The Seerah · Chapter 12
Chapters Home
PART 2 · THE MAKKAN PERIOD · الْعَهْدُ الْمَكِّيُّ

STAGE 4 · THE YEARS OF HARDSHIP

الْحِصَارُ فِي الشِّعْبِ

Chapter 12: The Boycott in the Valley

Three years shut in a valley — the hardest test for the Prophet’s whole family

Sheikh Mohamed Fawzyالشيخ محمد فوزي

© 2026 Sheikh Mohamed Fawzy. All rights reserved. Version 1.7

The pact صَحِيفَةُ الْمُقَاطَعَةِ

“No marriage, no trade…”

Quraysh saw Islam spreading and Abū Ṭālib still protecting his nephew. So they made a written pact against his whole clan:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنَ الْغَدِ يَوْمَ النَّحْرِ وَهُوَ بِمِنًى نَحْنُ نَازِلُونَ غَدًا بِخَيْفِ بَنِي كِنَانَةَ حَيْثُ تَقَاسَمُوا عَلَى الْكُفْرِ. يَعْنِي ذَلِكَ الْمُحَصَّبَ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ قُرَيْشًا وَكِنَانَةَ تَحَالَفَتْ عَلَى بَنِي هَاشِمٍ وَبَنِي عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ، أَوْ بَنِي الْمُطَّلِبِ أَنْ لَا يُنَاكِحُوهُمْ، وَلَا يُبَايِعُوهُمْ حَتَّى يُسْلِمُوا إِلَيْهِمُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ...
Abū Hurayrah said: On the day after the Day of Sacrifice, at Minā, the Prophet ﷺ said: “Tomorrow we will stop at Khayf Banī Kinānah, where they swore an oath upon disbelief” — meaning al-Muḥaṣṣab. That was because Quraysh and Kinānah made a pact against Banū Hāshim and Banū ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib — or: Banū al-Muṭṭalib — that they would not marry with them nor trade with them until they handed the Prophet ﷺ over to them.…
Sahih al-Bukhari 1590Sahih

Banū Hāshim and Banū al-Muṭṭalib stood together — Muslims and non-Muslims alike — out of family loyalty, except Abū Lahab, who sided with Quraysh (Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm).

In the valley شِعْبُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ

Three years in the valley

  1. Year 7 The pact is hung inside the Ka‘bah. Banū Hāshim and Banū al-Muṭṭalib move into the valley (shi‘b) of Abū Ṭālib.
  2. Years 7–10 No one may sell to them or marry from them. Food runs very short; the children suffer from hunger.
  3. During it The Prophet ﷺ keeps calling people to Allah, especially in the sacred months when the pilgrims come.
  4. Year 10 Some men of Quraysh feel ashamed of the injustice and work to end the pact. The boycott is over.
Source: Ar-Raḥīq al-Makhtūm, which dates the boycott from Muḥarram of the 7th year to the 10th year. Many extra details told about it come through weak reports and are left out.
Think تَأَمَّلْ

He came back to the same place

Then

Quraysh swore their pact of injustice at Khayf Banī Kinānah, against a small, weak family.

About sixteen years later

At the Farewell Hajj, the Prophet ﷺ — now leading more than a hundred thousand believers — chose to camp at that very place.

Allah turned the place of their oppression into a place of victory and thankfulness.

Lessons دُرُوسٌ وَعِبَرٌ

What we learn

1

Family loyalty

Banū Hāshim, believers and non-believers, stood by the Prophet ﷺ through hunger.

2

Patience under siege

Three years of hardship did not stop the call to Allah.

3

Injustice ends

Even men of Quraysh became ashamed of the boycott — oppression does not last.

Review مُرَاجَعَةٌ

Quick quiz

Score: 0 / 4
1.What did the pact forbid?
Correct (al-Bukhari 1590).
No marriage and no trade with them.
2.How long did the boycott last?
Right.
About three years (years 7–10).
3.Which uncle sided with Quraysh?
Correct.
Abū Lahab.
4.Where did the Prophet ﷺ choose to camp at the Farewell Hajj?
Yes.
At Khayf Banī Kinānah, the place of the pact.

Out of the valley — but more trials were coming

ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam ﷺ

NEXT · Chapter 13: The Year of Sorrow and the Journey to Ṭā’if · عَامُ الْحُزْنِ وَالطَّائِفُ

All chapters →