Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Request to Preach Islam in Public
In the initial stages of Islam, due to the persecution of the Quraish, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) advised the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) to practice Islam in secret. However, when the number of Muslims reached 39, Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) requested Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to preach Islam in public. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) did not initially agree to this request, but when Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) persisted, he eventually relented, and they all proceeded to the Haram.
On entering the Haram, Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) began to deliver a khutbah. However, as soon as he began to speak, the Quraish began to attack the Muslims. Despite the fact that Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was considered to be the noblest and most respectable of all the people in Makkah Mukarramah, he was beaten to such an extent that his nose, ears and entire face were smeared with blood. He was kicked, thrashed with shoes, trampled under feet and handled most roughly and savagely. He became unconscious and half-dead; none hoped that he would ever survive this brutal onslaught. He was carried home by his family and remained unconscious until the evening.
In the late evening, when he regained consciousness, the very first thing that he asked was, “How is Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)?” In fact, his love and deep concern for Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was such that he even refused to eat until he did not see, with his own eyes, that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was fine. His mother, Hazrat Ummul Khair (radhiyallahu ‘anha), thus took him to the house of Hazrat Arqam (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) to see Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), and it was there that she accepted Islam.
(Al-Bidaayah-wan-Nihaayah 3/35)
