The Illustrious Sahaabah The Illustrious Sahaabah of Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam)
When Allah Ta‘ala commanded Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to openly invite the people to Islam, Allah Ta‘ala also commanded him to invite his own family to Islam. For this purpose, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) prepared a meal and invited his family to his home with the intention of inviting them to Islam:
The meal was prepared by Hazrat Ali (rahimahullah) which consisted of the leg of a goat, one saa of grain, and a bowl of milk. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then instructed Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) to call the family of Abdul Muttalib who numbered forty.
Among the people who were called were the uncles of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) – Abu Taalib, Hazrat Hamzah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), Hazrat Abbaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), and also the wretched enemy of Islam, Abu Lahab.
When the relatives of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) arrived, Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) brought the platter with the food and presented it before the guests. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) took a piece of meat from the platter, broke it into smaller pieces, placed the pieces at the edges of the platter and said to his relatives, “Eat with the name of Allah!”
The relatives of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) were pleased, and each person ate to his fill. Despite this, they had found that the amount of food prepared by Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) did not decrease in the least. This was the miracle of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) which they witnessed before their eyes.
Similarly, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) also instructed Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) to serve the guests with milk. The guests all drank to their fill, until they were satiated, yet the amount of the milk did not decrease in any way.
At that time, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) intended to present before his guests the message of Islam. However, as soon as Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) began speaking, Abu Lahab stood up and interrupted Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). Abu Lahab addressed the people saying, “The magic spell which Muhammed has cast over you today is indeed very very powerful!
By saying this, he wished to discredit Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) by giving the impression that the miracle of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was nothing more than a magic spell.
As he said these words, the relatives departed and Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was unable to present Islam before them.
The following day, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) again invited his relatives to his home to present the message of Islam to them. They ate to their fill, and the food did not decrease in any way. After the meals, when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) began to address them, Abu Lahab again interrupted him and told them that Muhammed (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had cast a magic spell upon them by causing the food and milk to not decrease in any way. Hence, they again departed before Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) could invite them to Islam.
On the third day, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) again invited his relatives to his home. On this occasion, as soon as they had eaten and drunk to their fill, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) addressed them saying, “O family of Abdul Muttalib! I do not know of any young man, from the Arabs, who brought something more excellent to his people than what I have brought to you. I have brought to you the goodness of this life and the next.”
(Majma’uz Zawaa’id #14109 & #14110, Bidaayah wan Nihaayah 3/39)
