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

IMAM ABU AL-FIDA' ISMA'€L IBN KATHfR 45
"And so Hisham went to Zamca b. al-Aswad b. al-Mut@lih b. Asad, spoke to
him and reminded him of their kinship and their rights.
"'Is there anyone else helping in what yon are inviting me to do?' asked
Zam'a.
"'Indeed yes,' Hishxm replied, naming the others.
"And so they agreed to meet at night on the promontory of Mt. al-Hajiin on
the upper outskirts of Mecca. There they met and agreed to defy the document
until they were able to revoke it. Znhayr told them, 'I will begin and be the first
to speak out.'
"Next morning they went off to their assembly meeting and Zuhayr attended
wearing a ceremonial robe. He made seven circumambnlations of the kacba then
went before the gathering and said, '0 people of Mecca, shall we eat all kinds of
food and dress at will while the Bann Hshim are in distress, unable to engage in
any trade? By God, I won't take my seat until this damnable boycott document
is tom up! '
"Abn Jahl, who was over to one side of the mosque, retorted, 'By God, it will
not be torn up!'
"Zam'a b. al-Asad then said, 'By God, you are the worst liar! We weren't
pleased with the document when it was written.'
"'Zam'a speaks the truth,' Abn al-Bakhtari joined in. 'We do not like or agree
to what is written there.'
"Al-Muc* b. 'Adi then spoke up, 'You are both right, and anyone denying that
is a liar. We are innocent before God of the document and what is written on it.'
"Hisham b. 'Amr then stated something similar.
"Abn Jahl observed, 'This is something decided at night, something discussed
elsewhere.'
"Meanwhile, Aba Tdib was seated to one side of the mosque.
"Al-MucGm h. 'Adi then arose to tear up the document but discovered that
worms had already consumed it, all except for the words, 'In your name, 0
God! '
"It was Mansnr b. 'Ikrima who had written it and, so they say, his hand had
become paralysed."
Ibn Hishan stated, "Some scholars relate that the Messenger of God (SAAS)
told Aba Talih, 'Uncle, God has sent worms to work upon the document of
Quraysh and they have left alone only names relating to God and have removed
the evil, boycott and lies from it.'
"Aba Talih asked, 'Is it your Lord who told you this?'
"'Yes,' he replied.
'"Well, I swear by God,' Abn Talib commented, 'no one has come in to you.'
"Abn TaIib then went out to Quraysh and asked, '0 Quraysh, my nephew has
informed me of such-and-such things. Bring your document, and if it is as he
says, then withdraw and remove the boycott. But if he is lying, I will hand my
nephew over to you.'