the number of idolaters was steadily increasing; and their attacks, naturally, got severer. their press had increased to an extent that the messenger of allâh [pbuh] fell into one of the holes dug and designed by abu ‘amir al-fasiq to be used as traps. his knee scratched and ‘ali helped him by grasping his hand up. talha bin ‘ubaidullâh took him in his lap till he could stand upright. nafi‘ bin jubair said: i heard an emigrant say: "i have witnessed uhud battle and watched how arrows had been hurled from all directions at the prophet [pbuh]. none of them however hit him. ‘abdullah, bin shihab az-zuhri said: ‘guide me to muhammad [pbuh]! by allâh, if i didn’t kill him, i would not hope to live.’ although the messenger of allâh [pbuh] was next to him, alone — but he did not observe him. safwan, a co-polytheist of his, blamed him (for not translating his words into deeds), but ‘abdullah swore that he did not see him (the prophet [pbuh]) and added that he might be immune to our attempts on his life. he also said that four of them pledged to make a fresh attempt and kill him, but also to no avail. [za'd al-ma'ad 2/97]