History of Islam – Pre-revelation: Divine Protection of Prophet Muhammad – Part 9

History of Islam – Pre-revelation: Divine Protection of Prophet Muhammad

Salam alaykum everyone,In this video, I will talk about how Prophet Muhammad was protected from Jahiliyya customs, before he was a Prophet; and I will also talk about his participation to the Hilf al Fudul which means the Assembly of the Virtuous.

Muhammad, pbuh, had been growing up under the protection of his uncle Abu Talib. But, he was also critical of some of the customs in his society. One of the customs in Mecca was that, every year, people would gather around a certain idol, and perform some rites and rituals there. So people were getting prepared for that festival; and Abu Talib, wanted his nephew to get ready for it, too. But prophet Muhammad refused to do that. When Abu Talib and his sisters got a little bit angry with him, he had to come to the festival with them, because they insisted so much. He stayed in the ceremony for a while and then returned to his aunts fearful and worried. His aunts asked what happened. And He said: “When I approached this idol, I saw a tall man, dressed in white, saying to me:

“Do not approach it O Muhammad and remain where you are!”

• After this incident, P.M never attended the festivals like that, until he became a prophet.

Another thing is that, in one of his sayings, he told his companions that he attempted to engage in 2 customs of Jahiliyya, in the Age of Ignorance, but Allah would never let him do them. So he told his story:

“One night I was grazing sheep with a few friends, outside of Mecca. I asked my friend if he could take care of my sheep, so that I could join the night entertainments in Mecca. My friend accepted it and then I set out to Mecca.When I entered Mecca, I heard the sounds of tambourine and bell. I asked what that was, and they said that a man and a woman were getting married. Then I sat down and began to look at them. Soon after, Allah put a barrier, between the sounds and my ear, then I fell asleep. After a long time, I was able to wake up. I immediately returned to the place, where I left the sheep with my friend.”

And according To the narrations, Prophet Muhammad did the same thing in the following days, but he experienced the same thing, as the previous day.Then he said to his companions that: “Since then, he had never attempted to involve in these types of activities until he began to receive divine revelation.”

Now I want to Move on to another subject, and talk about the Hilf al Fudul (Assembly of the Virtuous).

• When PM was about 20 years old, a man named Zubayd, from Yemen, brought merchandise to sell in Mecca. Another man called As ibn Wail, who was a distinguished person from the tribe of Quraysh, bought the product that Zubayd sold; but he did not give any payment.

Then, Zubayd presented his case to some prominent men of Mecca and asked their help; however, they ignored him. They actually defended As ibn Wail, instead of this poor man.

Zubayd was so desperate that he decided to announce his case publicly from the top of the Mount Abu Qubays. When the leading men of Mecca were sitting around the Ka’ba, Zubayd began to announce his trouble. And He explained the injustice he had with this man, who had kept delaying the payment, and now claiming to never pay him anything. Then Zubayd asked help from this group of people.

A person called Zubayr b. Abdul Muttalib, who was another son of Abdul Muttalib, wanted to help him, and he encouraged others to take action in this case. He took some virtuous and leading men in Mecca with him, and they were gathered in the house of an old man. These men discussed the case and decided on an agreement. They took an oath that whenever a man, either from Mecca or not, was mistreated or wronged, they would help him until his rights are given back to him. Also, they would make justice prevalent in their society.

• This assembly was called “Hilf al Fudul” which means the assembly of the virtuous. PM attended this assembly, too. So, they went to the home of As ibn Wail altogether, and asked for the payment due to Zubayd. When As ibn Wail saw the group, he could not refuse, and he reluctantly made his payment.

PM, Later on, said to his companions that he would not exchange the Hilf al Fudul, for the best material gain. And if it continued in the Islamic period, he would definitely attend it.” because Prophet Muhammad, was against injustice in the society, too, so he wanted to do something to avoid it in Mecca, through this group.

In our next video, I will speak about how P.M met with his wife Khadija.

• Thank you for watching.