The correct answer is the 7th year of Nabvi.
The social and economic boycott of the Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib clans began in the seventh year of the Prophet’s mission (7th Nabvi). This drastic measure was taken by the leaders...
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The correct answer is the 7th year of Nabvi.
The social and economic boycott of the Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib clans began in the seventh year of the Prophet’s mission (7th Nabvi). This drastic measure was taken by the leaders of the Quraish in Makkah as a response to the steady growth of Islam and their frustration over their inability to stop the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from preaching. The boycott was specifically triggered after prominent figures like Hamza (RA) and Umar (RA) embraced Islam, which significantly bolstered the morale of the Muslim community and alarmed the pagan leadership.
When the Quraish realized that the protection offered to the Prophet (PBUH) by his uncle, Abu Talib, was unshakeable, they gathered to form a formal pact. They drafted a document that laid out severe terms: no one was to marry into the Banu Hashim or Banu Muttalib clans, nor were they allowed to engage in any form of trade, buying, or selling with them. Social interaction was completely prohibited. To give this decree a sense of religious authority, the leaders of the Quraish hung the written parchment inside the Holy Kaaba.
Faced with this total isolation, Abu Talib led the members of the two clans—both the Muslims and the non-Muslims who remained loyal to their tribal kinship—to a narrow mountain pass on the outskirts of Makkah known as Shi'b Abi Talib (the Valley of Abi Talib).
The years spent in the valley were marked by immense hardship and starvation. For three consecutive years, from the 7th Nabvi to the 10th Nabvi, the besieged clans lived in a state of semi-starvation. The Quraish blocked all food convoys from reaching the valley, and when occasional traders did arrive, the Quraish leaders would offer higher prices to ensure the Banu Hashim could not afford to buy supplies.
History records that the suffering was so acute that the residents were forced to eat the leaves of trees and dry skins of animals to survive. The cries of hungry children could be heard echoing from the valley, yet the majority of the Quraish remained indifferent. Throughout this period, the Prophet’s wife, Hazrat Khadija (RA), and Abu Talib spent their entire wealth and resources to support the community, showing remarkable resilience in the face of psychological and physical warfare.
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