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.
