was it true that people who converted to ISLAM during the early Makkan stage were mostly the weak,poor and slaves?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Answer:

Some authors of Seerah books also got this wrong on this point;one such author wrote,"We learn from the Seerah that those who entered into the fold of Islam during this (early) stage were,for most part,poor people,weak people, and slaves" Another example from the same source is as follows:" After three years of Da'wah,a total of 40 people (consisting of men and women) embraced Islam. Most of them were poor people,weak people, slaves, or freed-slaves. And prominent among them was a group of foreigners: Suhaib Ar-Roomee ra and Bilal Al-Habsyi ra." And Ibn Ar-Rabee' wrote in Hadaaiq al-Anwaar:" Weak (in terms of finances and social status) men and women, as well as freed slaves- these were the people who believed in him (during the early days of his mission)."

But meticulous research reveals a totally different picture: the total number of poor people,weak people, freed-slaves,slaves and foreigners who embraced Islam during those eraly days- is 13.If only 13 of approximately 40 Muslims were from the aforementioned categories, it is very wrong to say,"Most of them were poor" or,"For the most part, they were poor."

ISLAM was embraced by EVERYONE

In the early days of of the Prophet's mission, people embraced Islam not because they desired worldly profit, but because Allah swr had opened their hearts to the truth, a fact that holds true for free men and slaves, for the rich and the poor. Abu Bakr ra,a rich and respected members of Quraisy society; Bilaal ra, a slave from Abyssinia; Uthman ra, also rich and respected; and Suhaib ra, a foreigner from Rome- aech of these embraced Islam for the exact same reason: Faith in the truth.

Professor Saalaih Ash-Shamee said," We do not want to deny the existance of Muslims who were poor or who were slaves during those early days of Islam, but we do deny that they were in the majority, for established historical facts tells us otherwise. Had they been in the majority, their efforts would have resulted in class struggle- the poor and weak pitted against the rich and strong. But thoughts of class struggle were not the minds of any Muslim. As a community, they considered one another to be brothers, all slaves of Allah swt, regardless of whether they were rich or poor. Actually, most of the Prophet's followers during the early days of Islam were from the upper echelons of the society, a fact that attests to the strength and power of the message they had accepted. In order to uphold their beliefs, they were willing to endure persecution and torture at the hands of their people, treatment they had never previously thought of, never mind experienced."

Islam flowed into pure hearts and good souls,without distinguishing between rich and poor,black and white,male and female, or slave and free man. Khadeejah r.anha, Abu Bakr ra, Ali ra, Uthmaan ra, Az-Zubair ra, Abdur-Rahmaan ra, Talhah ra, Abu Ubaidah ra, Abu Salamah ra, Al-Arqam ra, Uthmaan ibnu Madh'oon ra, Said Ibn Zaid ra, Abdullah ibn Jahsy ra, Ja'far ra,Sa'ad ibn  Abi Waqqaas, Fatimah bint Al-Khattab r.anha, Khaalid ibn Sa'eed ra, and Abu Hudhaifah ibnu Utbah ra- these and others like them were from the noble, upper classes of the Quraish, and they were also some of the earliest Muslims, those who raced to Eemaan (faith) and to believing in the message of Muhammad saw.

 taken and edited from the chapter 'Secret Preaching',The Noble Life of the Prohet pbuh Vol 1, by Dr 'Ali Muhammad As-Sallaabee