Apabila Rasulullah ﷺ diutus, baginda terlebih dahulu mengajak isterinya Khadijah, lalu beliau beriman kepadanya. Kemudian baginda ﷺ mengajak sepupunya ‘Ali, lalu beliau beriman kepadanya. Baginda ﷺ kemudian mengajak hambanya Zayd, lalu beliau beriman kepadanya. Seterusnya baginda ﷺ mengajak sahabatnya Abu Bakar, yang turut beriman kepadanya. Baginda ﷺ terus mengajak orang ramai kepada Islam; ada yang beriman dan ada yang 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.

Apabila Abu Bakr memeluk Islam, beliau pula menyampaikan imannya kepada orang-orang yang beliau percayai, dan menyeru mereka kepada Allah (swt) dan Rasul-Nya ﷺ. Abu Bakr sangat dihormati di kalangan kaumnya; mereka senang bergaul dengannya dan sentiasa meminta pendapatnya dalam banyak perkara. Beliau menggunakan pengaruhnya untuk memujuk ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, bersama Zubayr ibn al-’Awwam, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Auf, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas dan Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullah, supaya memeluk Islam. Beliau membawa mereka menemui Rasulullah ﷺ, lalu mereka semua mengakui keimanan mereka dan menunaikan solat. Kemudian, ‘Amir ibn al-Jarrah (yang dikenali sebagai Abu Ubaydah) memeluk Islam, begitu juga ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-Asad (yang dikenali sebagai Abu Salamah), al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam, ‘Uthman ibn Maz’un dan lain-lain. Selepas itu, ramai orang memeluk Islam, sehingga Islam menjadi topik perbincangan 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 permulaannya, Rasulullah ﷺ akan mengunjungi orang ramai di rumah mereka, memberitahu mereka bahawa mereka telah diperintahkan oleh Allah (SWT) untuk menyembah-Nya dan tidak menyekutukan-Nya dengan sesuatu apa pun. Baginda ﷺ secara terbuka menyeru manusia 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-Muddaththir, 74:1-2].

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

Selepas itu, Rasulullah ﷺ akan menghubungi orang ramai secara sembunyi-sembunyi untuk mengajar mereka Islam dan menghimpunkan 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 Sahabah (Sahabat) biasa menunaikan solat di bukit-bukit di pinggir Makkah, jauh dari orang-orang Quraisy. Setiap kali seseorang memeluk Islam, Rasulullah ﷺ akan mengutus kepadanya seorang daripada mereka yang telah memeluk Islam lebih awal untuk mengajarkan al-Qur'an kepadanya. Baginda ﷺ mengutus Khabbab ibn al-Arratt untuk mengajarkan al-Qur'an kepada Fatimah binti al-Khattab dan suaminya Sa'id. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab pernah tiba-tiba menemui mereka ketika mereka sedang mengadakan halaqah mereka, lalu beliau memeluk Islam pada saat itu juga. Namun Rasulullah ﷺ menyedari bahawa keadaan ini belum mencukupi, lalu baginda menjadikan rumah al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam sebagai pusat dakwahnya, iaitu tempat baginda mengajarkan al-Qur'an kepada kaum Muslimin dan menyempurnakan ilmu mereka tentang Islam, sambil menggalakkan mereka membaca al-Qur'an dan memahaminya. Setiap kali seseorang memeluk Islam, Rasulullah ﷺ akan menemuinya di rumah al-Arqam. Baginda ﷺ meneruskan tugas ini selama tiga tahun, mengajar kumpulan kaum Muslimin ini, mengimami mereka dalam solat, dan melakukan solat Tahajjud pada waktu malam, membangkitkan semangat jiwa mereka, memperkukuh iman mereka melalui solat dan bacaan, membantu mereka memperbaiki cara berfikir dan merenungi ayat-ayat al-Qur'an serta ciptaan Allah (SWT). Baginda ﷺ mengajar mereka bagaimana menempuh segala kesukaran 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 kekal bersama kumpulan kaum Muslimin di rumah al-Arqam sehingga 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,

Oleh itu, nyatakanlah secara terang-terangan apa yang diperintahkan kepadamu, dan berpalinglah daripada "Al-Mushrikun". [Al-Hijr, 15: 94]

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