The Prophet in Makkah

THE PROPHET IN MAKKAH behest, asked his nephew to stop criticizing their gods, the Prophet became concerned that his uncle would hand him over to the Quraysh. But Abu Talib immediately put his nephew’s mind at rest. “By God, I will never hand you over to anyone,” he told him.126 When all else failed, the Quraysh ostracised the Banu Hashim in the seventh year of the Prophet’s mission. So Abu Talib took his nephew and his family out of Makkah, and they took up their abode in the ravine known after Abu Talib. There was nothing in this mountain pass except for a few wild trees. For three years, Abu Talib’s family lived on the leaves and roots of these trees. Their only respite was during the four sacred months when the Banu Hashim used to come to Makkah. They would take back animals for sacrifice and live for a few months on the dried meat they prepared. After three years, in the tenth year of the Prophet’s mission, the pact to ostracize him that the Quraysh had made among themselves ended. The Banu Hashim were now able to return to Makkah. But the strain of the time in exile had been too much for Abu Talib, who died in the same year (A.D. 620). So ‘Abd al-’Uzza, known as Abu Lahab, became chief of the Banu Hashim. He was an implacable opponent of the Prophet and took the decision Abu Talib had held back from. He expelled the Prophet from his tribe. Expulsion To expel an Arab from his tribe in those days was like putting him out among a pack of wolves. No government