Apabila dia ﷺ diutus, baginda mula menyeru manusia. Sebahagian mereka beriman kepadanya dan yang lain menyatakan kekufuran, sehingga Islam menjadi terkenal di Makkah, dan orang ramai membicarakannya. Pada mulanya Rasulullah ﷺ biasa mengunjungi mereka di rumah-rumah mereka. Baginda menyeru manusia kepada Islam secara terbuka di Makkah, selaras dengan firman-Nya (SWT): “Wahai engkau (Muhammad ﷺ) yang berselubung (dengan pakaian)! Bangun dan berilah peringatan!” [TMQ 74:1-2]. Baginda menghimpunkan mereka dalam satu kumpulan atas dasar deen ini secara sembunyi, sebab itulah para sahabatnya biasa solat di lembah-lembah, bersembunyi daripada kaum mereka. Bagi orang yang baru memeluk Islam, baginda ﷺ akan menghantar seseorang untuk mengajarnya al-Qur'an; baginda menghantar Khabbab bin al-Arat untuk mengajar Zynab binti al-Khattab dan suaminya Sa'eed al-Qur'an, di rumah Sa'eed. Itulah halaqah (majlis) yang sama di mana Sayyiduna 'Umar memeluk Islam. Baginda ﷺ menjadikan rumah al-Arqam sebagai pusat kumpulan orang beriman dan sebagai sekolah bagi da'wah baharu ini, di mana baginda akan membacakan al-Qur'an kepada mereka dan memerintahkan mereka untuk menghafaznya serta memahaminya. Nabi ﷺ terus merahsiakan dan menyembunyikan perkara ini, serta memasukkan ke dalam kumpulan sesiapa sahaja yang beriman kepadanya. Baginda ﷺ mengajarnya secara sembunyi di rumah al-Arqam bin Abi al-Arqam sehinggalah Dia (SWT) menurunkan: “Maka sampaikanlah secara terbuka apa yang diperintahkan kepadamu.” [TMQ 15:94] Pada permulaannya, baginda biasa menyampaikan da'wah kepada sesiapa sahaja yang baginda lihat mempunyai kesediaan untuk menerima seruan itu, tanpa mengira umur atau kedudukan sosial, dan tanpa mengira jantina atau keturunan. Kira-kira empat puluh orang - lelaki dan perempuan - dari persekitaran dan peringkat umur yang berbeza menyertai kumpulannya, sehinggalah Allah (SWT) memerintahkannya untuk mengisytiharkan deen-Nya. Kebanyakan mereka adalah golongan muda.

When he 􀁕 was sent, he began to call the people. Some believed in him and others professed disbelief, until Islam became widely known in Makkah, and the people talked about it. The Messenger 􀁕 initially used to visit them in their homes. He called people to Islam publicly in Makkah, in accordance with His 􀀬 saying; “O you (Muhammad 􀁕) enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn!” [TMQ 74:1- 2]. He organised them in a bloc on the basis of this deen secretly, which is why his companions used to pray in the valleys, hiding from their people. For the one who newly embraced Islam, he 􀁕 would send someone to teach him the Qur’an; He sent Khabbab b. Arat to teach Zynab bint al-Khattab and her husband Sa’eed the Qur’an, in the house of Sa’eed. It was the very halaqah (circle) at which Sayyiduna ‘Umar embraced Islam. He 􀁕 took the house of al-Arqam as the centre of the believing block and as a school for this new da’wah, where he would recite the Qur’an to them and instruct them to memorise it and understand it. The Prophet 􀁕 continued to conceal and hide this matter, and bring into the structure anyone who believed in him. He 􀁕 taught him secretly in the house of al-Arqam b. abi al-Arqam until He 􀀬 revealed; “Therefore proclaim openly that which you are commanded.” [TMQ 15:94] At the start, he used to give da’wah to anyone who he noticed had the readiness to accept the call, irrespective of the age or social standing, and regardless of gender or lineage. About forty people - men and women - from different environments and ages joined his group, until Allah 􀀬 ordered him to proclaim His 􀀬 deen. Most of them were youths.

Di antara mereka terdapat orang yang lemah, kuat, kaya dan miskin.

Amongst them were the weak, strong, rich and poor.

Apabila para Sahabat itu telah matang dalam budaya, dan 'aqliyyah (pemikiran) mereka telah dibentuk sehingga menjadi pemikiran Islam, dan keadaan nafsiyyah (jiwa dan emosi) mereka juga menjadi Islami, serta apabila Rasulullah ﷺ berpuas hati bahawa blok (kumpulan) beliau telah menjadi blok yang kukuh, yang mampu menghadapi seluruh masyarakat, maka beliau pun tampil secara terbuka bersama blok itu apabila Allah (SWT) memerintahkannya.

When those Sahaba matured in the culture, and their ‘aqliyyah (mentality) had been moulded and it had become an Islamic mentality, and their (nafsiyyah) emotional disposition also became Islamic and when the Messenger 􀁕 was satisfied that his block had become a strong block which was able to confront the whole of society, he came out publicly with the bloc when Allah 􀀬 ordered him.

Dakwah Islam telah terbuka sejak hari di mana beliau ﷺ diutus. Penduduk Makkah mengetahui bahawa Muhammad ﷺ menyeru manusia kepada agama yang baharu, dan mereka tahu bahawa ramai yang telah memeluk Islam. Mereka juga tahu bahawa orang Islam menyembunyikan keterikatan mereka dengan kumpulan itu serta keyakinan mereka terhadap agama yang baharu. Pengetahuan ini bermakna penduduk dapat merasakan kewujudan dakwah yang baharu itu dan orang-orang yang beriman dengannya, walaupun mereka tidak mengetahui di mana mereka berhimpun, atau siapakah ahli himpunan orang beriman itu. Pengisytiharan Islam oleh Rasulullah ﷺ bukanlah sesuatu yang baharu. Sebaliknya, yang baharu ialah kemunculan blok orang beriman ini.

The Islamic da’wah was open from the day in which he 􀁕 was sent. The people in Makkah used to know that Muhammad 􀁕 called people to a new deen and they knew that many had embraced Islam. They also knew that the Muslims were hiding their affiliation to the bloc and their conviction in the new deen. This knowledge implied that the people used to sense the new da’wah and people who believed in it, though they did not know where they gathered, or who the gathering believers were. The Messenger’s 􀁕 declaration of Islam was not something new. Rather what was new was the appearance of this believing block.

Apabila firman Allah 􀀬 berikut diturunkan kepada Rasulullah ﷺ:

When the following saying of Allah 􀀬 was revealed to the Messenger 􀁕:

“Maka sampaikanlah secara terang-terangan apa yang diperintahkan kepadamu, dan berpalinglah dari al-Musyrikin (orang-orang musyrik). Sesungguhnya Kami akan mencukupkanmu terhadap orang-orang yang memperolok-olokkan (kamu). Yang menjadikan Ilah yang lain di samping Allah; maka kelak mereka akan mengetahui.” [TMQ 15:94]. Rasulullah ﷺ menyampaikan dakwah secara terbuka, dan dengan demikian beralih dari tahap rahasia ke tahap terbuka. Beliau ﷺ beralih dari tahap menghubungi mereka yang beliau rasakan telah siap, ke tahap menyeru seluruh manusia. Inilah permulaan benturan antara Iman dan Kufur, serta gesekan antara pemikiran yang benar dan pemikiran yang rusak.

“Therefore proclaim openly that which you are commanded, and turn away from al- Mushrikeen (polytheists). Truly! We will suffice you against the scoffers. Who set up along with Allah another Ilah (god), they will come to know.” [TMQ 15:94]. The Messenger 􀁕 proclaimed the da’wah publicly and thus moved from the private stage to the public stage. He 􀁕 moved from the stage of contacting those in whom he sensed readiness, to the stage of addressing all the people. This was the start of the clash between Imaan and Kufr, and the friction between the correct thoughts and the corrupt thoughts.

Maka bermulalah peringkat kedua, iaitu peringkat interaksi dan perjuangan; dan ia merupakan yang paling mencemaskan di antara semua peringkat. Rumah Rasulullah ﷺ dilontar dengan batu. Isteri Abu Lahab, Umm Jameel, biasa melemparkan kotoran di hadapan rumah baginda ﷺ. Baginda ﷺ hanya berpuas hati dengan membersihkannya. Abu Jahl pula melemparkan rahim seekor kambing yang telah disembelih sebagai korban untuk berhala-berhala mereka ke atas baginda ﷺ, namun baginda ﷺ tetap menanggung kesakitan itu. Hal itu justeru menambah kesungguhan dan keteguhan baginda ﷺ dalam dakwah. Kaum Muslimin pula sentiasa diancam dan dicederakan. Setiap kabilah menyerang kaum Muslimin yang berada di tengah-tengah mereka, menyeksa dan mendera mereka kerana agama mereka. Demikianlah contohnya Bilal, Ammar, ibu dan bapanya, serta ramai lagi yang meninggalkan teladan terbaik dalam keteguhan, penderitaan dan kesabaran menghadapi seksaan.

Thus the second stage started, which is the stage of interaction and struggle; and which was the most alarming amongst all the ages. The house of the Messenger 􀁕 was stoned. The wife of Abu Lahab, Umm Jameel, used to throw impurities in front of his house. He 􀁕 was content just to remove it. Abu Jahl threw upon him the uterus of a sheep, which had been slaughtered as a sacrifice to their idols, but he 􀁕 would bear the hurt. It only increased his insistence and steadfastness in the da’wah. The Muslims used to be threatened and harmed. Every tribe fell upon the Muslims in its midst, torturing and tormenting them because of their deen. Such was the example of Bilal, Ammar, his mother and father, and many others who left the best examples of steadfastness, suffering and enduring torture.

Pada peringkat awal, orang-orang kafir tidak begitu mengambil berat tentang dakwah Rasulullah ﷺ kerana mereka menganggap ucapannya tidak lebih daripada percakapan para pendeta dan orang bijak. Mereka menyangka bahawa orang ramai akan kembali kepada agama nenek moyang mereka. Oleh itu, mereka tidak lari daripadanya dan tidak mengecamnya. Apabila baginda melintasi majlis-majlis mereka, mereka akan berkata, "Inilah anak 'Abdul-Muttalib yang berbicara dengan langit." Namun apabila Rasulullah ﷺ berhadapan dan menentang mereka, baginda menyebut tuhan-tuhan mereka dan memburukkannya, baginda menghina akal fikiran mereka serta menuduh nenek moyang mereka sesat, maka mereka mengisytiharkan baginda sebagai musuh mereka dan bersatu dalam penentangan, permusuhan dan kekerasan terhadap baginda.

At the beginning, the Kuffar did not show much concern for the da’wah of the Messenger 􀁕 because they thought his speech was nothing more than the talk of priests and wise men. They thought the people would return to the deen of their fathers. That is why they did not run away from him or condemn him. When he used to pass their gatherings, they would say, “This is the son of ‘Abdul-Muttalib who is spoken to from the sky.” When the Messenger 􀁕 confronted and opposed them, where he mentioned their gods and disgraced them, and he insulted their minds and charged their forefathers with misguidance; then they declared him as their enemy and united in their opposition, enmity and belligerence against him.

Mereka ingin merendahkan kedudukannya dengan membantah dakwaan kenabiannya. Oleh itu, mereka bertanya tentang mukjizatnya dengan cara mengejek dan memperlekeh. Mereka berkata: "Mengapa Muhammad tidak menukarkan as-Safa dan al-Marwah menjadi emas?" "Mengapa sebuah kitab (dalam bentuk tulisan) tidak diturunkan dari langit?" "Mengapa Jibril tidak muncul di hadapan mereka?" "Mengapa dia tidak menghidupkan orang mati?" Tambahan pula, mereka menjadi semakin degil. Rasulullah ﷺ terus menyeru manusia kepada perintah Tuhannya. Mereka menggunakan pelbagai cara untuk menghalangnya daripada berdakwah, seperti menyeksa para pengikutnya, propaganda dan pemulauan, serta cara-cara lain seumpamanya, namun semua itu hanya menambahkan lagi keteguhan Rasulullah ﷺ berpegang pada tali Allah {SWT} dan semangatnya terhadap dakwah.

They wished to diminish his status by disproving him in his claim of prophethood. Thus, they inquired about his miracles in a taunting and mocking manner. They said; “Why doesn’t Muhammad turn as-Safah and al-Marwah into gold?” “Why is a book (in written form) not revealed from the sky?” “Why does Jibreel not appear in front of them?” “Why does he not give life to the dead?” Furthermore they became more stubborn. The Messenger 􀁕 continued calling the people to the command of his Lord I. They used many ways to make him turn back from his da’wah, torturing his followers, propaganda and boycott, and other such means, which only increased the Messenger’s 􀁕 hold on the rope of Allah 􀀬 and his zeal for the da’wah.

Berita tentang Rasulullah ﷺ dan penderitaan baginda sampai ke pendengaran kabilah-kabilah, dan dakwah baginda menjadi tersebar luas. Islam disebut-sebut di seluruh semenanjung, dan para penunggang unta membicarakannya dari satu tempat ke tempat lain. Kaum Muslimin tidak berpeluang untuk bergaul dengan orang ramai dan bercakap dengan mereka, kecuali pada bulan-bulan haram ketika Rasulullah ﷺ turun ke Ka'bah dan menyeru orang-orang Arab kepada agama Allah (SWT), serta memberi mereka khabar gembira tentang ganjaran-Nya dan memberi amaran kepada mereka tentang seksa dan hukuman-Nya.

News about the Messenger 􀁕 and his suffering reached the hearing of the tribes and his da’wah became generally known. Islam was mentioned throughout the peninsula, and the riders spoke about it from one place to another. The Muslims did not have opportunity to mix with the people and speak to them, except in the sacred months when the Messenger 􀁕 would come down to the Ka’bah and call the arabs to the deen of Allah 􀀬 and give them the glad tidings of His reward and warn them of His torment and punishment.