Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 77

(Ayah 77) ➊ { اَلَمْ تَرَ اِلَى الَّذِيْنَ قِيْلَ لَهُمْ …:} That is, as long as the Muslims were in Makkah and the disbelievers used to harm them, Allah Almighty forbade them from fighting and commanded them to be patient. Now that (in Madinah Munawwarah) the command for fighting has come, they should understand that their desire has been fulfilled, but the immature Muslims withdraw and fear death and fear people as they fear Allah. (Muwaddih) In several narrations, it is mentioned that during the Makkan period, the Muslims often wished to confront the oppressors face to face, but Allah Almighty would command them that for now, the command you have been given for prayer and zakat (spending wealth), you should become well accustomed to it, so that you may be trained. Even in the early years of migration in Madinah Munawwarah, the Muslims had the same desire, but when Allah Almighty permitted fighting, then some weak Muslims began to hesitate, so this verse was revealed about them. (Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi)
➋ { لَوْ لَاۤ اَخَّرْتَنَاۤ اِلٰۤى اَجَلٍ قَرِيْبٍ:} Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) translated it as: "Why did You not let us live for a little while longer?" The answer is given ahead. Some have translated it as: "Why did You not grant us some respite before revealing the command of fighting as an obligation?"
➌ { قُلْ مَتَاعُ الدُّنْيَا قَلِيْلٌ:} The morale of those with weak faith and the hypocrites who hesitated from fighting has been raised by two things: first, by mentioning the transience of the world, encouragement for jihad has been given. However much the world may be, it is perishable, and however much the perishable may be, it is little (very little). What comparison is there between the perishable and the everlasting? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Just as a person dips his finger in the sea and then takes it out, and a little moisture remains on his finger, such is the example of this world compared to the Hereafter." [ مسلم، الجنۃ و صفۃ نعیمہا، باب فناء الدنیا … : ۲۸۵۸، عن المستورد الفھری رضی اللہ عنہ ] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "My example and the example of this world is like that of a traveler who rests under the shade of a tree and then leaves it and moves on." [ترمذی، الزھد، باب حدیث ’’ ما الدنیا الإکراکب استظل‘‘ : ۲۳۷۷، عن ابن مسعود رضی اللہ عنہ ]

77. 1. In Makkah, since the Muslims were not capable of fighting in terms of numbers and resources, they were restrained from combat despite their desire, and two things were constantly emphasized: first, that they should endure the oppressive behavior of the disbelievers with patience and perseverance, and act with forgiveness and forbearance. Second, that they should be diligent in performing prayer, zakat, and other acts of worship and teachings, so that their connection and relationship with Allah Almighty would be established on a strong foundation. But after migration, when the strength of the Muslims was consolidated in Madinah, then they were granted permission to fight, and when permission was given, some people expressed weakness and lack of courage. In this verse, by reminding them of their desire during the Makkan period, it is being said: why are these Muslims now frightened upon hearing the command of jihad, when this command of jihad is in accordance with their own wish. Distortion in the verses of the Quran: The first part of the verse, in which the command of "kuffu aydikum" (restraining hands from fighting) is given.

77. 2. Its second translation has also been made as asking why this command was not postponed for some more time, i.e., by "ajal qareeb" is meant death or the period of obligatory jihad (Ibn Kathir).

77. Have you not seen those who were told, "Restrain your hands (from fighting), establish prayer, and give zakat"? [106] But when fighting was prescribed for them, a group of them feared people as they should fear Allah, or even more. And they said, "Our Lord! Why have You ordained fighting for us? Why did You not grant us respite for a little while longer?" [107] Say, "The enjoyment of this world is little, and the Hereafter is better for the righteous. And you will not be wronged even as much as a thread."

[106]
The Prohibition of Jihad in Makkah:

In Makkah, the Quraysh of Makkah inflicted such oppression and cruelty upon the Muslims that not only the slave Muslims were targeted, but even the free and honorable Muslims were subjected to various forms of hardship by these people. Even the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself was harmed multiple times at their hands. At that time, some courageous Muslims asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for permission to fight these people, but he ﷺ said that he had not yet been given permission to fight. Therefore, they too should bear these hardships with patience and devote all their attention to establishing prayer and paying zakat. Thus, Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf ؓ, who was among the earliest Muslims, was one of those seeking permission to fight, as is evident from the following hadith:

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas ؓ narrates that Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf ؓ and his companions came to the Prophet ﷺ in Makkah and said, "O Messenger of Allah! We were honored when we were polytheists, but when we believed, we became humiliated." He ﷺ said, "(For now) I have been commanded to pardon, so do not fight." Then, when Allah transferred us to Madinah, we were commanded to fight, and some people refrained from fighting, so Allah revealed this verse.

[نسائی۔ کتاب الجہاد، باب وجوب الجہاد]

Is All Revelation Confined to the Quran?

Here, a few matters require clarification. The first is that Surah An-Nisa was revealed in the Madinan period, between the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of Ahzab, and the words of this verse:

﴿قِيْلَ لَهُمْ كُفُّوْٓا اَيْدِيَكُمْ﴾

make it clear that in the Makkan period, Muslims were forbidden from raising their hands (i.e., fighting back). However, there is no such command in the Makkan surahs of the Quran. Now, only two possibilities remain: one is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ received such a command through hidden revelation (wahy khafi), which was later confirmed in the Madinan period through this verse. The second possibility is that this was his personal ijtihad (independent judgment), that at the beginning of this revolutionary movement, Muslims should absolutely not raise their hands. Since there was no objection from Allah to this ijtihad, it holds the status of tacitly approved revelation (wahy taqreeri). This refutes those who say that all revelation is confined to the Quran and do not consider hidden or tacit revelation to have any status. Secondly, it also shows that the statements of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ are just as obligatory to follow as the commands of the Quran.

The Benefits of Not Raising Hands or Nonviolence in the Makkan Period:

The second noteworthy point is why, during this long thirteen-year period, when the disbelievers were inflicting the most severe forms of oppression on the Muslims, they were forbidden from raising their hands or defending themselves. The answer is that Islam is a revolutionary movement. The entire social, political, and cultural system of Arabia was based on idolatry, and Islam first raised its voice against this very idolatry. Those who benefited economically, socially, or politically from this false system all became enemies of Islam, the Prophet of Islam, and the Muslims, and began to oppress them. At this stage, Muslims were emphatically commanded not to raise their hands in self-defense, but to endure whatever oppression and cruelty befell them. This policy of nonviolence yielded three types of benefits. First, if the Muslims had started to resist at this stage, the polytheists, who were far more powerful than the Muslims, would have gained the moral justification to crush this movement with severity. Because of this policy of nonviolence, the work of preaching continued, which was only possible in this way. The second benefit was that Muslims were being trained to endure hardships and to obey the leader of the movement, the Prophet ﷺ, under all circumstances. The third benefit was that the silent majority of neutral people began to sympathize with the Muslims, because every human being naturally hates unjust oppression. When the first revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he came home in a state of anxiety, Lady Khadijah ؓ took him to her cousin Waraqah bin Nawfal, who, after hearing the whole story, said: "If only I could live until the time when your people will expel you from Makkah." Hearing this, the Prophet ﷺ was extremely surprised that the people who had always considered him the apple of their eye would one day expel him from Makkah. So he asked Waraqah this question in great astonishment, and he replied that every prophet who brought such a message was treated in this way by his people (Bukhari, Book of Revelation). This information from Waraqah had the effect that the Prophet ﷺ began his mission in a very secret manner and from his own home, and the following members of his household immediately believed in him:

(1) Those Who Accepted Islam at the Beginning of Revelation:

His devoted wife, Lady Khadijah ؓ, who was 55 years old at the time.

(2) His slave, Zayd bin Harithah ؓ, who was actually the slave of Lady Khadijah al-Kubra ؓ, but she had given him to the Prophet ﷺ.

(3) Sayyiduna Ali ؓ bin Abi Talib, who was the son of his uncle Abu Talib, was under his care and lived in his house. At that time, according to one narration, he was 8 years old, and according to another, 10 years old. In any case, he certainly had enough understanding at that time.

The Children of the Prophet ﷺ:

None of his children at that time believed in him. His eldest daughter was Lady Zaynab ؓ, who was married to Abu al-As bin Rabi'. Lady Zaynab soon embraced Islam, but Abu al-As accepted Islam after the conquest of Makkah. However, the relations between Abu al-As, Lady Zaynab ؓ, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ always remained pleasant, and he was pleased with his son-in-law.

[بخاری۔ کتاب المناقب۔ باب ذکر اصہار النبی]

Second was his son, Sayyiduna Qasim. Because of him, the Prophet ﷺ was given the kunya (title) Abu al-Qasim. He died before prophethood. Third was his daughter Ruqayyah ؓ. At the time of prophethood, she was only six or seven years old. Later, she married Sayyiduna Uthman ؓ, and on the very day the Muslims received the good news of the victory at Badr in Madinah, she passed away. Fourth was Umm Kulthum ؓ. After the death of Lady Ruqayyah ؓ, she married Sayyiduna Uthman ؓ. Fifth was his son Abdullah, also called Tayyib and Tahir. He died before reaching puberty. Sixth was his youngest daughter, Lady Fatimah ؓ, who was only one year old at the time. At the age of fifteen, she married Sayyiduna Ali ؓ, and at the time of the Prophet's ﷺ death, she was the only one of his children still alive. She too passed away six months later.

The Earliest Converts (As-Sabiqun al-Awwalun):

Among those outside the household, the first to believe was Sayyiduna Abu Bakr ؓ. He was an expert in genealogy, wise, wealthy, and generous. He was a close friend of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, impressed by his character, and had already been averse to polytheistic practices and beliefs before prophethood. He had considerable influence in Makkah. Through his discreet efforts, Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan ؓ, Abdur Rahman bin Awf ؓ, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas ؓ, Zubair bin al-Awwam ؓ, and Talhah ؓ embraced Islam. Then, through the combined efforts and secret preaching of all these gentlemen, the following people accepted Islam: Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir ؓ. Through his preaching, his father Yasir ؓ and mother Sumayyah ؓ also embraced Islam. They were slaves of Abu Jahl's tribe, Banu Makhzum. Sayyiduna Bilal bin Rabah ؓ, who was a slave of Umayyah bin Khalaf, was freed by Sayyiduna Abu Bakr ؓ at the request of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Sayyiduna Khabbab bin al-Aratt, Sayyiduna Arqam, Sayyiduna Sa'id bin Zayd (Sayyiduna Umar's ؓ brother-in-law), Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ, Uthman bin Maz'un ؓ, Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah ؓ, and Suhayb al-Rumi ؓ.

Three Years of Secret Preaching:

For the first three years, preaching continued in this secret, person-to-person manner until the number of Muslims reached forty. These companions also worshipped in secret and made Dar al-Arqam their center. During this period, the leader of the movement, the Prophet ﷺ, was subjected to the ridicule, sarcasm, and mockery of the disbelievers. Sometimes they called him a soothsayer, sometimes a poet, sometimes insane, sometimes mocked the verses of Allah, and sometimes tried to intimidate him with their eyes to break his resolve and courage. The pressure of the polytheists of Makkah on the Muslims during this period, and how difficult and life-threatening it was for anyone to embrace Islam, can be gauged from the incident narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari ؓ about his own conversion, which we have recorded from Sahih Bukhari in the footnote to Surah Al-Anfal, note 26. A similar incident is mentioned in Sahih Muslim. Sayyiduna Amr bin Abasah ؓ also accepted Islam during these days. Even in the days of ignorance, Amr believed that all people were polytheists and misguided. When he heard that there was a man in Makkah who conveyed heavenly news, he immediately rode to the Prophet ﷺ and embraced Islam. The Prophet ﷺ taught him the necessary commands and advised him to return to his homeland for the time being, and when he heard that Islam had prevailed, he should come back to him. [مسلم۔ كتاب الصلٰوة۔ باب الاسلام عمرو بن عبسه] This was the same advice previously given to Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari ؓ, and the Prophet ﷺ would give this advice to new Muslims out of compassion. In Makkah, the situation was such that if it became known that someone had become Muslim, he would be in serious trouble. All the pain suffered by these Muslims was equally felt by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, for he was a mercy to the worlds and had a compassionate heart. In addition, there was also an economic problem, which at that time the Muslims were unable to solve.

Open Preaching and Its Effects:

For the first three years of prophethood, this was the method of preaching. Then, when

﴿وَاَنْذِرْ عَشِيْرَتَكَ الْاَقْرَبِيْنَ﴾ [26: 214]

the command of Allah, "Warn your close relatives," was revealed, the Prophet ﷺ gathered his clan three times in succession and presented Islam to them. But each time, Abu Lahab stood in the way and led the opposition, the details of which will be mentioned under this verse and in Surah Lahab. After this, the secret method of preaching was no longer maintained, and the polytheists to some extent became aware of who had embraced Islam. Therefore, they intensified their mission to crush Islam, the Prophet of Islam, and the Muslims. The plots and conspiracies devised to eliminate the Prophet of Islam will be discussed under ﴿وَاللّٰهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ﴾ in the footnote to Surah Al-Ma'idah, note 113. Here, we will only briefly mention the persecutions inflicted on Muslims during this period. In Arab society, the class of slaves was a significant part of society, who were not even considered human. A master could inflict any cruelty on his slave, even kill him, and no one would question him; in fact, free society supported and endorsed this. Slaves had neither the courage to protest before their masters nor to run away. Therefore, this class was the main target of severe torture.

Abu Jahl's Persecution of the Family of Yasir:

Abu Jahl's method of oppressing Muslims was that if the convert was a free, honorable, and powerful man, he would try to insult, humiliate, and harm his wealth and status, and in the tribal system of Arabia, he could do little more than that. But if the convert was a slave or a weak person, he would beat him himself and incite others to torture him as well. In this matter, he was extremely cruel. The family of Yasir, i.e., Sayyiduna Ammar ؓ, his father Yasir, and his mother Sumayyah, had embraced Islam. They were slaves of the Banu Makhzum tribe (Abu Jahl's own tribe). Abu Jahl subjected them to severe torture, so much so that Yasir could not bear it and passed away. His wife Sumayyah was killed by this wretch, who stabbed her in her private part with a spear. She is the first martyr in Islam, martyred with such cruelty and mercilessness. As for Ammar ؓ himself, sometimes he was laid naked on the rocky ground in the scorching midday sun with heavy red stones placed on him, and sometimes he was plunged into water. Once, he was being tortured in this way, lying naked on the rocky ground at noon, when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by. That personality who was sent as a mercy to all the worlds—only Allah knows what he felt upon seeing this scene. Yet, he was also a great example of patience and steadfastness. Still, the Prophet's ﷺ eyes filled with tears, and he comforted them, saying:

﴿اصبروا ال ياسر فان موعد كم الجنة﴾

"O family of Yasir! Remain steadfast in patience, for Paradise has been promised to you."

Umayyah bin Khalaf's Persecution of Sayyiduna Bilal ؓ:

Sayyiduna Bilal bin Rabah ؓ (the Abyssinian) was a slave of Umayyah bin Khalaf. Umayyah would tie a rope around Bilal's ؓ neck and hand him over to the mischievous boys of the neighborhood, who would drag him through the valleys of Makkah, injuring his body and leaving marks on his neck. Umayyah himself would tie him up and beat him with sticks, sometimes making him sit in the blazing sun without food or drink, and placing a heavy stone on his chest. Then he would say, "By Allah! You will remain like this until you die or disbelieve in Muhammad ﷺ." But the taste of faith is something truly unique. He ؓ would endure all these hardships but would only say, "Ahad, Ahad" (One, One). [سيرة النبى ج 1 ص 232] One day, while he was being tortured in this way, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by. He could not bear to see this cruelty inflicted on Sayyiduna Bilal ؓ, so he asked Sayyiduna Abu Bakr ؓ to rescue Bilal ؓ from this torment. Accordingly, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr ؓ paid Umayyah bin Khalaf the price he demanded for Bilal ؓ, bought him, and set him free. According to one narration, the price was more than one kilogram of silver. [ابن هشام 9: 317-318 رحمة للعالمين 1: 57]

The Painful Death of Umayyah bin Khalaf at the Hands of Sayyiduna Bilal ؓ:

Then the situation changed so that in the Battle of Badr, the field was in the hands of the Muslims. In the days of ignorance, Umayyah bin Khalaf and Abdur Rahman bin Awf ؓ were friends. When the Muslims were capturing the disbelievers and collecting the spoils, Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf ؓ was carrying some coats of mail. Umayyah saw him and called out, "Do you need me? I am better for you than these coats of mail." Umayyah meant that if Abdur Rahman bin Awf ؓ took him as a prisoner under his protection, at least his life would be spared, and if he survived, he would give him a reward far greater than those coats of mail. Abdur Rahman bin Awf ؓ himself says that he was taking Umayyah bin Khalaf and his son Ali as prisoners when Sayyiduna Bilal ؓ happened to see Umayyah bin Khalaf. As soon as he saw Umayyah, he remembered the time when Umayyah used to torture him. He immediately cried out, "Oh! The head of disbelief! Umayyah bin Khalaf! Today, either I will live or he will live!" I tried hard to explain to Sayyiduna Bilal ؓ that he was my prisoner, but he would not listen and called the Ansar, saying the same thing: "Today, either I will live or this head of disbelief." So they surrounded us. I was trying to protect him, even throwing myself over Umayyah, but I could do nothing before the crowd. They pulled Umayyah out from under me and mercilessly killed both father and son. Before dying, Umayyah let out such a painful scream as I had never heard before. Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf ؓ used to say, "May Allah have mercy on Bilal ؓ. On the day of Badr, I lost my coats of mail and was also distressed about my prisoner." [بخاری۔ کتاب الجہاد باب دعاء النبی علی المشرکین]

Umayyah's Persecution of Abu Fukeihah:

Sayyiduna Abu Fukeihah ؓ was the slave of Safwan bin Umayyah. He accepted Islam along with Sayyiduna Bilal ؓ. When Umayyah found out, he tied a rope to his feet and told people to drag him and lay him on the burning ground. A dung beetle was passing by. Umayyah said to him, "Isn't this your god?" Abu Fukeihah replied, "The Lord of both you and me is Allah." At this, Umayyah strangled him so hard that people thought he had died. Once, a stone was placed on his chest so heavy that his tongue stuck out. [سيرة النبي، ج 1 ص 234]

The Persecution of Khabbab bin al-Aratt:

Sayyiduna Khabbab ؓ bin al-Aratt was a very noble-natured person and was the slave of a woman from the Banu Khuza'ah tribe, Umm Anmar. The polytheists would pull out his hair and twist his neck harshly. Once, he was laid flat on burning coals, and a man stood on his chest so he could not turn over, until the coals under his back cooled down. Khabbab ؓ recounted this incident to Sayyiduna Umar ؓ after many years and showed him his back, which had become white like a patch of vitiligo. [سيرة النبي، ج 1 ص 232]

The Persecution of Slave Women:

Women were not spared from such persecution either. Lady Labinah was a slave woman. Sayyiduna Umar ؓ would beat her until he was exhausted, then say, "I have not let you go out of mercy, but because I am tired and need to rest." She would reply with great steadfastness, "If you do not accept Islam, Allah will take revenge for this." [حواله ايضاً] Lady Zaneerah ؓ was a slave woman in Sayyiduna Umar's ؓ household, and for this reason, he would inflict much pain on her. Abu Jahl beat her so much that she lost her eyesight. Similarly, Nahdiyyah and Umm Ubays were both slave women who suffered great hardships for embracing Islam. [سيرة النبي، ج 1 ص 232]

The Persecution of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr as-Siddiq ؓ:

Although the main target of the polytheists' oppression and hardships were the slave men and women, the list of persecutions against free and honorable Muslims is also quite long. The greatest persecutions are always inflicted upon the prophets themselves, and the story of the Messenger of Allah's ﷺ sufferings is mentioned in detail elsewhere. Here, we will briefly mention a few incidents of persecution against the companions. At the top of the list is Sayyiduna Abu Bakr ؓ. His influence in Makkah has already been mentioned. He bought and freed many Muslim slaves and slave women, saving them from the oppression of the polytheists. Sayyiduna Bilal ؓ, Amir bin Fuhayrah ؓ (who was with him at the time of the Prophet's ﷺ migration), Labinah, Zaneerah, Nahdiyyah, and Umm Ubays ؓ were all freed by him after paying their owners the price they demanded. During those days, the number of slaves and slave women he had freed reached seventeen. But his own condition was such that once the Quraysh beat him severely. Utbah bin Rabi'ah beat him so much with shoes patched in two places that his face and nose were unrecognizable. His tribe, Banu Tamim, wrapped him in cloth and took him home, thinking he would not survive. After a while, he regained consciousness, and the first thing he said was, "How is the Messenger of Allah?" He refused to eat or drink until he was assured of the Prophet's ﷺ well-being, and forced his mother to take him to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ by any means possible. So his mother took him to the Prophet ﷺ, and when he learned that the Messenger of Allah was safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief. [البدايه والنهايه، 3: 30] Troubled by the harshness of the Quraysh of Makkah, he too was forced to migrate to Abyssinia and had reached Bark al-Ghamad when the chief of the Qarah tribe, Ibn Dughunnah, took him under his protection and brought him back to Makkah.

[بخاری۔ کتاب احادیث الانبیاء۔ باب ہجرۃ النبی]

Sayyiduna Umar's Confinement at Home:

Even a brave man like Sayyiduna Umar ؓ, when news of his conversion spread among the polytheists, they besieged his house, and he feared for his life and was confined to his own home. Finally, As bin Wa'il Sahmi, who was an ally of his tribe, took Sayyiduna Umar ؓ under his protection and dispersed the crowd.

[بخاری، کتاب المناقب، باب اسلام عمر بن الخطاب]

Sayyiduna Uthman Ghani bin Affan ؓ was a man of honor and status, but when he embraced Islam, his uncle tied him up and beat him. (Tabaqat, Biography of Uthman bin Affan) Sayyiduna Sa'id bin Zayd bin Amr bin Nufayl was both Sayyiduna Umar's ؓ cousin and brother-in-law. When his sister and brother-in-law both embraced Islam, Sayyiduna Umar ؓ, who accepted Islam much later, used to tie them up with ropes and beat them. [بخاري۔ كتاب المناقب۔ باب اسلام سعيد بن زيدؓ]

The Persecution of Other Free Muslims by the Disbelievers:

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari ؓ, after embracing Islam, proclaimed the testimony of faith at the Ka'bah, for which he was beaten twice. Sayyiduna Abbas ؓ kept rescuing him from the polytheists. His story is detailed in the footnote to Surah Al-Anfal, note 26. Sayyiduna Zubair bin al-Awwam was the fifth person to embrace Islam. When he accepted Islam, his uncle would wrap him in a mat and make smoke enter his nose. [سيرة النبي، ج 1 ص 235] When Sayyiduna Mus'ab bin Umayr ؓ embraced Islam, his mother cut off his food and expelled him from the house. [رحمة للعالمين 1: 58] When Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ embraced Islam, he decided to recite the Noble Quran aloud at the Ka'bah. People tried to stop him, but he persisted and stood at Maqam Ibrahim, reciting Surah Ar-Rahman aloud. The Quraysh were enraged by the word "Rahman." They attacked him from all sides and began slapping his face. He kept reciting as much as he wanted, despite the beating. [طبري، ج 3 ص 1188]

Migration to Abyssinia:

In short, no Muslim, no matter how honorable or influential, was safe from the oppression of the polytheists of Makkah. When life became unbearable for the Muslims, the Prophet ﷺ permitted them to migrate to Abyssinia. The first time, under the leadership of Sayyiduna Uthman ؓ, eleven men and four women migrated. Among the women was Sayyiduna Uthman's ؓ wife, the Prophet's ﷺ daughter Ruqayyah ؓ. On this occasion, the Prophet ﷺ said: "After Sayyiduna Ibrahim ؑ, this is the first couple to migrate in the way of Allah." [رحمة للعالمين، ج 2 باب بنات النبي] The migration to Abyssinia is detailed in the footnote to Surah Al-Ma'idah, note 139. Even after the migration to Abyssinia, the persecution by the disbelievers did not end. Rather, the phase of persecution from the disbelievers and patience and endurance from the Muslims, without raising their hands, continued throughout the Makkan period, spanning thirteen years. During this time, Muslims were being trained to purify their souls through prayer and zakat, to endure hardships with patience, and to obey their leader, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, completely. Many Muslims sacrificed their lives, but neither did they speak ill of anyone nor did they raise their hands. Even though, at the time of death, all distinctions of master and slave disappear, and the dying person wishes that if he must die, he should at least kill a few before dying. Even a cat, when desperate, attacks a lion. This was only due to the training of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the complete obedience of the Muslims that the revolutionary movement of Islam was saved from failure and continued to progress. Then, when the Muslims found freedom in Madinah, they were also given permission to raise their hands (i.e., to fight).

[107] This does not mean that those who said this were, God forbid, hypocrites. Rather, the real point is that in every society, not all people are equally courageous; some are weak and faint-hearted, and even though they are complete believers, each has a different capacity. Some are more suited for one task, others for another. Therefore, for those weak-hearted people who said this, Allah encouraged them, saying that such people should also show steadfastness, because the life of this world and its benefits are only for a few days, so they should keep their eyes on the Hereafter, which is better in every way. And even if their deeds are few, they will still be given their full reward.