Chief of the Prophets — Page 71
Chapter Five 71 Reading about the pain and hardships forced upon these detainees is heart-rending. Companions of Muḥammad sa narrate that sometimes, like animals, they survived by eating the leaves of wild trees. Sa‘d bin Abī Waqqāṣ ra states that once during the night, he felt something moist and soft under his feet (perhaps it was a piece of a date). He was in such a state of hunger that he immediately picked it up and swallowed it. Later he stated that until that day he could never know what that thing was. On another occasion, due to extreme hunger, when he found a dry piece of leather on the ground, he took it, softened it and cleaned it with water, cooked it, and ate it. He survived for three days on that piece of leather. Deliverance from the Great Brutality This painful life had been going on for close to three years, when one day Muḥammad sa said to his uncle, Abū Ṭālib, “God has informed me that the text of the entire agreement which was written against us has been expunged and the parchment has been devoured except the name of God. ” Abū Ṭālib reached the Ka‘bah at once where the chieftains of the Quraish were gathered, and addressed them: How long will this cruel agreement last? My nephew has told me that God has erased the entire script of this agreement except His name. Go and fetch this agreement so that we may see to what extent my nephew is correct. Various others said, “Yes, Yes! Indeed we should see. ” Therefore, the agreement was fetched and it had in fact been devoured by termites. No word could be read except the name of Allah in the beginning of the document. A few just and kind chieftains said that they should annul the agreement stating that it was totally inappropriate that they were living a comfortable life while their brothers were going through such a terrible time. Abū Jahl made excuses but Muṭ‘im bin ‘Adiyy tore apart the decomposed document. As a result, the boycotted party picked up their arms and walked out of the Valley of Abī Ṭālib. This event took place in the 10 th Nabawī.