Give an account of the difficulties experienced by the early Muslim community in Makka.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2016). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [10] (a) For the first few years the Prophet (pbuh) preached the message in secret. Initially only a handful of Muslims accepted Islam, the main ones being Khadija, Zaid, 'Ali and Abu Bakr, who in turn brought many people to Islam including, 'Uthman, Zubair ibn Awwam, and Talha. Other early converts were Bilal, Abu ‘Ubaida, Abu Salamah. Prayer was established morning and evening. They would pray and practise their faith in secret, often praying in the mountains. After the revelation to warn his nearest relatives (26.214), the Prophet (pbuh) took to Mount Safa and invited the Quraysh to follow Islam publicly. They rejected him and feeling threatened by the new message, because they could not dissuade the Prophet (pbuh) from preaching it, they started to persecute the Muslims. Those who had no protection were easy targets and felt the worst of the persecution. Bilal was severely beaten by his master Umayah bin Khalaf; 'Ammar bin Yasir, and his parents, were made to lie on the burning sand – both his parents were martyred; ‘Uthman in Affan was wrapped in palm leaves and set fire to by his uncle; Khabab bin al-Arat was made to lie on burning coal with a rock on his chest. Due to the severity of the persecutions, the Prophet (pbuh) told the believers to meet secretly at Dar al-Arqam, where they would learn about their new faith. Also because of the persecutions, the Prophet (pbuh) allowed some people to migrate to Abyssinia. Later a social and economic boycott was imposed on the Muslims and they were to live in Shib-i-Abi Talib, where they faced great hardships for many years. Good answers will be able to present their narratives in a clear and comprehensive and give depth to the above points; candidates should not write about the Prophet's (pbuh) persecution.
2. [4] (b) Candidates can give a number of answers, but should qualify their answers with reasoning. Simply stating that e.g. Muslims should be steadfast and patient is not enough for the higher levels. They could say, e.g. that living in a situation where their family may not want them to practise their faith, to pray, fast or wear hijab, they can try to conceal their faith and practise where they can and in secret. Or they could say that if they are being persecuted by the wider community for their beliefs, they could migrate to a safer place where they would be accepted and allowed to live in freedom. It is not going to be an easy journey, but the early Muslims did not go back on their decision. These are some examples, other relevant answers should be credited.