almighty Allah remaining upon it — a sign so clear that even the more honourable men of Quraish could no longer bear the injustice, and the boycott was publicly annulled.