Islam Pt. 3

History Pt. 3:
After about three years, many Qureysh grew tired of expatriating Muhammad and his followers. So, they brought out the document from the Ka’bah. To their surprise, they found that the majority of it had been eaten by white ants. Only the words "In thy name, O’ Allah" remained. They took this to be a sign that they must accept the Muslims back into Meccan society.

Now that he was back in Mecca, Muhammad began preaching again. He had little success at first. However, during the next pilgrimage, he met a group of travelers from Yathrib (Medina). This group was very interested in his teachings.

The group from Medina explained that in their city a group of Jews had been teaching that a prophet would come, and that the Jews would then rise up and destroy all the pagans. When the group met Muhammad, they realized that he must be the promised prophet. They swore allegiance to him during the next pilgrimage (note: there was no mention of fighting in their oaths). Muhammad sent a Muslim teacher on the group’s return to Yathrib.

Because of the continued persecution of Qureysh, the Muslims soon decided to move to Yathrib. Their flight is called the Hijrah. When many Muslims began to sell their things and leave, Qureysh were afraid that they would become too powerful when they were not oppressed. So they decided to kill Muhammad (note: Muhammad’s uncle and protector, Abu Talib, had since died). They cast lots, choosing one murderer from each tribe. At the same time Muhammad received a new revelation which ordered him to make war on his persecutors. It was the first revelation commanding him to be violent.