in the shib Abi Talib incident the polytheists decided to put Bani Hashim and Banu Muttalib under complete economic-social siege so that they may be forced to surrender the Prophet (PBUH) to the Quraysh;
The failure of the siege of Shi'b Abi Talib
Shi'b Abi Talib: The failure of Quraysh to return the Abyssinian emigrants to Mecca and the danger of creating a base outside of the political power of Quraysh there, as well as the growing Muslim influence among the Quraysh youth, led them to adopt a new solution, which was the idea of killing the Prophet (PBUH).[1]
The polytheists asked Abu Talib to receive double the blood money of murder of that Prophet, so that someone other than Qureshi would kill Muhammad (PBUH).[2]
Abu Talib - the uncle of the Prophet (pbuh) - boldly and decisively objected to their action and wrote poems in support of the Messenger of God (pbuh). The Quraish had to take another way and that was to impose an economic-social sanction on the Quraish in order to stop supporting the Prophet (PBUH) and leave him to the Quraish.
Abu Talib, after consulting with the Prophet (PBUH), decided to gather Bani Hashim and Bani Muttalib in Shi'b Abu Talib to facilitate the care of his life and to preserve prejudices and clan solidarity.[3]
On the other hand, because the killing of the Prophet (PBUH) without the consent of his supporters meant bloodshed in Mecca, the polytheists inevitably decided to put Bani Hashim and Bani Mutallib under complete economic-social siege so that they may be forced to surrender the Prophet (PBUH) to the Quraysh;[4]
Because Mecca people did not have centralized political power and each tribe had its own political-economic-social leadership; therefore, cutting off social-economic relations was the ultimate exercise of their power to put pressure on Bani Hashem.
The period of stay in Shi'b was three years and the conditions governing it were very difficult and exhausting; So much so that children's cries could be heard from outside;[5]
References:
[1]- [9]. Halabi Shafi'i, Ali bin Burhanuddin; Al-Sira Al-Halbiyya, Zaini Dahlan, Seyyed Ahmad; Beirut, Al-Maktaba al-Islamiya, vol. 1, p. 336.
[2]- Yaqoubi, Ahmed bin Abi Yaqoob; Yaqoubi history, translated by Mohammad Ebrahim Ayati, Tehran, Scientific and Cultural Publications, 1371, vol.6, p.336.
[3]- Ibn Shahr Ashub; Manaqib al-Abi Talib, Qom, al-Mutt'abah al-Alemiya, vol. 1, p. 63.
[4]- Ya'qubi; Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. 1, p. 336.
[5]- Ibn Saad, ; Tabaqat al-Kobara, Beirut, Dar Beirut for printing and publishing, 1405 AH, vol. 1, p. 209.