Page 94 - The Vision of Islam

Seerah as a Movement

who had no tribe to protect them. According to the Prophet’s close
companion, Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, in the early days in Makkah
only seven people publicly declared themselves to be Muslim:
the Prophet himself, Abu Bakr, Ammar, Sa’id, Suhaib, Bilal and
Miqdad. ‘As for the Prophet, God protected him through his
uncle. As for Abu Bakr, his tribe looked after him. The rest would
be seized by the idolaters who would put coats of armour on them,
and lay them out in the boiling sun.’ (Ahmad)
When the chief of the Banu Hashim, the Prophet’s uncle, Abu
Talib, died, an uncouth member of the Quraysh threw dirt at the
Prophet and it stuck to him. When the latter reached home, one of
his daughters brushed the dirt off him. ‘The Quraysh did nothing
nasty to me like this before,’ the Prophet commented. It was only
after the death of Abu Talib that they are emboldened to commit
mean, aggressive acts of this nature. As the Prophet’s companion,
Abu Hurayra, has pointed out, “the Quraysh used to treat the
Prophet very harshly after the death of his uncle.” ‘Uncle, how
keenly I have felt your loss’ the Prophet once lamented.
The Quraysh even started planning to do away with the Prophet.
It was during this period that Abu Jahl threw the intestines of an
animal on to the Prophet’s head, and ‘Uqba ibn Muait tied a sheet
around his neck and pulled it tight in what fortunately proved an
abortive attempt to strangulate him.
Now that Abu Talib was dead, it seemed as if there was nothing
to stop vicious attacks on the Prophet’s person. The only thing
that held people back was that nothing of this nature had ever
happened before in Arabia; for a member of the Banu Hashim to
be attacked and killed by his own fellow Quraysh would have been
an action without precedent. Moreover, there were still people
among the idolaters whose consciences pricked them, who in their
heart of hearts supported the Prophet. The first time that Abu Jahl
made a murderous attack upon the Prophet, Abu’l Bukhtari heard
about it. He took a whip and went to the Kabah, where Abu Jahl
was sitting triumphantly with his associates. Abu’l Bukhtari first

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