THE QURAISH could not understand the meaning of isra', and even many among those who had already accepted Islam did not understand its meaning, as mentioned earlier. For this reason, a group then left Muhammad, who had for so long been their follower. The hostility of the Quraish toward Muhammad and the Muslims grew ever fiercer, until they truly felt vexed by it. There seemed to be no hope left for Muhammad of gaining the support of the tribes, after Thaqif of Ta'if had rejected him in a most unkind manner. Likewise, the tribes of Kinda, Kalb, Banu 'Amir and Banu Hanifa all rejected him when he came to introduce himself to them during the pilgrimage season.
After that, Muhammad felt that there was no one among the Quraish who seemed to be capable of being led to the truth. The other tribes outside the Quraish, living around Mecca and coming to visit that place from every corner of the Arab lands, saw his isolated condition and saw the Quraish's hostility toward him in such a manner that it made everyone who might support him become their enemy too. Now the Quraish's attitude grew even harsher against him.
Although Muhammad already felt encouraged by the presence of Hamzah and 'Umar, and although he was already certain that the Quraish would not endanger him too greatly beyond what had already happened, given the protection of his family from Banu Hashim and Banu Abd'l-Muttalib, he saw - up to that time - that the message of God would remain confined only to a small circle of his followers. Those followers, consisting of people who were still weak and very few in number, were nearly wiped out or tempted to abandon their religion if God's victory and help did not come soon. This state of affairs went on for quite a long time. Muhammad was increasingly isolated within his own family, and the Quraish's malice also kept growing.
Did this isolation weaken his spirit and break his resolve? Not at all! On the contrary, his conviction in the truth that came from God was far nobler than mere considerations that might weaken an ordinary spirit. For a person of extraordinary spirit, this would in fact only strengthen his conviction all the more.
In that condition of isolation - with his companions around him - Muhammad was fully certain that God would grant him help and that his religion would prevail over all religions. The storm of malice did not manage to shake his heart. He even remained in Mecca for several more years. He did not care whether Khadijah's wealth and his own wealth would run out. His state of great poverty did not weaken his heart. His spirit never yearned for anything other than the help of God that was certain to be given to him.
When the pilgrimage season arrived, people from every corner of the Arab peninsula gathered again in Mecca, and he began to approach the tribes. He invited them to understand the truth of the religion he carried. He did not care whether the tribes refused to accept his invitation, or whether they would drive him away crudely. Some foolish men among the Quraish tried to stir up trouble whenever they learned that he continued to convey God's message to the people. They treated him with every kind of malice. But none of that changed the calm of his spirit, and he remained fully certain of the future. Allah the Almighty had sent him for the sake of truth. Surely He was the Defender and Supporter of that truth. God had also revealed to him that in debating, it should be done in the best possible manner.
"So that the enmity between you and him becomes like a close friendship." (Qur'an, 41: 34)
And [God commanded him] to speak to them gently, in case they should come to their senses and feel fear. So be patient in facing their persecution. God is with those who are patient.
Not many years after Muhammad had been waiting, suddenly the first signs of victory appeared, coming from the direction of Yathrib. For Muhammad, Yathrib held a meaning not of trade ties, but of a very close bond. In that place there was a grave, and before her death, once a year his mother would visit that place. As for his relatives, from the side of Banu Najjar, they were the family of his grandfather Abd'l-Muttalib from his mother's side. That grave was the tomb of his father, Abdullah b. Abd'l-Muttalib. It was to this grave that Aminah, as a faithful wife, used to make her visits. In earlier times Abd'l-Muttalib too, as a father who had lost a son who was still young and strong, had once made such a visit. When he was six years old, Muhammad himself had also gone to Yathrib accompanying his mother. So together with his mother he too visited his father's grave. Afterward the two of them returned home. Aminah fell ill along the way, until she died. She was then buried at Abwa' - midway on the road between Yathrib and Mecca.
So it is no wonder that the signs of victory for Muhammad began from the direction of a city that had such a bond with him. It was toward this direction, too, that he had once faced, when in prayer al-Masjid'l-Aqsha in Bait'l-Maqdis was made his qiblah, the place of his forebears Musa and Isa. It is no wonder that good fortune would fall upon Yathrib. In this place Muhammad would achieve victory, in this place Islam would achieve victory, and in this place too Islam would attain success and flourish.
Good fortune had indeed fallen upon Yathrib, a thing that did not happen to any other city. At that time the two tribes of Aus and Khazraj were idol worshippers in Yathrib. They lived as neighbours to the Jews. Enmity often arose between them, and from this enmity wars also broke out.
History shows that the Christians of Syam, who were under the influence of the Eastern Romans (Byzantines), greatly hated the Jews, for they believed that it was the Jews who had tortured and crucified Isa al-Masih. They attacked Yathrib in order to fight the Jews. But because they did not succeed, they then persuaded and asked for help from Aus and Khazraj. Not a small number of those Jews were then killed by them. In this way the position of the Jews as the ruling power was toppled, and the Arabs of the Aus and Khazraj tribes, who had previously been limited merely to labourers, were elevated. After that the Arabs sought again to strike at the Jews so that their power over that city, prosperous and fertile with agriculture and water, would grow even greater. This scheme of theirs succeeded very well.
But the Jews themselves later became aware of the disaster that had befallen them. The enmity and hatred of the Yathrib Jews toward Aus and Khazraj grew ever deeper, and Aus and Khazraj felt the same toward the Jews.
Now these followers of Musa saw that a war fought with war would mean their utter destruction, all the more so should Aus and Khazraj ever become close friends with the Arabs who shared the same faith as the People of the Book. So in their strategy, they took an approach not of seeking victory in battle, but of using the tactic of division. They carried out intrigues among Aus and Khazraj, spreading provocation of enmity and hatred among them, so that each side would always be ready to fight one another.
In this way their propaganda succeeded safely. They were now able to expand their trade and their wealth. The power they had lost, they were able to seize back, including houses and other immovable property.
Alongside the conflict over sovereignty and power in the Jewish-Arab neighbourly life of Yathrib, there was still another, deeper influence upon the Aus and Khazraj compared with any other inhabitants of the Arab peninsula - namely an influence in the spiritual sense.
The Jews, as People of the Book and proponents of monotheism, greatly condemned their neighbours who were pagans worshipping idols as a means of drawing near to God.
They were warned that there would one day be a prophet who would destroy them and support the Jews. But this propaganda did not go so far as to make the Arabs willing to adopt the Jewish religion. The reason lay in two causes: first, because there was always war between the Christians and the Jews, which then made the Yathrib Jews live merely seeking safety, meaning it would ensure the smooth running of their trade. Second, the Jews held the view that they were God's chosen people, and they did not want any other nation to hold this position. Besides that, they never invited others to embrace their religion, nor did they themselves step outside the circle of the Family of Israel. On the basis of these two reasons, the neighbourly relations and trade relations between the Jews and the Arabs - Aus and Khazraj - meant that the latter came to know more of the spiritual stories and other religious matters compared with other groups of Arabs. This shows that no group among the Arabs could receive Muhammad's invitation in a spiritual sense as well as the people of Yathrib did.
Suwaid bin'sh-Shamit was a prominent nobleman in Yathrib. Because of his steadfastness, his knowledge, his noble birth and his lineage, his own people called him al-Ramil (the perfect one). At the time this matter is spoken of, Suwaid was in Mecca on pilgrimage. Muhammad then met him and invited him to know God and embrace Islam.
"Perhaps what you have is the same as what I have," said Suwaid.
"Indeed those are good words," said Muhammad after Suwaid had put them forward. "But what I have is of course more excellent, namely the Qur'an, as guidance and light.
Then he recited to him verses of the Qur'an, together with an invitation for him to be willing to accept Islam. Suwaid was very glad to hear this.
"This is indeed very good," he said. Then he went off to consider the matter. Some people say that when he was killed by the Khazraj, he died as a Muslim.
The story of Suwaid b. Shamit is not the only example showing the influence between the Jews and Arabs of neighbouring Yathrib, in the spiritual sense.
The state of enmity between Aus and Khazraj, as a result of the provocation from the Jewish side as we already know, led each side to seek allies among the Arab tribes to fight their opponent. In this connection, the arrival of Abu'l Haisar Ans b. Rafi' at Mecca, accompanied by young men from Banu Abd'l-Ashhal - including Iyas b. Mu'adh - was in the framework of seeking an alliance with the Quraish and their own faction from the Khazraj side. Muhammad learned of this. He met with them, and introduced Islam to them. Then he recited verses of the Qur'an to them.
At that time, Iyas b. Mu'adh, as a young youth, said: "Friends, this is better than what we all have."
They then returned home to Yathrib. None of them entered Islam except Iyas. They were all busy seeking allies as a preparation, because of the Bu'ath incident that had drawn Aus and Khazraj into that flame of civil war, not long after Abu'l Haisar and his party returned from Mecca. Yet the words of Muhammad 'alaihissalam had left a deep impression on their hearts after that incident occurred, which then made Aus and Khazraj come to await Muhammad as a Prophet, as a Messenger, as their representative and their leader.
Indeed, the Bu'ath incident occurred not long after Abu'l-Haisar returned to Yathrib. It was then that fierce fighting between Aus and Khazraj took place, which resulted in an enmity that took deep root. Each side then wondered, should they be the ones who won: would they remain steadfast with their friends, or would they be wiped out entirely. Abu Usaid Hudzair, as a leader of Aus, harboured deep resentment toward Khazraj.
When the fighting had begun, the Aus side fell into disarray. They fled in confusion toward Najd, at which the Khazraj mocked them. Hudzair, hearing that mockery, drove the point of his spear into his own thigh; then he dismounted, saying:
"This is truly extraordinary! I will not stay silent until I am killed. O people of Aus, if you wish to surrender me, then do so!"
The Aus side then wished to fight again. The bitter experience that had befallen them made them now fight to the death. They were able to crush the Khazraj. The houses and date-palm gardens of the Khazraj were burned by the Aus. Then Sa'd b. Mu'adh al-Asyhadi acted to protect the Khazraj. Meanwhile Hudzair intended to go house by house, killing them one by one until none remained alive, had not Abu Qais ibn'l-Aslat come quickly to stop him, in order to preserve the solidarity of their shared belief. "To be neighbours with them is better than to be neighbours with foxes."
From that time the Jews were able to regain their standing in Yathrib. Both those who won and those who lost among Aus and Khazraj came to share the same view about the terrible outcome of what they had done. This is what now occupied their thoughts, and they had also begun to consider appointing a king over themselves. For this they then chose Abdullah b. Muhammad from the defeated Khazraj side, given his standing and his sound judgement. But because of how rapidly the situation developed, their wish never came to pass. The reason was that some men from Khazraj went to Mecca during the pilgrimage season.
There Muhammad met them and asked about their condition, and he then learned that they were allies of the Jews. At that time the Jews of Yathrib used to say, whenever they had a dispute among themselves:
"Soon there will be a prophet, a messenger of God, whose time is already near. We shall become his followers, and together with him we shall fight you as in the war of 'Ad and Iram."
After the Prophet had spoken with them and invited them to affirm the oneness of Allah, they looked at one another.
"This is surely the Prophet the Jews have long promised us," they said. "Let us not allow them to get ahead of us."
They welcomed Muhammad's call warmly and declared their acceptance of Islam. Then they said:
"We have left our own factions - namely Aus and Khazraj - and there is no longer any faction hostile to and threatening one another. May God bring them together with you. If they can be brought together under you, then there will be no one more honoured than you."
Those people then returned to Medinah. Two among them were from Banu'n-Najjar, the family of Abd'l-Muttalib from the mother's side - the grandfather who had raised Muhammad since childhood. To their people they declared that they had entered Islam. It turned out that their people also welcomed this religion gladly, which meant it would make them monotheists like the Jews - even better than them. Thus there was not a single family, whether of Aus or Khazraj, that did not mention the name of Muhammad 'alaihissalam.
When the following year's turn came round, the sacred months arrived again together with the coming of the pilgrimage season to Mecca, and to that place there also came twelve men from Yathrib. They met with the Prophet at 'Aqaba. It was there that they made their pledge, or gave their promise, to the Prophet (later known by the name) the First Pledge of 'Aqaba. They pledged to him not to associate any partner with God, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to kill their children, not to slander or backbite, whether in his presence or behind his back. Not to refuse to do good. Whoever obeyed all this would receive the reward of paradise, and whoever transgressed, the matter would return to God. God has the power to punish, and He also has the power to forgive all sins.
In this matter Muhammad appointed Mush'ab bin 'Umair to recite the Qur'an to them, to teach them Islam and the details of religious law.
After this pledge, Islam spread further in Yathrib. Mush'ab took on the task of giving religious instruction among the Muslims of Aus and Khazraj. He was very glad to see the Ansar growing ever firmer in their faith in Allah and in the truth. As the sacred months drew near, he came again to Mecca and told Muhammad about the state of the Muslims in Yathrib; about their endurance and their strength, and that during the pilgrimage this year they would come again to Mecca in greater numbers, with faith in God that had grown even stronger.
The news brought by Mush'ab made Muhammad think even longer. His followers in Yathrib were now growing daily in power and in strength as well. From the Jews and the polytheists they suffered no interference of the kind their companions faced in Mecca because of the Quraish's harassment. Besides that, Yathrib was more prosperous than Mecca - there was farmland, there were date-palm gardens, there were grapes. Would it not be far better if the Muslims of Mecca were simply to emigrate to join their brothers there, where they would feel safer? They would be free from the Quraish, who always slandered their religion.
As Muhammad was thinking this over, he remembered the people from Yathrib, those who had first entered Islam, and who had told him of the enmity between the Aus and Khazraj factions. If through his agency they could be united by God, then there would be no one more honoured than Muhammad. Now that Allah had brought them together with him, would it not be better if he too were to emigrate? He had no wish to repay the wrongdoing of the Quraish. He was also aware that he was weaker than they were. Even if the Family of Hashim and the Family of Muttalib protected him from persecution, they would not defend him should he carry out acts of persecution in return. And those who had already become his followers would also be unable to protect themselves from the persecution of the Quraish and all its manner of malice.
If faith is the strongest foundation, one that makes everything before us seem small, and for the sake of which a person willingly sacrifices his wealth, his comforts, his freedom and his whole life, and if persecution by its very nature deepens a person's faith all the more, then persecution and continual sacrifice will make a believer reflect all the more deeply, will give him a wider space and a deeper, stronger understanding of the truth. In earlier times Muhammad had once urged his followers to seek refuge in Abyssinia, a Christian land, because there was truth there, there was a just king. So it would now be better still if the Muslims sought refuge in Yathrib, where they could strengthen one another together with their fellow Muslims there, could help one another in withstanding whatever danger might befall them. In this way they would gain freedom to reflect on their religion and to be open about it too, in order to raise their dignity, as a guarantee of the success of the call to this religion, a call that knows no compulsion, but whose basis is love and compassion, able to persuade and exchange ideas in a good manner.
This year - 622 CE - the pilgrims from Yathrib were in practice very great in number, consisting of seventy-five people, seventy-three men and two women. Learning of their arrival, Muhammad thought of arranging yet another pledge, not limited merely to the call to Islam as had been done all along, which for these thirteen years he had continually carried out, with gentleness, with all manner of patience bearing every kind of sacrifice and suffering - but now going further than that. This pledge was to become a pact of alliance, whereby the Muslims could defend themselves: blow answered with blow, attack with attack. Muhammad then held a secret meeting with their leaders.
Once they had shown their willingness, he arranged for the meeting to be held at 'Aqaba at midnight during the days of Tasyriq. This event was kept a strict secret by the Muslims of Yathrib from the polytheists who had come along with them. Waiting until a third of the night had passed from their appointment with the Prophet, they left their tents, going out stealthily like a flock of birds, hiding themselves lest their secret be uncovered.
Once they reached Mount 'Aqaba, they all climbed up its slopes, the two women included. They stayed there waiting for the Messenger to arrive.
Then Muhammad came, together with his uncle 'Abbas b. Abd'l-Muttalib - who at that time still held to the beliefs of his own people. But even before that he had already learned from his nephew of this pact of alliance; and it might well lead to war. It is also said that he had already made an agreement with the Family of Muttalib and the Family of Hashim to protect Muhammad. So he asked for a clear assurance from his nephew and from his own people, so that no calamity would later befall the Family of Hashim and the Family of Muttalib, which would mean that the people of Yathrib would lose a defender. On this basis, it was 'Abbas who spoke first.
"Brothers of Khazraj!" said 'Abbas. "You already know the position of Muhammad among us. We and those who share our views have protected him from harassment by our own people. He is a man of honour among his people and possesses strength in his own land. Yet he wishes to join with you as well. So if you truly feel able to keep the pledge you have given him and can protect him from those who oppose him, then by all means carry it out. But if you intend to hand him over and leave him abandoned once he is among you, then better you leave him alone from now.
After hearing 'Abbas's words the Yathrib side answered: "We have heard what you say. Now let the Messenger of Allah speak. Say what you wish and what God wishes."
After reciting verses of the Qur'an and giving encouragement about Islam, Muhammad answered:
"I ask for your pledge to defend me as you would defend your own wives and children."
At that time Al-Bara' b. Ma'rur was present. He was a leader of his people and the eldest among them. Since the first Pledge of 'Aqaba he had already accepted Islam, and carried out all the duties of religion, except that in prayer he faced his qiblah toward the Ka'bah, whereas Muhammad and all the Muslims at that time still faced al-Masjid'l-Aqsha. Because he differed in opinion with his own people, as soon as they arrived in Mecca they immediately sought the Prophet's judgement. Muhammad forbade Al-Bara' from facing the Ka'bah in prayer.
After Muhammad had just asked the Muslims of Yathrib to defend him as they would defend their own wives and children, Al-Bara' quickly stretched out his hand to declare his pledge, saying: "O Messenger of Allah, we have made our pledge. We are people of war and skilled fighters, a trait we have inherited from our forefathers."
But before Al-Bara' had finished speaking, Abu'l-Haitham ibn't-Tayyihan came in and interjected:
"O Messenger of Allah, we and those people - meaning the Jews - are bound by a treaty, which we are now about to break. But what will happen if we do this, and then later God grants you victory, and you return to your own people and leave us behind?"
Muhammad smiled, and said: "No, I live and die with you. You are me and I am you. I will fight whoever you fight, and I will make peace with whoever you make peace with."
As they prepared to give the pledge, 'Abbas b. 'Ubada came forward and interjected, saying: "Brothers of Khazraj. Why are you giving your pledge to this man? You are declaring your pledge to him that you will wage war against black and red alike on his behalf against those people. If you feel that, should your wealth be entirely destroyed and your leaders be killed, you would then hand him over (to the enemy), then it is better that you leave him alone from now. Should you do that, it would be a disgraceful act, in this world and the next. But on the other hand, if you truly can keep the pledge you give him, even if your wealth is destroyed and your nobles are killed, then by all means accept him. That would be a good act, in this world and the next."
The people then answered:
"We will accept him, even if our wealth is destroyed and our nobles are killed. But, O Messenger of Allah, if we manage to keep all of this, what shall we gain?"
"Paradise," answered Muhammad, calmly and firmly.
They then stretched out their hands and he too extended his hand. It was then that they made their pledge to him.
Once the pledge was complete, the Prophet said to them:
"Choose twelve leaders from among you who will be responsible for their people."
They then chose nine men from Khazraj and three from Aus. Then to those leaders the Prophet said:
"You are responsible for your people, just as the disciples of Isa bin Mariam were responsible for theirs. For my people, I am the one responsible."
In this second pledge they said:
"We pledge to listen and be loyal in times of ease and hardship, in times of joy and sorrow, we shall speak only the truth wherever we may be, and we shall fear no one's criticism upon this path of Allah."
This event was completed at midnight in a ravine of Mount 'Aqaba, far from the crowds, on the basis of the belief that only Allah knew of their circumstances. Yet, as soon as the event was over, they suddenly heard a voice shouting, aimed at the Quraish: "Muhammad and those who have changed their beliefs have gathered to make war on you!"
That voice came from someone who had gone out on his own business. Learning a little of their situation through what he happened to overhear, he then intended to disrupt their plan and to plant anxiety in their hearts, that their plan that night had been discovered. But the Khazraj and Aus sides held firm to their pledge. In fact 'Abbas b. 'Ubada - after hearing that spy's voice - said to Muhammad:
"By Allah who has sent you upon the basis of truth, if you wish, we will finish off the people of Mina tomorrow with our swords."
At that time Muhammad answered: "We have not been commanded to do that. Return to your tents."
They then returned to the place where they were spending the night, and slept. The next morning they woke early.
But that very morning the Quraish had already learned news of the pledge. They were greatly shocked. That morning the leaders of the Quraish went to see the Khazraj, each in their own places. They reproached the Khazraj and said that they had no wish to go to war with the Khazraj. But why would they ally themselves with Muhammad to fight them. At that time the polytheists among the Khazraj swore repeatedly that no such thing had happened at all. The Muslims, meanwhile, kept silent after seeing that the Quraish seemed inclined to believe the statements of those who shared their own faith.
Now the Quraish went back, unable either to confirm or to deny the news. But they continued to investigate, in case they could uncover the true state of affairs. Meanwhile the people of Yathrib had already gathered up their provisions and returned toward their own land before the Quraish could learn for certain what they had done.
After the Quraish later learned that the news was indeed true, they set out to search for the people of Yathrib. But there was no longer anyone they could find, except Sa'd b. 'Ubada, who was then seized and taken to Mecca. He was tortured. But then Jubair b. Mut'im b. 'Adi and al-Harith b. Umayya came to his aid. This man had once helped them when they were on a trading journey to Syam by way of Yathrib.
If that is so, then the Quraish's fear was perhaps not excessive, likewise in tracking down those who had pledged to Muhammad to fight them. They had known him for thirteen years continuously, since the beginning of his prophethood. They had striven with all their might to wage that passive war against him, and each side had faced the other in turn. They knew that this was because of his conviction in God, because of his steadfast holding to the true teaching. He could not be softened, and could not be persuaded either. He never quailed in the face of harassment, in the face of torment, in the face of the threat of killing. After he and his followers had been harmed with every kind of harassment, after he had been surrounded in the mountain passes, and the entire population of Mecca had been terrorised with all manner of intimidation so that they would not become his followers, it seemed to the Quraish that they had almost defeated him, that his activity would remain confined to the narrow circle of his followers who still held to that religion. He and his companions would not be long before they grew weary of their isolation, and would return, submitting to their authority.
But now, with this new pact of alliance, the door of hope for victory opened before Muhammad and his followers. At the very least, the hope of freedom to spread the religion, and to attack the idols and their worshippers. Who could tell what would happen later to the peoples of the whole Arab peninsula, once he had gained the help of Yathrib together with its Aus and Khazraj, and once he had gained protection from enemy attack, along with the freedom to carry out religious rites and to invite others to join. If the Quraish could not crush this movement on its own native soil, then their anxiety in the days to come would always loom over them, and Muhammad's victory over them would still trouble them.
Therefore they thought most seriously about what they must do in order to thwart Muhammad's efforts, and to destroy his new movement. Likewise, he himself thought no less than the Quraish about this matter. The door that God had opened before him was the door of honour for the religion of Allah, a door that would give place to the meaning of truth. The struggle now raging between him and the Quraish side was the most tremendous event to occur since the beginning of his prophethood, namely a struggle of life or death for both sides. Surely, victory belonged to the side that was in the right. His decision was firm. He might ask for God's help. Let all the trickery already carried out by the Quraish only disgrace themselves further, beyond anything before. He would keep moving forward, but with wisdom, calm and caution. The matter was one of political skill and the shrewdness of a careful leader.
He asked his companions to follow the Ansar to Yathrib. Only, in leaving Mecca, they should scatter and go separately, so as not to cause panic among the Quraish over them.
The Muslims then began to make their emigration, either individually or in small groups. But this, it seems, had already become known to the Quraish. They acted swiftly, trying to bring back whoever could still be brought back to Mecca, in order then to persuade them to return to their former beliefs, and if not, to be tortured and persecuted. To such an extent did this action go that it included separating husband from wife; if the wife was from the Quraish side she was not permitted to leave with her husband. Whoever did not comply, his wife, if they could still confine her, would be confined.
But they were unable to do more than that. They feared a civil war might break out among the tribes if they tried to kill any member of that tribe.
One after another the Muslims emigrated to Yathrib, while Muhammad remained at his post. No one knew whether he would remain in his place or had already made up his mind to emigrate as well. In the past too they had not known, when his companions were permitted to emigrate to Abyssinia, while he himself remained in Mecca calling the other members of his family to Islam. Even Abu Bakr, when he asked permission to join in emigrating to Yathrib, was told only: "Do not be in haste; perhaps God will provide you a companion." And nothing more than that.
Even so, the Quraish side itself had already weighed a thousand times over the Prophet's emigration to Yathrib. The number of Muslims there had already grown so great that they were nearly becoming the decisive party. Now, too, those who had emigrated from Mecca came to join them, so that they grew stronger still. Meanwhile, if Muhammad - a man they already knew to be firm in his convictions, sound in his judgement and far-sighted - were to go on to Yathrib, they feared that the people of Yathrib would later attack Mecca, or would block their trade route to Syam, or would make them die of starvation as they had once done to Muhammad and his companions when they drew up the boycott charter and forced them to stay in the mountain passes for thirty months.
If Muhammad still remained in Mecca and tried to leave that place, then they would still feel threatened by the actions of the Yathrib side in defending the Prophet and Messenger. So there was no way out for them other than to kill him. In this way they would be free from that continual calamity. But even if they were to kill him, surely the Family of Hashim and the Family of Muttalib would seek revenge. Then civil war would break out in Mecca, and a disaster they greatly feared would also come from the Yathrib side.
Now they held a meeting at Dar'n-Nadwa to discuss all these problems and ways of preventing them. One of them proposed:
"Put him in an iron cage and shut the door tight, then watch him until he meets a fate like the poets of his kind before him; like Zuhair and Nabigha."
But this opinion did not gain support.
"Let us expel him from among us, let us cast him out of our land. After that we need not concern ourselves with his affairs any longer," so said another voice. But they feared he would go on to follow after them to Medinah, and what they feared would then befall them all the same.
In the end they decided that from every tribe a strong young man would be chosen, and each of these young men would be armed with a sharp sword, and together, all at once, they would strike him down, so that his blood could be spread across many tribes. In this way Banu 'Abd Manaf would not be able to fight them all. They would then pay blood money for it with wealth. Thus the Quraish would be free of the man who had thrown their tribes into disorder and torn them apart.
They agreed to this proposal and felt satisfied enough. They held a selection among their young men. They believed that the matter of Muhammad would soon be settled. Within a few more days he would be buried entirely in the ground, along with his teaching, and those who had emigrated to Yathrib would return to their community, would return to their beliefs and to their gods. The Quraish and the Arab land that had been so divided, whose position had begun to weaken, would thus be united once more.
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