harm you, whatever he does or wherever he goes, once he is away from you and you are rid of him.” Iblis said: “This is not a plan upon which you should rely. You would take a man who has corrupted your judgment and send him out to others, only for him to corrupt them as well. Have you not seen the sweetness of his speech, the eloquence of his tongue, and how he wins hearts through what you hear of his words? By Allah, if you do this, he will go away, win over the hearts of a people, and then march against you with them and drive you from your land.” They said, “The old man has spoken the truth.”
Then Abu Jahl said: “By Allah, I shall advise you of a plan, and I see no other course besides it. I think that you should take from every clan of Quraysh a young man of noble lineage and high standing. Then let each of them be given a sharp sword, and let them strike him together as one man. If they kill him, responsibility for his blood will be shared among all the tribes, and I do not think that this clan of Banu Hashim will be able to wage war against all of Quraysh. When they see this, they will accept the blood money, and Quraysh will pay his compensation.”
Iblis said: “This young man has spoken the truth, and he has the soundest judgment among you. What he has said is the proper course; I see no other plan.” So they dispersed, having unanimously agreed upon Abu Jahl’s proposal.
Gabriel then came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, informed him of this, and commanded him not to spend the night in the bed in which he normally slept. At that time, Allah permitted him to depart for Madinah. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, instructed Ali ibn Abi Talib to sleep in his bed and said to him: “Wrap yourself in this cloak of mine, for no harm from them will reach you that you would dislike.”
Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, went out, took a handful of dust, and Allah prevented them from seeing him. He began scattering the dust over their heads while reciting: “Indeed, We have put shackles around their necks ... so they cannot see” (Surah Ya-Sin, 36:8–9). 147/b
He and Abu Bakr proceeded to the Cave of Thawr, and he left Ali behind in Makkah until he had returned on his behalf the deposits entrusted to him. Such deposits used to be entrusted to him, peace and blessings be upon him, because of his truthfulness and trustworthiness. The idolaters spent the night watching Ali in the bed of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, supposing that he was the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. When morning came, they rushed upon him and found Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. They said, “Where is your companion?” He replied, “I do not know.” So they tracked his footsteps and sent men in pursuit of him. When they reached the cave, they saw a spider’s web across its entrance. They said, “Had he entered it, there would not have been a spider’s web over its entrance.” He remained there for three days, then arrived in Madinah. This is the meaning of His saying, Exalted is He: “And remember when those who disbelieved plotted against you” (1).
“Seeking to restrain you”: that is, to detain you, imprison you, and bind you. “Or kill you, or expel you. They plot, and Allah plans.” Al-Dahhak said: “They devise, and Allah devises.” Plotting means planning; and from Allah it is planning in truth. It has also been said that He repays them with the requital of their plotting. “And Allah is the best of planners.”
“And when Our verses are recited to them, they say, ‘We have heard. If we wished, we could say the like of this. This is nothing but tales of the former peoples.’ (31)”
“And when Our verses are recited to them, they say”: this refers to al-Nadr ibn al-Harith. “We have heard. If we wished, we could say the like of this.”