to protect the status of their clan's. Those who were from a different tribe altogether re-
jected the message of Islam hoping to protect the status of their tribe by not following
someone from a different tribe!
Once Abu Jahl and Abu Sufyan and Al-Akhnas ibn Shareeq listened to the Qur’an night af-
ter night. One morning Al-Akhnas ibn Shareeq went to Abu Jahl and asked: ‘O Abu Al-Hakam
what do you think about that which you have heard from Muhammed?’ He replied: ‘What
have I heard? He disputes with us and the honorable tribe of Abdu Manaf: they provided
food and we have provided food, they have carried a burden and we have carried a burden,
they gave and we gave until we became firmly united as if we had already mounted our
fastest horses. They said: ‘Is there a Prophet (r) from amongst us who receives revelation
from the sky! When will we ever be able to say this? By Allah we will never listen to him and
we will never believe in him.’ Then Al-Akhnas ibn Shareeq arose and departed from Abu
Jahl.
The opposition of the tribe of Quraysh heavily influenced the rest of the Arabs to oppose
Islam. The influence of the Quraysh was so great that even if they had not exerted them-
selves in their resistance to Islam and in the defamation of the Prophet (r), they still would
have swayed the people. That was because all of the Arabs looked to the Quraysh and
waited for their approval. The tribe of Quraysh enjoyed a high status among the Arabs. The
Arabs revered the Quraysh for many reasons, especially because they were the people who
lived close to the Ka'bah and were the caretakers of Allah’s house.