The same people who strictly prohibited the hearing of the Qur’an and punished all those who defied the declaration, came, after a few days, under the category of law-breakers and practically broke secretly the very law which they had themselves approved!
One night Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahl and Akhnas bin Shariq left their houses and proceeded to the residence of the Prophet, without the knowledge of one another. Everyone of them concealed himself in a corner and their object was to hear the Qur’an of Muhammad, which he used to recite at night with a pleasant voice, while performing his prayers. All of them remained there till morning, without being aware of the presence of others, and heard the Qur’an.
In the morning they had to return to their houses. They met on the way and reproached one another saying that if the simple-minded people came to know about their activities what would they think about them?
The same thing was repeated during the next night. It would seem that an inner urge and charm attracted them to the house of the Holy Prophet. At the time of their return they met again and exchanged mutual reproaches and decided not to repeat their action. However, the attraction of the Qur’an was such that they again went to his house without the knowledge of one another and sat round it and heard the Qur’an till morning. When they heard the Qur’anic verses their fear increased every moment and they said to themselves: “In case the promises and the threats of Muhammad be true, we have led sinful lives”.
When it was dawn they left the house of the Prophet for the fear of the simple-minded people and again met one another. All of them admitted that they could not withstand the attraction of the ‘call’ and the law of the Qur’an. However, to prevent any unpleasant occurrences, they concluded a mutual agreement that they would not resort to this action again