T h e V i s i o n o f I s l a m
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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 of sacrifice and live for a few months on
the dried meat that they prepared.
After three years, in the tenth year of the Prophet’s mission, the
pact that the Quraysh had made among themselves to ostracise
him came to an end. 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, and he died in the same year (620
a
.
d
.). Abdul Uzza,
otherwise known as Abu Lahab, became chief of the Banu
Hashim. The arch enemy of the Prophet now occupied the
seat of the judge. He took the decision that Abu Talib had held
back from: he expelled the Prophet from his tribe.
E
xpulsion
from the
T
ribes
To expel an Arab from his tribe in those days was like putting him
among a pack of wolves. There was no government in those days
responsible for the safety of its citizens. There was only the tribal
system, and one could only live under the protection of a tribe. In
the pilgrims’ tents inMina the Prophet once preached his message
to a certain tribe, but they refused to accept it. Still, one can tell
from what one of their number, Maisira ibn Masrooq al-Abbasi,
had to say, that the Prophet’s word had made an impact on him.
Ibn Kathir explains how the Prophet’s hopes were raised with
regard to Maisira when he said, ‘How well you have spoken, and
how enlightening your words are. But my tribe is opposed to your
message, and one cannot go against one’s tribe.’
What a grave matter it must have been, then, to be expelled
from one’s tribe. The Prophet now had nowhere to go in his own
land. There was no other option but to seek the protection of
some other tribe. To make his first attempt in this direction, he
journeyed to Taif. Later on he explained the whole episode to his
wife Aishah, saying that he had ‘presented himself before ‘Ibn
