The growing strength of the Muslim community stirred the Quraish to action. They launched a vilification campaign against the Holy Prophet, Islam and the Muslims. In uncouth verses the Quraish poets ridiculed the Holy Prophet and his faith. Ali was a poet and it appears that he composed some verses highlighting the truth about Islam. The Quraish made a crude and undignified attempt towards the character assassination of the Holy Prophet. Some said that he had gone mad and had lost his senses. Some said that he was the victim of some hallucination. There were others who said that he was a wizard or a "Kahin." Some said that he was the victim of some "Jinn". When all attempts of vilification and character assassination failed, the Quraish made preposterous demands as a proof for the veracity of the Holy Prophet. They said that if the angel appeared to him, he should show them the angel. They said that if he was the beloved of God he should ask God to turn the rocks of Makkah into gold. They wanted that he should show them some miracle. He should get the desert of Arabia converted into an oasis. Some said that if he was a prophet, and knew of things not known to others, he should show them the spots where treasure was buried under the earth. The Holy Prophet maintained that the Holy Quran was his miracle, and he challenged the unbelievers to produce anything like that. When all the tactics of the Quraish proved abortive, they resorted to physical force. They persecuted the Muslims and subjected them to great hardships. When the persecutions of the Quraish became unbearable the Holy Prophet ordered his followers to migrate to Abyssinia. About eighty Muslims including women migrated to Abyssinia. About two dozen Muslims, including Abu Bakr and Ali, were left in Makkah, and this included the Holy Prophet and the members of his family. Thus to all intents and purposes, the Muslims evacuated Makkah.
