The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 231
VII - Days of Struggle 231 were completely cut off from the social life of Makkah and were imprisoned under close watch, in the The Valley of Abū Ṭālib, which was a valley belonging to the Banū Hāshim. 1 The very few other Muslims who still resided in Makkah were also with the Holy Prophet sa. To read about the difficulties and hardships that these detainees were compelled to bear makes the body tremble. Companions of the Holy Prophet sa narrate that sometimes, like animals, they survived by eating the leaves of wild trees. 2 Sa‘d bin Abī Waqqāṣ ra states that once, during the night, his foot fell upon something that seemed to be moist and soft (perhaps it was the piece of a date). At that time, he was in such a state of hunger that he immediately picked it up and swallowed it. He states that until this day I do not know what that thing was. On another occasion, due to extreme hunger, when he found a dry piece of skin on the ground, he took it, softened it and cleaned it with water, cooked it, and ate it. He spent three days in this state of divine hospitality. 3 As far as the children were concerned, the sounds of their crying and screaming could be heard outside the encampment, and this would please the Quraish. 4 However, all the enemies of Islām were not the same. When some witnessed these grievous sights, their hearts would develop emotions of mercy. Hence, Ḥakīm bin Ḥizām ra would sometimes secretly take food for his paternal aunt Ḥaḍrat Khadījah ra. However, once Abū Jahl learnt of this and this ill-fated man strictly forbade him on the way, and the situation escalated to a physical confrontation. 5 This tribulation remained for approximately two and a half to three years. During this time Muslims could not come out, except during the 1 * Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī, By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Al-Jarīr Ṭabarī, Volume 2, pp. 236-237, Bābu Dhikril-Khabri ‘ammā kāna min Amri Nabiyyillāhi sa ‘inda Ibtidā’illāhi Ta‘ālā. . . . . . , Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 1, p. 100, Bābu Dhikri Ḥaṣri Quraisha Rasūlillāhi sa wa Banī Hāshim fish-Sha‘bi , Dārul-Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, p. 256, Bābu Khabriṣ- Ṣaḥīfah, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 2 Ar-Rauḍul-Anf, By Imām Abul-Qāsim ‘Abdur-Raḥmān Suhailī, Volume 2, p. 161, Bābun ‘Anish-Sha‘bi wa Naqdiṣ-Ṣaḥīfah , Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 3 Ar-Rauḍul-Anf, By Imām Abul-Qāsim ‘Abdur-Raḥmān Suhailī, Volume 2, p. 161, Bābun ‘Anish-Sha‘bi wa Naqdiṣ-Ṣaḥīfah , Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 4 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 1, p. 100, Bābu Dhikri Ḥaṣri Quraisha Rasūlillāhi sa wa Banī Hāshim fish-Sha‘bi , Dārul-Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 5 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, p. 259, Bābu Khabriṣ-Ṣaḥīfah, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)