Life-of-Muhammad

Life of Muhammad sa 37they held their wives and children. He had not quitefinished when this party of seventy-three devotees cried,'Yes,' 'Yes,' in one voice. In their zeal they forgot thatthey could be overheard. ‘Abbas ra cautioned them tospeak low. But the party was full of faith. Death nowwas nothing in their eyes. When ‘Abbas ra cautioned theparty, one of them said aloud, "We are not afraid, OProphet of God sa . Permit us, and we can deal with theMeccans right now and avenge the wrongs they havedone you." But the Prophet sa said he had not yet beencommanded to fight.The party then took the oath of fealty and themeeting dispersed.The Meccans did get to know of this meeting. Theywent to the Medina encampment to complain againstthese visitors to their chiefs. ‘Abdullah bin Ubbayy binSalul—Chief of chiefs—knew nothing of what hadhappened. He assured the Meccans that it must besome false rumour which they had heard. The people ofMedina had accepted him as their leader and could notdo anything without his knowledge and permission. Hedid not know that the people of Medina had cast off therule of Satan and accepted the rule of God instead.THE HIJRAThe party returned to Medina and the Prophet sa andhis followers started preparations for migration. Familyafter family began to disappear. Muslims, certain thatthe Kingdom of God was near, were full of courage.Sometimes a whole lane would be emptied in the courseof a night. In the morning Meccans would see the doorslocked and realize that the residents had migrated toMedina. The growing influence of Islam amazed them.At last not a single Muslim remained in Mecca save afew slave converts, the Prophet sa himself, Abu Bakr raand ‘Ali ra . The Meccans realized that their prey wasabout to escape. The chiefs assembled again and