Page 48 - History of The Quranic Text | Kalamullah.Com

28 THE HISTORY OF THE QUR'ANIC TEXT

riches in having you cured, for often a spirit possesses a man till he can
be cured of it." Having listened patiently, the Prophet then replied, "Now
listen to me: .~""~,li::;':'i.Z;i·~
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"In theNameifAllah, MostGracious, MostMercful. HiiMim. A revelation
from (Allah) the Most Gracious, MostMerciful. A Book, ichereof the verses
are explained in detail - a Qy..r'an in Arabic.for people who comprehend.
Bestowinggladtidings andadmonition:yet mostif them turnaway, andso
they hear not. Theysay: 'Ourhearts are under veils, (concealed)from thatto
whichyou invite us, andin ourears isa deafness, and between us andyou
isa screen: so do whatyou will;and weshalldo what we will!'"
And the Prophet continued reciting while 'Utba listened attentively till
he reached a verse that required prostration, and prostrated himself He
then said, "You have heard what you have heard, it is up to yoU."65

vii. Quraish Boycotts Muhammad ;lj and his Clans

Stinging from their failure to tempt Muhammad, the Quraish went to Abu
Talib, a highly respected elder who was the Prophet's uncle and tribal
protector, and demanded that he put an end to Muhammad's behaviour,
whom they accused of cursing their gods, denouncing their forefathers and
insulting their religion. Abu Talib sent for his nephew and conveyed to him
Quraish's message. Anticipating that his uncle had forsaken him and that he
was about to lose his support, he replied, "0 my uncle, byAllah, if they were
to place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, to force me to
abandon this thing, I would not, till Allah let it come forth or I perished
therein." And he turned his back and wept. Touched by his words, Abu
Talib assured him that he would not turn him away. Soon afterwards the
sub-clans of Hashim and al-Muttalib, unwilling to desert one of their own,
decided against giving up Muhammad even though they were idolaters

64 Qur'an 41:1-5.
65 Ibn Hisham, Sira, vol. 1-2,pp. 293-94. In the translation, here and in other places,
Guillaume's work has been consulted.