(The Life of Muhammad...

(The Life of Muhammad, Cairo, 1935) A few days before the beginning of the year 7, the leaders of the various clans of the Quraysh met in a solemn conclave in the "town hall" of Makka, and, they drafted and signed a document which stipulated that unless the clan of Bani Hashim surrendered Muhammad to them, they would subject it to an economic and social boycott.

They pledged themselves not to buy anything from, nor to sell anything to, the members of the Bani Hashim, and they placed intermarriage with them under proscription. This agreement or covenant was sent to the other tribes for ratification, and when they had ratified it, it was solemnly suspended on the wall of the Kaaba. The ratification of this covenant by the tribes was an act of belligerence! Abu Talib had to size up the new situation.

He could clearly see that a storm system was converging upon the Bani Hashim. After the tribal endorsement of the covenant to boycott the Bani Hashim, the atmosphere in Makka changed palpably; it became so explosive that they found themselves in dire straits. Abu Talib realized that it would be extremely perilous for the clan to live in the city where any moment, the enemy could set fire to its houses.

In the interests of the security of the clan, therefore, he decided to leave Makka, and to seek safety for it in a ravine at the edge of the city. The ravine had some natural defenses, and it was, in any case, safer for the Bani Hashim to live in it, than to live in their houses which were very much vulnerable to attack.

On the first day of the year 7 of the Call or Proclamation, the two clans of Bani Hashim and Bani AI-Muttalib, moved out of the city, and took abode in a ravine which later came to be known as Shi'b Abu Talib. They were now in a state of siege! It was going to be a long siege. Muhammad Husayn Haykal The pact into which the clans of Quraysh entered for boycotting Muhammad and blockading the Muslims continued to be observed for three consecutive years.

(The Life of Muhammad, Cairo, 1935) Marmaduke Pickthall For three years, the Prophet was shut up with all his kinsfolk in their stronghold which was situated in one of the gorges that run down to Mecca.