Sudah diketahui umum bahawa Makkah ialah pusat bagi orang Arab, dan menempatkan para penjaga Al-Ka‘bah. Perlindungan dan penjagaan berhala serta patung-patung batu yang diagungkan oleh semua orang Arab berada di tangan penduduk Makkah. Oleh itu, sukarnya mencapai matlamat pembaharuan dan kebenaran di tempat yang dianggap sebagai sarang penyembahan berhala. Bekerja dalam suasana sebegitu tidak syak lagi memerlukan kemahuan dan tekad yang tidak goyah, sebab itulah seruan kepada Islam mengambil bentuk secara sulit supaya orang Makkah tidak marah dengan kejutan yang tidak disangka-sangka.

It is well-known that Makkah was the centre for the Arabs, and housed the custodians of Al-Ka‘bah. Protection and guardianship of the idols and stone graven images that received veneration on the part of all the Arabs lay in the hands of the Makkans. Hence the difficulty of hitting the target of reform and rectitude in a place considered the den of idolatry. Working in such an atmosphere no doubt requires unshakable will and determination, that is why the call unto Islam assumed a clandestine form so that the Makkans should not be enraged by the unexpected surprise.

Nabi ﷺ secara semula jadi memulakan misi suci baginda dari rumah, kemudian beralih kepada orang-orang yang rapat dengan baginda. Baginda menyeru kepada Islam sesiapa sahaja yang baginda sangka akan mengakui kebenaran yang telah datang daripada Tuhannya. Malah, ramai orang yang tidak sedikit pun menyimpan keraguan terhadap Nabi ﷺ segera memberi sambutan dan dengan rela hati memeluk agama yang benar. Mereka dikenali dalam literatur Islam sebagai golongan awal memeluk Islam. Khadijah, isteri Nabi ﷺ, ibu orang-orang beriman, adalah orang pertama yang memasuki agama Islam, diikuti oleh bekas hamba baginda Zaid bin Harithah, sepupu baginda 'Ali bin Abi Talib, yang telah tinggal bersama baginda sejak kecilnya, dan seterusnya sahabat karib baginda Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (Abu Bakr si pembenar kebenaran). Kesemua mereka itu menyatakan keislaman pada hari pertama seruan itu. Abu Bakr, sejak hari pertama dia memeluk Islam, terbukti seorang pendukung yang bertenaga dan paling bersemangat. Beliau kaya, suka membantu, lembut dan berakhlak mulia. Orang ramai biasa datang ke rumahnya dan mendekatinya kerana ilmunya, keramahannya, teman bicaranya yang menyenangkan dan urusan perniagaannya. Beliau menyeru sesiapa sahaja yang dipercayainya kepada Islam, dan melalui usaha peribadinya, sejumlah besar orang memeluk Islam, seperti 'Uthman bin 'Affan Al-Umawi, Az-Zubair bin 'Awwam Al-Asadi, 'Abdur Rahman bin 'Awf, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas, Az-Zuhri dan Talhah bin 'Ubaidullah At-Tamimy. Lapan orang lelaki itu merupakan golongan perintis dan, lebih khusus lagi, barisan hadapan agama baharu di Tanah Arab. Antara orang Islam yang terawal ialah Bilal bin Rabah (orang Habsyah), Abu 'Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah dari Bani Harith bin Fahr (orang yang paling amanah dalam Umat Islam), Abu Salamah bin 'Abd Al-Asad, Al-Arqam bin Abi Al-Arqam dari kabilah Makhzum, 'Uthman bin Maz'un serta dua saudaranya Qudama dan 'Abdullah, 'Ubaidah bin Al-Harith bin Al-Muttalib bin 'Abd Munaf, Sa'id bin Zaid Al-'Adawi dan isterinya Fatimah binti Al-Khattab (saudara perempuan 'Umar bin Al-Khattab), Khabbab bin Al-Aratt, 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud Al-Hadhali serta ramai lagi. Mereka inilah orang-orang Islam terdahulu. Mereka berasal daripada pelbagai cabang Quraisy. Ibn Hisham, seorang penulis biografi, menghitung bilangan mereka lebih daripada empat puluh orang.

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) naturally initiated his sacred mission right from home and then moved to the people closely associated with him. He called unto Islam whomsoever he thought would attest the truth which had come from his Lord. In fact, a host of people who nursed not the least seed of doubt as regards the Prophet (Peace be upon him), immediately responded and quite readily embraced the true faith. They are known in the Islamic literature as the early converts, Khadijah, the Prophet’s spouse, the mother of believers, was the first to enter the fold of Islam followed by his freed slave Zaid bin Harithah, his cousin, ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, who had been living with him since his early childhood, and next came his intimate friend Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (Abu Bakr the truth verifier). All of those professed Islam on the very first day of the call. Abu Bakr, and from the first day he embraced Islam, proved to be an energetic and most zealous activist. He was wealthy, obliging, mild and upright. People used to frequent his house and draw nigh to him for his knowledge, amity, pleasant company and business. He invited whomever he had confidence in to Islam and through his personal efforts a good number of people converted to Islam, such as ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan Al-Umawi, Az-Zubair bin ‘Awwam Al-Asadi, ‘Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf, Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas, Az-Zuhri and Talhah bin ‘Ubaidullah At-Tamimy. Those eight men constituted the forerunners and more specifically the vanguard of the new faith in Arabia. Among the early Muslim were Bilal bin Rabah (the Abyssinian), Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah from Bani Harith bin Fahr (the most trustworthy of the Muslim Nation), Abu Salamah bin ‘Abd Al-Asad, Al-Arqam bin Abi Al-Arqam from the tribe of Makhzum, ‘Uthman bin Maz‘oun and his two brothers Qudama and ‘Abdullah, ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Harith bin Al-Muttalib bin ‘Abd Munaf, Sa‘id bin Zaid Al-‘Adawi and his wife Fatimah - daughter of Al-Khattab (the sister of ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab), Khabbab bin Al-Aratt, ‘Abdullâh bin Mas‘ud Al-Hadhali and many others. These were the Muslim predecessors. They belonged to various septs of Quraish. Ibn Hisham, a biographer, counted them to be more than forty.

Muqatil bin Sulaiman berkata: "Solat telah ditetapkan sebagai ibadah wajib pada peringkat awal Dakwah Islam, dua rakaat solat pada waktu pagi dan dua rakaat yang sama pada waktu petang;.

Muqatil bin Sulaiman said: “Salât (prayer) was established as an obligatory ritual at an early stage of the Islamic Call, a two rak‘ ah (unit of prayer) Salât in the morning and the same in the evening;.

"Dan bertasbihlah dengan memuji Tuhanmu pada waktu petang dan pada waktu pagi." [40:55].

“And glorify the praises of your Lord in the ‘Ashi (i.e. the time period after the mid-noon till sunset) and in the Ibkar (i.e. the time period from early morning or sunrise till before mid-noon).” [40:55].

Ibn Hijr berkata: "Sudah pasti Nabi (ﷺ) pernah solat sebelum 'Isra' dan Mi'raj', tetapi masih menjadi perselisihan sama ada solat itu telah ditetapkan sebagai ibadah wajib sebelum diwajibkan peraturan solat lima waktu sehari semalam. Diriwayatkan bahawa solat wajib ditetapkan dua kali sehari, iaitu pada waktu pagi sebelum matahari terbit dan selepas matahari terbenam. Diriwayatkan melalui rangkaian perawi bahawa apabila Nabi (ﷺ) menerima Wahyu pertama, Gabriel, malaikat itu, datang dan mengajarnya cara melakukan wuduk. Apabila Nabi (ﷺ) selesai, baginda mengambil seceduk air dan memercikkannya ke kemaluannya."

Ibn Hijr said: “Definitely the Prophet (Peace be upon him) used to pray before ‘The Night Journey’ but it still remains a matter of controversy whether or not the prayer was established as an obligatory ritual before imposing the rules of the usual five prayers a day. It is related that obligatory prayer was established twice a day, in the morning before sunrise and after sunset. It is reported through a chain of narrators that when the Prophet (Peace be upon him) received the first Revelation, Gabriel - the angel, proceeded and taught him how to observe Wudu (ablution). When the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had finished, he took a handful of water and sprinkled it on his loins.

Ibnu Hisyam meriwayatkan bahawa apabila tiba waktu solat, Rasulullah ﷺ dan para sahabatnya pergi ke sebuah lembah di gunung untuk menunaikan solat secara sembunyi-sembunyi. Pada suatu ketika Abu Talib ternampak Rasulullah ﷺ dan Ali sedang solat, lalu dia bertanya kepada mereka apakah yang sedang mereka lakukan. Setelah dia mengetahui bahawa itu ialah solat fardu, dia menyuruh mereka supaya tetap teguh dengan amalan tersebut.

Ibn Hisham reported that when it was time for prayers, the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and his Companions went into a mountain valley to pray secretly. Abu Talib once saw the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and Ali praying, he asked them what they were up to. When he got to know that it was obligatory prayer, he told them to stay constant in their practice.

Pada peringkat dakwah ini, walaupun dijalankan secara sulit dan secara individu, berita mengenainya tersebar juga dan menarik perhatian umum di seluruh Makkah. Pada mulanya, para pemimpin Makkah tidak begitu mempedulikan Muhammad ﷺ dan tidak mengambil endah akan ajarannya. Mereka pada awalnya menyangka bahawa Muhammad ﷺ hanyalah seorang ahli falsafah agama seperti Umaiyah bin Abi As-Salt, Quss bin Sa‘idah, ‘Amr bin Nufail dan seumpama mereka yang suka berfalsafah tentang ketuhanan dan kewajipan agama. Tetapi sikap acuh tak acuh ini tidak lama kemudian berubah menjadi kebimbangan yang sebenar. Kaum musyrikin Quraisy mula memerhatikan gerak-geri Muhammad ﷺ dengan teliti dan penuh kebimbangan, kerana takut dakwahnya akan tersebar dan membawa perubahan kepada pemikiran yang sedia ada.

This stage of the Call, even though conducted in a clandestine manner and on an individual basis, its news leaked out and assumed a public interest all over Makkah. In the beginning, the Makkan leaders did not care much about Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and took no heed of his teachings. At first, they thought that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was merely a religious philosophist like Omaiyah bin Abi As-Salt, Quss bin Sa‘idah, ‘Amr bin Nufail and their ilk who used to philosophize on godship and religious obligations. But this attitude of indifference soon changed into real apprehension. The polytheists of Quraish began to watch Muhammad’s movements closely and anxiously for fear of spreading his Call and producing a change in the prevalent mentality.

Selama tiga tahun aktivisme secara bawah tanah, muncullah sekumpulan orang beriman yang dijiwai semangat persaudaraan dan kerjasama, dengan satu tujuan yang jelas di dalam fikiran mereka: menyebarkan dan mengukuhkan seruan kepada Islam. Selama tiga tahun penuh Muhammad ﷺ hanya mengajar dalam lingkungan yang agak terbatas. Namun, kini tiba masanya untuk menyampaikan agama Tuhan secara terbuka. Malaikat Gabriel telah membawakan kepadanya satu lagi Wahyu daripada Kehendak Allah untuk berhadapan dengan kaumnya, membatalkan kepalsuan mereka dan menghancurkan amalan penyembahan berhala mereka.

For three underground years of activism, a group of believers emerged stamped by a spirit of fraternity and cooperation with one definite objective in their mind: propagating and deeply establishing the call unto Islam. For full three years Muhammad (Peace be upon him) had been content to teach within a rather narrow circle. The time had, however, come to preach the faith of the Lord openly. The angel Gabriel had brought him down a further Revelation of Allâh’s Will to confront his people, invalidate their falsehood and crush down their idolatrous practices.