the  necessary preparations for migration but was waiting for leave from his Lord.
It is noteworthy that most of the Mwho had migrated to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), came back to Madinah to  join the rest of the Muslims there.
The situation was no doubt critical in Makkah but Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was not at all  perturbed. Abu Bakr was, however, urging the Prophet to depart from that town. He was also eagerly  waiting for an opportunity to accompany Muhammad (Peace be upon him) on this eventful journey.
But  the Prophet told him that the time had not yet come; the Lord had not given him the command to  migrate. In anticipation of the Command of Allâh, Abu Bakr had made preparations for the journey.
He  had purchased two swift camels and had fed them properly for four months so that they could  successively stand the ordeals of the long desert journey.
IN AN-NADWAH (COUNCIL) HOUSE THE PARLIAMENT OF QURAISH
The polytheists were paralysed by the carefully planned and speedy movement of Muhammad’s  followers towards their new abode in Madinah. They were caught in unprecedented anxiety and got  deeply worried over their whole pagan and economic entity. They already experienced Muhammad
(Peace be upon him) as an influential leader; and his followers as determined, decent and always  ready  to sacrifice all they had for the sake of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him). Al-Aws and Al-
Khazraj tribes, the would-be-hosts of the Makkan Muslims, were also known in Arabia for their might  and power in war, and judicious and sensible approach in peace. They were also averse to rancour and  prejudice for they themselves had had bitter days of inter-tribal warfare. Madinah , itself, the  prospective headquarters of the ever-growing Islamic Call, enjoyed the most serious strategic  position.
It commanded the commercial routes leading to Makkah whose people used to deal in about a quarter  of a million gold dinar-worth commodities every year. Security of the caravan routes was crucial for  the  perpetuity of prosperous economic life. All those factors borne in mind, the polytheists felt they were  in  the grip of a serious threat. They, therefore, began to seek the most effective method that could avert  this imminent danger. They convened a meeting on Thursday, 26th Safar, the year fourteen of
Prophethood / 12th September 622 A.D., i.e. two and a half months after the Great ‘Aqabah Pledge.
On  that day, “the Parliament of Makkah” held the most serious meeting ever, with one item on the  agenda:
How to take effective measures with a view to stopping that tidal wave. Delegates representing all the
Quraishite tribes attended the meeting, the most significant of whom were:
1. Abu Jahl bin Hisham, from Bani Makhzum;
2. Jubair bin Mut‘im, Tuaima bin ‘Adi, and Al-Harith bin ‘Amir representing Bani Naufal bin ‘Abd
Munaf;
3. Rabi‘a’s two sons Shaibah and ‘Utbah besides Abu Sufyan bin Harb from Bani ‘Abd Shams bin
‘Abd Munaf;
4. An-Nadr bin Al-Harith (who had besmeared the Prophet (Peace be upon him) with animal  entrails) to speak for Bani ‘Abd Ad-Dar;
5. Abul Bukhtary bin Hisham, Zama‘a bin Al-Aswad and Hakeem bin Hizam to represent Bani Asad  bin ‘Abd Al-‘Uzza;
6. Al-Hajjaj’s two sons Nabih and Munbih from Bani Sahm;
7. Omaiyah bin Khalaf from Bani Jumah.
On their way to An-Nadwah House, Iblis (Satan) in the guise of a venerable elderly man standing at  the  door interrupted their talk and introduced himself as a man from Najd curious enough to attend the  meeting, listen to the debate and wish them success to reach a sound opinion. He was readily  admitted  in.
There was a lengthy debate and several proposals were put forward. Expulsion from Makkah was  proposed and debated in turn but finally turned down on grounds that his sweet and heart-touching  words could entice the other Arabs to attack them in their own city. Imprisonment for life was also  debated but also refused for fear that his followers might increase in number, overpower them and