The Najdi replied, “That is no plan at all. By Allah, if you do that, his words and ideas will reach the companions who are still outside your grasp; they will soon wrench him from your hands and then overpower you in your own affairs.”
One of them suggested, “Rather, we should drive him out and banish him. Once his face and speech are out of sight, we will not care where he ends up.”
The Najdi retorted, “That will not work either. Have you not noticed the sweetness of his speech, the eloquence of his discourse, and the way he prevails over everyone he meets? If you expel him, he will simply join some other Arab tribe, they will rally unanimously to his cause, and he will march back with them to trample you underfoot.”
Abū Jahl then said, “By Allah, I have an idea about him—one you have not yet considered.” They asked, “What is it?” He answered, “Let each clan of Quraysh select a strong, full-grown youth of noble lineage and good standing. Give each of them a sharp sword, and let them strike him together as one man. When you have killed him, his blood will be distributed among all the tribes. Banū ʿAbd Manāf will then be at a loss; they will not be able to fight their own people. Their utmost will be to accept the blood money (the diyah), which you will pay them.”
The Najdi exclaimed, “Marvellous! That young man has spoken the only sound counsel—nothing else will do.” They dispersed having agreed upon the plan and set about preparing to carry it out.
News of this reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He therefore commanded that he not sleep in his bed that night; he did not stay in his usual place but arranged for ʿAlī to lie in his bed instead.
This report was transmitted by Saʿīd ibn Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Umawī from his father.
Ibn Isḥāq narrated—through ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid, from Ibn ʿAbbās—and he also said: Al-Kalbī told me, from Bādhān, the freedman of Umm Hānīʾ, from Ibn ʿAbbās, conveying the same meaning and adding: at that point Allah gave permission for the migration, and in Medina He revealed Sūrah al-Anfāl, reminding him of His favor upon him.