Persecution of the Prophet (2)

When neither threats nor bargains proved successful in swaying Abu Talib, the Quraysh decided to persecute the Prophet. Simultaneously, they intensified their campaign against the believers.

Because of the Prophet’s high position in Makkan society, only those of like standing dared mistreat him. Those who harrassed the Prophet in his own house were, Abu Lahab, Hakam bin Abi Al-As bin Umayya, Uqba bin Abi Mu’ayt, Aidy bin Hamra Thaqafi, Ibn Al-Asda Hadhab – all of whom were his neighbours. When the Prophet bowed down in prayer, someone threw the fetus of a camel on his back. Others would throw similar filth at his door. The Prophet would remove it with a piece of wood and say, “O Banu Abdu Munaf! What kind of neighbourhood is this?”

Whenever Umayya bin Khalaf saw the Prophet , he would taunt him before the people of Makkah. Similarly, his brother, Abi bin Khalaf, crumbled a rotten bone and threw it in the face of the Prophet . He would also say to the Prophet : “O Muhammad, I have a horse named Ud, and I feed it three heaps of food so that I can kill you while upon its back!” One day the Prophet answered this challenge by saying, “No, it is I who will kill you.” The Prophet’s words came true when he killed Abi during the battle of Uhud.

On another occasion, Uqba bin Mu’ayt sat beside the Prophet listening to him. When Abi bin Khalaf found out that his friend Uqba had been with the Prophet , he chided him for that and them said to Uqba, “Go and spit in the face of Muhammad.” Ever mindful that allegience to the tribe came before even honour and decency, Uqba rose from his seat, approached the Prophet , and spat in his face.

Abu Lahab, the Prophet’s uncle, who had freed a slave to celebrate his nephew’s birth, became his sworn enemy from the day he heard his nephew call the people to Islam from atop Mount Safa. The two sons of Abu Lahab, Utbah and Atiba, had married the Prophet’s daughters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthoom, respectively. Abu Lahab ordered both is sons to divorce their wives, threatening never to see them again if they refused. His wife, Umm Jameel Ardi bint Harb, also asked them to divorce their wives for they had become “disbelievers”. Utbah and Atiba obeyed their parents and divorced the Prophet’s daughters.