Social Boycott of Prophet Muhammad and Banu Hashim (Sha'b Abi Talib)

As the number of Muslims kept increasing, the people of the Quraysh tribe became crueler in their persecutions, in the hope of squashing this movement. Interestingly, instead of abandoning their religion, the Muslims became more steadfast in it and

began to spread to other Arab tribes as well. ¹ However, life became difficult and threats were being hurled towards Muhammad , so Abu Talib told the people of Banu Abdul Muttalib to take the Holy Prophet to Sha'b ² Abi Talib (شعبِ ابی طالب) and protect him. ³ Therefore, in the 7th year of prophet hood, the leaders of the Quraysh issued an edict, which prohibited the people of the Quraysh from indulging in any dealings with the Banu Hashim tribe, except for Abu Lahb, who sided with the . ⁴

The Scribe

The unfortunate person who wrote Al-Saheefa Al-Muqata'a (الصحیفۃ المقاطعۃ) or the document which banned dealings between Banu Hashim, Banu Abdul Muttalib and the rest of Quraysh was Mansur ibn Ikrimah ⁵ or Nasr ibn Al-Harith or Talhah ibn Abu Talhah. However, the consensus is that Mansur ibn Ikrimah wrote that document. ⁶ Prophet Muhammad cursed him and his hand became useless, the day he wrote the edict. ⁷ People would refer to Mansur's fate, noting what happened to him for writing an unjust and cruel edict against Prophet Muhammad and his tribe. ⁸

Contents of the Edict or Al-Saheefa Al-Muqata'a (الصحیفۃ المقاطعۃ)

When the Quraysh held a meeting and openly declared that they were going to martyr the Holy Prophet , Abu Talib ordered his clan to take Prophet Muhammad to the Sha'b and protect him. ⁹ When the people of Quraysh got to know about it and realized that their plan had failed, they issued the following edict:

  وكتبوا كتابا على بني هاشم ألا يناكحوهم ولا يبايعوهم ولا يخالطوهم. ¹⁰

  They (Quraysh) wrote an edict regarding Banu Hashim (which stated) no (Qurayshi Tribesmen/Women) will marry with them (the tribesmen/women of Banu Hashim), nobody will trade with them nor meet with them.

Imam Halabi elucidates it in the following words:

  والتضييق عليهم بمنع حضور الأسواق، وأن لا يناكحوهم، وأن لا يقبلوا لهم صلحا أبدا، ولا تأخذهم بهم رأفة حتى يسلموا رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم للقتل. ¹¹

  Those people (of Banu Hashim) will not be allowed to enter the markets (so that they are unable to buy anything), no one from the Quraysh will marry from amongst them (Banu Hashim), no reconciliation would be accepted from them unless they agreed to hand over Prophet Muhammad so that the people of the Quraysh could martyr him.

This was written on a piece of paper, which was endorsed by (around) 40 leaders of Quraysh, even though some were not in favor of it, ¹² and was hung in the middle of the Ka'bah so that they could be constantly reminded. ¹³ Thus, the people of Banu Hashim were left isolated in Sha'b Abi Talib, a valley located near the city of Makkah.

Problems Faced by Muslims in the Valley of Abu Talib

This social boycott lasted for three years, ¹⁴ during which Prophet Muhammad , his companions and other members of Banu Hashim had to face an extremely hard time. Since, they were unable to buy anything from the markets of Makkah, food became extremely scarce. When their food supplies ran out, they would eat leaves of different trees to survive. ¹⁵ From the tents of Banu Hashim, cries of women and children could be heard from a distance who were suffering from hunger and thirst. They had nothing to eat except meagre quantities of food which some of the compassionate Makkans smuggled to them or if the people of Banu Hashim were able to buy something in the market of the other tribes during the days of pilgrimage. ¹⁶ Even in those markets, the people of Quraysh, especially Abu Lahb made sure that the Muslims were unable to buy anything. Imam Suhaili narrates:

  وكانوا إذا قدمت العير مكة يأتي أحدهم السوق ليشتري شيئا من الطعام لعياله فيقوم أبو لهب عدو اللّٰه فيقول يا معشر التجار غالوا على أصحاب محمد حتى لا يدركوا معكم شيئا، فقد علمتم ما لي ووفاء ذمتي، فأنا ضامن أن لا خسار عليكم فيزيدون عليهم في السلعة قيمتها أضعافا، حتى يرجع إلى أطفاله وهم يتضاغون من الجوع وليس في يديه شيء يطعمهم به ويغدو التجار على أبي لهب، فيربحهم فيما اشتروا من الطعام واللباس حتى جهد المؤمنون ومن معهم جوعا وعريا. ¹⁷

  When the Caravans of tribes would come to Makkah (and establish a market), individuals (from Banu Hashim) would go to the market to buy food supplies for their families. Abu Lahb, the enemy of Allah would come and say: O Businessmen, set expensive prices for your products when selling to the companions of Prophet Muhammad , so that they are unable to buy anything from you. You know how wealthy I am, and the status I hold, I guarantee that you will face no losses if you do not sell anything to them. So, they increased their prices to the extent that they doubled them and the individuals (of Banu Hashim) had to return empty handed to their children, who were crying due to extreme hunger. Then, Abu Lahb bought those food supplies and clothes from the business men at extra-ordinary prices and they earned (illegitimate) profits, while the Muslims struggled as they had nothing to eat and few rags to wear.

After looking at this cruel treatment of the Quraysh, Abu Talib composed the following couplet:

  الا أبلغا عني على ذات نأيها
لؤيا وخصا من لؤي بني كعب
ألم تعلموا أنا وجدنا محمدا
نبيا كموسى خط في أول الكتب
وأن عليه في العباد محبة
ولا خير فيمن خصه اللّٰه بالخب
وأن الذي أضفتم في كتابكم
لكم كائن نحسا كراغبة السقب
أفيقوا أفيقوا قبل أن تحفر الثرى
ويصبح من لم يجن ذنبا كذي الذنب
ولا تتبعوا أمر الغواة وتقطعوا
أياصرنا بعد المودة والقرب
وتستجلبوا حربا عوانا وربما
أمر على من ذاقه حلب الحرب
ولسنا ورب البيت نسلم أحمدا
على الحال من عض الزمان ولا كرب
أليس أبونا هاشم شد أزره
وأوصى بنيه بالطعان وبالضرب
ولسنا نمل الحرب حتى تملنا
ولا نتشكى ما ينوب من النكب
ولكننا أهل الحفاظ والنهى
إذا طار أرواح الكماة من الرعب ¹⁸

  Through the best connections we have, send the message to Banu Luayi. Also send the message to Banu Ka'b from amongst them.
Don’t they know that we have (Prophet) Muhammad among us, who is a Prophet like Moses , who is mentioned in the previous (religious) scripture.
He is the center of people's love and affection. There is no goodness in him who has been selected by Allah to bestow upon him, His blessings and mercy.
The edict which you written and hung (in the Ka'bah), will become a curse for you, as the voice of the calf (of Salih's camel).
Come forward before the (wealthy) dig another grave.
Or else the one who has not sinned becomes sinful
Do not follow the gossips of some provocateurs and do not cut off the relations with us, after we have established blood and friend relations with you.
Do not create causes for war, as the person who tastes the threats of war, has tasted its bitterness.
I swear by the House of Allah, we are not those people who will forsake the support of Ahmed due to any difficulty or hardship.
Wasn’t Hashim, our father, consolidated his power by uniting us? and advised his children to practice swordsmanship and spear fighting.
We will never be frightened or fed up with war to the extent that war will be tired of us. And we will never complain even if are struck with calamities.
On the contrary, we are those people from whom armored soldiers shiver with fright and we protect ourselves intelligently.

Even in such tiring time, Abu Talib and the Banu Hashim remained steadfast and were unwilling to hand over Prophet Muhammad to the Quraysh.

Wheat Incident with Hakeem ibn Hizam

One day, Abu Jahl met Hakeem ibn Hizam (a member of Banu Asad) who was with his slave. The slave was carrying a sack of flour on his back. As they appeared to be heading towards Bani Hashim, Abu Jahl accused them of taking food supplies to the enemy and threatened that he would denounce Hakeem in front of the Quraysh. As they were arguing, Abu Al-Bukhtari, another member of Banu Asad tribe, overheard them so he came over and asked about the matter. When he had heard enough, he turned towards Abu Jahl and said that the flour belongs to his aunt and she had sent him to collect it. So he should let him go on his way. When Abu Jahl persisted and did not let go, then Al-Bukhtari picked up a camel jaw-bone and hit it so hard on Abu Jahl's head that he fell to the floor. Then, they trampled him heavily under their feet while Hamza, who was also around at that time, stood there watching it with joy. ¹⁹

Preaching Islam to Different Tribes during the Boycott

During the social boycott, Prophet Muhammad could not preach Islam to any tribe or individual, except in the sacred months in which all types of killing, persecution, aggression and vengeance was prohibited. In those months, tribes from all over Arabia would come to Makkah to perform pilgrimage. In those months, Prophet Muhammad would approach the Arab tribes and call them towards Islam. These pilgrims knew that Prophet Muhammad was suffering in the cause of his mission, and this stirred their sympathy and compassion for him, and they became more sensitive towards his call. ²⁰

End of the Social Boycott

When more than two years had passed and the cruel hook imposed by the Quraysh on Banu Hasim was yielding no results, the people of Quraysh, who had relatives amongst Banu Hashim, started thinking against it. Furthermore, due to this edict, Islam and Prophet Muhammad were now discussed all over Arabia, ²¹ which was very unfortunate for the Quraysh.

The person who led the internal dissent was Hisham ibn Amr Al-Hashmi. Hisham went to Zuhayr ibn Abi Umayyah, a member of ibn Makhzoom tribe. Zuhayr was convinced by Hisham, but stated that he could not do anything on his own, and they needed more people with them. Hence, they went and managed to convince Al-Mut'im ibn ‘Adi, Abu Al-Bukhtaree and Zum'ah ibn Al-Aswad. All five of them agreed to meet at night in the northern part of Makkah. In that meeting, everything was decided and it was finalized that Zuhayr would make the first move. Next day, each individual went to his gathering around the Ka'bah. Zuhayr was wearing a robe and began his morning by circumambulating the Ka'bah. When he had completed it, he stood before the people and said that he could not stand eating and drinking while the people of Banu Hashim were being destroyed. He added that he would not rest until this cruel declaration was destroyed. Abu Jahl, who was watching from the corner of Ka'bah said that Zuhayr was lying and the agreement will not be torn. Zum'ah ibn Al-Aswad responded to Abu Jahl and said that he was the greater liar, and that they were not happy with the declaration. Abu Al-Bukhtari supported Zum'ah's argument and said that others were also not pleased with what was written in the declaration. Hisham expressed a similar viewpoint as well. Realizing what was going on, Abu Jahl blamed them and said that they had planned this act during the night. At that time, Mut'im ibn ‘Adi went to get the declaration so that he could tear it. To his amazement, it was already eaten up by termites and only the words 'In your name, O

' were left. ²² Hence, the remaining people, after seeing this good omen joined Hisham and the ban was revoked. Then, a body comprising of the people of the Quraysh rushed to see the people of Banu Hashim so that they could be given this good news. ²³ When this news was given to them, they returned to Makkah.

According to Ibn Ishaq, the ban was annulled in a slightly different manner. Allah Almighty caused the white ants to consume part of the edict. Then, Allah Almighty informed Prophet Muhammad regarding this matter who conveyed it to Abu Talib. Abu Talib then approached the Quraysh and asked them to bring the document and verify what had happened. If the Holy Prophet's claim was proven false, Abu Talib would hand him over to them. When they brought the document, they found it exactly as Prophet Muhammad had described. However, instead of acting reasonably, the Quraysh accused him of sorcery and continued to abide by the ban. At that point, Mut'im ibn ‘Adi and Hisham ibn Amr declared that they disassociated themselves from the unjust edict and vowed not to support any wrongdoing. Other members of the Quraysh followed suit, leading to the lifting of the ban. ²⁴

 

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