Muhammad: Meccan OppositionAccording to Sira traditions, the Meccans were so disconcerted by the
Abyssinian emigration and the conversion of Umar that they imposed a boycott against the Hashimites and the clan of the Muttalib, to which Muhammad belonged. With the exception of his uncle, Abu Laha^161 b, Muhammad's clan remained loyal to him, even though many of them were not Muslims. The boycott is said to have lasted three years, a^162 nd probably did much to exhaust the wealth of Abu Talib and Khadija. By vir^163 tue of their not belonging to Muhammad's clan, Abu Bakr andUmar were exempt
from this boycott, but to what extent they may have been able to help
Muhammad is not clear. The hardships endured during the boy^164 cott, as^165
well as the increased opposition of the Meccans in this peri^166 od are also
related in hadith.
Sira traditions describe Muhammad's desire for the conversion of his
countrymen as being so great, that he was once seduced by Satan to insert
false verses into the Qur'an. Accordingly, Muhammad was in an^167 assembly
of the Quraysh when he began reciting Qur'an 53. After Qur'a^168169 n
53:19-20, Muhammad is reported to have recited a verse describing al-Lat,
al-`Uzza and Manat as approved intercessors, and the Quraysh, joyful over
this concession, are then said to have prostrated themselves. Some hadith
depict Gabriel as having rebuked Muhammad the same evening,^170 but it is
much more likely that a longer period of time passed, since the news that
the Quraysh had accepted Islam is said to have reached the emigrants in
Abyssinia, upon which at least some decided to return to Mecca. Later,^171
Muhammad is reported to have retracted this passage and Qur'an 22:51 is
said to have been revealed to him as an assurance that Satan had given him
the false text.^172
The passage Qur'an 53:19-32, Qur'an 53:19-32, Qur'an 53:19-32, Qur'an 53:19-32, which is against the pagan goddesses al-Lat,
al-`Uzza and Manat, and is also in opposition to the intercession of angels,
may have been composed at this time.
Whereas many Muslims have tried to suppress these traditions over the
centuries, Western scholars have generally argued over the^173 authenticity