The Earliest Muslims
A private call: Khadijah, Ali, Abu Bakr, Zayd, Bilal
For roughly three years the call to Islam was quiet and private. The first Muslims — a wife, a young cousin, a close friend, an adopted son, an enslaved man freed for his belief — reveal what the message meant from the start.
Overview
This lesson names the first believers in Prophet Muhammad's ﷺ message, describes the quiet period in which Islam spread only privately, and explains the significance of the house of al-Arqam in Makkah.
Context
For approximately the first three years of prophethood, the call to Islam was conducted quietly. The Prophet ﷺ invited those he trusted personally — family, close friends, individuals whose situation made them open to hearing him — rather than confronting Quraysh publicly. This is called al-daʿwa al-sirriyya, the private call.
What this means
The classical Seerah records four people who accepted Islam very early: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the Prophet's ﷺ wife, was the first believer of all; Ali ibn Abi Talib, his young cousin then still a boy in his household, was the first among children; Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, his closest friend, was the first among free adult men; and Zayd ibn Haritha, a formerly enslaved man whom the Prophet ﷺ had freed and treated as a son, was the first among freedmen. Abu Bakr in turn brought several who would become pillars of the community — Uthman ibn Affan, az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and Talha ibn Ubaydillah — all of whom are among the earliest converts.
Bilal ibn Rabah
Among the earliest and most tested believers was Bilal ibn Rabah, an Abyssinian enslaved man in Makkah. When his enslaver, Umayya ibn Khalaf, discovered his faith, Bilal was tortured under the desert sun, a heavy stone placed on his chest, and pressed to renounce Islam. He refused, repeating only 'Aḥad, Aḥad' — 'One, One'. Abu Bakr eventually bought him and freed him. Years later the Prophet ﷺ would appoint him to call the adhan for the Muslim community: an African formerly enslaved man became the first voice of Muslim worship. This detail is preserved in Ibn Hisham and in numerous hadith.
The house of al-Arqam
As the number of Muslims grew, the Prophet ﷺ began meeting them at the house of a young companion, al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam of the Makhzum clan, near the hill of Safa in Makkah. Dar al-Arqam served as a discreet base for teaching, memorising Qur'an as it was revealed, and building the emerging community during the years when public gathering was not yet safe. Multiple later companions, including Umar ibn al-Khattab, accepted Islam either at Dar al-Arqam or in connection with it.
Primary Islamic evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim both preserve narrations about the earliest converts, their conversion sequence, and the treatment of Bilal and others among the vulnerable. Ibn Hisham (Ibn Ishaq) preserves the fullest chronological account, and Ibn Sa'd's Tabaqat lists early companions with biographical entries.
What is firmly established
That Khadijah, Ali, Abu Bakr, Zayd and Bilal were among the earliest converts; that the earliest Muslim community included women, a child, close friends, adopted family, and formerly enslaved people; that the community met privately at Dar al-Arqam during the earliest years; and that persecution was already directed at the most socially vulnerable believers before it was directed at the wider group.
What is reported with less certainty
The exact order of conversion — whether Ali or Abu Bakr believed first among their categories, precise ages at conversion, and the exact chronology of visits to Dar al-Arqam — is preserved through variant Seerah reports. Scholars have long noted disagreements between them and treat these as traditional details rather than fixed dates.
Why this matters
The earliest Muslim community was not a coalition of the powerful. It included women of standing (Khadijah) and women who were servants (Umm Ayman), free men of leading clans (Abu Bakr, Uthman) and enslaved men from marginalised groups (Bilal, Ammar, Suhayb), a child (Ali) and elders. This is not an accident. The Qur'an would later address, defend and dignify each of these categories directly. Anyone who imagines Islam as a movement of a single class or race has to reckon with who its first followers actually were.
Common misunderstanding
A common assumption is that Islam grew in Makkah primarily among free Arab men. In fact, the strongest early witnesses to it — those who suffered first, and those the Qur'an speaks of most tenderly — were often women, the young, and enslaved and freed people. The community's identity was set from the beginning by that fact.
Application today
Look at who is at your community's earliest, quietest gatherings — not the big events. Are those who suffer most for belief also those whose voice is heard? The earliest Muslim community's answer to that question was clear.
Timeline placement
Approximately 610–613 CE, in Makkah. Falls between the first revelation and the beginning of the public call.
Reflection
Which of the first Muslims does your own path to faith most resemble — and whose does your community most easily overlook?