—a righteous man named Aṣḥamah. The Messenger of Allah then led us in prayer and offered the funeral prayer over him.”

In the narration of ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn it is stated:

“Your brother has passed away, so pray for him,”

meaning the Negus.

Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah related—from Ibn Shihāb—and a report with the same purport was transmitted by ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr and by Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq. He said:

“After that, the idolaters intensified their hostility toward the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, more fiercely than ever before, until the Muslims were driven to the limits of endurance and the trial became severe. Quraysh then agreed, in their plot, to kill the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, openly. When Abū Ṭālib saw what they were planning, he gathered the sons of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib and ordered them to take the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, into their mountain pass and shield him from anyone who wished to kill him. They all rallied to this—those who were Muslim among them and those who were still unbelievers. Some did it out of tribal zeal, and some did it