Saying
Ya Rasulullah, how are we going to enter Makkah now that you have been expelled from it?
O Zayd, Allah will make a way out for us. And Allah will help His Prophet and make His Message supreme.
~About ten days after being driven out of Ta'if (c. 620 CE) · 2 BH
After the Prophet ﷺ left Makkah for Ta'if, he could no longer safely return. By walking out of Makkah, he had seemed to accept the expulsion that Abu Lahab had imposed on him. His companion Zayd ibn Harithah RA asked him how they would enter Makkah now. The Prophet ﷺ replied that Allah would make a way out for them.
The Prophet ﷺ then sent messages to a few leaders of the Quraysh, asking for their protection (jiwar). The first was al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq, who replied that his people were in a weak position and could not protect him. Next he asked Suhayl ibn Amr. Suhayl replied that his clan, Banu Amir ibn Lu'ayy, had never protected anyone from Banu Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy, and he did not want to set a precedent.
Finally he asked Mut'im ibn Adi, the chief of Banu Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf. Mut'im agreed at once. He told his four sons to arm themselves and bring the Prophet ﷺ straight back to him. They rode out fully armed and escorted the Prophet ﷺ into Makkah. Mut'im waited for him at the Ka'bah and told him to perform tawaf, and the Prophet ﷺ circled the Ka'bah with the armed guards beside him.
When he finished, Mut'im stood up and announced to the people of Makkah that he had given Muhammad ﷺ his protection. Abu Sufyan ibn Harb stood and asked whether Mut'im had become his follower or was only giving protection. Mut'im said he was not a follower and was only giving protection. Abu Sufyan replied that in that case the Quraysh would accept it.
The Prophet ﷺ stayed under Mut'im's protection for about a year and a half to two years, until the Hijrah. Mut'im had also been the main figure in breaking the boycott of Banu Hashim. For both reasons, the Prophet ﷺ honored him highly after the Battle of Badr. The episode also illustrates the Prophet ﷺ's teaching that Allah helps this religion even through a disbelieving man.
The Year of Sorrow to the Night Journey·Chapter 7 of 9Back into Makkah
See the whole storyOther events recorded in 2 BH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
Ya Rasulullah, how are we going to enter Makkah now that you have been expelled from it?
O Zayd, Allah will make a way out for us. And Allah will help His Prophet and make His Message supreme.
We are in a weak position. We cannot give you protection.
In reply to the Prophet ﷺ's request for protection after Ta'if.
Will you give me your protection?
Message sent to Mut'im ibn Adi.
Go arm yourselves and bring Muhammad ﷺ back. Protect him and bring him straight back to me.
Said to his four sons.
O people of Makkah! I have given my protection to Muhammad ﷺ.
Announced publicly at the Ka'bah after receiving the Prophet ﷺ and accompanying him in tawaf under armed guard.
Are you his follower, or are you just giving protection?
No, I am not his follower, I am just giving protection.
In that case, we shall accept it.
I am from Banu Amir ibn Lu'ayy. And Banu Amir ibn Lu'ayy have never given protection for somebody from Banu Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy, and I don't want to start a precedent.
In reply to the Prophet ﷺ's request for protection after Ta'if.
Indeed, Allah helps this religion, even through a disbelieving man.
A general teaching illustrated by Mut'im ibn Adi's example.