The Journey to Ta’if
After the death of Abu Talib, the Quraysh openly turned against the Prophet ﷺ. One day, they seized him, and everyone began pulling him toward himself, saying:
«“This is the very man who has turned all our many gods into one God.”»
At that moment, Hazrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq رضي الله عنه suddenly rushed forward. He pushed his way into the crowd. He struck some people and pushed others aside. He kept removing them from the Prophet ﷺ and saying:
«“Do you want to kill a man simply because he says, ‘My Lord is Allah’?”»
Upon this, those people fell upon Hazrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه and beat him so severely that he came close to death. When he regained consciousness, the first thing he asked about was the well-being of the Noble Prophet ﷺ. When he learned that the Prophet ﷺ was safe, he forgot his own pain.
In Shawwal of the 10th year of Prophethood, the Noble Prophet ﷺ went to Ta’if. Only his freed servant, Hazrat Zayd ibn Harithah رضي الله عنه, accompanied him on this journey.
The tribe of Thaqif lived in Ta’if. The Prophet ﷺ went to Ta’if to find out whether there was any room in the hearts of the tribe of Thaqif for Islam. He also went with the hope that perhaps these people would accept Islam and rise to support him.
After reaching Ta’if, the Prophet ﷺ first decided to visit the chiefs of this tribe. They were three brothers. One was named ‘Abd Yalil, the second was named Mas‘ud, and the third was named Habib. There is no complete clarity concerning whether these three later accepted Islam or not.
In any case, the Prophet ﷺ met all three of them. He explained the purpose of his visit and told them about Islam. Along with inviting them to Islam, he also invited them to support him against his opponents.
One of them said:
«“Are you really the one whom God has sent?”»
At the same time, the second said:
«“Could God not find anyone other than you to appoint as a Messenger?”»
Then the third spoke:
«“By Allah, I will not speak to you at all. For if you truly are the Messenger of Allah, then speaking with you is extremely dangerous.”»
(He said this because they knew that arguing with a Prophet was a very serious matter.)
«“And if you are not a Prophet, then it is not appropriate for me to speak with a man like you.”»
The Prophet ﷺ stood up, disappointed with them.
All three of them sent their unruly people and slaves after him. They gathered around him. Crowds of people also gathered on both sides of the road.
As the Prophet ﷺ passed through them, those most wretched people began throwing stones at him. Whenever he took a step, they would throw stones at his feet. Both of his feet were severely wounded, and his shoes became filled with blood.
When stones were being thrown from every direction, the Prophet ﷺ, because of the intensity of the pain, sat down. Those wicked people put their arms under his armpits and forced him to stand.
As soon as he took a step to continue walking, they began throwing stones at him again.
At the same time, they were laughing and shouting with laughter.
Hazrat Zayd ibn Harithah رضي الله عنه kept placing himself in front of the Prophet ﷺ to protect him from the stones. In this way, he too became covered with wounds. Yet even in this condition, he was concerned only about the Prophet ﷺ and did not care about himself. He suffered so many injuries that his head was wounded.
Eventually, the Prophet ﷺ left this settlement and entered a garden. In this way, he escaped from those most wretched people.
By that time, both the Prophet ﷺ and Hazrat Zayd ibn Harithah رضي الله عنه were completely exhausted from their injuries, and their bodies were wounded.
The Prophet ﷺ sat under the shade of a tree and prayed to Allah:
«“O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness, my helplessness, and my powerlessness. O Most Merciful of those who show mercy! You are the supporter of the weak, and You are my Lord, and upon You alone I place my trust. If Your anger and displeasure are not upon me, then I do not care about anyone else.”»
At that very moment, the Prophet ﷺ suddenly noticed that the owners of the garden, ‘Utbah and Shaybah, were also there. They had also seen what the wicked people of Ta’if had done to the Prophet ﷺ.
As soon as the Prophet ﷺ saw them, he stood up because he knew that both of them were enemies of the religion of Allah.
On the other hand, the two men felt pity for the Prophet ﷺ because of his condition. They immediately called their Christian slave. His name was ‘Addas.
When ‘Addas came, they ordered him:
«“Pick a bunch of grapes from this vine and place it before him.”»
‘Addas obeyed the order. The grapes were presented to the Prophet ﷺ.
When the Prophet ﷺ extended his hand to eat the grapes, he said:
«“Bismillah.”»
When ‘Addas heard the Prophet ﷺ saying “Bismillah,” he said to himself:
«“The people of this region do not say such a thing.”»
The Prophet ﷺ asked him:
«“Where are you from, and what is your religion?”»
‘Addas told him that he was a Christian and that he was from Nineveh.
When the Prophet ﷺ heard the name Nineveh, he said:
«“You are from the homeland of Yunus عليه السلام, who was the son of Matta.”»
‘Addas was extremely astonished and said:
«“How do you know about Yunus ibn Matta? By Allah, when I left Nineveh, there were not even ten people there who knew who Yunus ibn Matta was. So how did you come to know about Yunus ibn Matta?”»
The Noble Prophet ﷺ replied:
«“He was my brother. He was a Prophet of Allah, and I too am a Messenger of Allah. Allah Almighty Himself has informed me about him and has also told me what his people did to him.”»
As soon as ‘Addas heard these words from the blessed tongue of the Prophet ﷺ, he immediately came close to him and began kissing his hands and feet.
The owners of the garden, ‘Utbah and Shaybah, were standing at a distance and watching everything. When they saw ‘Addas kissing the feet of the Prophet ﷺ, one of them said to the other:
«“Your slave has been led astray by this man.”»
Then ‘Addas came toward them. One of them said to him:
«“May you perish! What happened to you that you began touching his hands and feet?”»
‘Addas replied:
«“My master! There cannot be a better human being than this man on the entire earth. He has told me something that only a Prophet could tell.”»
Hearing this, ‘Utbah immediately said:
«“Woe to you! Never abandon your religion.”»
It is reported concerning ‘Addas that he accepted Islam.
After leaving the garden of ‘Utbah and Shaybah, the Prophet ﷺ reached the place known as Qarn Tha‘alib.
When he reached there and raised his head, he saw a cloud providing shade over him. In this cloud, he saw Jibril عليه السلام.
Jibril عليه السلام said to him:
«“Allah Almighty has heard what you said to your people, the tribe of Banu Thaqif, and what they replied to you. He has sent me with the angel who is in charge of the mountains. Therefore, command this angel regarding Banu Thaqif whatever you wish.”»
After this, the angel of the mountains called out to the Noble Prophet ﷺ and said:
«“O Messenger of Allah! If you wish, I can crush this people between these mountains, or bury them beneath the earth and cause the mountains to fall upon them.”»