In I~ Footstepi of the ProplHtknew it and were expecting some imminent reaction from the clan and
family members they knew so well.Dispute with the Quraysh
Not all the 1fuslims had emigrated; those who had stayed behind were
treated all the worse by the Quraysh leaders, as the latter were obviously
most upset by Muhammad's success. Indeed. some had stayed in Mec.c.:!
without publicizing their conversion to Islaa, and they now feared the
fierce reprisals that wuuld inevitably ensue if that fact became known.
Some uf the Quraysh went further and even decided, Ln violation of
the honor code respected by all the clans in the peninsula, to seize the
property and belongings the emigrants had left behind in! ... lecca. When
they heard of this behavior, which was comidered shameful and coward-
ly, the Prophet and the Muslims who had settled in Medina were angry. It
was decided, six months after their exile, that they would anack the
Ivleccan caravans passing ne.:lr hfe.r!in:! in orr!er to !:'Ike b:lck the etluivalent
of their belongings expropriated in j{ecca.
In the months that followed, the P rophet organized no fewer than
seven expeditions (in which he did not alway~ take part).' These included
unly Muhajirun, since only they were the victims of Quraysh usurpation.
The Ansar were left Out, as they were not involved in the conflict. In thuse
expeditions, no fighting or killing occurred: the merchants gave up their
goods, tben were free to move on. T he Mubajirun occasionally arrived too
late at the spot where the J'vleccans were supposed to have stopped; the
c.ar:lV:lns h:lr! :'Ilre:'ldy left, and the operation failed_ Generally, however,
they were successful, and the exiles managed to obtain significant com-
pensation in the form of booty.
Over the same period, the Prophet also sent out missions whose main
purpose was to gather intelligence about the Quraysh's movements and
activities, their intentions (or possible war preparations), and the new
alliances they might set up in the area. Watchfulness was essential, as the
Quraysh's hostility was intensifying and becoming increasingly open and
widespread. However, one of those missions took a bad turn: Abdullah
ihn J:'Ihsh :'Inri a small group har! heen ordered to get very near to rhe
Quraysh clans in the Nakhlah valley (betweer. Mecca and Taif) and ,l,>-ath-