The Life of the Prophet ﷺ: Persecution

Eventually the size of the Muslim community became too large for the rest of Quraysh to ignore. Previously the Muslims had been able to perform their prayers together in a secluded area on the outskirts of the town. But as their prayer groups grew larger, the chances of them being seen increased. That is exactly what happened as a group of praying Muslims were seen by a group of idol-worship-pers, whose immediate reaction was to ridicule the Muslims and their prayer. At first the Quraysh were content to view the small community as an abnormality to be mocked, until they realised the gravity of these new ideas. Monotheism, social justice, equality, and submission to the rule of God were all threatening theories to the Quraysh. In the eyes of many leading members of Quraysh, the solution was to rid themselves of this new religious and social movement by getting rid of the source: Muhammad [ﷺ].

But Arab society still had structure and rules. Although Muhammad [ﷺ] was an orphan, he was still under the protection of his uncle, Abu Talib, who was the leader of the Banu Hashim clan of Quraysh.

Abu Talib himself refused to accept Islam, but his dignity and respect for Arab social customs demanded that he protect his nephew. Furthermore, age-old Arab customs dictated that if Muhammad [ﷺ] was killed, his clan would have permission to go after his killers, and thus civil war could break out on the streets of Mecca. So Muhammad [ﷺ] himself could not be harmed, but the protection that he enjoyed was not extended to his followers, many of whom were not protected by any clan or family. The Quraysh decided to threaten and persecute them, in the hopes of discouraging others from joining the new religion. Muslims were thus regulary harassed and deprived of the same rights as polytheists in Mecca. While Muhammad himself had protection, he was powerless to stop the oppression of his followers.