On the Way to Guidance

Khabbab did not have to wait long for this great change to come about. Allah chose Muhammad bin Abdullah as a Messenger to humanity to take them out of gloom and bring them to light. His message was to call the people to abandon the worship of false idols, to worship the One True Allah and to put an end to oppression and injustices.

The people of Makkah received the message of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) with indifference. A few of them believed in it but most of them did not. Those who wanted to stay in power and oppress the weak and poor, did not want to believe in the message that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) came with, because they did not want to lose their power. They did their best to stop the message of Islam and tried to put an end to the life of the Prophet (Peace be upon him).

By time, the number of believers increased. It added to their strength of belief. Those early believers bravely faced every type of torture and oppression they had to suffer at the hands of the enemies of Islam.

Heresies about the Prophet

Khabbab learnt from the people passing by his shop that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was claiming to have received revelation from Allah. The people of Makkah were saying different things about him. Some falsely claimed he was a lunatic and others alleged he was a magician. A few people believed that he was indeed a Messenger sent by Allah to save mankind from the miserable and false lives they were leading.

Introduction to Islam

Khabbab thought deeply regarding what he was hearing about the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and Islam. Being unsatisfied with the things he heard from people, he decided to hear the message of Islam directly from the man who was preaching it. He felt that change was near, and that the teachings of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) I were like a powerful light paving the way for him in utter darkness. His mind was full of different thoughts.

Sometimes, he would think of his miserable condition and the light the new religion could bring to his life. Yet other times he would think that his mistress would make his life more difficult if he would follow the new religion.

Khabbab spent the whole night haunted by such thoughts. Dawn was about to break. Khabbab was still awake. He had not slept a wink. As he made his way to his shop, he passed by some slaves who were chained to rocks. Their lips were dry and desperate for a drop of water. The disbelievers had beaten them severely for abandoning the worship of idols and following the religion that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) had been sent with. For a moment he thought he could help them, but then he immediately turned back with tears rolling down his cheeks. He opened the door of his shop with his shivering hand and supported his body against the wall. He let out a sigh full of sorrow. He felt that the people who were passing outside his shop were shadows. It seemed to him as though he was in an unreal world. He closed his eyes for a moment, and the stream of his life passed swiftly through his mind. Suddenly he stood up, and told himself that he had to make his mind up either way.

Khabbab was finally determined to meet the Prophet (Peace be upon him). However, it was very dangerous to openly meet him during the day. He waited until it became dark again and set off to meet the Prophet (Peace be upon him).

Something unusual was indeed waning Khabbab. In the depth of his heart he knew that meeting the Prophet (Peace be upon him) would change his life, because he knew that the religion of Islam was the true religion of Allah. The message of Islam touched his soul and mind very powerfully.

He spent the whole day in his shop; sometimes looking at the furnace and then looking towards the road that led to the Ka'bah. He did not get much work done that day. His mind was preoccupied with thinking whether this would be his last day of physical and mental misery or would it make things worse for him.