Ketika Rasulullah ﷺ diutus, beliau pertama-tama mengajak istrinya, Khadijah, dan ia pun beriman kepadanya. Kemudian beliau ﷺ mengajak sepupunya, ‘Ali, dan ia pun beriman kepadanya. Lalu beliau ﷺ mengajak budaknya, Zayd, dan ia pun beriman kepadanya. Setelah itu beliau ﷺ mengajak sahabatnya, Abu Bakr, yang juga beriman kepadanya. Beliau ﷺ terus mengajak orang-orang kepada Islam; sebagian beriman dan sebagian lainnya menolak.

When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was sent, he first invited his wife Khadijah and she believed in him. He (pbuh) then invited his cousin ‘Ali and he believed in him. He then invited his servant Zayd, and he believed in him. And then he invited his friend Abu Bakr, who also believed in him. He continued to invite people to Islam, some believed and others rejected.

Ketika Abu Bakar memeluk Islam, ia pun menyampaikan keyakinannya kepada orang-orang yang ia percayai, dan menyeru mereka kepada Allah (swt) dan Rasul-Nya ﷺ. Abu Bakar sangat dihormati di kalangan kaumnya; mereka senang bergaul dengannya dan selalu meminta pendapatnya dalam banyak urusan. Ia menggunakan pengaruhnya untuk membujuk ‘Utsman bin ‘Affan, bersama Zubair bin al-‘Awwam, ‘Abdurrahman bin ‘Auf, Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqash, dan Thalhah bin ‘Ubaidillah agar memeluk Islam. Ia membawa mereka kepada Rasulullah ﷺ, dan mereka semua meneguhkan keimanan mereka dan melaksanakan shalat. Kemudian ‘Amir bin al-Jarrah (yang dikenal dengan nama Abu ‘Ubaidah) memeluk Islam, begitu pula ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abdul Asad (yang dikenal dengan nama Abu Salamah), al-Arqam bin Abi al-Arqam, ‘Utsman bin Maz‘un, dan yang lainnya. Setelah itu, banyak orang memeluk Islam, hingga Islam menjadi bahan pembicaraan di kalangan orang-orang Quraisy.

When Abu Bakr embraced Islam, he in turn carried his belief to the people whom he trusted and called towards Allah (swt) and His Messenger (pbuh). Abu Bakr was held in high esteem among his people, they enjoyed his company and always consulted him on many issues. He used his influence to persuade ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, together with Zubayr ibn al-’Awwam, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Auf, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas and Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullah to embrace Islam. He brought them to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) where they all confirmed their belief and offered prayer. Then, ‘Amir ibn al-Jarrah (known as Abu Ubaydah) embraced Islam, and so did ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-Asad (known as Abu Salamah) as well as al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam, ‘Uthman ibn Maz’un and others. Scores of people subsequently embraced Islam, until it became the topic of discussion amongst the people of Quraysh.

Pada awalnya, Rasulullah ﷺ mendatangi orang-orang di rumah mereka, memberitahukan bahwa mereka telah diperintahkan oleh Allah (SWT) untuk beribadah kepada-Nya dan tidak mempersekutukan-Nya dengan apa pun. Beliau ﷺ secara terbuka mengajak orang-orang kepada Islam di Makkah, dengan demikian melaksanakan perintah Allah,

In the beginning, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would visit people in their homes, telling them that they had been commanded by Allah (swt) to worship Him and to associate none with Him. He (pbuh) openly invited people to Islam in Makkah, thus abiding by Allah’s command,

"Wahai orang yang berselimut! Bangunlah dan berilah peringatan!" [Al-Muddatstsir, 74:1-2].

“O you enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn!” [Al-Muddaththir, 74:1-2].

Setelah itu, Rasulullah ﷺ menghubungi orang-orang secara diam-diam untuk mengajarkan Islam kepada mereka dan mengumpulkan mereka atas dasar agama.

After this, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would contact people secretly to teach them Islam and gather them on the basis of the Deen.

Para Sahabat biasa melaksanakan salat di perbukitan di pinggiran Makkah, jauh dari kaum Quraisy. Setiap kali ada orang yang memeluk Islam, Rasulullah ﷺ akan mengirimkan kepadanya salah seorang dari mereka yang telah lebih dahulu memeluk Islam untuk mengajarkan Al-Qur'an. Beliau ﷺ mengutus Khabbab ibn al-Arrat untuk mengajarkan Al-Qur'an kepada Fatimah binti al-Khattab dan suaminya, Sa'id. Suatu ketika, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab mengejutkan mereka saat mereka sedang berkumpul dalam lingkaran belajar, dan ia pun saat itu juga memeluk Islam. Namun Rasulullah ﷺ menyadari bahwa hal ini belum cukup, maka beliau menjadikan rumah al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam sebagai pusat dakwahnya, tempat beliau ﷺ mengajarkan Al-Qur'an kepada kaum Muslimin dan menyempurnakan pengetahuan mereka tentang Islam, serta mendorong mereka untuk membaca Al-Qur'an dan memahaminya. Setiap kali ada orang yang memeluk Islam, Rasulullah ﷺ menemuinya di rumah al-Arqam. Beliau ﷺ melanjutkan tugas ini selama tiga tahun, mengajar kelompok kaum Muslimin ini, memimpin mereka dalam salat, dan melaksanakan salat Tahajjud di malam hari, membangkitkan semangat jiwa mereka, memperkuat keimanan mereka melalui salat dan bacaan Al-Qur'an, membantu mereka memperbaiki cara berpikir dan merenungkan ayat-ayat Al-Qur'an serta ciptaan Allah (SWT). Beliau ﷺ mengajarkan kepada mereka cara menghadapi segala kesulitan dengan berserah diri kepada Allah (SWT).

The Sahabah (Companions) used to offer prayers in the hills on the outskirts of Makkah away from the Quraysh. Everytime someone embraced Islam, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) would send him or her someone from those who had embraced Islam earlier to teach them the Qur’an. He (pbuh) sent Khabbab ibn al- Arrat to teach the Qur’an to Fatimah bint al-Khattab and her husband Sa’id. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab once surprised them while they held their circle, and he embraced Islam then and there. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) however realized that this was not enough, so he set up the house of al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam as the centre of his call, a place from which he taught Muslims the Qur’an and perfected their knowledge of Islam, encouraging them to recite the Qur’an and understand it. Whenever someone embraced Islam, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) would meet him in the house of al-Arqam. He (pbuh) pursued this task for three years, teaching this group of Muslims, leading them in prayers, and performing Tahajjud at night, motivating their souls, strengthening their belief through prayer and recitation, helping them to improve their way of thinking and to reflect on the verses of the Qur’an and the creation of Allah (swt). He (pbuh) taught them how to endure all hardships by submitting to Allah (swt).

Rasulullah ﷺ tetap bersama rombongan kaum Muslimin di rumah al-Arqam hingga Allah (SWT) menurunkan firman-Nya,

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) remained together with his party of Muslims in the house of al-Arqam until Allah (swt) revealed his saying,

Maka sampaikanlah secara terang-terangan apa yang diperintahkan kepadamu, dan berpalinglah dari {Al-Musyrikun} [Al-Hijr, 15: 94]

“Therefore, proclaim openly, that which you are commanded, and turn away from “Al-Mushrikun” [Al-Hijr, 15: 94]