Two major events define the next, more intense, stage of persecution. They were happening simultaneously, and they represented two different ways of handling what was happening: to leave, or to stay.
Persecution ramped up to include some beatings, torture, and deaths. Because the Prophet himself was protected by his uncle Abu Talib, he was safe, and many of his followers lived in the Banu Hashim quarter with him. But converts in other parts of the city were not safe. Abu Bakr spent some of his fortune on buying slaves to free them; one was an African being tortured with a large stone on his chest for hours. In Arabia, the sun was an available instrument of torture; take away a man’s ability to protect himself, and he might die. Sun exposure was also used to torture a poor family in another clan. Stories about them vary, but it seems that the husband and wife, and their grown son, were being exposed in the sun, and when the wife shouted at their tormenter, he speared her. The husband may have died of exposure.
Muhammad decided to send a core group of Muslims away to Abyssinia. Abyssinia–that is, modern Somalia and Ethiopia–was one of the closest foreign countries, and it had always been socially/politically close to South Arabia. It wasn’t under the control of either the Romans or the Persians (as other nearby areas were), and it was solidly monotheistic. It had a large Jewish population, and its official religion was Coptic Christianity. There was a chance that Abyssinia would be a good home for a new monotheistic faith. At the very least, it would demonstrate to the Quraysh in Mecca that it wasn’t going to be possible to wipe them all out physically, if half of them were in another country.
Some of Muhammad’s close family were included in the mission to Abyssinia. Uthman, the merchant who was an early convert, had married the Prophet’s second daughter, and they went. So did Ali’s older brother Jafar and his wife, and a man named Hisham ibn al-A’as. About 80 people went, though they left in stages, fearful that their clans would realize the plan and stop them. As soon as the Quraysh leaders understood the plan, they sent emissaries to Abyssinia to ask for their renegade clan members to be returned. The leader? Hisham’s brother Amr. He led an official delegation and brought expensive gifts.
Jafar acted as spokesman when they were called before the Negus, which was the title of the Abyssinian king. Asked to recite a portion of the Quran, he chose Surah Maryam, which tells the story of the angel appearing to Mary to tell her she would have a son. Of course, the king recognized the story. He asked Jafar what they said about Jesus, and he answered with a carefully-worded reply: “Jesus is a servant of Allah, His Messenger, His Spirit, and His Word breathed into the Virgin Mary.” He clarified that God should not be said to have a “son.” On the basis of this interview, the Negus announced formal protection of the group, and sent the Quraysh delegation home. Some of the Muslims returned to Mecca after a short time abroad, but some of them stayed for the next few years. Jafar’s family remained in Abyssinia for twelve years.
Back in Mecca, the elders of the Quraysh voted to enforce a complete boycott on the Banu Hashim quarter. Other clans were not to buy from them or sell to them, nor enter into any marriages with them. This would end when the Banu Hashim handed over Muhammad or at least denounced him. One clan, the Banu Muttalib, declined to participate, and they were included in the boycott. The boycott oath was written on parchment and placed in the Ka’aba.
Some individuals tried to break through the boycott as conditions worsened for the Banu Hashim. One man loaded his camel with supplies and turned it loose to wander there. In many other cases, the wives were points of entry to the banned quarter, since they were still technically members of their own clans. “I’m just taking flour to my daughter.” Muslim believers in the outside clans also did what they could to break the boycott. Less wealthy families in the Banu Hashim quickly fell into hardship, while some others had reserves to draw on. Not being allowed to sell, their income dried up.
When the annual pilgrimage time came around, no fighting was allowed, so Muhammad and his followers could safely go into the city, especially to the Ka’aba. But to compensate, the other Quraysh were more aggressive in other ways, like verbal harassment, or throwing dirt and animal entrails.
After more than two years had passed like this, some of the other clan leaders regretted the oath. The Banu Hashim didn’t appear ready to hand over their kinsman Muhammad, and the hardship was getting worse than the Quraysh had intended. So they announced that they intended to break their oaths. When someone went into the Ka’aba to fetch the oath parchment, they found that insects had eaten all but the words, “In Thy Name, God.” So the boycott ended.