Prophet Muhammad (s): Difference between revisions

When the Quraysh saw that Islam was gaining span in Mecca and that the king did not hand over the immigrants, they decided to put Muhammad (s) and his followers under severe economic sanctions. Doing so, they wrote a treaty which said nobody could marry any of the children of [[Hashim]] or 'Abd al-Muttalib. Further, nobody could sell or buy anything from them. Then, they hung this decree in the [[Ka'ba]] (as the sign of its great obligation). Thereafter, Banu Hashim and Banu 'Abd al-Muttalib had to live under the boycott in [[Shi'b Abi Talib]].<ref>Shahīdī, ''Tārīkh-i taḥlīlī-yi Islām'', p. 53.</ref>

The sanctions lasted two or three years. During this time, they lived in extreme difficulty. A couple of their relatives would smuggle wheat or other essentials to them so that they could continue. One night, [[Abu Jahl]], who was a bitter enemy of Banu Hashim, was informed of this and stopped [[Hakim b. Hazam]] from bringing wheat to [[Khadija]]. Others interfered and criticized Abu Jahl for the severity of his actions. Eventually, some of the Quraysh felt guilty and chose to side with Banu Hashim. They wondered why [[Banu Makhzum]] should live an easy life while the children of Hashim and 'Abd al-Muttalib should live in difficulty. Thus, they decided to end the treaty. And some of those that had signed it decided to tear up the treaty. [[Ibn Hisham]] narrates from [[Ibn Ishaq]] that when they went in the Ka'ba, they saw that termites had miraculously eaten the treaty and that only the phrase "Bismik Allahumma" [In Your name O Allah] had remained of it. Ibn Hisham narrates that "Abu Talib went to a meeting of the Quraysh and said: "My nephew says that termites have eaten the treaty and that only the name of God remains. See for yourself, and if he is right, end the boycott. If he is lying, I will hand him over to you".