and in return they would let him do as he wished with his religion.
After a time they saw that there was no change, so they went back
to Abu Talib and this time they told him that if he did not stop his
nephew, they would fight them both. Abu Talib was very upset by this
quarrel among his people, but he could not break his word to his nephew.
He sent for the Prophet (pbuh) and told him what had happened, saying,
'Spare me and spare yourself; do not put a greater burden on me than I
can bear.' The Prophet (pbuh) thought that his uncle might abandon him
and that he would no longer have his support, but nevertheless he
answered, '0 my uncle, by Allah, if they put the sun in my right hand
and the moon in my left in return for my giving up this cause, I would
not give it up until Allah makes Truth victorious, or I die in His
service. Abu Talib was deeply moved by this answer. He told the Prophet
(pbuh) that he would support him for as long as he lived and encouraged
him to go on spreading Allah's message. |
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From that time on,
however hard the leaders of Quraysh tried to convince Abu Talib to stop
protecting his nephew, he always refused to listen to them. In order
to get rid of the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers, his enemies started
persecuting those Muslims who were poor or weak, or had no powerful
friends. One such person was Bilal, the slave of Umayyah ibn Khalaf.
His master would take him out into the desert, tie him up, and leave
him in the sun with a large stone on his chest. Fortunately Abu Bakr was
passing by one day and saw Umayyah torturing Bilal, so he bought him
from his master for a large sum of money and then set him free. But not
all persecuted Muslims were as fortunate as Bilal. Many suffered, but
all of them endured it patiently, knowing that they were doing the
right thing and that their reward in the life to come would be greater'
than any happiness they could find on earth.
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