It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Abu Jahl said: If I see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) praying by the Ka'bah, I will trample his neck. Upon this statement of his, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If he had done so, the angels would have seized him before the people. If the Jews had wished for death, they would surely have died and seen their abode in Hell. And if those who challenged the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to a mutual curse (mubahala) had come out, they would have returned in such a state that neither their wealth nor their families would have remained.