THE POWER OF IDEOLOGY
The power of the ideology presented by Prophet Muhammad attracted sincere individuals.
Abu Talib was the Prophet’s uncle. Abdullah ibn Abbas narrates that when Abu Talib was on his deathbed, the leaders of the Quraysh went to him and said:
“You know your rank with us, and now that you are at the point of death, we are deeply concerned about your account. You know the trouble that exists between us and your nephew. So call him and let us agree that he will leave us alone, and we will leave him alone; let him have his religion, and we will have ours.” When the Prophet Muhammad came to Abu Talib, he said: “Nephew, these leaders have come about you. Tell us what you want from them.” The Prophet Muhammad, addressing the leaders, said: “You may give me one word by which you can rule the Arabs, and the Persians will surrender to you.” The leaders asked what that word was. The Prophet said: “Say, there is no god but Allah, and forsake what you worship besides Him.” (Sirat Ibn Kathir, Vol. 2, p. 124)
When the Prophet rose with the call of truth in Makkah, he was precisely in a minority of one. But very soon, the intelligent and the right-minded were attracted by the power of his ideology. Initially, he faced stiff opposition, but it is a fact that to serious and sincere individuals, this message had a magnetic appeal that they could not resist.
During the early phase of Makkah, an individual named Tufail ibn Amr Addausi came to Makkah to visit the Kabah. He was a respectable member of his tribe. When he came to Makkah, some of the Quraysh members came to him and told him that this fellow, referring to Prophet Muhammad, was a sorcerer. So, he should not speak to or listen to a word from him. When Tufail ibn Amr learned that the Prophet was inside the Kabah, he stuffed cotton in his ear, fearing that he might overhear his words. After some time, he thought he was intelligent, knowing well the difference between good and evil. So, what was there to prevent him from listening to what this man was saying? He would accept it if it were good; if it were bad, he would reject it. Then he took the cotton out of his ears, and he met the Prophet and told him what his people had said and that they had so scared him that he had stuffed cotton in his ears, lest he should hear him. “So explain the matter to me,” he said. The Prophet explained Islam to him and recited a part of the Quran. He said: “By God, I had never heard anything finer nor more just.” Then he accepted Islam. (Dala’il an-Nubuwwah by Abu Nu’aym, Vol. 1, p. 238)
