The story of the Prophet and the people of Ta'if has been resonating and repeated on mimbars and lectures over these past few weeks. It remained one of the most moving episodes in the early years of Islam and magnified the nobility of the character of the Beloved.
In the 6th century the city of Tā'if was dominated by the Thaqīf tribe.
The town was about sixty miles southeast of Mecca. The walled city was a religious centre as it housed the idol of the goddess Al-lāt, who was then known as "the lady of Tā'if." Its climate marked the city out from its dry and barren neighbours closer to the Red Sea. Wheat, vines, and fruit were grown around Tā'if and this is how the city earned its title "the Garden of the Hijāz."
Both Ta'if and Mecca were resorts of pilgrimage. Ta'if was more pleasantly situated than Mecca itself and the people of Ta'if had close trade relations with the people of Mecca. the people of Ta'if carried on agriculture and fruit‑growing in addition to their trade activities.
Initially the preaching of Islam by Prophet Muhammad (saw) had been confined to the city of Mecca, and his success was rather modest, limited to 170 men and women in Mecca during a ten year period. However, in 619, after the Year of Sorrow when his main source of support, Abu Talib had died did the persecution of the Prophet increased exponentially.
Now, not just the elite of Mecca attacked Prophet Muhammad (saw), but even young children hurled dust and insults at him. The Prophet soon realized that there was no hope left for the Meccans to accept his message, and he thus looked to the South, to the sister city of Ta’if, for aid and support, so he and Zaid ibn Muhammad went to Tā'if to invite the people there to Islam.
He was received by the three chiefs of the local tribes of Ta'if and they let him freely have his say, however, they paid little heed to his message. After a while they even showed signs of apprehension lest his welcome in Ta'if might embroil them with the Meccans, so they left him to be dealt with by street urchins and the riff raff of the town.
The Prophet and Zaid were finally turned out by mocking and jeering crowds who pelted them with stones. Both were wounded and bleeding as they left Ta'if behind them. The Prophet bled so profusely from the stoning that his feet became clotted to his shoes. The entire visit lasted one day. As he left the town, and sat by a fountain bleeding so heavily that he could barely see straight, the Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet and asked him if he should destroy the town by crushing two mountains over it. To this he replied in the negative, saying that "Maybe Allah will produce from their offspring ones who worship Him alone." The city later converted to Islam.
Once he was outside the city walls, the Prophet almost collapsed. They went a short distance outside of the town and stopped in a vineyard that belonged to two Meccans who were there at the time.
The owners of the vineyard had seen the Prophet been persecuted in Mecca and on this occasion they felt some sympathy toward their fellow townsman. He took him into his hut, dressed his wounds, and let him rest and recuperate until he felt strong enough to resume his journey across the rough terrain between Ta’if and Makkah.
Prophet Muhammad prayed:
“O Allah, To Thee I complain of my weakness, my lack of resources and my lowliness before men.
O most Merciful! Thou art the Lord of the weak and Thou art my Lord. To whom wilt Thou relinquish my fate! To one who will misuse me? Or to an enemy to whom Thou hast given power over me? If Thou art angry with me then I care not what happens to me. Thy favor is all that counts for me.
I take refuge in the light of Thy countenance, by which all darkness is illuminated. And the things of this world and next are rightly ordered. I wish to please Thee until Thou art pleased. There is no power and no might save in Thee."
In the 6th century the city of Tā'if was dominated by the Thaqīf tribe.
The town was about sixty miles southeast of Mecca. The walled city was a religious centre as it housed the idol of the goddess Al-lāt, who was then known as "the lady of Tā'if." Its climate marked the city out from its dry and barren neighbours closer to the Red Sea. Wheat, vines, and fruit were grown around Tā'if and this is how the city earned its title "the Garden of the Hijāz."
Both Ta'if and Mecca were resorts of pilgrimage. Ta'if was more pleasantly situated than Mecca itself and the people of Ta'if had close trade relations with the people of Mecca. the people of Ta'if carried on agriculture and fruit‑growing in addition to their trade activities.
Initially the preaching of Islam by Prophet Muhammad (saw) had been confined to the city of Mecca, and his success was rather modest, limited to 170 men and women in Mecca during a ten year period. However, in 619, after the Year of Sorrow when his main source of support, Abu Talib had died did the persecution of the Prophet increased exponentially.
Now, not just the elite of Mecca attacked Prophet Muhammad (saw), but even young children hurled dust and insults at him. The Prophet soon realized that there was no hope left for the Meccans to accept his message, and he thus looked to the South, to the sister city of Ta’if, for aid and support, so he and Zaid ibn Muhammad went to Tā'if to invite the people there to Islam.
He was received by the three chiefs of the local tribes of Ta'if and they let him freely have his say, however, they paid little heed to his message. After a while they even showed signs of apprehension lest his welcome in Ta'if might embroil them with the Meccans, so they left him to be dealt with by street urchins and the riff raff of the town.
The Prophet and Zaid were finally turned out by mocking and jeering crowds who pelted them with stones. Both were wounded and bleeding as they left Ta'if behind them. The Prophet bled so profusely from the stoning that his feet became clotted to his shoes. The entire visit lasted one day. As he left the town, and sat by a fountain bleeding so heavily that he could barely see straight, the Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet and asked him if he should destroy the town by crushing two mountains over it. To this he replied in the negative, saying that "Maybe Allah will produce from their offspring ones who worship Him alone." The city later converted to Islam.
Once he was outside the city walls, the Prophet almost collapsed. They went a short distance outside of the town and stopped in a vineyard that belonged to two Meccans who were there at the time.
The owners of the vineyard had seen the Prophet been persecuted in Mecca and on this occasion they felt some sympathy toward their fellow townsman. He took him into his hut, dressed his wounds, and let him rest and recuperate until he felt strong enough to resume his journey across the rough terrain between Ta’if and Makkah.
Prophet Muhammad prayed:
“O Allah, To Thee I complain of my weakness, my lack of resources and my lowliness before men.
O most Merciful! Thou art the Lord of the weak and Thou art my Lord. To whom wilt Thou relinquish my fate! To one who will misuse me? Or to an enemy to whom Thou hast given power over me? If Thou art angry with me then I care not what happens to me. Thy favor is all that counts for me.
I take refuge in the light of Thy countenance, by which all darkness is illuminated. And the things of this world and next are rightly ordered. I wish to please Thee until Thou art pleased. There is no power and no might save in Thee."
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