Three years after the revelation began, God commanded the Prophet to proclaim Islam openly and to bring His revelation to the public. The following verses were revealed: "Warn, O Muhammad, your nearest relatives. Extend your gentle protection to all those believers who follow in your footsteps and obey you. As for those who disobey, proclaim your repudiation of their doings .... Proclaim what you are commanded and turn away from the associationists." [Qur'an, 26:214-216; 15-94.]
Muhammad invited his kinsmen to a banquet in his home at which he tried to talk to them about Islam and to call them unto God. His uncle, Abu Lahab, interrupted his speech and asked the guests to stand up and leave. Muhammad invited them again on the morrow. After they had eaten he said, "I do not know of any man in Arab history who served his people better than I have served you. I have brought you the best of this world as well as of the next. My Lord has commanded me to call you unto Him. Who of you then would stand by me on this matter"? To this appeal, his kinsmen were unsympathetic and prepared to leave." `Ali, however, though only a boy, arose and said, "Prophet of God: I shall be your helper. Whosoever opposes you, I shall fight as mortal enemy." The Banu Hashim smiled at this; others laughed loudly. All present looked once at `Ali, once at Abu Talib, his father, and left full of ridicule for what they beheld.
After addressing his kinsmen, Muhammad now directed his call to the Makkans as a whole. One day he climbed to the top of al Safi and called, "O People of Quraysh !" Hearing his call, the Quraysh assembled around him and asked what was the matter. Muhammad answered, "tell me, O Men of Quraysh, if I were to tell you that I see a cavalry on the other side of the mountain, would you believe me?" They answered, "Indeed, for we trust you, and we have never known you to tell a lie." Muhammad said, "know then that I am a Warner and that I warn you of a severe punishment. O Banu `Abd al Muttalib ! O Banu `Abd Manaf ! O Banu Zuhrah ! O Banu Taym! O Banu Makhzum ! O Banu Asad ! God has commanded me to warn you, my nearest kinsmen, that I can guarantee to you no good on earth or in heaven unless you witness that there is no God but God." Abu Lahab, fat but quick of temper as he was, arose and said, "Woe to you on this day! Did you assemble us for this?"
Severely shocked, Muhammad looked toward his uncle for a moment. Soon the following verses were revealed: "Accursed be the hands of Abu Lahab and accursed may he be. Neither his property nor his wealth will save him. He shall burn in the flames of hell." [Qur'an, 111:1-3]
Makkan persecution of the Muslims increased in intensity. Many Muslims now became so subject to torture and murder that Muhammad instructed them to disperse throughout the world. When they asked where they should go, he advised them to escape to Abyssinia, the Christian kingdom-where "a king rules without injustice, a land of truthfulness-until God leads us to a way out of our difficulty." Fearful of Makkan persecution and desirous of worshipping God in peace and freedom, a number of Muslims emigrated to Abyssinia at Muhammad's advice. The first group to emigrate included eleven men and four women. After secretly leaving Makkah, they arrived in Abyssinia where they lived under the protection of the Negus until they heard that the Muslims in Makkah had become secure against Quraysh's attacks, as we shall see a little later. When upon return they found the Quraysh's persecution stronger than it ever was before, they emigrated once more to Abyssinia, this time about eighty men strong, not counting women and children. This larger group, of Muslims lived in Abyssinia until after the Prophet's emigration to Yathrib. Their emigration to Abyssinia is usually referred to as "the first emigration in Islam."
At that time, `Umar ibn al Khattab was a mature man of thirty to thirty-five years of age. Physically he was well built and strong of muscle. Temperamentally he was capable of strong passion. He loved wine and amusement, and despite his very harshness of character, he was gentle and compassionate toward his people. As for the Muslims, he was one of their strongest opponents, a merciless aggressor upon their peace, security and religion. Their emigration to Abyssinia and the Negus's protection of them caused him no little resentment. His pride as a national of Makkah was wounded by the fact that a foreign king and country were protecting Makkans who can find neither security nor peace in their own homes. Muhammad was meeting one day with his own companions in a house in al Safa quarter of Makkah. Among those present were his uncle Hamzah, his cousin, 'All ibn Abu Talib, Abu Bakr ibn Abu Quhafah, and other Muslims. `Umar learned of their meeting and went there resolved to kill Muhammad and thus relieve the Quraysh of its burden, restore its ravaged unity, and re-establish respect for the gods that Muhammad had castigated. On the road to Makkah he was met by Nu'aym ibn `Abdullah. Upon learning what `Umar was about, Nu'aym said, "By God, you have deceived yourself, O `Umar ! Do you think that Banu `Abd Manaf would let you run around alive once you had killed their son Muhammad? Why don't you return to your own house and at least set it straight?" When `Umar learned that Fatimah, his sister, and her husband, Said ibn Zayd, had already been converted to Islam, he turned around and went straight to their house. Upon entering the house without knocking, he found them listening to a third person reciting the Qur'an. They, too, having heard him approach, had hid their visitor and put away the manuscript of the Qur'an from which they were reading. `Umar asked, "What is this cantillation that I have heard as I walked in?" The pair denied hearing anything. Flying into a rage, `Umar told them that he knew that they had foresworn their faith and entered into that of Muhammad. He chastised them and delivered a strong blow to his brotherin-law, Said. Fatimah rose to protect her husband. As she came between the two men, `Umar hit her on the head and caused her to bleed. At this, the pair lost. their fear entirely and said together, "Yes, indeed! We have become Muslims. Do what you will!" At this surge of courage, as well as upon seeing the blood of his sister flow, `Umar was moved. After calming down a little, he asked his sister to, let him see the manuscript which she and her husband had been reading together. After she surrendered the manuscript to him, he read it and his face changed to an expression of regret for what he had just done. As for what he had just read, he was deeply shaken by its beauty, its majesty, the nobility of its call, and the magnanimity of its message. In short, `Umar's good side got the better of him. He left the house of his sister, his heart mellow and his soul reassured by the new certainty which he had just discovered. He went straight to al Safa, where Muhammad was meeting with his companions, sought permission to enter, and declared his conversion to Islam in front of the Prophet. The Muslims acclaimed his conversion and found therein, as they did in the conversion of Hamzah, new security for the community as a whole.
The conversion of `Umar divided the Quraysh further. It reduced their power and caused them to reconsider their strategy. In fact, it increased Muslim power so greatly and so significantly that both they and the Quraysh had to change their positions vis-?is each other. Moreover, it triggered a whole line of events in inspiring new levels of sacrifices and stirring new forces which, together, led to the emigration of Muhammad and to the inception of the political side of his career.