The Night of Power in 610CE was when Muhammed first received the command to spread the word of Islam. Muhammed’s wife Khadijah took him to her cousin Waraqa, who confirmed that Muhammed was a prophet, after he had explained how an angel had been sent by God to start to describe his duties to Islam. A second revelation was said to have occurred in 612, followed by more and more frequent revelations which would lead Muhammed’s role to become more and more clear.
God made out to Muhammed that polytheism is wrong – as “there is no God but God”, and that Arabia had to be brought back round to the Islam it had abandoned, otherwise the people would suffer in the afterlife.
Muhammed and his family started to preach; and by 613 there were about 30 Muslims, one of which was Muhammed’s best friend Abu Bak’r. Interest was created in what Muhammed was saying, but he was largely ignored until 613, when he was ordered to make his preaching more public.
In some respects Muhammed’s tougher stance was rewarded – more and more followers converted to, or back to, Islam. Unexpected support came in the form of the rich, young tribesmen who were unhappy with the materialistic ways of their parents. While the Meccan underclasses of the poor, the elderly, the young and the slaves lent their support to Muhammed, most Meccans were outraged with the message that Muhammed broadcast – that their ways were wrong and that they should change, or “taste ye the touch of Hell” (Surah 54:48).
The fact that Muhammed was uniting such different groups of people in spreading his message concerned the old religious leaders in Mecca, who wanted to safeguard their own authority – they feared that Muhammed would rise to power by revolution, once he had mobilised the young men that he had behind him. A group of people who were angered by Muhammed’s condemnation of polytheism were the tradesmen. As the focal point of Arabian paganism, huge revenues were earned from tourism, as Arabs flocked to the heavily decorated Ka’ba on pilgrimage.
Organised violence against the Muslims started to take place. Followers of Muhammed were regularly attacked and tortured, to the point that he decided to outstation 83 Muslims and their families in Abyssinia, where the sympathetic Christians wouldn’t threaten them. Support for Muhammed came in the form two great warriors – Hamza, his uncle, and Umar; who had originally wanted to kill Muhammed for converting his sister to Islam. The advantage of having such people on board was soon apparent – the Meccan clans had to re-think their approach in trying to get rid of Muhammed, such as a trade ban on the clan to which Muhammed belonged.
After being stoned out of Ta’if, it became clear to Muhammed that he wasn’t ever going to be allowed to preach in Mecca, and that the future of Islam lay outside of the city. He was contacted by Yathribans who wanted to improve the inter-tribal relationships that existed in their city (later to be called Medina). The Aus and the Khazras feuded constantly, each supported by a smaller tribe of Jews, and Muhammed was seen as being the one who could unite not only the two parties of Arabs, but also the Jews that supported them (the assumption being that the Jews would accept Muhammed’s role as prophet).
Muhammed interpreted the invitation and pledges of support from the Yathribans as being a sign from God to abandon the conversion of Mecca, in favour of conversion on a larger scale. It was also very difficult to convert people to Islam if he wasn’t even allowed to reach within the city he occupied. In Yathrib, it would be possible for the entire civilisation to be based on Islam – as God intended. Muhammed came to the conclusion that for the forseeable future, Islam could be nothing more than a religion in Mecca, whereas it could be the combined religious and political system in Yathrib.
Muhammed’s decision in leaving Mecca was accelerated by the leaking of his invitation to Yathrib to the powerful Meccan tribe of the Quraysh. Their proposed killing of Muhammed is detailed in the Qur’an.
“Remember how the Unbelievers plotted against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or slay thee, or get thee out (of thy home). They plot and plan, and God too plans, but the best of planners is God” (Surah 8:30)
