Henceforth his life is a record of unceasing struggle to reclaim the Koreish and the surrounding people from idolatry and the practices of heathenism, to teach them their duty to God and man. The first to accept his mission were his beloved wife, his cousin Ali, the son of Abû Tâlib, his uncle, the brave and chivalrous Hamza, the faithful Abû Bakr, and several other men and women who knew him intimately and loved and revered him. Most of them were people of position, wealth, and intelligence; others were simple, honest folk in the lower walks of life.[27] They were followed by Omar, at one time a staunch opponent, but after his conversion a pillar of strength to the new Faith. =Beginning of Persecution.=—Mohammed’s preachings evoked a furious outburst of persecution against him and his followers, but he did not falter in his purpose or flinch from the task God had imposed on him. When the sufferings of his disciples became unbearable, he advised them to seek refuge in the kingdom of the Negus, of whose tolerance and hospitality he had heard reports. Some immediately availed themselves of the advice and betook themselves to Abyssinia. But Koreishite hostility pursued them even here. When the Meccan envoys arrived to demand the delivery of the refugees, that they might be put to death for abjuration of their old religion, the Negus sent for the exiles and asked them whether the charge was true. The reply of the brother of Ali, who was spokesman, is memorable in the history of Islâm. ‘O king, we were plunged in the depth of ignorance and barbarism; we adored idols, we lived in unchastity; we ate dead bodies and we spoke abominations; we disregarded every feeling of humanity and the duties of hospitality and neighbourhood; we knew no law but that of the strong, when God raised among us a man of whose birth, truthfulness, honesty, and purity we were aware; and he called us to the Unity of God, and taught us not to associate anything with Him; he forbade us the worship of idols; and enjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithful to our trusts, to be merciful and to regard the rights of neighbours; he forbade us to speak evil of women, or to eat the substance of orphans; he ordered us to fly from vices and to abstain from evil; to offer prayers, to render alms, to observe the fast. We have believed in him; we accept his teachings and his injunctions to worship God and not to associate anything with Him. For this reason our people have risen against us, have persecuted us in order to make us forego the worship of God and to return to the worship of idols of wood and stone and other abominations. They have tortured us and injured us, until finding no safety among them we have come to thy country.’