IMAM ABU AL-FID& ISMX'TL IBN KATH~R^99"The two men commented, 'Well, he's claiming that he is in hell-fire then!'
"Aha Lahab then asked him, 'Muhammad, is 'Ahd al-Mut~lib in the fire?'
"The Messenger of God (SAAS) replied, 'Whoever dies in the state 'Ahd
al-Muttalib was in does go into hell-lire.'
"Abii Lahab - God curse him - then announced, 'By God, I shall always he
your enemy for your claiming that 'Abd al-Mutwlih is in the fire!'
"At that Aba Lahab and the rest of Quraysh intensified their attacks upon him."Ibn Ishaq stated, "The group of men who used to harm the Messenger of God
(SAAS) in his house were Aha Lahab, al-Hakam b. Aha alLcAs b. Umayya,
Wqba b. Aha Mu'ayy, 'Adi b. al-Hamra', and Ibn al-A$d%' al-Hudhali.
"These were neighbours of his; the only one of them to ever accept Islam was
al-Hakam b. Aha alLcA$.
"It is said that one of them would throw a sheep's uterus over him while he
was praying, or toss it into his cooking pot if set up for him. Eventually the
Messenger of God (SAAS) would take a position near a wall when praying and
when they threw some such thing at him he would carry it outside on a stick,
stand at his door and say, '0 Banii 'Abd Manaf, what kind of neighbourliness is
this?' Then he would toss it out into the street."
My own view is that most of the matter being related here occurred after the
death of Aba Talib. Though God knows best. It is certainly very appropriate to
mention them here. These incidents included the throwing of a camel's placenta
over his shoulders while he prayed, as Ihn Mascad related, and of Fatima's hav-
ing come and removed it from him and having gone off and reviled them; when
he had finished praying, he said prayers against seven of them. A similar incident
was the account of 'Abd Allah b. 'Amr b. alLcA$ of their having severely throttled
him until Abii Bakr intervened, saying, "Would you murder a man merely for
saying God is my Lord?" And there is the case of the intent of Abii Jahl, God
damn him, to tread on his neck while he prayed, and of this being prevented.Section: On his departure to the people of Trs'ifto call them to Almighty God, and
to come to the aid of His faith; how they refused him this and he retuned to
Mecca.
Ihn Ishaq stated, "When Aha Tdib died, Quraysh treated the Messenger of God
(SAAS) worse than had ever been the case during the life of his uncle Ahn Talib.
"And so the Messenger of God (SAAS) left for Ta'if seeking help from
Thaqif and their protection from his people. He hoped they would accept the
message he brought them from God Almighty.
"He went to them alone.
"Yazid b. Aha Ziyad related to me, from Muhammad b. Ka'b al-Kurazi, who
said, 'When the Messenger of God (SAAS) arrived in Ta'if, he made for a group
of Thaqif, their leaders and nobles, who were three brothers. They were 'Abd