The Life of the Prophet ﷺ: Persecution in Abyssinia and the Boycott 🇪🇹

Quraysh also took steps to prevent the spread of the new religion outside of Makkah. A group of Muslim refugees who escaped to Abyssinia were promised protection by its Christian king, the Negus (Neghashi). The Quraysh sent emissaries after them, hoping to convince the king to give up his protection and send the Muslims back to Makkah to be persecuted. When the Negus heard Muhammad's [ﷺ] cousin Ja'far recite verses from the Qur’an about Islamic beliefs regarding Jesus and Mary, he refused to forsake his fellow monotheists, and the Quraysh had to go back to Makkah without the refugee Muslims. But even if Muslims had not escaped to distant lands, Islam could still spread beyond Makkah. Thousands of Arabs visited the city each year, and if some of those visitors heard Muhammad's [ﷺ] message and saw Quraysh's inability to stop his unorthodox ideas, the status of Quraysh as one of the leading tribes in the peninsula would begin to wane. Alternatively, the visitors would believe Muhammad [ﷺ], accept his religion, and take it back to their homelands, spreading Islam outside of Makkah, and making it harder to stop.

All of this led to the extreme measures taken by the Quraysh.

In 617, approximately seven years after the first revelations, the Quraysh decided to implement an all-out boycott on Muhammad's [ﷺ] clan, Banu Hashim, to whom many Muslims belonged. No one was to enter into any business transactions with them, nor marry anyone to a member of the clan. They were even forced into exile in a barren valley just outside of Makkah. This had disastrous humanitarian effects on the Muslim community.

Persecution brought hunger, social isolation and economic woes to the Mus-lims, and even the non-Muslims who happened to be part of Banu Hashim, such as Abu Talib. The few Muslims not belonging to Banu Hashim, such as Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman did all they could to supply the persecuted group by circumventing the boycott's rules, although at great personal loss. The boycott was draining on the entire Muslim community, those belonging to Banu Hashim as well as other clans. In the end, the boycott was ineffective in persuading Muhammad [ﷺ] to discontinue his preaching, and it was thus ended after just over a year of enforcement.

Despite Quraysh's efforts, more people continued to accept Islam. The boycott also revealed the strength of ties in the young community, as those not a part of Banu Hashim were still willing to sacrifice their wealth and safety to help their brothers and sisters that were being persecuted. Here, one of the core concepts of Islam that loyalty to the religion transcended loyalty to a tribe or family-was on full display.