Who is idolater? What does idolater means? Idolater plans of assassination to Prophet Muhammad
Seeing Mecca becoming more and more deserted by the day, the idolaters felt the urgency of the situation at hand. They hurriedly gathered at the House of Nadwa, the hotbed of mischief. Present there was also an old man, claiming to be from Najd. He was none other than Iblis himself in the guise of a human being.
They lengthily discussed what they were to do. Many suggestions, from imprisoning the Messenger of Allah -upon him blessings and peace- to sending him into exile outside of Mecca were put forth, with all of which the old man of Najd disagreed. They finally arrived at a callous decision: To murder the Messenger of Allah -upon him blessings and peace-!
It was Abu Jahl, the Pharaoh of his time, who mapped out the plan:
“First, we arm one young man from each clan. Then we get them to attack and kill him all at once. This way his blood money will be distributed among all clans. And surely the Abd Manaf clan will not dare to wage war on all clans in Mecca, so they will have to settle for the blood money. That, we can pay with no trouble!”
The old man of Najd was the first to rejoice:
“No single man has spoken with a clearer mind than him…I can’t think of anything better!” (Ibn Hisham, II, 93-95)
The idolaters busy with their sinister plans, the Blessed Prophet -upon him blessings and peace- was virtually left alone in Mecca. A Prophet with such delicate care for his people, he preferred to remain and watch the backs of the leaving Muhajir. Besides, this had also been the Divine Will. When Abu Bakr, who was to be the one and only companion of the Prophet -upon him blessings and peace- in this sacred journey, asked permission to migrate, the Prophet said:
“Be patient. Who knows? Perhaps Allah shall grant you a good traveling companion!” (Ibn Hisham, II, 92)
Sensing the awaiting blessings, and as a mark of joy, Abu Bakr –Allah be well-pleased with him- bought two camels for 800 dirhams and nurtured them for four months in preparation for the journey. (Bukhari, Manaqib’ul-Ansar, 45)
By the time the idolaters made the move to implement their plan, the Noble Prophet -upon him blessings and peace- had received the Divine command to migrate:
“And say: My Lord! Make me to enter a goodly entering, and cause me to go forth a goodly going forth, and grant me assistance from Your power.” (al-Isra, 80)
Besides the above Revelation, Jibril -upon him blessings and peace- had hinted to the Messenger of Allah -upon him blessings and peace- of the idolaters’ assassination plot, saying, “You shall not sleep in your bed tonight!” (Ibn Hisham, II, 95)
Thereupon in the heat of high noon, with everyone at rest in their homes, the Noble Prophet -upon him blessings and peace- went next to Abu Bakr –Allah be well-pleased with him-, informing him of the command to migrate.
“Together?” asked Abu Bakr –Allah be well-pleased with him-.
“Yes, together!” the Prophet -upon him blessings and peace- answered.
The tears of joy welling up Abu Bakr’s eyes were alluding to splendid the inner beauty of his heart.[1]
Afterward, the Noble Messenger -upon him blessings and peace- also gave the news to Ali –Allah be well-pleased with him-, who was to be left behind to give back to their owners the goods entrusted in the safekeeping of the Prophet -upon him blessings and peace-. Knowing his trustworthiness and righteousness, there was almost not a single man in Mecca, who in one way or another had not placed their valuables in the custody the Prophet -upon him blessings and peace-.
Then as a precaution against the plots of Meccans, he said to Ali –Allah be well-pleased with him-, “Lay in my bed tonight…and cover yourself in my mantle. Don’t be afraid! No harm shall come to you!” (Ibn Hisham, II, 95, 98)
That the Prophet advised Ali –Allah be well-pleased with him- to use his mantle as a blanket also provides an example for tabarruk, that is seeking blessings from the belongings of the Noble Prophet -upon him blessings and peace-.
The Messenger of Allah -upon him blessings and peace- later also sent a mantle to Uways al-Qarani with the message:
“Wear the mantle and pray for the ummah.” (Fariduddin Attar, Tadhkirat’ul-Awliya’a, p. 21)[2]
Another thing worthy of attention here is the complete submission of Ali –Allah be well-pleased with him- to the Prophet -upon him blessings and peace-. It was not for the Companions to show the slightest hesitancy in fulfilling the Prophetic commands and neglecting to heed the Prophet’s -upon him blessings and peace- words and actions. They never felt the need to ask why. They always showed the utmost care not to neglect even a single sunnah, and in implementing each, they illustrated the fear of falling into deviancy if they were to abandon it. Their abidance by the Quran and Sunnah was like that of a shadow to its origin.[3]
Ali -may Allah ennoble his countenance- recounts:
“On the verge of his setting off to the Hegira, the Messenger of Allah -upon him blessings and peace- and I went to the Kaabah.
‘Sit down’, he told me.
I sat. Intending to climb onto the roof of the Kaabah, he stepped on my shoulders. But suddenly I lost all my strength. Seeing me lose my strength, he quickly came down off my shoulders. This time he sat down.
‘Step on my shoulders’, he said.
I did what he told me. Then he rose and hoisted me up. I was overcome with such power that I felt I could rise to the ends of the sky if I wanted. I climbed on the roof. Placed there was an idol made of bronze and copper.
‘Throw it down, Ali’, the Messenger of Allah -upon him blessings and peace- said. So I did.
The instant it hit the ground, it shattered like a glass bowl. I quickly came down from the roof. We promptly left the scene in order not to be seen.” (Ahmed, I, 84; Hakim, III, 6/4265)
Come the night of Hegira, the idolaters had already surrounded the house of the Noble Prophet -upon him blessings and peace- even before he could take a step outside. But with a boundless trust in and submission to the Almighty, the Prophet -upon him blessings and peace- showed not a single trace of anxiety or fear. Taking a handful of soil from the ground, he threw it towards the awaiting idolaters and moved smoothly through their ranks reciting the following verses from Chapter Ya-Sin:
“We have put chains round their necks right up to their chins, so that their heads are forced up (and they cannot see). And We have put a barrier in front of them and a barrier behind them, and further, We have covered them up; so that they cannot see.” (Ya-Sin, 8-9)
Blinded by nothing other than the blindness of their hearts, they of course could not see. Passing through them, in front of their eyes, was the Blessed Prophet -upon him blessings and peace-. Since light is not perceivable by blind eyes and hearts, their sights in the end counted for nothing.
It was only after some time, when they were asked by someone passing by:
“Who on earth are you waiting for?”
“Muhammad!”
“You fools! Muhammad has long left, apparently flinging dirt on your faces in the process!”
When the idolaters reached for their heads, they found they were indeed stained with soil. Enraged, they quickly stormed inside the house, seeing someone lying in the Prophet’s bed.
“There is Muhammad! He is under cover, fast asleep!” they shouted.
They walked hurriedly to the bed, only to shake their heads in disbelief when the man lying in the bed lifted his head and threw a glance at them. It was Ali –Allah be well-pleased with him- lying in front of them, not the Prophet -upon him blessings and peace-.
“The man was telling us the truth after all”, they admitted, crestfallen. They angrily turned to Ali –Allah be well-pleased with him-:
“Where is your cousin?” they shouted.
“I have little idea. What…do you think I watch him wherever he goes? Besides, it was you telling him to leave Mecca all along…So my guess is, he must have left!”
Thereupon, the idolaters began rebuking and insulting Ali –Allah be well-pleased with him-. They even took him to the Kaabah where he was held in custody for some time, eventually released afterwards. (Ibn Hisham, II, 96; Ahmed, I, 348; Yakubi, II, 39)
While the miserable men, whose hearts were locked and eyes blind to the truth, were prowling around the house of the Prophet -upon him blessings and peace-, little were they aware that the Prophet -upon him blessings and peace- had long made it to the house of Abu Bakr –Allah be well-pleased with him-. Though the idolaters had plotted, the Almighty had made an even greater plot of which they had no idea. Allah, glory unto Him, describes this as follows:
“And when those who disbelieved devised plans against you that they might confine you or slay you or drive you away; and they devised plans and Allah too had arranged a plan; and Allah is the best of planners.” (al-Anfal, 30)
[1] See Ibn Hisham, II, 97-98.
[2] Also see, Muslim, Fadailu’s-Sahâba, 223-225.
[3] See Bukhari, Humus, 1; Muslim, Jihad, 52; Abu Dâwûd, Haraj, 18; Ahmed, I, 10.
Source: Osman Nuri Topbaş, The Prophet Muhammed Mustafa the Elect, Erkam Publications
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