CHAPTER FIVE5 The rvlcssage and Adversity
After recovering from the distress caused by the initial experience of Revela-
tion, and as he began to receive the subsequent Revelations, the Prophet
began to share me message with those closest to him. He had not yCt
receivcd instructions on how to present the message to his people, but he
anticipated fierce opfhlsition, as had been foretold br Waraqah ibn Nawfal.
The Firs t Convers ions
After Khadijah, his wife and th e first convert to Islam, the circle of those
who accepted the message was to widen to include members of his close
family, th en his friends. Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was the young cousin in his
charge; Z ayd, his adopted so n; Urn Ayman, the nursemaid who had cared
fo r him after he returned [Q Mecca at age four; and his lifelo ng fr iend Abu
Bakr were thus among the first to recognize the truth of the mess age and
to pronounce tt e p rofession o f tatth (oJJrJhahodah) expressing their ad-
herence [Q Islam: " I bear witness that th ere 1S no god but God and that
f\'luhammad is His Messenger." The number of converts slowly g rew as a
result o f the Prophet's own discreet preachi:l.g and the very determined
involvement of Abu Bakt, who was always ready to speak about the new
faith and take action for its sake: he would buy slaves from their masters
and set th em free in the name of Islam's principles stress ing the equality
of all human beings. During those years, Muhammad's presence in J\'lecca,
his action, and his example were to attract a hrge number of women and
men who were gradually to embrace the new faith.