Abu Bakr had, until shortly after his conversion, been a wealthy, influential and well respected citizen of Mecca, but now, on account of the boycott, he was no longer wealthy and his influence had dwindled amongst the unbelievers. There had been a time when all would turn to him with their troubles when he would either help financially or give sound advice, but now many of those whom he had helped turned away and shunned him.

One day, when Abu Bakr and his cousin Talha were taking a stroll, Nawfal -- whose son, Aswad, had embraced Islam under the hand of Abu Bakr -- in the company of others attacked the pair, tied their hands and feet together and left them lying on the road for passerbys to see and mock. In those days it was customary for the tribe of the injured party to revenge themselves against the offender, but the leaders of the tribe of Taym, to which Abu Bakr belonged, chose to ignore the incident which was a clear indication that they now considered him to be of little or no standing.

Now that it was known no action would be taken by the Taym tribe if Abu Bakr were to be harmed he became the object of persistent abuse so he went to the Prophet (sa) to ask his permission to join those that remained behind in Abyssinia, the Prophet (sa) always had the welfare and safety of his companions at heart agreed so with a sorrowful heart Abu Bakr set out for Abyssinia. As he neared the Red Sea, he met an old friend by the name of ibn Ad-Dughunnah, the chieftain of a small tribe that had settled not far from Mecca and were allied to the Koraysh. Ibn Ad-Dughunnah hardly recognized him and was both shocked and distressed to see Abu Bakr in such an impoverished condition and inquired what had brought about such a dramatic change in his affairs.

Abu Bakr related several of the unwarranted hostilities he had faced in Mecca on account of his conversion, then told him that now all he wanted was to be able to worship Allah in peace and to preach during his travels. Ibn Ad-Dughunnah reflected upon former times in wonderment of how people could turn to be so fickle and said, "How could they have done such things? You were without doubt the gem amongst your tribe, in times of trouble you were always there to call upon, your deeds are good, and you always helped others in times of need! Go back, I will support you." Abu Bakr accepted ibn Ad-Dughannah's support and they returned together.

Upon reaching Mecca, ibn Ad-Dughunnah declared for all to hear, "People of Koraysh, the son of Abu Khafah has my support -- let no one treat him badly!" The Koraysh accepted the ultimatum, however, a fellow from the tribe of Jummah -- the tribe from whom Abu Bakr had rescued Bilal, demanded, "Tell him to worship his Lord behind closed doors, and to let his prayers and recitation be confined there so that he can neither be seen nor heard. We fear that if our sons or women see him they will be seduced by his ways!" Ibn Ad-Dughunnah turned to Abu Bakr and asked him to comply, and he agreed.