46 No god but God
was dividing the families of Mecca. Recall that in pre-Islamic Arabia, a
person’s social identity was derived solely from membership in the
tribe, which necessarily entailed taking part in all tribal activities,
especially those involving the tribal cult. However, conversion to
Muhammad’s movement meant not only changing one’s faith, but also
cutting oneself off from the activities of the tribe; in essence, remov-
ing oneself from the tribe.
This was a serious concern for the Quraysh, whose chief com-
plaint against Muhammad (at least publicly) was neither his call for
social and financial reform, nor his radical monotheism. Indeed, as
Richard Bell has noted, in the whole of the Quran there exists not a
single Qurayshi defense of polytheism that rests on the conviction of
its truth. Rather, as indicated by their warnings to the pilgrims, the
Quraysh seemed more disturbed with Muhammad’s insistent derision
of the rituals and traditional values of their forefathers, traditions
upon which the social, religious, and economic foundation of the city
rested, than they were by his message of monotheism.
Predictably, however, their warning to ignore “the sorcerer” stand-
ing at the Ka‘ba only increased interest in Muhammad’s message,
so that by the time the pilgrimage cycle and the desert fairs were com-
plete and the pilgrims had departed for their homes, Muhammad—
the man who had so frightened the untouchable Quraysh—was talked
about throughout Arabia.
After failing to silence Muhammad during the pilgrimage fair, the
Quraysh decided to take a page out of the Prophet’s book and attack
Muhammad in the same way he had attacked them: economically. A
boycott was placed not just on Muhammad and his Companions, but,
in true tribal fashion, on Muhammad’s entire clan. Henceforth, no
one in Mecca was allowed to marry into, buy merchandise from, or
sell goods (including food and water) to any member of the Banu
Hashim, regardless of whether they were followers of Muhammad.
The boycott was not an attempt by the Quraysh to starve the Com-
panions out of Mecca; it was merely a way of demonstrating the con-
sequences of removing oneself from the tribe. If Muhammad and his
Companions wished to be separated from the social and religious
activities of Mecca, then they must be prepared to be separated from