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Difficulties in Abundance

ALTHOUGH THE PERIOD of boycott, which lasted for three years, meant that a large section of the Makkan population endured great hardship, it was not without some benefit to Islam. For one thing, it ensured that newcomers would belong only to that breed of people who support the truth regardless of what they may have to endure as a result. Despite the boycott, new recruits to Islam continued to trickle through, albeit on a very limited scale. They were, however, of the calibre no ideology can do without.

Another benefit of the boycott could be seen in the way it was ended. The suffering of the Hāshimites moved the kind hearted among the unbelievers to take action in defiance of the hard-liners like Abū Jahl. This caused disarray in the ranks of the unbelievers. Moreover, the hard-liners appeared in a bad light, since they opposed an act of kindness to their kinsfolk.

Furthermore, the boycott was a period of relative lull in the conflict between the Muslims and the unbelievers. There was little contact between the two parties. Therefore, many of the Quraysh personalities had time to reflect on Islam, the message of the Prophet contained in the Qur’ān. To them, the Qur’ān was something wonderful. It spoke so powerfully that they could not turn away when it was recited. The hardliners who continued to hold sway felt that they must do something to stop the general public listening to the Qur’ān. Everyone was told that they should not listen to the Qur’ān when they heard it. Instead, they should raise their voices so as not to hear it. This is not much different from dictatorial regimes jamming other nations’ radio stations to keep their populations ignorant of what is taking place elsewhere, or indeed of oppression in their own countries. But the Qur’ān had its attraction even to the most outspoken enemies of Islam. They realized that Muhammad spent some time every night in worship reading the Qur’ān in prayer. Therefore, protected by the cover of darkness, some of them sat just outside his house, listening to the Qur’ān being recited inside. Every one of them was on his own, thinking that no one would know about his action. One can only assume that the motivation was either to try to judge the message of Muhammad objectively, or to learn the truth about it, or to listen to the superb literary style of the Qur’ān. As the day began to break, each one of them went back so that no one could find out about his action. Soon, the three of them: Abū Jahl himself, Abū Sufyān and al-Akhnas ibn Sharīq met. There was no need to ask each other what they were doing. There was only one reason for their presence there at that particular time. Therefore, they counselled each other against such action: “Should some of your followers see you,” one of them said, “you would stir doubts in their minds.”

The following night they did the same, and once again they met at the break of day. Again they counselled each other against their ‘irresponsible’ action. Nevertheless, the third night each of them went to sit outside the Prophet’s home and listen to the Qur’ān. When they met in the morning, they felt ashamed of themselves. One of them suggested that they should give each other their word of honour not to come again. They did so before going home.

Later that morning al-Akhnas ibn Sharīq went to see Abū Sufyān in his home. He asked him what he thought about what he heard Muhammad reciting. Abū Sufyān said: “I heard things which I know and recognize to be true, but I also heard things whose nature I cannot understand.” Al-Akhnas said that he felt the same. He then left and went to Abū Jahl’s home to put the same question to him.

Abū Jahl’s answer was totally different. For once, he was candid and honest with himself and his interlocuter:

“I will tell you about what I heard! We have competed with the clan of ʿAbd Manāf for honours: they fed the poor, and we did the same; they provided generous support to those who needed it and we did the same. When we were together on the same level, like two racehorses running neck and neck, they said that one of their number was a Prophet receiving revelations from on high! When can we attain such an honour? By God, we shall never believe in him.”¹

Last-Minute Negotiations

Shortly after that, Abū Ṭālib, the Prophet’s protector, was taken ill. He was an old man, over 70 years of age. It was clear that his illness would be terminal. The Quraysh leaders conferred among themselves on what the death of Abū Ṭālib might signify in their relations with his nephew, Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. They said to each other: “Ever since Ḥamzah and ʿUmar became Muslims, the strength of Islam has continued to grow. Now Muhammad’s followers come from all clans of the Quraysh. Let us go to Abū Ṭālib so that he may work out some sort of accommodation between us and his nephew. Who could guarantee that they would not try to take power in this city of ours?”

A strong delegation, including the most distinguished among them such as ʿUtbah, Shaybah, Abū Jahl, Umayyah ibn Khalaf and Abū Sufyān, went to Abū Ṭālib, enquiring after his health. They then said to him: “You know how distinguished your position is among us, and how much we respect you. In your present condition we candidly say that we fear the worst for you. You are aware of the strained relations between your nephew and ourselves. We suggest that you call him and let both him and us give you some form of pledges so that each party will leave the other alone and we establish a peaceful relationship between him and us.”

Superficially, this was a very ‘innocent’ approach. The Quraysh seemed to offer a fair deal which guaranteed freedom for both sides. The fact was that they wanted nothing less than a complete cessation of the new message. The Prophet should no longer speak about God’s Oneness. This is clear in the ensuing dialogue between the two sides.

Abū Ṭālib called the Prophet and said to him: “These are the leaders of your people. They have asked to see you for an arrangement of give and take.” Addressing the delegation, the Prophet said: “I ask of you only one word. Should you give me that, your authority over all the Arabs will be strengthened. The non-Arabs will also submit to you.”

Thinking that this signified a shift in the Prophet’s position, Abū Jahl said: “Yes, indeed. We will give you that, and ten words like it. What is it you ask of us?”

Was this a blank cheque Abū Jahl was offering to the Prophet? It seemed so, but Abū Jahl was not of the compromising type.

God’s Messenger, the advocate of truth and the herald of every good thing, put his request clearly: “You declare that you believe in the Oneness of God and renounce the worship of any deity beside Him.” He wanted nothing for himself: no wealth, position, honour or authority. He wanted everything for his message. He required them to abandon all deities other than God, be they made of stone or of flesh and blood.

The Quraysh delegation understood clearly what Muhammad wanted. They clapped in disapproval.²

One of them said: “Do you, Muhammad, want to have only one God instead of all those deities? That is very strange indeed!”

Recognizing that there was no possibility of a compromise, the delegation left in disappointment.

When they had gone, Abū Ṭālib said to the Prophet: “My nephew, I do not think you asked them too much.” Encouraged by this remark, the Prophet said: “Then you, Uncle, say that word. It will benefit you on the Day of Judgement.” Abū Ṭālib said: “If it was not for fear that you and your clan would be abused after I had gone, and for fear that the Quraysh would think I said it because I was afraid of death, I would have certainly said it to please you.”

One report suggests that al-ʿAbbās, Abū Ṭālib’s brother, noticed his lips moving just before he died. He stooped to listen, then he raised his head and confirmed to the Prophet that Abū Ṭālib made that declaration which would have included him among the Muslims. In reply, the Prophet said: “I have heard nothing.” It is simply not known whether Abū Ṭālib was a Muslim when he died.³

The Prophet was very sad to lose his uncle. Abū Ṭālib was the man who brought up Muhammad, the orphan who had lost both his parents and his grandfather by the time he was eight years old. He took him into his family and treated him like his own son, giving him extra kindness out of sympathy for the bereaved child. When Muhammad grew up, Abū Ṭālib recognized that he had a nephew of great standing, combining strength of character with high moral standards and refined manners. Moreover, Abū Ṭālib was the protector of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, when he needed protection. His loss meant a great deal to the Prophet. After Abū Ṭālib’s death, the irresponsible characters of the Quraysh started abusing the Prophet with word and deed.

Tragedy Strikes Again

Within five weeks of Abū Ṭālib’s death, the Prophet suffered another great loss: his loving wife Khadījah died. Reports are not very clear who of the two died first, but their deaths came in quick succession. To Muhammad, Khadījah was a kind, loving wife who cared deeply for her husband and for his mission. With her, he found all the comfort a man expects of an understanding wife. She shared with him all his feelings and worries. She had known his worth ever since she had proposed marriage to him. When he received his message, she was the first to believe in it. From that day on, she was his main supporter. No matter what problems he met outside, he was certain of finding comfort in his home. Her departure meant that he could no longer find the compassion with which she comforted him after the many disappointments he received from the Quraysh.⁴

In other words, the Prophet lost his internal and external support within a very brief period of time. He was now more vulnerable to the Quraysh’s attacks. In later years, recalling memories of this period, the Prophet said: “The Quraysh could not cause me much harm until Abū Ṭālib died.” Once Abū Ṭālib departed from the scene, the Prophet had to bear an increasing degree of the Quraysh’s persecution. One day, an idiot stopped the Prophet and threw dust over his head. Some of the Quraysh leaders were delighted to see the Prophet being publicly humiliated. He went home with dust on his head. One of his daughters went up to him to clean his head, tears pouring down her cheeks. He comforted her saying: “Do not cry, young daughter, God will protect your father.”⁵

In an authentic ḥadīth, Muslim relates on the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd:

God’s Messenger was once praying at the Kaʿbah, while Abū Jahl sat with a few of his friends not far away. Some camels had been slaughtered the day before. Abū Jahl came up with a devilish suggestion, saying to his friends: “Which of you would be prepared to take the stomach of the camel slaughtered yesterday and put it on Muhammad’s back when he prostrates himself?” One of them did just that, while the rest of them laughed. I was standing by, feeling my powerlessness that I could not even take that dirt off the Prophet’s back. The Prophet continued in his prostration, unable to lift his head, until someone went to tell his daughter, Fāṭimah, who was just a young girl. She came and took it off his back. She went to those people of the Quraysh and abused them. When the Prophet finished his prayer, he raised his head to the sky and uttered a little prayer: “My Lord, I appeal to You against the Quraysh.” He said this three times. When they heard him saying this prayer, they stopped laughing and felt afraid. He then said: “My Lord, I appeal to You against Abū Jahl ibn Hishām, ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah, Shaybah ibn Rabīʿah, al-Walīd ibn ʿUtbah, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, ʿUqbah ibn Abī Muʿayṭ” (and he mentioned a seventh person whose name slips my mind). By God who sent Muhammad with the message of the truth, I saw all those he named killed at Badr. They were buried there in the well which served as a mass grave for the unbelievers who died at Badr.⁶

Some of the Prophet’s neighbours were tempted to cause him whatever harm they could. When his family wanted to cook something for him, they put animal dirt in his cooking pan. The Prophet took that off with a stick, stood on his own doorstep and called to his clan: “You children of ʿAbd Manāf! What sort of neighbourly kindness is this?” He then threw the dirt away.⁷

Worse was still to come, for it appeared that the death of Abū Ṭālib meant that the Hāshimites’ resolve to protect the Prophet became considerably weaker. With memories still fresh in their minds of the hard times they had just gone through when they were boycotted by the Quraysh, and with Abū Lahab, the Prophet’s own uncle, joining the rest of the Quraysh in their stiff opposition, the Hāshimites were keenly aware of the high price they were paying for their protection of Muhammad. Like the rest of the Quraysh clans, the majority of the Hāshimites were still holding to their pagan beliefs. Hence it was not surprising that many of them decided to cut their losses and witḥold their support, which they had previously extended to Muhammad on grounds of tribal loyalty.

The Trip to Ṭā’if

This new situation meant that the Prophet had to explore new avenues in his search for support. After long deliberation, he set out on foot for Ṭā’if, a mountainous town about 110 kilometres from Makkah. His only companion on this trip was his faithful servant, Zayd ibn Ḥārithah.

Ṭā’if was populated by the Thaqīf, the second largest tribe in Arabia. As he began his journey, Muhammad was full of hope. If the Thaqīf would respond favourably to the call of Islam, that would signify a new, happier phase in the history of the Divine message.

Once at Ṭā’if, the Prophet approached its leading personalities, explaining his message and calling on them to believe in God and to support him in his efforts to establish the Islamic code of living. Ṭā’if was the town where the major idol, al-Lāt, had its temple. The Thaqīf had tried to give al-Lāt a special status and to make its temple one to be visited by other Arabs, on a similar footing to the Kaʿbah. The Thaqīf were fully aware of what the Prophet advocated. Its leaders had similar considerations to those of the Quraysh in determining their attitude to the Prophet. For ten days the Prophet spoke to one chief after another. None gave him a word of encouragement. The worst response came from three brothers, the sons of ʿAmr ibn ʿUmayr. These three brothers, ʿAbd Yālīl, Masūd and Ḥabīb, were the recognized leaders of Ṭā’if. One of them was married to a Qurayshi woman and the Prophet hoped that this relationship would work in his favour. In the event the three men were extremely rude in their rejection of the Prophet’s approach.

The first one said: “I would tear the robes of the Kaʿbah if it was true that God has chosen you as His Messenger.” The second said: “Has God found no one other than you to be His Messenger?” The third said: “By God, I will never speak to you. If it is true that you are God’s Messenger, you are too great for me to speak to you. If, on the other hand, you are lying, you are not worth answering.”

Fearing that the news of their rejection would serve to intensify the Quraysh’s hostility to Islam, the Prophet requested the Thaqīf notables not to publicize his mission. They refused him even that. Instead they set on him a crowd of their teenagers and servants, who chased and stoned him. His feet were soon bleeding and he was in a very sorry state. Zayd tried hard to defend him and protect him from the stones. The Prophet then sought refuge in an orchard which belonged to two brothers from Makkah. They were in their orchard, and they saw Muhammad when he entered. At first they watched him quietly, but he did not see them.

As the Prophet sat down, he said this highly emotional and touching prayer:

To You, My Lord, I complain of my weakness, lack of support and the humiliation I am made to receive.

Most compassionate and merciful! You are the Lord of the weak, and You are my Lord. To whom do You leave me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom You have given power over me?

If You are not displeased with me, I do not care what I face. I would, however, be much happier with Your mercy.

I seek refuge in the light of Your face by which all darkness is dispelled and both this life and the life to come are put on their right courses against incurring Your wrath or being the subject of Your anger. To You I submit, until I earn Your pleasure. Everything is powerless without Your support.

The owners of the orchard were none other than ʿUtbah and Shaybah, the two sons of Rabīʿah, who commanded positions of high esteem in the Quraysh. Although the two brothers were opposed to Islam and to Muhammad, they felt sorry for him in his unenviable plight. Therefore, they called a servant of theirs, named ʿAddās, and told him to take a bunch of grapes on a plate to Muhammad. ʿAddās, who was a Christian from the Iraqi town of Nineveh, complied.

As the Prophet took the grapes he said, as Muslims do before eating: ‘In the name of God.’ Surprised, ʿAddās said: “This is something no one in these areas says.” When ʿAddās answered the Prophet’s question about his religion and place of origin, the Prophet commented: “Then you come from the same place as the noble Divine Jonah.” Even more surprised, ʿAddās asked: “How did you know about Jonah? When I left Nineveh, not even ten people knew anything about him. The Prophet said: “He was my brother. Like me, he was a Prophet.” ʿAddās then kissed the Prophet’s head, hands and feet in a gesture of genuine love and respect. As they watched, one of the two owners of the orchard said to his brother: “That man has certainly spoilt your slave.”

When ʿAddās joined them they asked him the reason for his very respectful attitude to Muhammad. He said: “There can be no one on earth better than him. He has indeed told me something which no one but a Prophet would know.” They said: “You should be careful, ʿAddās. He may try to convert you while your religion is better than his.”⁸

It is clear from their attitude that although they might be kind to the Prophet in a situation which aroused their nobler feelings of pity and compassion, they begrudged him even the slightest gain from his unsuccessful trip. ʿAddās did not follow his masters’ religion. Their opinion of Christianity was not at all flattering. Yet they would rather have their slave sticking to it than following Muhammad, so that the Islamic camp might remain weak. In this, the two Makkan chiefs were no different from others who have taken a stand of opposition to Islam throughout history. Even the slightest gain Islam achieves pains them.

The Long Journey Back Home

The Prophet then set out on his journey back to Makkah. He stopped at Nakhlah, not very far from Makkah. Considering the situation he was in from all angles, he realized that the Quraysh might prevent him from entering Makkah again. Worse, they might kill him or have him locked up. There was only one way out: to seek the protection of one of their notables.

The nature of Arabian tribal society was such that any individual coming into a town or a tribe needed to have an alliance with, or protection from, a man of good standing in that town or tribe. Normally people of such standing would extend their protection to anyone who sought it, because by doing so they enhanced their own standing and reputation. In the case of the Prophet, however, the first two people his messenger approached, al-Akhnas ibn Sharīq and Suhayl ibn ʿAmr, declined. The third, al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdiy, responded favourably. He and his children and nephews took up their arms and went to the mosque. He then sent word to the Prophet to enter. The Prophet came up to the mosque and walked round it seven times, guarded by his protectors.⁹

Abū Jahl, dismayed at the loss of this chance of putting an end to Muhammad, asked al-Muṭʿim: “Are you a follower or a protector?” Al-Muṭʿim confirmed that he was only protecting Muhammad. Abū Jahl then declared that there would be no intervention to threaten such protection.

The Prophet then went home safely. He had learnt, however, a very important lesson: that he must not venture outside Makkah before first completing the necessary groundwork which ensured a good reception for his message and his own safety.

This disappointing trip to Ṭā’if had a profound effect on the Prophet. He was deeply hurt by the hostility of some of those Thaqīf leaders. Several years later, ʿĀ’ishah, his wife, asked the Prophet after the defeat suffered by the Muslims in Uḥud, their second major battle against the Quraysh: “Have you ever gone through a day harder than that of Uḥud?”

He replied: “I have suffered a great deal from your people; but the worst I have been through was on the Day of al-ʿAqabah. I offered myself to ʿAbd Yalīl ibn ʿAbd Kallāl, but he rejected my offer. I left him in a very depressed mood, and I did not come to myself until I reached Qarn al-Thaʿālib. I raised my head to find a cloud over me. I looked up and saw Gabriel (peace be to him) speaking to me: ‘God has heard what reply your people gave you, and He has sent you the angel in charge of the mountains to carry out your orders.’ The angel of the mountains greeted me: ‘God has heard what your people said in reply to you, and He has sent me to you to be at your service. If you wish, I will bring the mountains over their heads, and if you wish, I will cause the earth to swallow them.’ I said to him: ‘No, I hope that God will bring out from their offspring people who worship Him alone and associate no partners with Him’.”¹⁰

When the Prophet re-entered Makkah after his disappointing journey to Ṭā’if, he must have felt that he was in a very dire situation. Within the same year he had lost his loving wife and his uncle, who afforded him unwavering support. His attempt to compensate for this dual loss with outside support not only failed to win him anything, but also compelled him to seek the protection of al-Muṭʿim, a Quraysh notable who did not believe in Islam. Muhammad was by now fully aware that he could no longer rely on his own clan, the Hāshimites, for any measure of firm support. He felt himself alone in the whole world. His few followers were no match for the forces opposing him. Yet he firmly believed in the truth of the message he was preaching. His faith in God did not waver.

Comfort on the Way

At this point something unusual happened to him. One night, as the Prophet was asleep in the home of his cousin Umm Hāni’ bint Abī Ṭālib in Makkah, the Angel Gabriel came and woke him up and took him by hand to the mosque, where he found an animal smaller than a mule but slightly bigger than a donkey. The animal, which was a quadruped, also had two wings and floated easily as he moved with unimaginable speed. The Prophet’s own description of his movement was that “he put his foot at the furthest point to his side”.

Together, the Prophet and Gabriel rode the animal, which was called Al-Burāq, a name derived from ‘Barq’, meaning lightning. In no time at all they reached Jerusalem in Palestine. There the Prophet met Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other noble prophets. He led them all in prayer. He was then brought three cups: one contained milk, another contained wine, and the third contained water. He drank the milk. When he had finished, Gabriel said, “You and your nation are rightly guided.”

When they had finished their business in Jerusalem, they flew up to heaven. The Prophet tells us that as they entered each of the seven heavens Gabriel would confirm to its guardian angel that Muhammad had already received his mission. In each heaven he met one or other of the prophets who preached the message of God’s oneness to mankind. Among those mentioned in the authentic accounts of this very special journey were Adam, Jesus, John, Joseph, Moses and Abraham.

He also saw examples of the suffering which would be endured by certain groups of people, as they would be condemned to hell in the hereafter. The description of these groups and their suffering is so vivid that one can almost see them in their plight, yet the suffering was so horrible that one would do anything to escape it.