Yunus also related, on the authority of Ibn Ishaq, who said: Al-Zuhri informed me that Abu Jahl, Abu Sufyan, and al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq once went out by night to eavesdrop on the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was praying inside his house. Each man sat apart, none aware of where the others were. When dawn broke they dispersed, but the road brought them together. They reproached one another, saying, “Do not come back; if some of the foolish people were to see us, it might put something in their minds.” Nevertheless, they repeated the same thing the next night; and when morning came they met again and blamed one another in the same way. On the third night they did likewise, and at daybreak the road gathered them once more, so they pledged never to return.

Later al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq went to Abu Sufyan’s house and asked, “Tell me your opinion of what you heard from Muhammad.” He replied, “Abu Thaʿlaba, by Allah, I heard words that I recognize and whose purpose I understand, and others that I do not.” Al-Akhnas said, “By the One by whom you swore, that is exactly how I feel.” He then went to Abu Jahl and asked, “What do you think?” Abu Jahl answered, “What did we hear? We and the sons of ʿAbd Manaf have been vying for honor: they fed people and we fed; they bore burdens and we bore; they gave gifts and we gave—until, when we were neck-and-neck like two horses in a race, they said, ‘We have a prophet to whom revelation comes from heaven.’ How can we ever rival that? By Allah, we shall never believe in him or affirm him.” With that, al-Akhnas left him.

Yunus ibn Bukayr likewise transmitted, from Hisham ibn Saʿd, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from al-Mughira ibn Shuʿbah, who said: The first day I came to know the Messenger of Allah ﷺ I was walking with Abu Jahl. We met the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said to Abu Jahl, “O Abu al-Hakam, come to Allah and to His Messenger; I am inviting you to Allah.” Abu Jahl replied, “O Muhammad, will you not stop insulting our gods? Do you want anything other than for us to testify that you have delivered your message? By Allah, even if I knew what you say is true, I would not follow you.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ walked away, and Abu Jahl turned to me and said, “By Allah, I know that what he says is true. But the sons of Qusayy said, ‘The custodianship (ḥijāba) of the Kaʿba is ours,’ and we said, ‘Yes.’ They said, ‘The council (nadwa) is ours,’ and we said, ‘Yes.’ Then they said, ‘And among us…’