Post by Islamic Revival on Oct 14, 2004 2:16:07 GMT -5
When Abdullah ibn Mas’ud embraced Islam he soon became a very close assistant to the Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, and was very well versed in Islam. He was one of, if not the best reciters of the Quran. Abdullah too was courageous in the Dawah. on one occasion the companions were gathered in Makkah planning their strategies for passing the call to Islam and for Islam to overturn the corrupt Makkan idol worshipping society. It was agreed between them that the Quraysh had not yet heard the Quran openly and loudly recited. Abdullah volunteered despite the fact that he had no protection within the society, being the son of the mother of a slave, despite this he was prepared to make the most public of challenges to the disbelievers.
Despite the concern of the companions for his well being he persisted and went forward stating that: “Allah shall protect me and keep me away from their evil” He then went out to the Ka’bah and started to recite with several of Quraysh sitting nearby.
“Bismillahir Rahmani-r Rahim. Ar-Rahman. Allama-l Quran. Khalaqa-l insan. Allamahu-l bayan … (In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. The Merciful Allah. He has taught the Quran. He has created man and taught him the clear truth…”
As he recited, Quraysh looked at him and some of them asked: “What is Ibn Umm Abd saying?”<br>
“Damn him! He is reciting some of what Muhammad brought!” they realized. They then went up to him and began beating his face as he continued reciting. When he finally returned to the companions the blood was flowing from his face.
“This is what we feared for you” they said.
Abdullah responded: “By Allah, the enemies of Allah are not more comfortable than I at this moment. If you
wish, I shall go out tomorrow and do the same”.
They responded in kind by saying that he had made them hear what they dislike.
Centuries later we can see the method behind these daring and public tactics. The birth of this ideology was only possible with the dedication of the early Muslims in going forward to the most public of places and ensuring that the widest possible public opinion be generated for the call to Islam. Sahabah like Abdullah ibn Mas’ud are an inspiration to all the Muslims of today, that face the same challenge in passing the ideological message of Islam within a sea of corruption where Islam is presented by the enemies of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and the Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam as merely a religion, or worse still as an excuse for terrorism.
From www.ramadhan.org