A DrtlZJIf, P,an^153
strike him tOO whcn Hulays stepped in to protect him and requesr that he
be allowed to return to the Prophct unharmed.
Four anempts at negotiatio n had failed, then, and the Quraysh seemcd
more unyielding than cyer. The Prophet decided he must make a last
attempt, sending an envoy who enjoyed sufficient respect and protectio n in
l.kcca that he would meet another fate than Khirash's and be listened to.
He cvenruaUy chose Uthman ibn Affan, his so n-in-law, who had solid clan
connectio ns in Mecca and whom nobody \ .... ould dare almck. Uthman \vent
and was indeed well received, but met with the same refusal: the Quraysh
would not allow the j\ \uslims to perfo rm the pilgrimage. He himself could,
if he wished to, perform the circumambulations around the Kaba, but let-
ting in i\luhammad and his men was o ut of the question. Uthman refused
the offer. His mission had taken longer than expected, and for three days
the Prophet had no news of him. T he rumor spread that Uthman had been
killed, and this caused the Prophet deep so rrow. Such an action on the part
of the Quraysh----killing an envoy during the sacre<l month and opposing
the ,'Iuslims' legitimate right to visit the Kaba, as all omer tribes wert:
allowed to--co uld only be seen by the i'viuslims as a new declaration of war.
From then on, they had to prepare for the worst.
The Pledge of Allegiance
The Prophet had all the Companions summoned, and they hurried to
him. He sat at th e foot o f an acacia tree and asked each of th e Muslims
to pledge allegiance (btl)'al ar-n·dwan), swearing him o bedience and fidelity.
Through that gesture. th ey explicitly stated that they wouJd remain by the
Prophet's side whatever the outcome might be. They had come to per-
form a pilgrimage, the}' were unarmed, and now they faced the very high
probability o f a conflict for which mey were not prepared. T he affirma-
tion of their fidelity to the Prophet mea nt to them that they pledged not
to run away and to go so far as accepting death, since the balance of
forces was heayily against them. The Prophet himself put his left hand in
his right hand and told the assembled faithful that this represented
Uthman's pledge, since th e latter had not given any sign of life and he
considered him dead.^3