Outline the difficulties the Prophet faced between receiving his first revelation and the boycott of Banu Hashim.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2015). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [10] (a) Candidates should write a detailed account of the difficulties faced by the Prophet mainly, whilst brief mention could be made of the difficulties faced by his companions. Candidates could give a brief description of the Prophet beginning to preach openly after years of secret worship, after he announced his faith to the Quraysh on mount Safa. They rejected his call to Islam, and subsequently went on to mock and torture the Prophet. He was called a mad man, or possessed by jinn [15.6, 68.51]; Abu Lahab forced his two sons to divorce the Prophet’s daughters Ruqayya and Umm Kulthum; they laughed and mocked him after his son’s death, calling him “abtar”; Abu Jahl had the foetus of a she-camel placed on the Prophet’s back while he was praying at the Ka’ba, which was removed by Fatima; his followers were also persecuted which hurt the Prophet too; the Prophet and his followers were boycotted and were not allowed business dealings or social contact with the Makkans; they stayed in Shib i Abi Talib for three years, where they had little food or water.
2. [4] (b) The Quryash were leaders of Makka and so were not ready to give up their power or prestige, they could not imagine being equal with slaves. Although they thought well of the Prophet they would have wanted a prophet to come from their own tribe rather than Banu Hashim, as they were always competing with other tribes for prestige. The Ka’ba was a place of pilgrimage which brought them an income and they were not willing to risk losing that income. They were comfortable with the way they lived their life, satisfying their needs and not thinking about others less fortunate than themselves. By society changing to Islam they would have to give up their previous practices of drinking, or treating women and slaves badly, and that did not suit them. They had no interest in obeying a religion that outlawed what they enjoyed and gave them no special status over their fellow men. It was against the religion of their forefathers, which they did not want to change. Better answers will be able to offer evaluation and expand on the points that they make.