Social boycott of Banu Hashim

The miracles of the Holy Quran

Exasperated at the failure of their mission in Abyssinia, the Quraish stepped up their opposition to the Holy Prophet and his mission. The Holy Quran served as shield for the Muslims, and in order to break up this line of defense of the Muslims, the Quraish launched an attack against the Holy Quran. They levied the charge that the Holy Quran was not a revealed book, it owed its authorship to a Christian Jabir. Allah Himself refuted the charge by pointing out that Jabir was not Arab, and he was not proficient in the Arabic language. A challenge was given to the Quraish that if they maintained that the Quran was a work of human authorship, they should produce something like that. The Quraish were unable to accept the challenge and thus, attack on the Quran failed.

In the meantime, the Holy Quran showed its miraculous aspect in many ways, and came to the help of the Muslims when things had become difficult for them. One day, Umar a fiery youth among the Quraish and an inveterate enemy of the Muslims girded his sword and came out of his house with the intention of putting an end to the life of the Holy Prophet. In the way he met a friend who advised him to take care of his sister and her husband first who had become Muslims. At the house of his sister, Umar heard some verses of the Holy Quran, which moved him to such an extent that he hastened to the house of the Holy Prophet not with a view to killing him, but to owe him allegiance. The conversion of Umar to Islam proved to be a matter of great asset to the Muslims and a setback for the Quraish.

Al Tufail b Amr of the Daus tribe having heard of the Holy Prophet came to him at Makkah. Al Tufail was an eminent Arabic poet. The Quraish met Al Tufail, and put pressure on him not to see Muhammad (peace be on him) as he was a wizard and a sorcerer. Al Tufail said that he was a poet and after hearing the verses of the Holy Quran he would be in the position to judge how far the Quran was genuine or otherwise. He saw the Holy Prophet, heard some verses of the Holy Quran and was so much impressed that he lost no time in conversion to Islam.

A delegation of a dozen Christians from the interior of Arabia, having heard of the advent of the Holy Prophet, came to Makkah with a view to seeing the Holy Prophet. The Quraish tried to prevail upon them not to see the Holy Prophet as according to their assessment he was an imposter. The Christians said that they would be able to judge this issue for themselves after they had seen the Holy Prophet. They saw the Holy Prophet, heard the Holy Quran, were impressed and were converted to Islam.

Maneuvers of the Quraish

The Quraish failed miserably in their attack on the Holy Quran. In view of their defeat on this front, the Quraish changed their strategy, and adopted new maneuvers. They whipped up their persecution campaign on the one hand, and offered inducements to the Holy Prophet on the other hand. They offered him the crown of Makkah in case he desisted from his activities. The Prophet was neither daunted by the persecution campaign of the Quraish, nor was he attracted by their inducements. He declared that even if all the wealth of the world was offered to him, he would not falter in the fulfillment of the mission entrusted to him by God. By 616 the Quraish felt the ground slipping under their feet. Their mission to Abyssinia had failed. Their attack on the Holy Quran had failed. Their campaign of persecution had failed to overawe the Holy Prophet. Their inducements had been turned down scornfully by the Holy Prophet. The Quraish failed to prevail any Muslim to return to his previous faith. On the other hand some remarkable conversions had been made to Islam. Islam had spread outside Makkah, and pockets of the Muslims had come to be established in other parts of Arabia.

Social boycott of Banu Hashim

Because of their repeated failures, the Quraish became desperate. They felt that now the only way before them was to kill Muhammad (peace be on him . The Holy Prophet enjoyed the protection of his tribe Abu Hashim, and as long as such protection was there Muhammad (peace be on him) could not be killed according to the tribal code, for any such murder would have precipitated tribal warfare. The Quraish approached Abu Talib, the head of the Banu Hashim, to prevail upon Muhammad (peace be on him) to desist from his teachings. Abu Talib consulted the Holy Prophet whether he could accommodate the Quraish in any way. The Holy Prophet expressed his resolution in strong terms that he would not fail or falter in the performance of the mission that had been entrusted to him by God. Thereupon the Quraish asked Abu Talib to withdraw the protection of Banu Hashim from Muhammad (peace be on him). Abu Talib consulted the Holy Prophet again, and tried to prevail upon him to compromise with the Quraish in some way, which could avert the crisis. The Prophet told his uncle that he could withdraw his protection from him if he liked, but he could not compromise in any way in the matter of the mission entrusted to him by God. Abu Talib felt unhappy on the growing rift between the Muslims and the Quraish, but he assured him that he would not abandon him, whatever might come. Abu Talib accordingly told the Quraish that he could not withdraw his protection from Muhammad (peace be on him). Thereupon the Quraish decided to enforce social boycott against Banu Hashim. An agreement was drawn up which was signed by the representatives of all the sections of the Quraish except the Banu Hashim. The agreement provided that the Quraish would neither marry their daughters to the Banu Hashim, nor marry the daughters of Banu Hashim. It was also provided that they would neither sell anything to nor buy anything from the Banu Hashim. The document was hung on the Kaaba. The Holy Prophet and the Banu Hashim moved to a glen outside Makkah and there remained in a state of semi-captivity for a period of two to three years. Thereafter the social boycott was lifted, and the Banu Hashim returned to their homes in Makkah.

Consequences of the social boycott

The accounts of the social boycott available in the source books that have come down to us are incomplete, and do not present a true picture of the actual state of affairs. We know that during this period the Banu Hashim lived in a glen outside Makkah. The point to be determined is whether the Banu Hashim were driven to this glen by the Quraish, or did the Banu Hashim move there out of their own accord. In the boycott instrument the Quraish were not required to drive the Banu Hashim out of their homes in Makkah. It appears that the Banu Hashim shifted to the glen, which belonged to Abu Talib out of their accord for reasons of safety, and with a view to living together in a time of crisis. The boycott was only against Banu Hashim. Abu Lahab and his wife who were Banu Hashim did not join the other members of the Banu Hashim. It appears that all other families of the Banu Hashim sided with the Holy Prophet even though they had not accepted Islam. An important issue in this connection is, whether Abu Talib had become a Muslim by the time the boycott was enforced. In this biography of the Holy Prophet Ibn Ishaq quotes some verses composed by Abu Talib with reference to the boycott. A translation of these verses is available in Guilluiman's Life of Muhammad. Addressing the Quraish, Abu Talib says: "Did you not know that we have found Muhammad a prophet like Moses described in the oldest books". When the boycott was lifted, and the boycott document was torn Abu Talib composed some more verses, which provided: "The deed was torn up, and all that was against God's wish was destroyed".

A person giving expression to such thoughts as these could not be any one other than a Muslim. It appears that Abu Talib would have accepted the new faith, but he could not make an open declaration, because he felt that people would say Abu Talib has professed Islam out of the fear of death.

Most of the writers refer to this event as a siege. It is doubtful whether this was in fact a siege. According to the agreement of boycott there was no stipulation for siege. The ban was only on marriage and purchase or sale of goods. This did not include any siege. This did not restrict the movements of Banu Hashim either. According to most of the accounts that come down to us, the impression is created that the Banu Hashim in the glen were starved and they were forced to subsist on the leaves of trees. This is not the correct presentation of facts. The boycott was enforced against Banu Hashim alone. Many Muslims still lived in Makkah proper, and there were no restrictions on their purchase or sale of goods. If the Muslims of Makkah purchased provisions from the market, and supplied them to the Banu Hashim in the glen they could do so for there was no term in the agreement of boycott that no one was to be allowed to supply any article of food and drink. Hardship was certainly involved in the segregation of the Banu Hashim in the glen outside Makkah, but the Holy Prophet being a great man was resourceful enough to overcome such hardships. In any proper account of Islamic history the emphasis should not be on the hardships inflicted by the enemies of Islam, the emphasis should be as to how the Muslims overcame such hardships and defeated the enemy at his own game. Under the leadership of the Holy Prophet the Banu Hashim met the ordeal of the social boycott successfully. The social boycott failed to achieve the purpose for which it was intended, and once again in the battle between the truth and falsehood, the Quraish met a reverse, and the Muslims scored a victory.

Ali

In the accounts of this period that have come down to us there is no mention of Ali. By this time Ali had come of age. He was well educated, highly intelligent, most enterprising and brave. It is difficult to believe that if the accounts make no mention of Ali, the inference is that he was idle and had nothing to do. When Abu Talib decided to espouse the cause of Muhammad (peace be on him), Ali most probably played an important part in prevailing upon Abu Talib to take the decision he did. We know that when the Holy Prophet migrated to Yathrib, he entrusted the responsibility for winding up the business in Makkah to Ali. In the accounts that have come down to us the Holy Prophet is shown as a good manager and businessman, but in the accounts of the post-prophethood period there is no account of any business activity on the part of the Prophet. The writers of the period apparently harbored the delusion that any business undertaking was repugnant to prophethood. An impression is tried to be created that in the post-prophethood period the Holy Prophet undertook no business and depended on the wealth of his followers, Abu Bakr, Othman and others. This is an erroneous presentation, for Islam is not a religion for the next world alone, it is a religion for this world as well. To abstain from business may be the Christian or the Buddhist concept of piety, but that is not the Islamic concept of prophethood. The Holy Prophet is the greatest man of all times and such a man perfect in every way cannot be without independent sources of income. It appears that when Ali came of age, the Holy Prophet entrusted the responsibility for running the business to Ali. It appears that during the period of the social boycott Ali continued to run the business of the holy Prophet (SAW). The boycott agreement merely restricted the sale or purchase by the Quraish; it did not and could not apply to business transactions elsewhere. It appears that Ali undertook business journeys during this period, and the necessary provisions procured from outside Makkah were duly supplied to the Banu Hashim in the glen.