tribe should be defended by the whole tribe against any outside harassment or injustice. Indeed, as has been seen, a tribe would defend an individual member even when he was at fault. Hence, some of the early Muslims escaped physical persecution as they were protected by their tribes. Many, however, were less fortunate, for they belonged to the lower classes of slaves or ‘allies’, i.e. individuals attached to different clans and tribes by a verbal covenant of ‘alliance’. Although they enjoyed tribal protection in normal circumstances as a result of that covenant, their status within their tribes was ambivalent. They were therefore vulnerable to stern punishment when their dispute was with the powerful leaders of their tribes.
It was indeed only natural that the brunt of the campaign of persecution would be borne by Muslims who belonged to these classes. After all, the Makkan tribal society was defending its very system which classified people according to their birth and circumstances. The privileged class would not relinquish its privileges easily. It was unable, however, to disregard those privileges or to deny them to those companions of the Prophet who were entitled to enjoy them by virtue of their birth and lineage.
A Campaign of Terror
One of the early tactics of the chiefs of Makkah to try to suppress Islam altogether was a campaign of terror which varied according to the status of the recipient. Those who belonged to the higher classes were subjected to taunts and ridicule. The most determined opponent of Islam at that time was a man called ʿAmr ibn Hishām, who belonged to the clan of Makhzūm. He was soon to be nicknamed Abū Jahl, which meant ‘father of ignorance’. Abū Jahl masterminded the campaign of opposition in its two distinct forms: ridiculing those Muslims who had good connections with their tribes to ensure their protection, and persecution of the weaker ones. When he heard of a noble person who accepted the faith of Islam, he reproached and ridiculed him. He would tell him: “You have deserted the faith of your father, who was a better man than you. We will disregard any good opinion you may have, oppose your views and treat you with contempt.” If the man was a merchant, Abū Jahl would threaten a boycott so that the business of the new Muslim would suffer. If the new Muslim belonged to the weaker class, then physical abuse was soon forthcoming from Abū Jahl.1
Abū Jahl, however, was not the only enemy of Islam; he was only the most uncompromising. Others tried to outbid him in the campaign of terror. What happened to Bilāl and Khabbāb provides good examples of the ferocity of the terror campaign.
Bilāl was born in slavery to an Abyssinian father. His master, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, the chief of the clan of Jumaḥ, wanted to show to everyone in Makkah that he was just as keen as Abū Jahl to defend the established order. Hence Bilāl was taken out to the open desert, day after day, where he was severely beaten. At midday, when the sun was at its hottest, he was made to lie on the sand without any clothes to protect his back from the burning sand. A large stone was put on his chest to increase the torture. He was dragged with ropes over the burning sand. Repeatedly he was asked to renounce Islam and to declare that he believed in the idols. Just as often he repeated: “He is One! He is One.”2
Bilāl’s ordeal lasted a long time, until one day Abū Bakr passed by while he was being tortured. He tried to soften Umayyah’s heart, without much success. Umayyah, however, accused Abū Bakr of being responsible for Bilāl’s transgression and challenged him to save him. Abū Bakr immediately took up the challenge and offered Umayyah an exchange deal: Bilāl would become his in return for a more youthful and vigorous slave who was not a Muslim. Umayyah accepted the deal and Bilāl joined Abū Bakr, who immediately set him free because he knew Islam disliked slavery and promised great reward from God to those who freed slaves.
Abū Bakr’s Noble Heart
Indeed, Abū Bakr repeated his noble action several times. ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayrah was a slave who belonged to al-Ṭufayl ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Asdī, who was related to Abū Bakr through his wife, Umm Rūman, ʿĀ’ishah’s mother. ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayrah was among the very early Muslims. For this, he suffered a great deal; he was one of the victims of the campaign of terror. Abū Bakr, however, bought him from his master and set him free. ʿĀmir continued to work for Abū Bakr as a shepherd. Later he was to play an important role in helping the Prophet and Abū Bakr to emigrate from Makkah to Madinah.3
The Prophet was very pleased with Abū Bakr’s action with those two slaves. He encouraged him to do what he could in order to help those victims of the campaign of torture. Abū Bakr responded, as he always did, without any hesitation. He chose the most helpless and those who showed a great determination to defy the prosecutors. Zunayrah was a slave who belonged to the Makhzūm clan. As such, it was left to Abū Jahl to torture her. He gave her so much of his venom that she lost her sight. Then he told her: “It is the two gods al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā who have done this to you.” She replied: “How can al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā know who worship them? This is simply the will of God and my Lord is able to give me back my sight.” When she woke up the following day, she had regained her sight. People of the Quraysh said: “This is part of Muhammad’s magic.” Abū Bakr moved swiftly to rescue this woman slave and set her free.4
A woman called al-Nahdiyah and her daughter were slaves belonging to a woman from the clan of ʿAbd al-Dār. Both became Muslims and their mistress ordered them to be tortured. One day she gave them a quantity of flour to bake, but as she set them to their task, she threatened them: “You will remain my slaves for ever. By God, I will never set you free.” Abū Bakr was nearby, and he heard the woman. He said to her: “Why don’t you release yourself from your oath?” She replied, “Release myself! It was you who spoiled them, so you set them free if you wish.” Abū Bakr asked her what price she wanted for them, and he paid her the price. Immediately, he declared that they were free and told the two women to give their former mistress her flour. They asked him whether he would mind if they finished it for her. He said that was up to them.5
Another woman slave, called Umm ʿUbays, belonged to al-Aswad ibn ʿAbd Yaghūth from the clan of Zuhrah. As Abū Bakr saw her one day being tortured by her master, he bought her and set her free. He did the same with a woman slave who belonged to the clan of ʿAdiy, in which ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb was the tormentor of Muslims as he was still an unbeliever then. ʿUmar used to beat up this woman as frequently and as painfully as he could. One day he stopped beating her, saying: “I apologize to you! I am only stopping beating you up because I am bored.” She said, “It is God who does this to you.” Then Abū Bakr bought her and set her free.6
All in all Abū Bakr freed seven slaves to save them from the campaign of terror launched by the Quraysh. His father, who was not a Muslim, could not understand his action. He said to him: “Son, I see that you are setting free weak slaves. If you want to do this, why don’t you set free some strong men slaves who will be able to protect you?” Abū Bakr explained that he wanted only to be rewarded by God for his action.7
Abū Bakr’s action was the best example of how closely knit the new Muslim community was. Those who were able to help their brothers and sisters did not hesitate to render any assistance they could. Nevertheless, Abū Bakr’s actions were exemplary. Neither he nor the other Muslims who enjoyed tribal lineage were able to stop the campaign of terror. Although he was reasonably wealthy, he could not buy all the victims of the Quraysh’s persecution. Not all of them were slaves anyway, and those who were could not have been bought because their masters refused to sell them. Abū Bakr’s action demonstrated the new bond that was established among the followers of the new religion. There was another aspect to what he did: it emphasized that the followers of the new religion were all equal, slaves and masters alike. Much later, when ʿUmar became one of the leading figures among the Muslims, he stated this fact in the clearest of terms when he said of Abū Bakr and what he did for Bilāl: “Abū Bakr is our master, and he has freed our master.”8
The Great Suffering
These efforts by Abū Bakr and
