The Sealed Nectar (21 page)

Madinah , itself, the prospective headquarters of the ever- growing Islamic Call, enjoyed the most serious strategic position. It commanded the commercial routes leading to Makkah whose people used to deal in about a quarter of a million gold dinar- worth commodities every year. Security of the caravan routes was crucial for the perpetuity of prosperous economic life. All those factors borne in mind, the polytheists felt they were in the grip of a serious threat. They, therefore, began to seek the most effective method that could avert this imminent danger. They convened a meeting on Thursday, 26th Safar, the year fourteen of Prophethood /

12th September 622 A.D[For details see Rahmat- al- lil'alameen 1/95- 102] ., i.e. two and a half months after the Great ‘Aqabah Pledge. On that day, "the Parliament of Makkah" held the most serious meeting ever, with one item on the agenda: How to take effective measures with a view to stopping that tidal wave. Delegates representing all the Quraishite tribes attended the meeting, the most significant of whom were:

1. Abu Jahl bin Hisham, from Bani Makhzum;

2. Jubair bin Mut‘im, Tuaima bin ‘Adi, and Al- Harith bin ‘Amir representing Bani Naufal bin ‘Abd Munaf;

3. Rabi‘a’s two sons Shaibah and ‘Utbah besides Abu Sufyan bin Harb from Bani

‘Abd Shams bin ‘Abd Munaf;

4. An- Nadr bin Al- Harith (who had besmeared the Prophet [pbuh] with animal entrails) to speak for Bani ‘Abd Ad- Dar;

5. Abul Bukhtary bin Hisham, Zama‘a bin Al- Aswad and Hakeem bin Hizam to represent Bani Asad bin ‘Abd Al- ‘Uzza;

6. Al- Hajjaj’s two sons Nabih and Munbih from Bani Sahm; 7. Omaiyah bin Khalaf from Bani Jumah.

On their way to An- Nadwah House,
Iblis
(Satan) in the guise of a venerable elderly man standing at the door interrupted their talk and introduced himself as a man from Najd curious enough to attend the meeting, listen to the debate and wish them success to reach a sound opinion. He was readily admitted in.

There was a lengthy debate and several proposals were put forward. Expulsion from Makkah was proposed and debated in turn but finally turned down on grounds that his sweet and heart- touching words could entice the other Arabs to attack them in their own city. Imprisonment for life was also debated but also refused for fear that his followers might increase in number, overpower them and release him by force. At this point, the arch- criminal of Makkah, Abu Jahl bin Hisham suggested that they 101

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assassinate him. But assassination by one man would have exposed him and his family to the vengeance of blood. The difficulty was at last solved by Abu Jahl himself, who suggested that a band of young men, one from each tribe, should strike Muhammad simultaneously with their swords so that the blood- money would be spread over them all and therefore could not be exacted, and his people would seek a mind- based recourse for settlement. The sinful proposal was unanimously accepted, and the representatives broke up the meeting and went back home with full determination for immediate implementation. [Ibn Hisham 1/480-482]

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Migration of the Prophet [pbuh]

When the iniquitous decision had been made, Gabriel was sent down to Muhammad

[pbuh] to reveal to him Quraish’s plot and give him his Lord’s Permission to leave Makkah. He fixed to him the time of migration and asked him not to sleep that night in his usual bed. At noon, the Prophet [pbuh] went to see his Companion Abu Bakr and arranged with him everything for the intended migration. Abu Bakr was surprised to see the Prophet [pbuh] masked coming to visit him at that unusual time, but he soon learned that Allâh’s Command had arrived, and he proposed that they should migrate together, to which the Prophet [pbuh] gave his consent.[Bukhari 1/553]

To make the necessary preparations for the implementation of their devilish plan, the chiefs of Makkah had chosen eleven men: Abu Jahl, Hakam bin Abil Al- ‘As, ‘Uqbah bin Abi Mu‘ait, An- Nadr bin Harith, Omaiyah bin Khalaf, Zama‘a bin Al- Aswad, Tu‘aima bin ‘Adi, Abu Lahab, Ubai bin Khalaf, Nabih bin Al- Hajjaj and his brother Munbih bin Al- Hajjaj. All were on the alert. As night advanced, they posted assassins around the Prophet’s house. Thus they kept vigil all night long, waiting to kill him the moment he left his house early in the morning, peeping now and then through a hole in the door to make sure that he was still lying in his bed. Abu Jahl, the great enemy of Islam, used to walk about haughtily and arrogantly jeering at Muhammad’s words, saying to the people around him: "Muhammad claims that if you follow him, he will appoint you rulers over the Arabs and non- Arabs and in the Hereafter your reward will be Gardens similar to those in Jordan, otherwise, he will slaughter you and after death you will be burnt in fire."[Ibn Hisham 1/483] He was too confident of the success of his devilish plan. Allâh, the All- Mighty, however, in Whose Hands lie the sovereignty of the heavens and earth, does what He desires; He renders succour and can never be overpowered. He did exactly what He later said to His Prophet:

"And (remember) when the disbelievers plotted against you (O Muhammad

[pbuh]) to imprison you, or to kill you, or to get you out (from your home,
i.e. Makkah); they were plotting and Allâh too was planning, and Allâh is the
Best of the planners."
[Al- Qur'an 8:30]

At that critical time the plans of Quraish utterly failed despite the tight siege they laid to the Prophet’s house, the Prophet [pbuh] and ‘Ali were inside the house. The Prophet [pbuh] told ‘Ali to sleep in his bed and cover himself with his green mantle and assured him full security under Allâh’s protection and told him that no harm would come to him. The Prophet [pbuh] then came out of the room and cast a handful of dust at the assassins and managed to work his way through them reciting verses of the Noble Qur’ân:

"And We have put a barrier before them, and a barrier behind them, and We
have covered them up, so that they cannot see."
[Al- Qur'an 36:9]

He proceeded direct to the house of Abu Bakr who, immediately accompanied him and both set out southwards, clambered up the lofty peak of Mountain Thawr, and decided to take refuge in a cave.[Ibn Hisham 1/483; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/52]

The assassins who laid siege to the house were waiting for the zero hour when someone came and informed them that the Prophet [pbuh] had already left. They rushed in and to their utter surprise, found that the person lying in the Prophet’s bed 103

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was ‘Ali not Muhammad [pbuh]. This created a stir in the whole town. The Prophet

[pbuh] had thus left his house on Safar 27th, the fourteenth year of Prophethood, i.e. 12/13 September 622 A.D.[Rahmat-al-lil'alameen 1/95]

Knowing already that Quraish would mobilize all its potentials to find him, he played a clever trick on them and instead of taking the road to Madinah in north side of Makkah as the polythiest would expect, he walked along a road least expected lying south of Makkah and leading to Yemen. He walked for 5 miles until he reached a rough rocky mountain called Thawr. There his shoes were worn out, some said he used to walk tiptoe in order not to leave a trail behind him. Abu Bakr [R] carried him up the mountain to a cave called after the name of the mountain, Cave Thawr. Abu Bakr first entered to explore the cave and be sure that it was safe, closed all holes with pieces torn off from his clothes, cleaned it and then asked the Prophet [pbuh] to step in. The Prophet [pbuh] went in and immediately laid his head in Abu Bakr’s lap and fell asleep. Suddenly Abu Bakr’s foot was stung by a poisonous insect. It hurt so much that his tears fell on the Prophet’s face. The Prophet [pbuh] immediately applied his saliva on Abu Bakr’s foot and the pain went off on the spot. They confined themselves to this cave for three nights, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. ‘Abdullah, the son of Abu Bakr would go to see them after dusk, stay the night there, apprise them of the latest situation in Makkah, and then leave in the early morning to mix with the Makkans as usual and not to draw the least attention to his clandestine activities.

‘Amir bin Fuhairah, while in the company of other shepherds of Makkah tending his master Abu Bakr’s flock, used to stole away unobserved every evening with a few goats to the cave and furnished its inmates with a plentiful supply of milk.[Bukhari 1/553; Ibn Hisham 1/486]

Quraish, on the other hand, were quite baffled and exasperated when the news of the escape of the two companions was confirmed. They brought ‘Ali to Al- Ka‘bah, beat him brutally and confined him there for an hour attempting desperately to make him divulge the secret of the disappearance of the two ‘fugitives’, but to no avail.

They then went to see Asma’, Abu Bakr’s daughter, but here also their attempts went in vain. While at her door Abu Jahl slapped the girl so severely that her earring broke up.[Rahmat-al-lil'alameen 1/96; Ibn Hisham 1/487]

The notables of Makkah convened an emergency session to determine the future course of action and explore all areas that could help arrest the two men. They decided to block all avenues leading out of Makkah and imposed heavy armed surveillance over all potential exits. A price of 100 camels was set upon the head of each one.[Bukhari 1/554] Horsemen, infantry and tracers of tracks scoured the country.

Once they even reached the mouth of the cave where the Prophet [pbuh] and Abu Bakr were hiding. When he saw the enemy at a very close distance, Abu Bakr whispered to the Prophet [pbuh]: "What, if they were to look through the crevice and detect us?" The Prophet [pbuh] in his God- inspired calm replied:

"Silence Abu Bakr! What do you think of those two with whom the Third is
Allâh."
[Bukhari 1/516; Mukhtasar Seerat Ar-Rasool p.168]

It was really a Divine miracle, the chasers were only a few steps from the cave.

For three days Muhammad [pbuh] and Abu Bakr lived in the cave and Quraish continued their frantic efforts to get hold of them.

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Someone called ‘Abdullah bin Uraiquit, who had as yet not embraced Islam, but was trusted by Abu Bakr, and had been hired by him as a guide, reached the cave after three nights according to a plan bringing with him Abu Bakr’s two camels. His report satisfied the noble ‘fugitives’ that the search had slackened. The opportunity to depart was come. Here Abu Bakr offered the Prophet [pbuh] the swift animal to ride on. The latter agreed provided that he would pay its price. They took with them the food provisions that Asma’, daughter of Abu Bakr, brought and tied in a bundle of her waistband, after tearing it into two parts, hence the appellation attached to her:

"Asma’ of the two waistbands." The Prophet [pbuh], Abu Bakr and ‘Amir bin Fuhairah departed, and their guide ‘Abdullah bin Uraiquit led them on hardly ever trodden ways along the coastal route. That was in Rabi‘ Al- Awwal, 1st year A.H., i.e.

September 622 A.D. The little caravan travelled through many villages on their way to Quba’. In this context, it is relevant to introduce some interesting incidents that featured their wearying journey:

1. One day they could find no shelter from the scorching heat so Abu Bakr [R]

cast a glance and found a little shade beside a rock. He cleaned the ground, spread his mantle for the Prophet [pbuh] to lie on and himself went off in search of food. He came across a shepherd, a bedouin boy, who was also seeking a shelter. Abu Bakr asked him for some milk and took it to the Prophet [pbuh], cooled it with some water and waited till the Prophet [pbuh]

woke up and quenched his thirst.[Bukhari 1/510]

2. Whoever asked Abu Bakr [R] about the identity of his honourable companion, he would reply that he was a man who guided him on his way. The questioner would think that Muhammad [pbuh] was a guide, in terms of roads, whereas Abu Bakr used to mean guide to the way of righteousness.[Bukhari 1/556]

3. Quraish, as we have already mentioned, had declared that whoever would seize Muhammad [pbuh] would receive a hundred camels as reward. This had spurred many persons to try their luck. Among those who were on the lookout for the Prophet [pbuh] and his companion in order to win the reward was Suraqah, the son of Malik. He, on receiving information that a party of four, had been spotted on a certain route, decided to pursue it secretly so that he alone should be the winner of the reward. He mounted a swift horse and went in hot pursuit of them. On the way the horse stumbled and he fell on the ground. On drawing a lot so as to divine whether he should continue the chase or not, as the Arabs used to do in such circumstances, he found the omens unpropitious. But the lust for material wealth blinded him altogether and he resumed the chase. Once more he met with the same fate but paid no heed to it. Again he jumped onto the saddle and galloped at a break- neck speed till he came quite close to the Prophet [pbuh]. Abu Bakr’s heart agitated and he kept looking back while the Prophet [pbuh] remained steadfast and continued reciting verses of the Qur’ân.

The repeated stumbling of Suraqah’s horse and his falling off awakened him to the situation, and he realized that it was a constant warning of Allâh for his evil design which he contemplated against the Prophet [pbuh]. He approached the travelling group with a penitent heart and begged of the Prophet [pbuh]

forgiveness in all humility. He addressed the Prophet [pbuh] and his companion, saying: "Your people (the Quraishites) have promised a generous reward to anyone who captures you." He added that he offered them provision but they declined his offer. They only asked him to screen off their departure and blind the polytheists to their hiding place. Then the Prophet 105

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[pbuh] forgave him and confirmed it with a token written by ‘Amir bin Fuhairah on a piece of parchment. Suraqah hurried back to Makkah and tried to foil the attempts of those who were in pursuit of Muhammad [pbuh] and his noble companions. The sworn enemy was converted into an honest believer.[Bukhari 1/516, 1/554; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/53]

In a version by Abu Bakr [R], he said: "We emigrated while the Makkans were in pursuit of us. None caught up with us except Suraqah bin Malik bin Ju‘sham on a horse. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allâh, this one has caught up with us.’ The Prophet [pbuh] replied: