Those who made claims of friendship and love during the days...

Those who made claims of friendship and love during the days of comfort turned their eyes away in times of difficulty! Quraysh were convinced that Banū-Hashim would not be able to bear the travails of the boycott and abandon the prophet (a.s). They thought that when he was rendered friendless, they would subdue him easily. But the Banū-Hashim never left the side of the Prophet (a.s) for a moment and faced the difficulty with indomitable courage.

In this context the courage of Abū-Talib assumed proverbial proportions. The only worry he had those days was to ensure the safety of Muhammad (a.s). He worried that the enemy might make a preemptive, surprise attack to kill him. In the nights, he used to keep a vigil around the place where the Prophet (a.s) slept, or even he would shift him from one place to the other in the dead of the nights. One of his sons would sleep in the place where the Prophet (a.s) was moved.

This he was doing with the fear that the enemy agents might have seen the place where the Prophet (a.s) had retired for the night and might plan to attack him unawares. In most of these shifting, `Ali (a.s) used to substitute for the Prophet (a.s) in the place where he first slept. `Allamah Halabi writes: “Abū-Talib used to tell the Prophet (a.s) every night to retire to his bed and sleep.

When all others slept, he used to awaken the Prophet (a.s) and ask one of his sons or nephews to substitute him in his bed. This he was doing for the fear that the enemy might get intelligence of his place of rest and attack to kill him.[1] This duty was generally entrusted to `Ali (a.s). Ibn Abil-Hadid writes: “When others learnt about the place of rest Of the Prophet (a.s), Abū-Talib used to feel the danger to his life.

He used to awaken him in the dead of night and substitute his son, `Ali (a.s), to sleep in his place.”[2] This period of tribulation commenced in the seventh year after the Annunciation from the first of Muharram and ended in the tenth year. For full three years the Banū-Hashim had to bear the extreme hardships. Now some people started feeling the cruelty of the Quraysh and the sufferings of Banū-Hashim.

They tried to intervene and get the agreement of boycott abrogated to enable the Prophet (a.s) and others to return home.