The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 319
IX - Exile 319 home, so as to launch a sudden assault and assassinate him. Various trusts belonging to the infidels were still with the Holy Prophet sa , for despite their extreme enmity, many people would often entrust their belongings to the Holy Prophet sa on account of his truthfulness and trustworthiness. 1 Therefore, the Holy Prophet sa explained the accounts of these trusts to Ḥaḍrat ‘ Alī ra , and instructed him not to leave Makkah until these trusts were returned. Then he instructed, “You lie on my bed,” and assured him that no harm would come to him. He lied down and the Holy Prophet sa covered him with his red-coloured mantle. After this, the Holy Prophet sa invoked the name of Allāh, and left his home. At that time, the besiegers were present in front of the Holy Prophet’s sa door. However, since they did not anticipate that the Holy Prophet sa would leave his home so early in the night, at that time, they were in such a state of unawareness that the Holy Prophet sa left right through their midst, leaving them in their ignorance, and they had not a clue. Now, the Holy Prophet sa was silently, but quickly, passing through the streets of Makkah, and it was not long before he reached the outskirts of town and started towards the Cave of Thaur. The entire matter had been pre-settled with Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra , who also met the Holy Prophet sa en-route. The Cave of Thaur, which is remembered as a sacred memorial, due to this very occurrence, is situated to the south of Makkah. In other words, to the other side of Madīnah, at a distance of about three miles atop a wild and abandoned mountain, the Cave of Thaur is situated at a substantial height. Its trail is also very difficult to cross. Arriving there, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra squeezed in first and cleaned the area, and then the Holy Prophet sa also entered. On the other hand, the Quraish who had besieged the home of the Holy Prophet sa , would peer through after short intervals, and upon seeing Ḥaḍrat ‘ Alī ra who was in fact lying in the place of the Holy Prophet sa , they would find comfort. But the next morning, they found out that their prey had slipped their hands. Upon this, they franticly ran here and there, searched the streets of Makkah, looked in the homes of companions, but nothing was to be found. In their rage, they took hold of Ḥaḍrat ‘ Alī ra and beat him somewhat. They went to the home of Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra and began a commotion, and scolded his 1 * Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī, By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Al-Jarīr Ṭabarī, Volume 2, p. 255, Bābu Dhikril- Khabri ‘ammā kāna min Amri Nabiyyillāhi sa ‘inda Ibtidā’illāhi Ta‘ālā. . . . . . , Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, p. 343, Bābu Hijratir-Rasūl, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)