Abu Bakr’s conversion garnered many secret conversions to Islam at a much greater speed. Those who had attained the fortune of becoming Muslim wanted to share this happiness with their families and those who were close to them. They were struggling to save them from the tortures of disbelief and the immorality of the Age of Ignorance.

We see that Hazrat Abu Bakr was ahead in this matter. The following are the names of a few people who embraced Islam by his means during the period of secret call to Islam: Uthman bin Affan, Zubair bin Awwam, Abdurrahman bin Awf, Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas, Talha bin Ubaydillah (may Allah be pleased with them). 1

These five companions would then take their place among the ten people that were given the good tidings of Paradise. While new names were being added to the list of Muslim men, the light of Islam was being spread among the women day by day. After Hazrat Khadija converted to Islam (she was the first person and woman to do so), we see that Ummu Fadl, the wife of our Holy Prophet’s uncle Hazrat Abbas who had not converted to Islam at that time, Hazrat Abu Bakr’s daughter Asma, and Lady Fatima, the sister of Hazrat Umar who also had not converted to Islam at that time, took their place among the first women to have embraced Islam.

The invitation to Islam was now being passed through two channels. The men and women were continuing to spread the light of Islam to the members of their own sex with love and zeal. It should be mentioned that the women were being drawn to the appeal of faith more quickly. This could be due to their susceptible nature that is more easily affected.

The polytheists did not stay put in the meantime. They began to slander, insult, and look down upon those who had been guided to the truth. However, none of these tactics could scare those fortunate and happy people of the Age of Happiness whose hearts were engraved with their faith in the reality of Allah, nor could they turn them away from His cause. In fact, they could not even render the slightest shred of doubt. The people’s threats and scare tactics were weak and feeble like a dust particle amid wind or like waste in the wake of a flood when compared to the believer’s faith in and fear of Allah.

1. Ibn Hisham, Sirah: 1/268-269