After the failed attempts at compromise and the offer of Quraysh to the Prophet ﷺ, and the steadfast pledge of Banu Hashim and Banu Al-Muttalib to protect the Prophet ﷺ, the desperation of the Quraysh was near. The Quraysh knew they had to break the commitment of Banu Hashim and Banu Al-Muttalib. They therefore held a meeting at Khaif Banu Kinanah and formed a pact of sorts. Through this pact they made a covenant in which the agreement was that no one would do business or socialise with Banu Hashim and Banu Al-Muttalib. This meant that nothing was bought from them or sold to them. We do not marry any of them, do not visit them, and we do not even speak with them. In essence, an economic and social boycott.
Shi’b Abu Talib
The covenant was put in writing and placed in the Ka’bah. Abu Talib decided to withdraw Banu Hashim and Banu Al-Muttalib as quickly as possible to a valley east of Makkah. They stayed here in a narrow passage called Shi’b Abu Talib from the 7th year of the Prophetic Mission, for a period of 3 years. The covenant was in effect the collective starvation of both tribes, who would undergo a severe ordeal as a result. The polytheists bought up all the food that entered Makkah so that nothing of it would reach the people of the Shi’b. There was so little food that they were forced to eat leaves from trees and animal hides. In the narrow shi’b, the wailing of small children echoed. Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas ﵁ later described how he and the early Muslims ate leaves from the Hubula tree, causing their excrement to resemble sheep droppings (Bukhari 5412). Dried animal hides were washed, roasted, pounded and mixed with water to stave off the worst hunger. The crying of women and children could be heard beyond the valley. Abu Jahl and the leaders of Quraysh answered these sounds with scornful laughter, convinced that the hunger would break the solidarity with the Prophet ﷺ.
No food reached them except small quantities that were smuggled in by some Makkans. During the sacred months, when all hostilities normally ceased, they would leave the shi’b and buy food that entered Makkah. The food was, however, so expensive that it led to great financial hardship. Hakim bin Hizam was on his way to smuggle wheat to his aunt Khadijah ﵂ when Abu Jahl intervened and tried to stop him. Had it not been for Al-Bukhtari’s intervention, he would not have succeeded in getting the wheat to his aunt.
Abu Talib was constantly fearful for the safety of his nephew ﷺ. When the people retired to sleep, Abu Talib would first have the Prophet ﷺ lie in his own bed. But as soon as everyone had fallen asleep, he would quietly order him to switch places with one of his own sons. He did this every night, so that a potential assassin would never know where the Prophet ﷺ was actually lying. Despite all this, the Prophet ﷺ remained steadfast. He ﷺ continued to go to the Ka’bah to perform the prayer openly and seized every opportunity to invite people from outside Makkah to Islam.
The Importance of Public Opinion
The situation of the people in the Shi’b caused great division in Makkah. Especially among those who were related to them. Among them was Hisham bin Amr, a man from the tribe of Amir bin Lu’ayy, who could not bear what was being done to his relatives. He was not Muslim, but acted out of tribal honour and basic human decency. Hisham would load a camel with food at night, remove the halter, slap the animal on its flank and send it into the ravine towards Shi’b Abu Talib. He repeated this time after time, sometimes also with clothing and other necessities, while putting his own safety at risk.
After 3 years of boycott, in the 10th year of the Prophetic Mission, the pact was broken. Hisham went to Zuhair bin Abi Umaiyah Al-Makhzoumi and condemned him for agreeing to such unbearable treatment of his uncles. Reluctantly, he agreed with Hisham to form a pressure group to help the exiles. Five men stood up and worked together to break the pact:
- Hisham bin Amr
- Zuhair bin Abi Umaiyah
- Al-Mut’im bin 'Adi
- Abul-Bukhtari
- Zam’ah bin Abi Umaiyah
Together they agreed to all perform seven circuits around the Ka’bah and then address the people present about the fact that they were enjoying luxury while their relatives were wasting away in the shi’b. They swore that they would never give up until the pact was torn apart.
Zuhair (after the tawaf): “O people of Makkah, shall we eat and dress ourselves while Banu Hashim perishes, unable to buy or sell?”
Abu Jahl: “You lie! The pact will never be torn apart.”
Zam’ah: “You are a greater liar. We did not even want this pact when it was first drawn up.”
Abul-Bukhtari: “Zam’ah is right. We were not satisfied with this pact when it was written and we are not satisfied with it now.”
Al-Mut’im: “You are both right. Whoever claims otherwise is lying. We take Allah as our witness that we dissociate ourselves from the entire idea and from what is written in the pact.”
Remarkably, none of these five men was Muslim. They did not act out of faith but out of tribal honour and basic human decency. Abu Talib, who had at that moment taken a seat near one of the corners of the Ka’bah, came to tell them that a revelation had come saying that their pact had been eaten by termites except for the part on which was written: بِاسْمِكَ اللّهُمَّ (BismikAllahumma), meaning (In Your name, O Allah). He reinforced this by saying that he was prepared to hand over the Prophet ﷺ to Abu Jahl if this proved to be untrue.
The tension was palpable. If Abu Talib was wrong, he would have to hand over the Prophet ﷺ to Quraysh. If he was right, the pact would be invalidated forever. Everyone agreed to these terms.
Al-Mut’im went to look for the pact and opened it. He saw indeed that the pact had been eaten by termites, except for the part: بِاسْمِكَ اللّهُمَّ. The astonishment was great. The document that had caused three years of hunger, misery and exclusion had been destroyed by the smallest creatures of Allah ﷻ. Thereupon the pact was lifted and both the Prophet ﷺ and his tribesmen were free to leave and return to their homes.