came round they did exactly the same, and once again the road gathered them together, whereupon they bound themselves by mutual oath never to return.

When morning broke, al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq picked up his staff, went to Abu Sufyan at his house and said,

“Tell me, Abu Hanzalah, what do you think of what you heard from Muhammad?”

Abu Sufyan replied, “Abu Thaʿlabah, by Allah, I have heard words whose import I recognise and whose aims I understand.”

Al-Akhnas said, “So have I, by the One by whom you swore.” He then left and went to Abu Jahl, entered his house and asked,

“Abu al-Hakam, what do you think of what you heard from Muhammad?”

Abu Jahl answered, “What have I heard? We and the sons of ʿAbd Manāf have been vying for honour: they fed, so we fed; they bore burdens, so we bore; they gave, so we gave. When we were kneeling together like two racehorses head-to-head, they said, ‘A prophet has arisen among us to whom revelation comes from heaven.’ How could we ever match that? By Allah, we will never believe in him or affirm him—ever!”

A similar report is related from al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah, who said that Abu Jahl declared the same, adding, “I know very well that what he says is the truth, but the sons of Qusayy say, ‘The Council Hall (nadwah) is ours.’”