There were twenty five families of Quraysh...

There were twenty five families of Quraysh, who were all related to the Holy Prophet and were the descendants of Prophet Ibrahim, Adnan and Nazar bin Kanana were the honorable fore-fathers of the Holy Prophet. All these families who were Isamaili and Adnani Arabas rose in opposition to the Prophet of Allah and, so long as he was in Makkah, prevented the expansion of Islam by all possible means. They tortured the followers of the Holy Prophet and killed some of them in a most tragic manner.

They used abusive and unbecoming language for the Holy Prophet till he was obliged to migrate from Makkah. And even when he went to another city they did not leave him alone but started hostilities, created trouble, killed his supporters as and when it was possible and instigated the Jews of Madina to fight against him and violate the pacts made with him. They sent their eloquent poets to the Bedouin Arabs and instigated them also to rise against the Prophet of Allah till in 5 A.H.

they were able to gather together about 12,000 persons against the Muslims from amongst the polytheists of Makkah, the Bedouins and the Jews. All this was done by the near relations of the Prophet of Allah. These ungrateful Quraysh remained inimical towards him before as well as after migration and did not change their attitude till Makkah was conquered and they were no longer in a position to oppose him. Imam Ali wrote to Muawiya: "Our people i.e.

our relatives and the families of Quraysh, all of whom were our uncles and cousins determined to kill our Prophet and annihilate us. They took decisions and also acted to destroy us. They deprived us of the amenities of life and subjected us to all inconveniences and fear. They made us so helpless that we had to take refuge in an uneven mountain i.e. for three years and a few months we were besieged in one of the valleys of Makkah called Shib Abi Talib and spent our lives there in constant fear.

Apart from what they did in Makkah, when we abandoned our home and went to other cities, they did not let us live in peace there also, but sparked off war and created mischief".[^2] In these few sentences Imam Ali has referred to the activities of the relatives of the Holy Prophet against the Prophet. He briefly mentions every stage at which he was opposed by them and refers to Quraysh all the difficulties and impediments that he had to surmount.