One day, when the Prophet was at home Jibril appeared to him and revealed the first five verses of Surah Muddathir:

“O you who covers himself (with a garment)! Arise and warn. And your Lord glorify. And your clothing purify. And uncleanliness avoid.” (Muddathir, 74:1-5)

These verses explicitly stated that Muhammad (saw) had been given the duty of prophethood and was asked to deliver what Allah had revealed to him. From that moment onward, the Prophet was to invite people to the path of the one and only Allah. He would herald those who believed in and obeyed Allah with the happiness of both this world and the Hereafter while informing those who turned away and disbelieved of the torment of hell.

The Prophet, who was tasked with preaching the religion of Islam, proposed his first ever invitation to his wife, Khadijah. Our Prophet recited the verses revealed through Jibril and asked, “Who would believe me?” His wife answered, “I would, even if no other person would.” Thus she had the honor of being the first Muslim to accept the invitation of the Prophet. The daughters of the Prophet: Zainab, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum became Muslims the same time as their mother Khadijah did. Fatimah at the time was a small child at the age of four or five. Meanwhile his cousin Ali, who lived in the same house as our Prophet, was a ten-year-old boy and he believed in the Prophet. Another member of the house, freedman Zayd was among the first Muslims.

In the meantime, Jibril taught Prophet Muhammad how to perform wudu (ablution) and ritual prayers. Our Prophet, who taught Khadijah what he learned, began to perform ritual prayers at home with his wife. After his own family, our Prophet secretly invited the people around him to Islam for about three years. His close friend Abu Bakr became a Muslim without hesitation. Moreover, Abu Bakr invited some of his close friends to Islam.

Amongst the new Muslims were: Uthman, Zubayr ibn Awwam, Abdurrahman ibn Awf, Talha ibn Ubaydullah, Sa’ad ibn abi Waqqas, Uthman bin Ma’zoon, Said ibn Zayd, Abu-Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah, Al-Arqam ibn al-Arqam, Abu Salama, Bilal al-Habashi and Ja'far ibn Abi Talib.

All those who accepted Islam during this period, when they were secretly invited to Islam, were all reliable and discreet Meccans who were not involved in the evil and perverted traditions of the age of ignorance. Among them were people from all social strata. Also, most of them were young people. During the three-year secret invitation period, the total number of people who accepted Islam reached thirty people.