About two months after the migration to Abyssinia, the Prophet came to the Ka’bah. A large number of the Quraysh were present, and their chieftians and nobelmen were sitting among them. The chapter (Surah) of the Qur’an called Al-Najm had only recently been revealed to the Prophet .

Suddenly the Prophet rose before the Quraysh and began reciting the verses of Surah Al-Najm. The Quraysh kept silent. No one there had ever heard such powerful words. They were bewildered: Muhammad , their sworn enemy, was standing before them reciting, and they were left powerless. No one could stand to make him stop, and none could even ridicule him. The Prophet reached the closing verse and prostrated, putting his head to the ground in worship of Allah, Lord of the universe: “Prostrate before Allah and worship Him.” (53: 62).

Miraculously, all of the Quraysh were so overcome by the recitation that they prostrated along with him. Ibn Mas’ud , a Companion of the Prophet , reported that one of the Quraysh present that day, Umayya bin Khalaf, “took a handful of dust and rubbed it on his forehead saying, ‘This is enough for me.”’ Ibn Mas’ud would later see Umayya killed during the Battle of Badr.

Return of the immigrants

News of how the Quraysh had prostrated after hearing the Prophet recite verses from the Qur’an reached the Muslims in Abyssinia. It was rumoured that the Quraysh had accepted Islam.

Joyfully, they left Abyssinia and set sail for Arabia. Once they were just outside Makkah, however, they discovered that nothing had changed. The Quraysh were still opposed to Islam, and Makkah was still a hostile territory. Disappointed, some decided to return to Abyssinia, while others entered Makkah and found shelter with some sympathetic non-Muslims.