Dört voqea, ya'ni Hamzaning Islomni qabul qilishi, Umarning Islomni qabul qilishi, Muhammad ﷺ ning har qanday kelishuvga rozi bo'lishdan bosh tortishi va Banu Muttalib bilan Banu Hoshim o'rtasida Muhammad ﷺ ni himoya qilish va uni o'ldirishga qaratilgan har qanday xiyonatkorona urinishdan asrash uchun tuzilgan ahdnoma, dörtta muhim voqea bo'lib, to'rt haftadan kam vaqt ichida yuz berdi. Mushriklar hayron qolishdi va bu battol va qat'iy to'siqdan qanday qutulishni bilmay qolishdi, chunki u ularning butun hayot an'analarini parchalab tashlaydigan ko'rinardi. Ular allaqachon bilishardi: agar Muhammad ﷺ ni o'ldirishsa, Makka vodiylarida qon albatta oqib ketadi va ular, shubhasiz, yo'q qilib yuboriladi. Ushbu dahshatli ehtimolni hisobga olib, ular murdasiz bo'lgan boshqa bir yovuz yo'lga istamay murojaat qilishdi.

Four events of special significance occurred within less than four weeks — the conversion of Hamzah, the conversion of ‘Umar, Muhammad’s (Peace be upon him) refusal to negotiate any sort of compromise and then the pact drawn up between Banu Muttalib and Banu Hashim to immunize Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and shield him against any treacherous attempt to kill him. The polytheists were baffled and at a loss as to what course they would follow to rid themselves of this obstinate and relentless obstacle that had appeared to shatter to pieces their whole tradition of life. They had already been aware that if they killed Muhammad (Peace be upon him) theblood would surely flow profusely in the valleys of Makkah and they would certainly be exterminated. Taking this dreadful prospect into consideration, they grudgingly resorted to a different iniquitous course that would not imply murder.

Makkaning mushriklari Vadi al-Muhassab deb ataladigan joyda yig'ilish o'tkazdilar va Bani Hoshim hamda Bani al-Muttalibga qarshi qaratilgan ittifoq tuzdilar. Ular ular bilan hech qanday savdo-sotiq munosabatlariga kirishmaslikka, shuningdek ular bilan hech qanday kuyov-kelinlik aloqalari o'rnatmaslikka qaror qildilar. Muhammad ﷺ va uning tarafdorlari bilan ijtimoiy aloqalar, tashriflar va hatto og'zaki muloqot ham to'xtatilishi kerak edi, to Payg'ambar ﷺ ularning qo'liga topshirilib, o'ldirilguncha. Bani Hoshimga nisbatan shafqatsiz choralarni nazarda tutgan bu e'lon moddalarini bir butparast, Bag'iyd ibn Omir ibn Hoshim yozib chiqdi, so'ngra ular Ka'baga osib qo'yildi. Payg'ambar ﷺ Bag'iydga qarshi Allohning la'natini chaqirdi, keyinroq uning qo'li falaj bo'lib qoldi.

The pagans of Makkah held a meeting in a place called Wadi Al-Muhassab, and formed a confederation hostile to both Bani Hashim and Bani Al-Muttalib. They decided not to have any business dealings with them nor any sort of inter-marriage. Social relations, visits and even verbal contacts with Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and his supporters would discontinue until the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was given up to them to be killed. The articles of their proclamation, which had provided for merciless measures against Bani Hashim, were committed to writing by an idolater, Bagheed bin ‘Amir bin Hashim and then suspended in Al-Ka‘bah. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) invoked Allâh’s imprecations upon Bagheed, whose hand was later paralysed.

Abu Talib mulohaza qilib, sokin ravishda vaziyatni baholadi va Makkaning sharqiy chekkasidagi bir vodiyga ko‘chib ketishga qaror qildi. Unga ergashgan Bani Hoshim va Bani Al-Muttalib shu tariqa tor bir darani (Abu Talib shi‘bi) ichida qamalib qoldilar. Bu Muhammad ﷺning payg‘ambarlik da’vatining yettinchi yili, Muharram oyining boshidan to o‘ninchi yilgacha, ya’ni uch yil davom etdi. Bu bo‘g‘uvchi qamal edi. Oziq-ovqat yetkazib berish deyarli to‘xtab qoldi, qamalda qolganlar katta qiyinchiliklarga duch keldilar. Butparastlar Makkaga kiradigan har qanday oziq-ovqat mahsulotini sotib olib qo‘yardilar, toki u Shi‘bdagi odamlarga yetib bormasin. Shi‘bdagilar shu darajada holdan toyganki, daraxt barglari va hayvonlarning terisini yeyishga majbur bo‘ldilar. Och qolgan kichik bolalarning yig‘isi aniq eshitilib turardi. Ularga ozgina oziq-ovqat faqat bir necha marta, Makkadagi mehribon kishilar tomonidan yashirincha olib kelingan oz miqdordagi ovqat orqali yetib bordi. An’anaviy ravishda urushlar to‘xtatiladigan “harom oylar”da ular qamalidan chiqib, Makkadan tashqaridan keladigan oziq-ovqatni sotib olardilar. Shunda ham oziq-ovqat nohaq ravishda qimmat narxda sotilardi, shuning uchun ularning moliyaviy ahvoli uni olishga yetmasdi.

Abu Talib wisely and quietly took stock of the situation and decided to withdraw to a valley on the eastern outskirts of Makkah. Banu Hashim and Banu Al-Muttalib, who followed suit, were thus confined within a narrow pass (Shi‘b of Abu Talib), from the beginning of Muharram, the seventh year of Muhammad’s mission till the tenth year, viz., a period of three years. It was a stifling siege. The supply of food was almost stopped and the people in confinement faced great hardships. The idolaters used to buy whatever food commodities entered Makkah lest they should leak to the people in Ash-Shi‘b, who were so overstrained that they had to eat leaves of trees and skins of animals. Cries of little children suffering from hunger used to be heard clearly. Nothing to eat reached them except, on few occasions, some meagre quantities of food were smuggled by some compassionate Makkans. During ‘the prohibited months’ — when hostilities traditionally ceased, they would leave their confinement and buy food coming from outside Makkah. Even then, the food stuff was unjustly overpriced so that their financial situation would fall short of finding access to it.