“And truly, they were near tempting thee from what we taught thee, that
   thou shouldst invent a different revelation; and then they would have
   inclined unto thee.

   And if we had not strengthened thee, verily thou hadst inclined to them
   a little.

   Then thou shouldst not have found against us any helper.”

After this, naturally, the persecution became hotter than ever.  A second body of exiles went to Abyssinia.  Had not the venerable Abu Talib protected Mohammed, his life might have been lost.  As it was, the persecutors threatened the old man with deadly enmity unless he gave up Mohammed.  But Abu Talib, though agreeing with them in their religion, and worshipping their gods, refused to surrender his nephew to them.  Once, when Mohammed had disappeared, and his uncle suspected that the Koreish had seized him, he armed a party of Hashimite youths with dirks, and went to the Kaaba, to the Koreish.  But on the way he heard that Mohammed was found.  Then, in the presence of the Koreish, he told his young men to draw their dirks, and said, “By the Lord! had ye killed him, not one of you had remained alive.”  This boldness cowed their violence for a time.  But as the unpopularity of Mohammed increased, he and all his party were obliged to take refuge with the Hashimites in a secluded quarter of the city belonging to Abu Talib.  The conversion of Omar about this time only increased their rage.  They formed an alliance against the Hashimites, agreeing that they would neither buy nor sell, marry, nor have any dealings with them.  This oath was committed to writing, sealed, and hung up in the Kaaba.  For two or three years the Hashimites remained shut up in their fortress, and often deprived of the necessaries of life.  Their friends would sometimes secretly supply them with provisions; but the cries of the hungry children would often be heard by those outside.  They were blockaded in their intrenchments.  But many of the chief people in Mecca began to be moved by pity, and at last it was suggested to Abu Talib that the bond hung up in the Kaaba had been eaten by the ants, so as to be no longer valid.  This being found to be the case, it was decided that the league was at an end, and the Hashimites returned to their homes.  But other misfortunes were in store for Mohammed.  The good Abu Talib soon died, and, not long after, Khadijah.  His protector gone, what could Mohammed do?  He left the city, and went with only Zeid for a companion on a mission to Tayif, sixty or seventy miles east of Mecca, in hopes of converting the inhabitants.  Who can think of the prophet, in this lonely journey, without sympathy?  He was going to preach the doctrine of One God to idolaters.  But he made no impression on them, and, as he left the town, was followed by a mob, hooting, and pelting him with stones.  At last they left him, and in the shadow of some trees he betook himself to prayer.  His words have been preserved, it