Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
10. The Prophet in Makkah
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Prophet with them. As Ibn Kathir has explained in
AI-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah,
the Prophet once went
into the tent of the Banu Shayban ibn Tha’labah in
Makkah, and talked with their elders. They were
impressed by the Prophet’s words but finally
decided that their position, on the border of Persia,
was too precarious for them to take responsibility
for the Prophet. As their spokesman, Hani ibn
Qubaisah, put it, they had made pacts with the
Persian emperor, and “it might be that kings will
not take kindly to the message that you preach.”
47
The Prophet was desperate to find a tribe that
would afford him protection, for there was no other
way that he could continue his mission. Once he
went to see a tribe which went by the name of Banu
‘Abdullah. After the Prophet had, as usual, called
them to Islam and presented himself to them, in the
hope that they would grant him asylum, he said:
“Banu ‘Abdullah, what a beautiful name your
forefather had.” But they were untouched by his
evident good will and rejected his proposals.
48
The last three years of the Prophet’s time in Makkah
were spent among various tribes, looking for one,
