سيدنا محمد

After a time they saw that there was no change, so they
went back to Abu Talib and this time they told him that if he
did not stop his nephew, they would fight them both. Abu Talib
was very upset by this quarrel among his people, but he could
not break his word to his nephew. He sent for the Prophet
(pbuh) and told him what had happened, saying, 'Spare me
and spare yourself; do not put a greater burden on me than I
can bear.' The Prophet (pbuh) thought that his uncle might
abandon him and that he would no longer have his support,
but nevertheless he answered, '0 my uncle, by Allah, if they
put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left in return
for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up until Allah
makes Truth victorious, or I die in His service. Abu Talib was
deeply moved by this answer. He told the Prophet (pbuh) that
he would support him for as long as he lived and encouraged
him to go on spreading Allah's message. From that time on,
however hard the leaders of Quraysh tried to convince Abu
Talib to stop protecting his nephew, he always refused to listen
to them. In order to get rid of the Prophet (pbuh) and his
followers, his enemies started persecuting those Muslims who
were poor or weak, or had no powerful friends. One such
person was Bilal, the slave of Umayyah ibn Khalaf. His master
would take him out into the desert, tie him up, and leave him
in the sun with a large stone on his chest. Fortunately Abu
Bakr was passing by one day and saw Umayyah torturing Bilal,
so he bought him from his master for a large sum of money
and then set him free. But not all persecuted Muslims were as
fortunate as Bilal. Many suffered, but all of them endured it
patiently, knowing that they were doing the right thing and
that their reward in the life to come would be greater' than
any happiness they could find on earth.