O people of Quraysh, by Allah, you have gone too far with this elder. You keep leaping upon him while he shelters someone under his protection among his own kin. By Allah, either you will desist, or we shall stand beside him in everything he undertakes until he attains his goal.

They answered, “Very well, Abu ʿUtaybah; we shall refrain from what you dislike.” Abu Lahab had been their ally and supporter against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so they were eager to keep him on their side. When Abu Talib heard Abu Lahab speak in this way, he became hopeful that his uncle would now rise with him in defense of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. To spur Abu Lahab on, Abu Talib composed verses in the Ṭawīl metre:

Indeed, the man whose uncle is Abu ʿUtaybah
 lives in a garden where no injustice is ever imposed.
I say to him—what better counsel could I give?—
 O Abu Muʿtab, keep your ranks firm and standing.
So long as you live, never accept a course
 for which you would be reviled when the seasons come.
Pass the road of weakness to someone else among them,
 for you were not created to cling to helplessness.
Fight, for war is half of every matter; you will never see
 a man of battle humiliated unless he seeks peace.
And why not, when they have done you no great wrong
 and have never failed you in gain or in loss?
May Allah requite ʿAbd Shams, Nawfal, Taym, and Makhzūm
 with estrangement and sin on our behalf,
For, after affection and unity, they scattered our ranks
 so they might seize what is forbidden.
You have lied—by the House of Allah—if you think we shall abandon Muhammad;
 you have yet to witness the day we stand in the mountain pass.

Ibn Hishām remarks: “One line remains which we have omitted.”

The Resolve of al-Ṣiddīq to Emigrate to Abyssinia

Ibn Isḥāq said: Muḥammad ibn Muslim al-Zuhrī related to me, from ʿUrwah, from ʿĀ’ishah: When Mecca became constricted for Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq—may Allah be pleased with him—when he was harmed there, and when he saw how Quraysh combined against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his Companions, he asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for permission to emigrate, and permission was granted. Abu Bakr set out as an emigrant, and after he had traveled a day—or two—away from Mecca he was met by Ibn al-Dughnnah, a man of the Banū al-Hārith ibn Bakr ibn ʿAbd Manāh ibn Kinānah, who was