Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | PROLOGUEin the town of Ţā’if, some 90 km east of Makkah. The effort ended in failure becausethe Thaqīf gave him a most hostile reception. They mocked him and heaped scorn onhim. They let loose their louts and their children to chase him and throw stones athim, causing his feet to bleed.The Prophet’s biographers tell us that he took refuge in an orchard belonging to`Utbah ibn Rabī`ah and his brother Shaybah, where he made a most moving andemotional appeal to God, saying, “To You, my Lord, I complain of my weakness,lack of support and the humiliation I am made to receive. Most compassionate andmerciful! You are the Lord of the weak, and You are my Lord. To whom do Youleave me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or an enemy to whomYou have given power over me? If You are not displeased with me I do not care whatI face. I would, however, be much happier with Your mercy. I seek refuge in Yourface by which all darkness is dispelled and both this life and the life to come are putin their right courses against incurring Your wrath or being the subject of Your anger.To You I submit, until I earn Your pleasure. Everything is powerless without Yoursupport.”A Major BreakthroughNot long after that, the Prophet’s, and Islam’s, fortunes suddenly changed for thebetter. At a place called `Aqabah near Makkah, the Prophet had two crucial historicmeetings in 621 and 622 CE with a group of Arabs from Madinah, during which theypledged their allegiance and support. This was to have a profound and far-reachingeffect on the whole future of Islam and the Muslim community.Towards the end of the Makkan period, the Prophet Muĥammad embarked on aconcerted effort of making contact with various influential Arab communities andtribes to introduce Islam to them and seek their following and support.The Khazraj and the Aws, the two Arab tribes of Madinah, having lived side byside with the Jews, had often heard them boast about “the Prophet who will comesoon” and “whose day is at hand”, who would lead the Jews to victory over theArabs. A group of the Khazraj pilgrims met the Prophet who explained to them hismessage. They immediately realized that he was the very Prophet the Jews weretalking about. They were determined to get to him before the Jews did. Having methim and listened to what he had to say, they accepted him and became Muslims.They said to him: “We have left our people in an unprecedented state of mutualhostility. May God make you the cause of their unity.” On their return home, theyreported what they did to their people who approved their action.The following year a delegation comprising members of the two tribes of the Awsand the Khazraj, arrived in Makkah to meet the Prophet. They declared their13