*    Immodesty and indecency were everywhere.

*    Usury (interest) was common.

*    Bribery was practised openly.

*    Even worse, disbelief and polytheism had spread across the land.

*    Idols and symbols of polytheism were present even near the Kaʿbah.

But then, our Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم arrived.

When he declared his prophethood, the first command he received to openly invite people to Islam was:

قُمْ   فَاَنْذِرْ ۪ۙ(۲)

Arise and warn.^[1]

This means that the first command for the open preaching of Islam was based on the fear of Allah.

Then, when our Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم stood on Mount Ṣafā to deliver the first public invitation to Islam; even then, he taught people about the fear of Allah.

A profound warning

As narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the Companion Abū Hurayrah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ discussed an incident that occurred in the early days of Islam, when this verse was revealed:

وَ اَنْذِرْ عَشِیْرَتَکَ  الْاَقْرَبِیْنَ (۲۱۴)ۙ