I was coming down from my minaret with fear. I had a minaret on earth named Utbah bin Rabia, and his father was my master. And I saw from my place this Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, come to my minaret with fear. He came secretly, no one knowing about him. He wanted to invite them to Islam, and I hoped his migration would be simpler and more successful than Quraysh.
The First Believers in Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah:
Since I appeared to the world as a small one, I have been hearing about Muhammad from those coming from Mecca, and they look at my minaret. I knew that the first of women who believed in him from the women was his wife Khadija, from the men Abu Bakr, and from the children Ali bin Abi Talib.
The Rejection of Quraysh from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah:
But I knew that those who believed in him were few in number, and that most of Quraysh didn’t believe in him, but ridiculed him, and opposed him with every accusation, and tried to tempt him with kingdom and money to abandon his invitation and to forget to destroy the idols that were his family Quraysh.
Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, and His Father Abu Talib:
And I heard from my masters that they sent to him with his father Abu Talib, saying to him: “Quraysh is prepared to give you from money what you want from his daughter, on condition that you abandon this religion that you invite to.” So the Messenger of Allah said: “By God, O uncle, even if they placed the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, I would not abandon this matter that He abandoned until God makes it apparent or I perish in it without it.”
Another Message to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, from Quraysh:
Then I heard from Utbah, my master, that Quraysh sent him also to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to say to him: “Quraysh is prepared. If you want money that we will give you until you become rich. If you want nobility, we will make you a master over them so they will do nothing except if you order them. If you want to become a king, we will make you a king and seat you on the throne. And if this is a disease that has afflicted you, we have a cure for it with medicine until you heal.”
Muhammad answered Utbah, reciting to him a noble verse: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. “Ha, Mim. A revelation from the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. A Book whose verses are perfected and then presented in detail from one Wise, All-Aware. Worship none but Allah. Indeed, I am to you from Him a warner and a bearer of good tidings. And seek forgiveness of your Lord and repent to Him. Indeed, my Lord is Merciful and Loving.”
Utbah and Quraysh’s Refusal:
So Utbah returned to Quraysh, saying to her: “I heard a speech that is neither poetry nor sorcery nor magic. And Utbah asked Quraysh to abandon Muhammad and his message, saying: “Muhammad has been among you a speech of consequence, the most beautiful of you in character, the most truthful of you in speech, the most trustworthy of you in secrets, and if you come to you with what you have come with, you would say: A magician and soothsayer!”
No Peace and No Speech:
Quraysh’s temptations to Muhammad with money and kingdom didn’t avail, and he continued to invite to Allah, the One and Only. Quraysh increased her distress with him and his companions, and sent to the messengers and him and the Muslims who followed him. And she issued a scroll from her in the well that she invited people to that, saying to them: “No peace and no speech with the Muslims… No buying and no selling from them… No hospitality and no visitation… No dealing with them in any way!”
The Boycott and Dealings:
And this boycott didn’t avail either! Especially since after three years of the boycott, most of Quraysh’s notables announced that they didn’t comply with it, and they tore up the scroll and stopped working with it, but the effects of the boycott didn’t cease. Quraysh’s refusal to continue the persecution and torment to Muhammad and his companions continued.
The Persecution of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, and His Companions:
The persecution and distress increased after the death of his father Abu Talib, and his wife Khadija. They threw them at the Messenger while he was sitting in his sheets… and they are mocking! Just as one of the notables put a sheet around his neck, and was about to strangle him!
The Story of the Rabbit’s Conversion:
I used to hear these and other news from my elders from Mecca, and they are the ones who look at my minaret. These sad news were making me believe, and I wished to find an opportunity in my short life to see Muhammad, and I didn’t want his masters to take me with my minaret, fearing that the notables would seize me and kill me cruelly and take from me their minaret, which would increase the torment of Muslims. Therefore, I was watching for my opportunity to see Muhammad, and God fulfilled my hope, for he came in person to here to see him, and I am very happy with seeing him. I was sad when that happened, and I cried and relieved my distress when I saw what befell him.
Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, and the Conversion of Believers:
He sat to the conversion of believers and invited them to faith in Allah and His Messenger and His Book, and if they returned him a harsh refusal, and they showed harshness to his speech, and on his way back to Mecca he found a small spider not knowing much, and with them were some disbelievers, mocking the Messenger and hitting him with stones, and throwing at him and humiliating him, and he was patient with everything as the notables had tried to keep away from him!
The Prayer of the Messenger:
And finally, he was able to escape from them and flee to the minaret I had descended from, and promised her in love and loyalty, and I heard him saying: “O people… it has become weak my power, the light of my eyes, and my family. O Most Merciful of the Merciful, if it wasn’t for Your anger upon me, I wouldn’t care about them!”
The Gratitude of the Spider of the Minaret to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah:
And the spider was very grateful for this word that it hadn’t heard from anyone before, so she entrusted her gift to the Messenger, saying: “This speech doesn’t belong to the people of this land, so who is it from?” The Messenger said to her: “And who is it except two, O rabbit?” She said: “And who does the two belong to?” The Messenger replied: “From the village of the righteous man Yunus bin Matta.” She said to Ubba: “And what does the two do to you, O Yunus bin Matta?!” So the Messenger answered: “He was my neighbor and I am his neighbor… So Ubba threw herself on Muhammad’s head, and he was kissing her and saying: “My… yes my… no one can bear what he encounters except in the path of truth and the religion of truth.”
The Happiest Rabbit in History:
And I opened my eyes between the hands of the Messenger of Allah, and I am the happiest rabbit in history in the entire world. For I have eaten food to the Messenger after his long torment, and I have guided Ubba to faith in him, and praised him with the sublime prayer. And I have opened my eyes from my place, to the pit, to lay me before Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, who extended his head with forgiveness and said: “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.”
The Messenger of Allah and the Two Notables:
And Ubba was grateful to him for this word that hadn’t been heard from anyone before, so she entrusted her gratitude to the Messenger, saying: “This speech doesn’t belong to the people of this land, so who is it from?” The Messenger said to her: “And who is it except Allah the people? She answered Ubba: “Two villages, and returned the Messenger: “From the village of the righteous man Yunus bin Matta.” So Ubba answered: “And what does the two do to you, O Yunus bin Matta!” So the Messenger answered: “He was my neighbor and I am his neighbor… So Ubba threw herself on Muhammad’s head, and he was kissing her and saying: “My… yes my… no one can bear what he encounters except in the path of truth and the religion of truth.”