Question
Thank you for answering my question regarding the Boycott of Banu Hashim and i was quiet impressed with your answer but still i want to discuss this issue with you further. I want to know that during the Boycott of Banu Hashim were the members from other tribes included in the boycott and were subjected to persecutions for providing secret financial and other kind of support to the tribe of Banu Hasim?
In my opinion Hazrat Abu Bakr(ra) and Umar(ra) who were from the other tribe must have secretly supported the tribe of Banu Hashim during the Boycott and the Quraish would have included them in the boycott for helping Banu Hashim.What is your opinion?
Answer
All the reports in this regard clearly mention that it was decided by some of the people of the Quraish to boycott the clans of Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib. Pledge was not taken to boycott all the Muslims or other tribes of the Quraish. I want you to appreciate that the clan of Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib was subjected to this boycott merely because of the protection they offered the Holy Prophet (pbuh) though all of them were not Muslims. Similarly, other Muslims were also protected by their clans. It was quite impossible for any one to harm a member of a strong clan as they would pursue the offender and take revenge. Another important thing that I want to stress is that the terms of the boycott did not demand persecution. It was only a social and financial boycott. There are reports, which mention that some of the Quraish did not stop providing for the clan. We do not find mention of any help from two staunch believers Abu Bakr (rta) and Umar (rta) merely because there was no such persecution in the first place. Had it not been the case there is no reason of their holding back since we know that they never spared anything for the cause of their faith and love for their Prophet (pbuh).
Regards,
Tariq Mahmood Hashmi
October 16, 2003