Following the Prophet's first sermons, the Faithful sought no longer to hide their belief; but, to avoid useless disputes, they held clandestine meetings in a desert ravine where they said their prayers. A group of idolaters dogged their footsteps and having succeeded in discovering their retreat, lavished foul epithets on them. The Believers, unable to put up with the insults offered to their religion, grew furious and a fight took place, during which Sad ibn Abi Waqqs picked up the jawbone of a camel's skeleton in the sand and dashed it violently in the face of one of the Associates, causing the vital fluid to flow. These were the first drops of blood shed in the struggle now beginning between Islam and idolatry. Wishing to prevent a renewal of these incidents, the Prophet resolved to retreat to pray in peace with his disciples in the house of Arqam, situated on the Sufah hill. Nevertheless, fury increased among the idol-worshippers. So long as Mohammad had gone no further than to summon them to salvation, even blaming them and threatening them with the punishment of divine wrath, his adversaries merely shrugged their shoulders and laughed at him; but when he retaliated by turning their wooden or stone images into ridicule, pointing out that they were dumb, deaf, blind and powerless, the rage of the idolaters was unbounded. Not only did he sting them to the quick through attacking their beliefs, but he did them great harm commercially, for in the hands of leading citizens, the idols were a source of considerable revenue, and constituted efficacious means of domination over the superstitious common people. Alone, among the men of his party who had refused to embrace the Islamic faith, his uncle, Abu Talib, still gave him proofs of affection, thus greatly scandalising the other members of the Quraish tribe, who sent him a deputation of the most influential among them: Utbah ibn Rabiyah, Abu Sufyan ibn Harib, Abu Jahal and several chieftains of equal note. 'O Abu Talib!' said these delegates, 'your brother's son insulteth our gods and our beliefs. He mocketh at the religion and traditions of our forefathers. Shall we not rid ourselves of him? Or wilt thou not remain neutral and thus let us be free to act towards him as we think fit? For we know that thou dost not share his convictions any more than we do.' Abu Talib dismissed them with a polite and conciliatory reply.