Then he stood up and as he walked towards the exit he turned to the rest of the family and said, “Get up, let us go, you have seen enough magic for one day!”
This incident made our Master extremely sad… In deep depression, he waited for days to hear from Gabriel… Finally, one day the angel came and assured him to go forward with it, to not have fear and to have trust that Allah will help and support him…
After this our Master called Ali (ra) and told him, “O Ali! As you know, Abu Lahab prevented me from making my announcement and invitation, prepare a meal again and invite them again so that I may fulfill the command of my Rabb…”
Again, the family was invited and dinner was prepared… This time, without giving anybody a chance to undermine his mission, our Master started his speech:
“Hamd belongs to Allah, and from Allah I seek help… I believe in Allah and I trust Allah! I know without doubt that only Allah exists and there are no deities to consecrate and worship! Allah is AHAD and has no partners or associates…
Surely one who has been sent to find grassland will not lie to his family on his return… By Allah, even if I lie to the entire world, I will never lie to you… Even if I cheat and deceive the entire humanity, I will never deceive you… I invite you to have faith in and worship Allah, the One besides whom there is no other to serve!
I am the Rasul sent by Allah to you and to the whole of humanity… By Allah, just as you fall asleep, one day you will die… and just as you wake up from your sleep, you will be resurrected and called to account of all your deeds…
You will see good for the good you have done and bad for the bad that you have done… Either eternal heaven or eternal hell life…
You are the first group of people I am warning against the suffering of the afterlife!”
His uncle Abu Talib was the first to respond:
“My dear nephew, nothing is more pleasing for us than to support you in your cause… We have embraced and accepted your advice… We confirm your words… All of us here are the sons of your ancestors, including me… Among us, no one will run faster to your aid than me… Continue on your cause! I promise that I am never going to stop protecting and supporting you, not even for a moment… However, my soul does not bow down to the idea of parting from the religion of Abdulmuttalib, I shall die upon the religion on which he left this world…”
Thus, with these words Abu Talib made it clear that even though he was not willing to accept his religion he was willing to do everything he can to support Muhammad in his cause…
Then Abu Lahab took word:
“O sons of Abdulmuttalib! Surely this is evil… Before others tie his hands and hold him back, we must tie his hands and stop him! If you shall submit to him today you will be shamed, accused and degraded! If you attempt to protect him, you will be killed!”
Our Master’s aunt Safiya could not hold herself back any longer and interrupted:
“My brother! Does it suit you to leave your nephew alone and unsupported in his cause? The scholars and the learned men are talking about a Rasul who is to come from the lineage of Abdulmuttalib… It is clear that this Rasul is out brother’s son Muhammad! Believe this if you like and reach salvation or deny it if you like and become ruined!”
Abu Lahab scorned:
“This is nothing but a baseless whim! The words of women serve no purpose other than as shackles on the feet of men! When the families of Quraish and the Arabs start to revolt and protest we do not have the power to stand against them! We are but a crumb for their mouth!”
Abu Lahab’s words had enraged Abu Talib:
“You coward! Mark my words! As long as we are alive, we will help and protect him!”
He then turned to Muhammad and said, “My nephew, when you want to invite the people to your Rabb let us know so that we can take arms and watch your back…”
Upon this our Master repeated his invitation:
“O sons of Abdulmuttalib! By Allah, I do not know of another valiant who has brought to his clan something greater and superior to what I am offering for your world and your hereafter… I am inviting you to two sentences that weigh light on the tongue but heavy on the scales:
LA ILAHA ILLALLAH. MUHAMMADAN RASULULULLAH
Allah has appointed me to invite you to this… And you have already seen some miracles as validation, which you have never seen before…
So then, who among you will accept my invitation and become my vizier and supporter?”
The room was silent.
The youngest among them was Ali…
He stood up and said;
“I do O Rasul of Allah!”
The Rasul of Allah (saw) made Ali sit down and asked again:
“Who among you will say the word of unity and accept my invitation and become my supporter?”
Again, the room was silent… Again, Ali stood up and said:
“I do O Rasul of Allah!”
Again, the Rasul of Allah made Ali sit down and repeated his question:
“Who among you is willing to say there are no gods, only ALLAH, and accept me as the Rasul of Allah and support me?”
Again, everybody was silent.
Ali stood up for the third time and said:
“O Rasul of Allah! I am your supporter! I may be the youngest here, my eyes may be crusted, and my legs may be thin, but despite this, I can be your supporter and vizier!”
Our Master then held Ali’s hands and looked at the rest of his family as if to say “You don’t even have the heart and valor of a child!”
His looks had unnerved everyone… They all left in silence…
This meeting too had not given result.