forefathers; either you must stop him, or you must let us get at him. For you are in the same  opposition as we are in opposition to him; and we will rid you of him." Abu Talib tried to appease their  wrath by giving them a polite reply. The Prophet (Peace be upon him), however, continued on his way  preaching Allâhs  ' religion and calling men hitherto, heedless of all their desperate attempts and  malicious intentions
AN ADVISORY COUNCIL TO DEBAR PILGRIMS FROM MUHAMMAD'S CALl: During those days,
Quraish had another serious concern; the proclamation of the Call had only been a few months old  when the season of pilgrimage was soon to come. Quraish knew that the Arab delegates were coming  within a short time. They agreed that it was necessary to contemplate a device that was bound to  alienate the Arab pilgrims from the new faith preached by Muhammad (Peace be upon him). They  went  to see Al-Waleed bin Al-Mugheerah to deliberate on this issue. Al-Waleed invited them to agree on a  unanimous resolution that could enjoy the approbation of them all. However, they were at variance.
Some suggested that they describe him as Kahin, i.e., soothsayer; but this suggestion was turned  down  on grounds that his words were not so rhymed. Others proposed Majnun, i.e., possessed by jinn; this  was also rejected because no insinuations peculiar to that state of mind ware detected, they claimed.
"Why not say he is a poet?" Some said. Here again they could not reach a common consent, alleging  that his words were totally outside the lexicon of poetry. "OK then; let us accuse him of practising  witchcraft," was a fourth suggestion. Here also Al-Waleed showed some reluctance saying that the
Prophet (Peace be upon him) was known to have never involved himself in the practice of blowing on  the knots, and admitted that his speech was sweet tasting root and branch. He, however, found that  the most plausible charge to be levelled against Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was witchcraft. The  ungodly company adopted this opinion and agreed to propagate one uniform formula to the effect that  he was a magician so powerful and commanding in his art that he would successfully alienate son  from  father, man from his brother, wife from her husband and man from his clan.
It is noteworthy in this regard to say that Allâh revealed sixteen verses as regards Al-Waleed and the  cunning method he contemplated to manipulate the people expected to arrive in Makkah for  pilgrimage.
Allâh says:
"Verily, he thought and plotted; so let him be cursed! How he plotted! And once more let him be  cursed, how he plotted! Then he thought; then he frowned and he looked in a bad tempered  way; then he turned back and was proud; then he said: T ' his is nothing but magic from that of  old; this is nothing but the word of a human being! ' " 74:18 -25
The most wicked of them was the sworn enemy of Islam and Muhammad (Peace be upon him), Abu
Lahab, who would shadow the Prophets  ' steps crying aloud, "O men, do not listen to him for he is a  liar;  he is an apostate." Nevertheless, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) managed to create a stir in the  whole area, and even to convince a few people to accept his Call.
THE FIRST MIGRATION TO ABYSSINIA (ETHIOPIA): The series of persecutions started late in the  fourth year of Prophethood, slowly at first, but steadily accelerated and worsened day by day and  month by month until the situation got so extremely grave and no longer tolerable in the middle of the  fifth year, that the Muslims began to seriously think of feasible ways liable to avert the painful tortures  meted out to them. It was at that gloomy and desperate time that Sûrah Al-Kahf (Chapter 18 — The
Cave) was revealed comprising definite answers to the questions with which the polytheists of Makkah  constantly pestered the Prophet (Peace be upon him). It comprises three stories that include highly  suggestive parables for the true believers to assimilate. The story of the Companions of the Cave  implies implicit guidance for the believers to evacuate the hot spots of disbelief and aggression  pregnant with the peril of enticement away from the true religion:
The young men said to one another): And when you withdraw from them, and that which they  worship, except Allâh, then seek refuge in the Cave, your Lord will open a way for you from His
Mercy and will make easy for you your affair (i.e. will give you what you will need of provision,  dwelling, etc.)18:16.
Next, there is the story of Al-Khidr (The Teacher of Arabia) and Moses (Peace be upon him) in a clear  and delicate reference to the vicissitudes of life. Future circumstances of life are not necessarily the  products of the prevalent conditions, they might be categorically the opposite. In other words, the war  waged against the Muslims would in the future assume a different turn, and the tyrannous oppressors  would one day come to suffer and be subjected to the same tortures to which the Muslims were then