The Function of the Early Meccan Surahs along with Historical and Intellectual Evidences in Understanding the Quality of the Prophet’s Invitation at the Beginning Years of His Mission

There has been a dispute about the quality of the Prophet’s mission in the first three years of his mission. The common view is that the Holy Prophet secretly invited people to Islam during the first three years. On the other hand, some researchers do not accept this point of view and believe that the Islamic invitation was done publicly from the very beginning of the mission. Among these differences, dating and analysis of the early Meccan surahs in a descriptive-analytical way, along with paying attention to the authentic historical narrations and interpretive traditions, is very facilitator and shows that the invitation of the Prophet (pbuh) was not secret. The clear and decisive theme of the first Quranic surahs in dealing with the polytheists and the strict command to the Holy Prophet to boldly confront the enemies confirm the public invitation of the Holy Prophet at that time. The hiding of Muslims mentioned in the narrations is related to the special situations of some of the Prophet’s companions who, due to the lack of proper social support, were not able to make their belief public, and to avoid conflicts and possible harm, they kept their faith secret until the situation improved.