Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) in the beginning of his mission

When Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) announced to people that God has sent him as a Messenger and Prophet, the anger of his people was started

His people offered to accept him as their King and he would leave the preaching of his religion. But he chose to refuse their tempting offers and go on delivering God's message single-handedly in face of all kinds of insults, social boycott and even physical assault by his own people.

First Muslims

Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) started preaching of Islam from his family and friends. For the first three years, only 40 people accepted Islam. They accepted Islam by testifying that:

"There is no Deity (worthy of worship) except God (The One True God) and Muhammad is the Messenger of God."

Islam means submission of will to God and obedience of commandments of God and those who accept Islam are called Muslims, meaning submitters and obedient to God.

Beginning of Persecution

At the end of the third year the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) received the command to “arise and warn,” whereupon he began to preach in public, pointing out the wretched folly of idolatry in face of the great laws of day and night, of life and death, of growth and decay, which manifest the power of God and attest His sovereignty. It was then, when he began to speak against their gods (gods other than One True God), that Quraysh (a tribe) became actively hostile, persecuting his poorer disciples, mocking and insulting him. The one consideration which prevented them from killing him was fear of the blood-vengeance of the clan to which his family belonged. Strong in his inspiration, the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) went on warning, pleading, threatening, while Quraysh did all they could to ridicule his teaching, and deject his followers.

His uncle Abu Lahab with other leaders of Quraish tried to bribe him with money and power including an offer to make him king if he were to abandon his message. When this did not work, they tried to convince his uncle Abu Talib to accept the best young man of Makkah in place of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم ) and to allow them to kill Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم )  His uncle tried to persuade the Prophet to stop preaching but the Prophet said: "O uncle, if they were to put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand to stop me from preaching Islam, I would never stop. I will keep preaching until Allah makes Islam prevail or I die."