After the revelation of the verses of Soorat Al-Muddathir as mentioned in the previous article, the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) began his Da’wah (call) to Allah The Almighty and to Islam secretly. Naturally, he began with his household, friends and the closest people to him.
1- Khadeejah, may Allah be pleased with her, embraces Islam
Khadeejah, may Allah be pleased with her, was not only the first woman to believe in the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) but also the first person to believe in him. She was the first person to hear the Divine revelation from the mouth of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ). In addition, she was the first one to recite the Quran after she heard the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) reciting it. She was also the first one to learn the prayer from the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) and her house was the first place where Divine revelation was recited which was delivered to the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) by Jibreel (Gabriel), may Allah exalt his mention.
The first act of worship that was ordained by Allah The Almighty after the acknowledgment of the two Testimonies of Faith was prayer. Traditions refer to the story of teaching Khadeejah, may Allah be pleased with her, how to pray and perform ablution by the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ). One day, when the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) was outside Makkah, the Archangel Jibreel, may Allah exalt his mention, appeared to him and kicked the side of a hill causing a spring of water to flow out. He then began to perform ablution to show the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) how it should be performed. Then the Archangel led the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) in prayer to show him all the positions of prayer, the various movements and things to be said with each movement. When Jibreel, may Allah be pleased with him, left, the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) returned home and taught all these things to Khadeejah, may Allah be pleased with her, exactly as Jibreel, may Allah exalt his mention, had taught him.
2- ‘Ali bin Abi Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him, embraces Islam
‘Ali bin Abi Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him, was the first person to embrace Islam after Khadeejah, may Allah be pleased with her. He was also the first boy to embrace Islam as he entered Islam when he was ten years old according to the preponderant opinion, which is that of of At-Tabari and Ibn Is’haaq, may Allah be pleased with them. Allah The Almighty blessed him to be brought up in the house of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) as his uncle, Abu Taalib, had asked him to let Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, live with him. Hence, he was brought up and raised in the house of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) before the advent of Islam. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was the third person to perform prayer after the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) and Khadeejah, may Allah be pleased with her. Some scholars have mentioned that the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) would go out into the valleys of Makkah accompanied by ‘Ali bin Abi Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him, who was hiding from his father, uncles and all of his people, in order to perform prayer. They would perform prayers in these valleys and then return in the evening to the pure, noble and pious house of the Prophet
3- Zayd bin Haarithah, may Allah be pleased with him, embraces Islam
He was the first freed slave to embrace Islam and was one of the dearest people to the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ). The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) emancipated and adopted Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, who had been a slave. His full name was Zayd bin Haarithah Al-Kalbi, may Allah be pleased with him, who preferred staying with the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) to living with his father and family when they came to Makkah to buy him from the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ). Nevertheless, the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) offered Zayd the choice of going back or staying with him. Zayd said, “I could never prefer living with anyone to living with you. You are like a father and an uncle to me.” Thereupon, his father and uncle said, “Woe to you! Do you prefer servitude to freedom, your father, your uncle, and your family?” Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Yes, I have seen of this man that which makes me keen to never part from him”.
4- The daughters of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) embrace Islam
Soon afterwards, the daughters of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) Zaynab, Umm Kulthoom, Faatimah and Ruqayyah, may Allah be pleased with them, embraced Islam. This was because they were affected by their father, even before his commissioning with Prophethood, concerning uprightness, good manners and disdaining the evil acts of the pre-Islamic era of worshiping idols and committing sins. They were also affected by their mother, and therefore embraced Islam swiftly and without hesitation. Consequently, the household of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) became the first household to believe in Allah The Almighty and to comply with His Sharee‘ah in Islam. The prophetic home and household has had a great status in the history of the Islamic Da‘wah given the advantages and honor with which Allah The Almighty endowed upon it, including:
- It was the first place where the Divine Revelation was recited after it was recited in the Cave of Hiraa’.
- It was the home of the first Muslim woman.
- It was the place where Salaah – the Islamic prayer, was performed for the first time.
- It was the first house where the first three Muslims, Khadeejah, ‘Ali and Zayd bin Haarithah, may Allah be pleased with them, gathered.
- It was the first house to pledge allegiance to the Da‘wah and none of its members, whether young or old, was negligent in this regard.
Indeed, this household rightly deserves to be an example and its family members deserve to be living models for the houses of all Muslim men and women. The wife in this house was a believing, pure and sincere woman. She was the reliable and truthful assistant of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ). The cousin, who was living in the same house, responded to the Da‘wah and supported it, which also applies to the daughters of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) as well as his adopted sincere, supporting son.
This is why the household of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) has enjoyed the highest status in Islam, and all those who are content with Allah The Almighty as their Lord and with Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) as their Messenger and Prophet must follow its guidance and pattern of ideal behavior.
The outstanding truth in the Divine methodology of success refers to the importance of developing a righteous individual and a righteous family as the first ring in the chain of reform, which leads to a righteous society. Therefore, Islam was concerned with preparing the Muslim individual and stressed the importance of giving precedence to this task. The Muslim individual is the cornerstone of any social structure. Similarly, the family is very important as it receives the child from his birth and continues with him throughout the length of his life. In other words, it is the incubator that defines the characteristics of one’s personality and traits. The family is also the medium between the individual and society and thus, if this medium is strong, it will provide its two ends – the individual and the society – with safety and strength.
Therefore, Islam took an interest in the family by laying down the bases that ensure its sound development and by directing it to comply with the Divine methodology in order for it to be a strong ring in the structure of the Muslim society and the Islamic state that seeks to establish the Divinely-guided civilization in people’s lives.
