In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
The call to Islam in Ta'if.
Following the passing of Abu Talib and Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, departed from Mecca for Ta'if,
calling people to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, had spent those ten years in Mecca
calling people to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He.
Then, the Prophet, peace be upon him, decided to leave Mecca
and begin his call outside of it.
The first place the Prophet, peace be upon him, considered was Ta'if.
He set out on foot,
accompanied by Zayd ibn Haritha, his freedman and servant.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, had adopted him in the early days,
so he was known as Zayd ibn Muhammad,
until the word of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, was revealed:
"Call them by [the names of] their fathers."
Thereafter, he was called Zayd ibn Haritha.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, arrived in Ta'if,
he approached three brothers who were leaders of the Thaqif tribe:
'Abd Yalil, Mas'ud, and Habib,
the sons of 'Amr ibn 'Umayr al-Thaqafi.
He invited them to Allah and to support His religion.
One of them remarked,
"He is tearing the coverings of the Ka'bah,
if Allah has truly sent Muhammad, peace be upon him."
Another said to the Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him,
"Could Allah not find anyone other than you?"
And the third said,
"By Allah, I will never speak to you.
If you are a Messenger,
you are too significant for me to respond to you,
and if you are lying about Allah,
it is not fitting that I should speak to you."
This is how these three treated the Prophet, peace be upon him,
with such cruelty and mockery.
He had left his own city and entered another,
where he was a stranger,
calling to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He.
Yet they confronted him with these words,
filled with derision and scorn.
If only it had stopped there,
but the situation worsened, by Allah.
For they said to him,
"Leave our land!"
Then they incited their foolish ones against him.
When he attempted to leave,
the foolish ones, slaves, and children followed him,
insulting him and shouting at him,
until the people gathered against him,
standing in two rows,
and began pelting him with stones
and hurling foolish words at him,
until they struck his heels,
and his sandals were stained with blood.
Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him,
was shielding the Prophet, peace be upon him, with his own body,
until he sustained wounds to his head.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, continued to walk,
while they struck him, peace be upon him,
until he took refuge in an orchard belonging to 'Utba
and Shayba, the sons of Rabi'a, in Ta'if.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, entered the orchard,
approached a grapevine,
and sat under its shade against a wall.
He then offered a supplication
filled with reliance and yearning
for what is with Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He,
through which it becomes clear to the believer
how one must always be sincere with Allah
and turn to Him in all matters.
He, peace be upon him, said:
"O Allah, to You I complain of the weakness of my strength,
the scarcity of my resources, and my insignificance before the people.
O Most Merciful of the merciful,
You are the Lord of the oppressed,
and You are my Lord. To whom will You entrust me?
To a distant person who treats me harshly,
or to an enemy to whom You have given control over my affairs?
If You are not angry with me, I do not care,
but Your protection is more encompassing for me.
I seek refuge in the light of Your Face, by which the darkness is illuminated
and the affairs of this world and the Hereafter are set right,
from Your anger descending upon me
or Your displeasure befalling me.
To You is the right to blame until You are pleased,
and there is no power and no strength except by You."
When the sons of Rabi'a, 'Utba and Shayba, saw him,
their sense of kinship was stirred,
as they were all descendants of 'Abd Shams ibn 'Abd Manaf.
They called a servant of theirs, a Christian
named 'Addas,
and said to him,
"Take a cluster of these grapes
and go to this man."
When 'Addas arrived,
he placed them before the Prophet, peace be upon him.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, extended his hand and said,
"In the name of Allah,"
then he ate.
Treasures of the Seerah.
The compassion of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and his mercy toward his Ummah.
After his return from Ta'if, peace be upon him,
Allah, Majestic and Exalted is He, wished to comfort him
and show that He, Glory be to Him, was with him,
though He tests him to elevate his rank.
The two Imams, al-Bukhari and Muslim, recorded in their chains of narration
from 'Urwa ibn al-Zubayr
that 'A'isha, may Allah be pleased with her, related
that she said to the Prophet, peace be upon him:
"Has there come upon you a day harder than the day of Uhud?"
He, peace be upon him, said:
"I have experienced from your people what I have experienced,
and the hardest of what I experienced from them was the day of 'Aqaba,
when I presented myself to Ibn 'Abd Yalil,
and he did not respond to what I wanted.
So I departed, distressed, not knowing where I was going,
and I did not recover until I was at Qarn al-Tha'alib.
I raised my head,
and there was a cloud shading me.
I looked, and there was Jibril in it.
He called to me and said,
'Allah has heard what your people said to you
and how they responded to you.
Allah has sent the Angel of the Mountains to you,
that you may command him as you wish regarding them.'
The Angel of the Mountains called to me, greeted me,
and then said, 'O Muhammad,
if you wish, I will crush them between the two mountains,'
I would do it."
The noble, merciful, forbearing Prophet,
who was compassionate toward his Ummah, peace be upon him, said:
"Rather, I hope that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will bring forth from their loins
those who will worship Allah alone, associating nothing with Him."
Thus, the caller to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, must view the disobedient
and those who turn away from the command of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He,
with a look of compassion for them.
Treasures of the Seerah.
The faith of the Jinn.
Then Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, consoled him with another matter,
which was that on his way back,
He sent a group of the Jinn to him.
The Jinn, like humans, are accountable,
commanded to believe,
and forbidden from disbelief.
Whoever among them obeys enters Paradise,
and whoever disobeys enters the Fire.
So Allah sent a group of the Jinn to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
whom Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, mentioned,
saying:
“And when We inclined toward thee (Muhammad) certain of the jinn, who wished to hear the Qur'an and, when they were in its presence, said: Give ear! and, when it was finished, turned back to their people, warning.” (46:29)
“And when We inclined toward thee (Muhammad) certain of the jinn, who wished to hear the Qur'an and, when they were in its presence, said: Give ear! and, when it was finished, turned back to their people, warning.” (46:29)
“And when We inclined toward thee (Muhammad) certain of the jinn, who wished to hear the Qur'an and, when they were in its presence, said: Give ear! and, when it was finished, turned back to their people, warning.” (46:29)
“They said: O our people! Lo! we have heard a scripture which hath been revealed after Moses, confirming that which was before it, guiding unto the truth and a right road.” (46:30)
“They said: O our people! Lo! we have heard a scripture which hath been revealed after Moses, confirming that which was before it, guiding unto the truth and a right road.” (46:30)
“They said: O our people! Lo! we have heard a scripture which hath been revealed after Moses, confirming that which was before it, guiding unto the truth and a right road.” (46:30)
"And to a straight path."
“O our people! respond to Allah's summoner and believe in Him. He will forgive you some of your sins and guard you from a painful doom.” (46:31)
“O our people! respond to Allah's summoner and believe in Him. He will forgive you some of your sins and guard you from a painful doom.” (46:31)
"He will forgive you some of your sins."
“O our people! respond to Allah's summoner and believe in Him. He will forgive you some of your sins and guard you from a painful doom.” (46:31)
Thus did Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, send a group of the Jinn,
as if He were saying to His Prophet, peace be upon him:
"If you are saddened by the disbelief of the people of Mecca
and the disbelief of the people of Ta'if,
and their harming of you,
then Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, has sent to you
those among the Jinn who have believed in you."
This, undoubtedly, brings joy and happiness to the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Treasures of the Seerah.
His return, peace be upon him, to Mecca.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, traveled
until, when he drew near to Mecca, he stayed at Hira.
He sent a man from Khuza'a to al-Akhnas ibn Shariq to grant him protection,
so that he would not be harmed after the death of his uncle, Abu Talib.
Al-Akhnas ibn Shariq said,
"I am an ally, and an ally does not grant protection."
So the Prophet, peace be upon him, sent to Suhayl ibn 'Amr,
seeking protection from him.
Suhayl said, "The Banu 'Amir do not grant protection against the Banu Ka'b."
Then the Prophet, peace be upon him, sent to al-Mut'im ibn 'Adi,
and al-Mut'im said, "Yes."
He then armed himself and called his sons and his people,
saying, "Put on your armor,
and be at the corners of the House (the Ka'bah),
for I have granted protection to Muhammad."
Then he sent word to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to enter.
The Messenger, peace be upon him, entered,
accompanied by Zayd ibn Haritha,
until he reached the Sacred Mosque.
Al-Mut'im ibn 'Adi stood on his mount
and called out,
"O assembly of Quraysh,
I have granted protection to Muhammad,
so let no one among you harm him."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, reached the Corner (the Black Stone),
touched it, prayed two rak'ahs,
and then returned to his house,
with al-Mut'im ibn 'Adi and his sons surrounding him with their weapons,
until he entered his house.
Abu Jahl stood up to al-Mut'im ibn 'Adi and said,
"Are you a protector or a follower?"
He replied,
"Rather, a protector."
Abu Jahl said,
"We have granted protection to whom you have protected."
This action taken by al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī
reveals to us an important matter
that we must pause to consider for a moment,
which is that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He,
when He sent the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
sent him specifically from among the Arabs.
The scholars have mentioned many points of wisdom regarding this,
and among the greatest of these points of wisdom
is that the Arabs possessed qualities not found in others.
We find that the Arab was generous,
to the point that his generosity became proverbial.
He was courageous, fearing nothing,
and he upheld the rights of his neighbor.
Did that pre-Islamic poet, ʿAntarah, not say:
"I lower my gaze when my neighbor appears,
until she has safely entered her dwelling."
They were also people of truthful speech.
We will see this in the story of Abū Sufyān with Heraclius,
in the statement of Abū Sufyān:
"By Allah, were it not for the fear that the Arabs would attribute a lie to me, I would have lied."
He said this while he was still in his state of ignorance.
Among them were also pride, brotherhood, and trustworthiness;
a man would die for the sake of defending his trust.
The story of al-Samawʾal ibn ʿĀdiyā is very famous,
when he was entrusted with the armor of Imruʾ al-Qays,
and he died defending it.
For these and other qualities,
and for other points of wisdom,
Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, chose the Arabs over others.
For here is al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī, despite his polytheism,
following his people,
and opposing the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
hating his religion,
and boycotting the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, along with those who boycotted him.
Yet, despite all this,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, comes to him,
and says to him, "Grant me protection so that I may enter my city."
He replies, "Yes."
Then what does he do?
He orders his sons to arm themselves in defense of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
because he had granted him protection.
So the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, enters under the protection of al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī.
Then Abū Jahl asks him,
"Are you a protector or a follower?"
He replied, "Rather, a protector."
He said, "We have granted protection to whom you have protected."
As Ibn Khaldūn, may Allah have mercy on him, said,
the Arabs possessed many noble qualities,
but they were in need of a religion to bind them together and rectify their conduct.
So Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, sent His Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
with this tolerant Sharia,
and this upright religion.
When the Arabs chose this religion,
Allah granted victory to the religion through them,
and spread it throughout the world.
And they were worthy of that.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
did not forget this favor from al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī.
For in the matter of the prisoners of Badr,
when he was given the choice between execution, release, or ransom,
he said,
"If al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī were alive,
and then asked me for these wretches,
I would have given them to him,"
or "I would have left them for him."
Treasures of the Seerah.
The beginning of the response from the people of Medina.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, entered
his city a second time,
into Mecca,
into the Sacred House,
into the source of the light that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had initiated,
to where his people and his call were in their infancy.
When the Hajj season arrived,
in the eleventh year of the Prophethood,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed by Minā,
and heard the voices of men among the pilgrims.
They were six individuals from the people of Yathrib,
all of them from the Khazraj:
Asʿad ibn Zurārah,
ʿAwf ibn al-Ḥārith,
Rāfiʿ ibn Mālik,
Quṭbah ibn ʿĀmir,
ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir,
and Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh.
It was their good fortune
that they used to hear from their allies among the Jews
that a prophet was to be sent in this era.
For the Jews would always say to the Aws and the Khazraj,
"This is the time for the emergence of a prophet;
we will follow him and kill you with the worst of killings."
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, came to them,
he asked them, "Who are you?"
They said, "From the Khazraj."
He asked, "The allies of the Jews?"
They said, "Yes."
He said, "Will you not sit so I may speak to you?"
They said, "Yes."
So they sat with him,
and he mentioned his call and the religion to which he was inviting them,
and he recited to them some verses from the Book of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He.
Some of them said to others,
"You know, by Allah, O my people,
that this is the very prophet the Jews warned you about,
so do not let them reach him before you."
They hastened to respond to him and embraced Islam.
They accepted Islam and followed the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
In this year,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, married ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
the daughter of Abū Bakr.
The scholars differed regarding Sawdah;
it is said he married her before ʿĀʾishah,
and it is said after ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with them both.
Treasures of the Seerah.