The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 2 of 4

30 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
protect him and refused to deliver him. Even though they were opposed to h i
and were engaged in the same religion as their people at large, they were none
the less reluctant to humiliate themselves and deliver him over, conscious of the
loathing Quraysh had for him.
"The Bann Hashim and the Bana al-Mugdib having taken their stand and
Quraysh havingrecognized that they had no access to Muhammad, they met and
agreed to write a document defining their relationship to the Banii Hashim and
the Banii 'Abd al-Munalib. They agreed that they would not marry them nor
allow their women to marry them, nor engage in buying or selling with them.
They wrote a document to that effect which they hung up in the ka'ba.
"They then attacked the Muslims, restricting their movements and subjecting
them to violence. Their plight and insecurity became extreme."
Thereafter Ibn Ishaq related the story in full, telling of their entry into the
enclave of Ahn Tdib and of the severe trouble they suffered there, to such a
degree that their children would be overheard inside writhing with the pangs of
hunger.
Eventually most Quraysh regretted their plight and expressed their hatred for
their accursed document. They then told how God, in His mercy, sent down
woodworm against the document and these demolished every word relating to
God, leaving therein only what referred to evil, to the boycott and to slanderous
talk. Also related was how God Almighty informed the Messenger of God
(SAAS) of this and how he told this to his uncle Aha Talih.
He then went on to mention in full the remainder of the story as narrated by
Mnsa b. Wqba.
Ihn Hishm stated, from Ziyad, quoting Muhammad b. Ishaq, "And when
Quraysh saw that the supporters of the Messenger of God (SAAS) had gone
to live in a land where they had attained security and where the Negus had
offered his protection to those seeking refuge with him, that Wmar had accepted
Islam and had now, along with Hamza, joined the Messenger of God (SAAS)
and his Companions, and that Islam was spreading out into the tribes, they met
and decided to write down a document. This would record their mutual agreement
concerning the Bann Hashim and the Banii 'Abd d-Muytalib. It specified
that they would neither marry with them nor offer their womenfolk into
marriage with them nor engage in any buying or selling with them. Having
agreed to this, they wrote it down in a deed to which they gave their solemn
pledge. They then suspended the document inside the ka'ba in affirmation of
this.
"The man who wrote out the document was Mansiir b. 'Ikrima b. 'Amir b.
Hashim b. 'Abd Manaf b. 'Abd d-Dar b. Qusayy."
Ibn Hishk said, "He was also named as d-Nadr b. al-Haith. The Messenger
of God (SAAS) said prayers against him and he lost the use of some of his
fingers."