Muhammad

==== Opposition in Mecca ====
{{See also|Persecution of Muslims by Meccans}}
Around 613, Muhammad began to preach to the public.<ref name="Al-A'zami2" />{{sfn|Ramadan|2007|pp=37–39}} Initially, he had no serious opposition from the inhabitants of [[Mecca]], who were indifferent to his proselytizing activities, but when he started to attack their beliefs, tensions arose.{{Sfn|Buhl|Welch|1993|p=364}}{{sfn|Lewis|2002|p=35–36}}{{Sfn|Muranyi|1998|p=102}}{{Sfn|Gordon|2005|p=120-121}} The [[Quraysh]] challenged [[Miracles of Muhammad|him to perform miracles]], such as bringing forth springs of water, yet he declined, reasoning that the regularities of nature already served as sufficient proof of God's majesty. Some satirized his lack of success by wondering why God had not bestowed treasure upon him. Others called on him to visit Paradise and return with tangible parchment scrolls of the [[Quran|Qur'an]]. But Muhammad asserted that the Quran, in the form he conveyed it, was already an extraordinary proof.{{Sfn|Phipps|2016|p=40}}{{Sfn|Brockopp|2010|p=45–6}}

According to [[Amr ibn al-As]], several of the Quraysh gathered at [[Hijr Ismail|Hijr]] and discussed how they had never faced such serious problems as they were facing from Muhammad. They said that he had derided their culture, denigrated their ancestors, scorned their faith, shattered their community, and cursed their gods. Sometime later, Muhammad came, kissing the [[Black Stone]] and performing the ritual [[tawaf]]. As Muhammad passed by them, they reportedly said hurtful things to him. The same happened when he passed by them a second time. On his third pass, Muhammad stopped and said, "Will you listen to me, O Quraysh? By Him (God), who holds my life in His hand, I bring you slaughter." They fell silent and told him to go home, saying that he was not a violent man. The next day, a number of Quraysh approached him, asking if he had said what they had heard from their companions. He answered yes, and one of them seized him by his cloak. [[Abu Bakr]] intervened, tearfully saying, "Would you kill a man for saying God is my Lord?" And they left him.{{Sfn|Glubb|2001|p=113–4}}{{Sfn|Deming|2014|p=68}}{{Sfn|Ibn Kathir|Gassick|2000|p=342–3}}

The [[Quraysh]] attempted to entice Muhammad to quit preaching by giving him admission to the merchants' inner circle as well as an advantageous marriage, but he refused both of the offers.<ref name="Cambridge 1977 362">Watt, ''The Cambridge History of Islam'' (1977), p. 36.</ref> A delegation of them then, led by the leader of the [[Banu Makhzum|Makhzum]] clan, known by the Muslims as [[Amr ibn Hisham|Abu Jahl]], went to Muhammad's uncle [[Abu Talib]], head of the [[Banu Hashim|Hashim]] clan and Muhammad's caretaker, giving him an ultimatum:{{Sfn|Hazleton|2014|p=125}}

{{Blockquote|text="By God, we can no longer endure this vilification of our forefathers, this derision of our traditional values, this abuse of our gods. Either you stop Muhammad yourself, Abu Talib, or you must let us stop him. Since you yourself take the same position as we do, in opposition to what he’s saying, we will rid you of him."{{sfn|Hazleton|2014|p=125–6}}{{sfn|Ibn Kathir| Gassick|2000|p=344}}}}

Abu Talib politely dismissed them at first, thinking it was just a heated talk. But as Muhammad grew more vocal, Abu Talib requested Muhammad to not burden him beyond what he could bear, to which Muhammad wept and replied that he would not stop even if they put the sun in his right hand and the moon in his left. When he turned around, Abu Talib called him and said, "Come back nephew, say what you please, for by God I will never give you up on any account."{{Sfn|Hazleton|2014|p=125–7}}{{Sfn|Ibn Kathir|Gassick|2000|p=344–5}}

While a group of Muslims were praying in a ravine, some Quraysh ran into them and blamed them for what they were doing. One of the Muslims, [[Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas]], then took a camel's jawbone and struck a Quraysh, splitting his head open, in what is reported to be the first bloodshed in Islam.{{Sfn|Williams|2013|loc=Prelude to the call}}{{Sfn|Lewis|2009|p=73}}

The initial persecution by the Meccans has been described by modern historians as "mostly mild",{{sfn|Watt|1953|p=119}}{{sfn|Howard-Johnston|2010|p=406}}{{sfn|Rodgers|2012|p=39}} being constrained by the clan system, the main guarantee of security within Mecca.{{sfn|Watt|1953|p=119}} By ensuring that any inter-clan violence would be considered an attack on the honor of the whole clan, the threat of retributive action largely prevented instances of serious violence against professed Muslims, who were instead principally subject to economic sanctions and verbal insults.{{sfn|Watt|1953|p=119}}{{sfn|Howard-Johnston|2010|p=406}}{{sfn|Glubb|2001|p=126}} The most notable instances of bodily violence against Muslims in this period were against slaves, famously [[Bilal ibn Rabah]] and [[Amir ibn Fuhayra]], who lacked clan protection.{{sfn|Watt|1953|p=119}} The Qur'an does not mention the persecution, with this material being found instead in the [[prophetic biography]].{{sfn|Buhl|Welch|1993|p=364–5}}
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