Day: June 9, 2023

The Deputation of Qushayr Ibn Kab Volume 1, Parts II.74.21 He (Ibn Sad) said: Hisham Ibn Muhammad informed us on the
authority of a man of Banu Uqayl; (second chain) Abi Ibn Muhammad al-Qurashi informed us, they said: A party of Banu Qushayr, which included Thawr IbnUrwah Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Salmah Ibn Qushayr, waited in deputation on the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him. He (Thawr) embraced Islam and so the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him, granted him a fief, and wrote a document in his favour. Among them was Haydah Ibn Muáwiyah Ibn
Qushayr [P. 47] and it was before the hajjat al-wadà` (pilgrimage of
farewell) and after (the battle of) Hunayn. Among them was Qurrah Ibn
Hubayrah lbn Salmat al-Khayr Ibn Qushayr. He embraced Islam, so the
Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him, made a gift to him and covered
him with a sheet and commanded him to be beneficent to his people, i.e.,
he should collect sadaqah. So when Qurrah returned, he recited:
When it (deputation) waited on him (the Prophet) he honoured it and
granted an everlasting grace.
It halted in a green pasture and although it had been very fastmoving its requirements were fulfilled by Muhammad.
Its head is a youth and no blame touches his saddle. He corrects the
affairs of those who are helpless wavering.

THE QUREISH BOYCOTT

When the Qureish failed in crushing the Islamic Movement and suppress the voice of the Prophet (s.a.), and lost all hope of bringing him to their thinking, they came to a conclusion that unless Mohammed (s.a.) was not handed over them, they would terminate all relations with Bani Hashim and declare an economic boycott against them. They decided neither to sell anything to them nor establish any matrimonial relationship with the family. To give authencity to this agreement, Mansur ibne Akrama Abdri drafted a document with mutual consent on which eighty chiefs of Qureish put their seal of approval. This document was given in the safe keeping of Abu Jahl’s aunt Umm al Jalas who was warned to keep it safe as a valuable document.

When Bani Hashim heard of this agreement, they felt it difficult to live at Makka any more. They shifted to a cave at a distance from Makka. This cave was known as Shaab Abu Talib. Now they were cut away from the people of Makka, and people of Makka from them. The boycott agreement of the Qureish affected other tribes as well. None had the courage to interact or transact with Bani Hashim. However, Abul Aas ibne Rubia, Hakim ibne Hazam and Hisham ibne Umro sometimes used to load camels with provisions and push them stealthily towards Shaab e Abu Talib. Bani Hashim also managed to buy some provisions at high prices during the Haj periods. Because of buying things at exorbitant prices, and also because of no occupation, they ran out of funds and ultimately they reached the stage of starvation. The predicament was such that sometimes they had to chew the leaves of trees. The elders were demonstrating forbearance, but the children used to cry inconsolably. Others used to hear of their tribulation, but none took pity on them. The Qureish, instead of commiserating with them, took sadistic pleasure in their plight! It was quite natural considering the temperament of the Qureish. But the surprising thing was that there still existed a group of Muslims in Makka who were rich and persons of means! But history fails to suggest if they ever made any attempt to come to the rescue of their brethren during the long period of suffering. Some humanitarian persons, who hadn’t embraced Islam till then, used to provide some succor to Bani Hashim! Those who made claims of friendship and love during the days of comfort, turned their eyes away in times of difficulty!

Qureish were convinced that Bani Hashim would not be able to bear the travails of the boycott and abandon the prophet (s.a.). They thought that when he was rendered friendless, they would subdue him easily. But the bani Hashim never left the side of the Prophet (s.a.) for a moment.and faced the difficulty with indomitable courage. In this context the courage of Abu Talib assumed proverbial proportions. The only worry he had those days was to ensure the safety of Mohammed (s.a.). He worried that the enemy might make a preemptive, surprise attack to kill him. In the nights he used to keep a vigil around the place where the Prophet (s.a.) slept, or even he would shift him from one place to the other in the dead of the nights. One of his sons would sleep in the place where the Prophet (s.a.) was moved from. This he was doing with the fear that the enemy agents might have seen the place where the Prophet (s.a.) had retired for the night and might plan to
attack him unawares. In most of these shuftings, Ali (a.s.) used to substitute

for the Prophet (s.a.) in the place where he first slept. Allama Halabi writes: “Abu Talib used to tell the Prophet (s.a.) every night to retire to his bed and sleep. When all others slept, he used to awaken the Prophet (s.a.) and ask one of his sons or nephews to substitute him in his bed. This he was doing for the fear that the enemy might get intelligence of his place of rest and attack to kill him.” Ref: Seerat e Halabia, Vol 1, Page 342 This duty was generally entrusted to Hazrat Ali (a.s.). Ibne Abil Hadeed writes: “When others learnt about the place of rest

Of the Prophet (s.a.), Abu Talib used to feel the

danger to his life. He used to awaken him in the dead of night

and substitute his son, Ali (a.s.), to sleep

in his place.”

Ref: Shara Ibne Abil Hadeed, Vol 3, Page 310

This period of tribulation commenced in the seventh year after the Annunciation from the first of Moharrum and ended in the tenth year. For full three years the Banu Hashim had to bear the extreme hardships. Now some people started feeling the cruelty of the Qureish and the sufferings of Bani Hashim. They tried to intervene and get the agreement of boycott abrogated to enable the Prophet (s.a.) and others to return home. Therefore one influential person from makka, Hisham ibne Umro, tried to move in the matter and talked to Zohair ibne Abd Allah Makhzoomi and told him that his mother, Atika, was the daughter of Abd al Mutallib. He asked him how he could silently watch the sufferings of the children of Abd al Mutallib. Zohair said that he was very concerned with the happenings, but he was helpless being all alone. Hisham told him that he was not alone and offered to join in trying to solve the problem. They also thought of recruiting support from more persons. They felt that Mutam bin Adi too looked amenable to joining the team. When they talked to him, he willingly agreed to join. Now Abul Bakhtari, Ibne Hisham and Zaama ibne Abi Aswad too volunteered. All these five persons came to the saloon of the chiefs of Qureish and said, “O chiefs! We have come to you with the purpose of pleading with you for the freedom of Bani Hashim. It is a grave injustice that we live comfortably and Abd al Mutallib’s progeny live in penury and starvation. We shall not take rest till the document of boycott is abrogated.and settle the Bani Hashim in their homes.” Abu Jahl crossed his brows and said, “We shall never permit that they ever return to their homes! On them the doors of Makka are closed for ever and ever!” The delegates too replied to him tersely. Qureish were adamantly sticking to their stand. And refused to lift the boycott. It was almost reaching the point of conflict between the two groups when Abu Talib was spotted approaching the place. This unexpected arrival gave Abu Jahl the thought that Abu Talib was coming to surrender Mohammed (s.a.) to them because of the unbearable
sufferings of Bani Hashim. When Abu Talib reached there, the Qureish asked him about the reason of his coming. He replied: “My nephew has informed me, and I never heard him tell lies, that the Document (of Boycott) has been infested with mites and except the name of Allah on the top, the entire matter concerning tyranny and injustice has been eaten by the mites. if he is proved right, you must retract from your wrong attitude, and if he has lied, I shall hand him over to you. It will be your choice whether you kill him or leave him!” Ref: Tabaqaat Ibne Saad, Vol1, Page 209

The Qureish accepted this just offer from Abu Talib, and sent a messenger to fetch the document. They were surprised to see that, as told by the Prophet (s.a.), the entire document was eaten by the mites except the words “Bismak Allah-In the name of Allah”! Now the Qureish were very confused and started making excuses. Abu Jahl said till the end that they would not terminate the pact of boycott. But Hisham ibne Umro, and his companions, forced them to agree to the abrogation of the boycott. The Bani Hashim could alas get back to their homes!

For Bani Hashim, the period of boycott was a period of great trials and tribulation. On the one side were the Qureish with all their stratagems of tyranny and on the other were the hapless and suffering families of the Bani Hashim. The children were scared and the elders worried. Every moment they had the fear of the enemy’s attack. In these trying circumstances the sangfroid of Abu Talib and his spirit of sacrifice had been proverbial. Every other day he substituted the Prophet (s.a.) with his son in the bed with the fear that the enemy might attack in the dead of the night and kill the person in the Prophet (s.a.)’s bed. If some well wishers had not raised their voice against the boycott and miraculously the mites had not eaten away the boycott document, there was no way for them but to perish in the bargain!

For Qureish it was an opportunity to see the Right Path! Even after seeing a Divine Miracle, their eyes were closed. When they found the information given by the Prophet (s.a.) veracious to the last word, they should have forsaken their unfair stand. And perceived the beacon towards the Right Path. There was no reason for them to think that the Prophet (s.a.) had made a guess about the mites attacking the document. Generally mites attack things in moist and salubrious climates. Makka is a place with high temperatures and mites cannot thrive there. And if it was a mere coincidence, then how is it that the mites ate away every word of the document except the name of Allah about which the Prophet (s.a.) had said.. Although the Qureish stuck to their inimical stand despite this miracle, some good persons did respond positively. Ibne Wazeh Yaqoobi writes that some people embraced Islam after this event. When persons, seeing the mite
eaten document embraced Islam, how is it possible that Abu Talib who vouched for the veracity of the Prophet (s.a.)’s statement about the condtion of the document without even seeing it, could be termed an infidel!