THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME WITH PROPHET MUHAMMAD THE PROPHET OF ALLAH 019 The Journey to Ta’if by Khadeijah A.Stephens Copyright © 1984-2012 by Allah.com Muhammad.com Mosque.com Khadeijah A. Stephens Bismillah Ir Rahman Ir Raheem The Journey to Ta’if The Successor to the Tribe of Hashim Now that Abu Talib was dead, the leadership of the tribe of Hashim fell to Abu Lahab whose hatred of the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) was well established. As could be expected, Abu Lahab was not prepared to offer him any support and so the persecution accelerated to a new height. Despicable Actions One day as the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) offered his prayer at the Ka’bah, Abu Jahl, in his hateful way, said to his companions Utbah son of Rabi'a, Shaibah son of Rabi'a, Al-Waleed son of Utbah, Umayyah son of Khalaf and Uqbah son of Mu'ait, "I wish someone would bring the bowels of a camel with all its dirt and throw it over Muhammad!" Without hesitation, Uqbah, Mu’ait's son brought the filth and as the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) prostrated emptied it over the Prophet's neck. The Koraysh looked on making fun of the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam), delighting in their attempt to degrade him, but he remained calm and grieved for their disbelief. Meanwhile, someone told Lady Fatima, the youngest daughter of the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) who was five or six years old, of the disgusting act and so she ran as quickly as her little legs would carry her to him and removed the filth from her beloved father and cried as she rebuked and cursed Uqbah for his foul deed. Uqbah was not of a mind to stop his foul behavior and in fact he was encouraged. On another occasion as the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) was humbly absorbed in his prayer near the Ka’bah, Uqbah approached him with a piece of cloth in his hand, threw it around his neck, pulled it tight and dragged him down until he fell upon his knees. At that moment Abu Bakr entered and saw what Uqbah had done and released the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam), and in doing so turned to Uqbah saying, "Would you kill a man just because he says that Allah is his Lord!" There were many such disgraceful, unprovoked acts that the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) patiently endured which caused his young daughter to weep, as she could not bear to see her beloved father treated so badly. On each occasion the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) would comfort her with words of tenderness and reassure her saying, "Do not cry little daughter, Allah will protect your father," and kissed her as he dried away the tears from her darling little face. Amongst other despicable acts was the time when Uqbah son of Al-Mu'ait attended a gathering of the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) and listened to him preaching Islam. A close friend of his, Ubayy Khalaf’s son heard of this and reproached him severely, ordering him to spit in the face of the Prophet, which he did. Ubayy seized every opportunity to try to degrade the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) he went as far as grinding decomposed bones and blowing its power upon the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam). Of this Allah said: “And do not obey every mean swearer, the backbiter who goes about slandering, those who hinder good, the guilty aggressor, because he has wealth and sons. When Our verses are recited to him, he says, 'They are but fairytales of the ancients!' We shall mark him upon his nose!” Koran 68:10-16 In the years that followed, during the first major hostility in Islam, the Encounter of Badr, all those who took part in throwing the camel's filth over the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) were reported by Masood's son to have been killed by the angels of Allah. The Journey to Ta’if The people of Mecca knew that Abu Lahab, the new chief of the tribe of Hashim was not inclined to take action against those who perpetrated the bounds of decency against the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam). Now the road was clear for all and sundry to abuse Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) and his Companions, and so their persecution continued. It was now the month of Shawwal (June 619) ten years after the Prophethood. In hope of spreading the message of Islam and gaining the support of the influential tribe of Thakif, the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) accompanied by Zayd, Haritha’s son journeyed to Ta'if. Upon reaching the city he went directly to the house of Umair, who was considered to be the most noble of chieftains, but his invitation to Islam and request for support fell on deaf ears and Umair and his household rejected and mocked the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam). Three brothers from the chieftains of Thakif - Abd Yalil, Masood and Habib - sons of Amr son of Umair Ath-Thaqafy met the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam), and he invited them to Islam, and then sought their alliance. The hearts of the brothers were hard and unreceptive. One of them swore he would tear down the covering of Ka’bah if Allah had sent Muhammad as His Messenger. Another mocked the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) saying, "Couldn't Allah have found someone better than you to send!" As for the third brother he said, "By Allah, don't let me speak to you ever again. If you are as you claim, the Messenger of Allah, then you are far too important to speak with me; on the other hand, if you are lying, it is not befitting for me to speak with you!" The Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) endured these harsh remarks with patience and as he was leaving the brothers, called their household and slaves together and encouraged them to hurl abusive statements at the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam). The commotion attracted other members of the tribe who joined them, throwing stones and injuring the Prophet’s leg. Zayd, while trying to shield the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) also sustained an injury to his head which bled profusely and so the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) sought the peace and quiet of an orchard several miles away from the town belonging to Rabi’as sons. The Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) tethered his camel to a palm tree then sat down under its shade being confident of the support of his Lord started to supplicate to Him saying: “O Allah! To You alone I make complaint of my helplessness, the paucity of my resources and my insignificance before mankind. You are the most Merciful of the merciful. You are the Lord of the helpless and the weak, O Lord of mine! Into whose hands would You abandon me, the hands of an unsympathetic distant relative who would sullenly frown at me, or to the enemy who has been given control over my affairs? But if Your wrath does not fall on me, there is nothing for me to worry about. I seek protection in the light of Your Countenance, which illuminates the heavens and dispels darkness, and which controls all affairs in this world as well as in the Hereafter. May it never be that I should incur Your wrath, or that You should be wrathful to me. And there is no power nor resource, but Yours alone.” The Nazarene Slave from Nineveh Now the two sons of Rabi’a knew what had happened to the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) and their hearts softened a little toward him so they sent a young Nazarene slave by the name of Addas who was a follower of Prophet Jesus rather than an adherent to the Christian doctrine of Paul with a dish of grapes to him. As Addas gave the dish to the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) he looked up smiled and thanked him then took some grapes and before eating them said, "Bismillah". The pronouncement astonished Addas who said, "By Allah, this is not the way the people of this country speak." The Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) looked up at him and inquired, "Which country do you come from, and what is your religion?" Addas replied that he was a Nazarene, a follower of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, from far away Nineveh (Ninawah). The Prophet’s heart filled with joy and commented, "From the town of the righteous man Jonah, the son of Mattal." Addas was even more surprised and asked the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) how he knew about Jonah to which he replied, "He is my brother, he was a Prophet and I am a Prophet." Addas' heart rejoiced and he bent over and kissed his head, then his hands and feet. Meanwhile, the brothers had been observing the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) from a distance and were disturbed when they saw Addas respecting the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) by kissing him and said to each other, "Look, he is already corrupting our slave!" When Addas returned to them they asked why he had acted as he did. Addas answered, "He is the finest man in this country and has told me things that only a prophet would know." To this the brothers exclaimed, "Do not let him seduce you from your religion - your religion is better than his!" The Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) realized he could expect no help whatsoever from the people of Thakif, so he and Zayd mounted his camel and set off back to Mecca. In the years to come Lady Ayesha, wife of the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) asked him if he had ever experienced a day harsher than Uhud. He told her that the most painful day for him was on the day of Aqabah when he sought the support of the son of Abd Yalil, the son of Kalal but had met with his rejection. He told her that after this bitter rejection he set out for Mecca and was oblivious of his surroundings until he reached Qarn Al-Manazil. He told her as he looked up he saw a cloud shading him then Gabriel spoke saying, “Allah has heard your people's words and sent you the angel of mountains to your assistance.” Then the angel of the mountain greeted him and asked his permission to bury Mecca between Al-Akhshabain, its two mountains. However, the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) told the angel rather than doing that he hoped that in the future their children would worship Allah alone. He and his Companions had suffered greatly under their hands yet none of their actions tarnished his ever caring, merciful disposition and concern for their welfare in this life and in the Hereafter. The Valley of Nakhlah The Prophet (salla Allahu alihi was sallam) and Zayd reached the valley of Nakhlah and stayed there for two days. As they offered the Fajr prayer a party of jinn came across them and they stopped to listen and were captivated by the beauty of the recitation of the Koran with its message and realized what they were hearing was not man made rather it was of a Divine nature. They returned to their folk and told them of their experience and what they had heard. Thereafter Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu alihi was sallam): "Say: 'It is revealed to me that a party of jinn listened and then said: 'We have indeed heard a wonderful Koran, that guides to the Right Path. We believe in it and we will not associate anyone with our Lord. He - exalted be the Majesty of our Lord who has neither taken to Himself a wife, nor a son! The ignorant fool among us has spoken outrageously against Allah, we never thought that either human or jinn would ever tell a lie against Allah!'" Koran 72:1-5 When the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi was sallam) was asked who drew his attention to the presence of the jinn in the valley of Nakhlah, he told his inquirer that it was a tree that had told him. The Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) had received several Revelations that spoke not only of mankind but also jinn, in which both were given good news of Paradise and warned of the punishment of Hell. The jinn were created before humans and unlike the human, who was created from clay and whose father is Adam, the jinn were created from smokeless fire and their father is satan, the stoned and cursed. However, despite the fact that satan is the father of the jinn, there are among them believers. The Road to Mecca As the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) set off on the final stage of his homeward journey, the matter of the people of the Thakif’s refusal to accept the mercy of Allah weighed heavily upon the Prophet’s mind. When the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi was sallam) reached the Cave of Hira he rested and sent a Meccan from the tribe of Khuza’ah to Al-Akhnas Shuraiq’s son to seek his support. However Al-Akhnas was unprepared to make such a commitment as he was allied to the Koraysh and was not prepared to ally his tribe to Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam). When the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) learned of Al Akhnas' refusal, his thoughts turned to Suhayl, Amr's son, so he asked the Meccan to return again to Mecca and approach Suhayl, but Suhayl also declined. The messenger returned to the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi was sallam) with the disappointing news and this time he asked the Meccan to approach Al Mut’im, Adiyy's son, who, some time ago had retrieved what remained of the boycott document posted in the Ka'bah. Mut’im was agreeable, so the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) entered Mecca with his support where, fully armed, Mut’im stood near the Ka’bah with his sons and nephews and announced while the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) offered two units of prayer at the Ka’bah that he had allied himself to the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) thereafter he escorted the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) to his home. Abu Jahl was among those present that day and asked, "Are you giving him your support, or are you following him!" "Support of course!" replied Al Mut’im. The Anger of Utbah One day, Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam), Abu Jahl and some of the leaders of the Koraysh happened to be near the Ka’bah at the same time. In his usual way, Abu Jahl turned to some members of the tribe of Abdu Manaf and said in a tone that mocked, "Is this your Prophet, children of Abdu Manaf?" Utbah, Rabia's son replied in an angered tone saying, "What is wrong if we have a Prophet or a king!" The Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) overheard his reply and spoke to Utbah in a kindly way saying, "O Utbah, your anger was not for the sake of Allah, but on your own account." Then he turned to Abu Jahl and warned, "As for you Abu Jahl, a great affair will befall you. It will cause you to laugh a little, but weep a lot." Then he spoke to the leaders of the Koraysh saying, "A great affair will come upon you which you will indeed hate." Despite Mut’im's inclination toward the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) he did not embrace Islam and died shortly before the encounter of Badr. The Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) was heard to say that if he had been alive and come to ask him for the return of captives from his tribe he would have granted it. The Journey to Ta’if 019 Back Cover Subtitles The Successor to the Tribe of Hashim Despicable Actions The Journey to Ta’if The Nazarene Slave from Nineveh The Valley of Nakhlah The Road to Mecca The Anger of Utbah