Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq — Page 36
36 HADRAT Abu BakR 36 The disbelievers soon discovered that the people of Yathrib had started to accept Islam, and that most of the Muslims of Makkah had also migrated there. This caused them great worry since Yathrib was on the road between Makkah and Syria, and Makkah’s trade caravans often used this road. They thought that if the Holy Prophet sa moved to Yathrib and the people of Yathrib also became Muslim, then their trade caravans would face difficulty in making their way to Syria. In order to find some solution to this problem, they got together and began to consult one another. One man suggested, “We should capture Muhammad sa and bind him in iron chains so that he cannot go to Yathrib. ” But the Makkans were afraid that if they did this, the Muslims would find out and attack Makkah in order to free the Holy Prophet sa , and so this suggestion was rejected. Another suggested that the Holy Prophet sa be exiled from Makkah. But this suggestion was also rejected, since it would widen the area in which the Holy Prophet sa was preaching and might lead to more Arabs converting to Islam. Finally, Ab u Jahl said that since the Holy Prophet sa was (God forbid) a national menace and criminal, he should be killed. It was decided that one person from each of the clans of the Quraish would strike the Holy Prophet sa at