The Valley of Abu Talib

When pressure failed, Quraysh and their allies swore a pact against Banu Hashim and Banu al-Muttalib: no one would marry from them or trade with them until they handed the Prophet ﷺ over. Years later the Prophet ﷺ still remembered the place where they had sworn it (Sahih al-Bukhari 1590).

Abu Talib, now an old man, led his clan into the narrow valley that bore his name. For about three years they lived there on whatever food could be smuggled in, and the biographers say the cries of hungry children could be heard outside.

The biographers also report that Abu Talib feared someone would attack his nephew at night. After the Prophet ﷺ lay down, he would have him move, and put one of his own sons in his bed. He was ready to risk his own child to keep the Messenger ﷺ safe.