Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 126
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 126 Quraish received definite information of the secret meeting and they sent some people to pursue the men of Yathrab. They failed to come up with the main body, but they caught S’ad bin Ubadah who had fallen behind, and maltreated him severely. At last, Juba ir bin Mut’am and Harith bin Harab, who knew S’ad, got wind of what was happening, and they arrived and rescued him. When the men of Yathrab had returned home, the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, directed the Muslims in Mecca that those of them who could afford it should migrate to Yathrab. Accordingly, within a very short period, despite the opposition of Quraish, most o f the Muslims in Mecca managed to migrate to Yathrab and many houses in Mecca were vacated. In the end only the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr, Ali and the members of their families, and such weak and helpless people who could not afford to undertake the journey, or who were effectively prevented by Quraish from moving, were left in Mecca. As the emigrants arrived in Yathrab they were accommodated by Ansar in their homes as guests till the arrival of the Holy Prophet himself; whereafter, gradually, they were enable d to provide accommodation for themselves. The refugees from Mecca were entertained most generously and warmheartedly by Ansar, and when the Holy Prophet himself arrived in Yathrab, the refugees expressed to him their deep appreciation of the kindness whic h Ansar had extended to them. This attitude of Ansar is commended highly in the Holy Quran (59:10). When the greater part of the Muslims had departed from Mecca, Quraish began to be apprehensive that some development might take place in Yathrab which might become a source of