After the loss of Abu Talib and Khadijah ﵂ in the Year of Sorrow, the Prophet ﷺ now stood alone in Makkah. Without tribal protection and without his most trusted confidant, he had to search for support elsewhere. His gaze turned to At-Ta’if, the prosperous sister city of Makkah.
At-Ta’if was of great strategic importance to the Quraysh. It was of such importance that the leaders of Quraysh had ambitions to take over At-Ta’if. Before the coming of Islam, there had already been attempts to annex At-Ta’if, during which they seized the Wajj valley, a valley with trees and vegetation. This instilled fear in the inhabitants of At-Ta’if, known as Banu Thaqif, who decided to form alliances with Quraysh and Banu Daws. Because of the alliance between At-Ta’if and Makkah, many wealthy Makkans had properties in At-Ta’if. They also spent time in At-Ta’if during the hot summer months. Banu Hashim and 'Abd Shams, two clans within the Quraysh, were related to the people of At-Ta’if. Finally, Banu Makhzoum had shared financial interests with Banu Thaqif.
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It was therefore a strategic reason for the Prophet ﷺ to travel to At-Ta’if, 60 kilometres east of Makkah, to ask for nusrah (support). If they were to provide support, this would be a direct economic and political threat to Quraysh. Moreover, if Banu Thaqif were to support the Prophet ﷺ, Quraysh would become isolated in the Arabian Peninsula. The choice to approach Banu Thaqif in particular supports the idea that the Prophet ﷺ intended to establish Islam at a political level. That is, to found a state so that the message of Islam could best be carried forth. When the Prophet ﷺ approached At-Ta’if, he went directly to the leadership of Banu Thaqif.
The Leadership of Banu Thaqif
At-Ta’if was governed by two clans: Banu Malik and Al-Ahlaf. They had complete political and economic control, but not enough strength to protect At-Ta’if from invasions by outsiders. Of all the land on the Arabian Peninsula, At-Ta’if had the most fertile soil, and for this reason it attracted the attention of other tribes that had the capacity to conquer it. At-Ta’if therefore feared the surrounding tribes that were powerful enough to defeat them. These were: Hawazin, Quraysh and Banu 'Amir.
To protect themselves, the leaders of At-Ta’if formed alliances and peace treaties. Banu Malik had strong ties with Hawazin and Al-Ahlaf had an alliance with Quraysh. The Prophet ﷺ was of course aware of these fragile alliances. At-Ta’if had formed these alliances out of fear, not loyalty. The fact that the leadership of At-Ta’if was divided between two groups on the basis of an agreement between them was another weakness. If the Prophet ﷺ succeeded in convincing one of the two groups, that would upset the balance of power in the entire region; especially if he were to succeed in convincing Al-Ahlaf, who were allied with Quraysh.
For these reasons, the Prophet ﷺ went directly to Al-Ahlaf, also known as Banu Umair. At the time, the leadership consisted of 3 brothers: 'Abd Ya-Layl ibn 'Amr ibn 'Umair, Mas’ud ibn 'Amr bin 'Umair and Habib ibn 'Amr ibn 'Umair. The brothers were very cautious and fearful (of Quraysh and the other tribes) and therefore rejected the invitation of the Prophet ﷺ. They mocked the Prophet ﷺ and treated him in a very disrespectful manner. The Prophet ﷺ had no more hope in Thaqif, stood up and left. He ﷺ said to them:
If you do what you do (not believe in Islam), then keep my matter secret.
The Prophet ﷺ did not want people in Makkah to find out that he had taken the da’wah to At-Ta’if. The Prophet ﷺ therefore also departed on foot from Makkah, because if he had left on horseback it would have attracted attention and the leaders of Quraysh would have stopped him. He ﷺ chose to travel with Zayd because, since he was the adopted son of the Prophet ﷺ, no one would find it unusual to see Zayd together with the Prophet ﷺ. Furthermore, the Prophet ﷺ could trust Zayd to keep his intention to go to At-Ta’if secret. Finally, Zayd was extremely helpful as he would shield the Prophet ﷺ with his body against the stones that were thrown at him ﷺ.
The Supplication of the Prophet ﷺ
Banu 'Amir had not kept the da’wah of the Prophet ﷺ secret and they sent a group of people after the Prophet ﷺ who cursed him and pelted him with stones. They continued until the blood of the Prophet ﷺ ran down his legs and they were driven out of the city. Zayd ﵁ tried to shield the Prophet ﷺ with his own body and sustained multiple injuries to his head in the process. The sandals of the Prophet ﷺ were soaked with blood. For approximately ten days he ﷺ had spent in At-Ta’if, ten days of hope that ended in stones and mockery.
The Prophet ﷺ and Zayd ﵁ tried to take shelter in a nearby orchard belonging to the brothers 'Utbah and Shaibah ibn Rabi’ah, two nobles from Makkah who happened to be present there.
Exhausted and bleeding, the Prophet ﷺ sank down under a grapevine. Zayd ﵁ dabbed the blood from his wounds. It was at this moment, in complete brokenness, that the Prophet ﷺ turned to his Lord with a supplication that laid bare the depth of his pain:
O Allah! To You alone I complain of my weakness, my inadequacy and my insignificance before the people. You are the most Merciful of the Merciful. You are the Lord of the helpless and the weak. O my Lord! Into whose hands would You leave me: in the hands of an unsympathetic, distant relative who frowns angrily at me, or the enemy who has been given control over my affairs? If Your wrath will not descend upon me, then there is nothing for me to worry about. Your forgiveness is sufficient for me. I seek protection in the Light of Your Countenance, which illuminates the darkness and sets right the affairs in both this life and the Hereafter. May it never be that I incur Your wrath. And there is no power nor provision except Yours.
The Story of 'Addas ﵁
From the shade of their orchard, 'Utbah and Shaibah ibn Rabi’ah had been watching the scene. Although they were enemies of the da’wah, the sight of the bleeding, exhausted man touched their humanity. They called their Christian servant, 'Addas, and sent him with a plate of grapes. When 'Addas came to the Prophet ﷺ and set down the plate, the Prophet ﷺ picked up a grape and said: ﷽. 'Addas looked up in surprise.
'Addas: “By Allah, the people of this land do not speak as you just spoke.” The Prophet ﷺ: “From which land do you come, and what is your religion?” 'Addas: “I am a Christian and I come from Nineveh.” The Prophet ﷺ: “From the city of the righteous man, Yunus ibn Mattah?” 'Addas: “How do you know about Yunus?” The Prophet ﷺ: “He is my brother. He was a Prophet, just like me.”
'Addas honoured the Prophet ﷺ and kissed his head, his hands and his feet. The brothers saw this and one brother said to the other:
“As for your servant, he (i.e. the Prophet) has corrupted him against you.”
When 'Addas returned to his masters they said to him:
Brothers: “Woe! O 'Addas! Why did you kiss that man’s head, hands and feet?” 'Addas: “O my masters, there is nothing on earth better than he. He has informed me about a matter that no one except a Prophet would know.” Brothers: “Woe, O 'Addas! Do not let him turn you away from your religion, for indeed your religion is better than his religion.”
From this statement we know that 'Addas ﵁ was Muslim.
Return to Makkah
In a narration from 'Aisha ﵂, a remarkable event took place when the Prophet ﷺ and Zayd ﵁ were on their way back to Makkah:
When I arrived at Qarn Ath-Tha’alib (present-day As-Sail Al-Kabir), I raised my head and saw a cloud that was providing me shade. I looked and I saw Jibril in the cloud, who called out to me.
Jibril: “Indeed Allah has heard what your people said to you and how they responded (when you invited them to Islam). Indeed, Allah has sent to you the Angel of the Mountains so that you may command him to do with them whatever you wish.” The Angel of the Mountains: “O Muhammad. It is as you wish. If you want me to cause Al-Akhshabain (two mountains in Makkah) to crash down upon them, then that is what I will do.” The Prophet ﷺ: “Instead, I hope that Allah will bring forth from their offspring those who will worship Allah alone without ascribing partners to Him.”
The Prophet ﷺ, however, could not simply return to Makkah, because:
- News of the da’wah activities in At-Ta’if had by now reached the leaders of Quraysh. This would make the already hostile situation in which the Prophet ﷺ found himself even more hostile.
- The Quraysh saw the events in At-Ta’if as a great loss for the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims, which could result in them becoming even more brazen in their persecution.
For this reason, the Prophet ﷺ went to Hira and sought protection from Al-Akhnas ibn Shariq. He answered:
I am an ally of the Quraysh and not one of her core members, and therefore cannot provide support.
The Prophet ﷺ then tried Suhail ibn 'Amr. He answered:
Indeed, the sons of 'Amr cannot offer protection over the sons of Ka’b.
Mut’im ibn 'Adee, the leader of Banu Nawfal ibn 'Abd Manaf, agreed. He was not willing to let a man, however unpopular, go without protection. That night he armed his sons and nephews and gave them the order:
Put on your armour and station yourselves at the corners of the House.
The following morning, Mut’im stood with his armed family at the Ka’bah when the Prophet ﷺ and Zayd ﵁ walked in. Mut’im called out in a loud voice so that all of Makkah could hear:
O people of Quraysh, indeed I have granted my protection to Muhammad, so let none of you harm him.
Abu Sufyan, who was watching the situation, asked whether Mut’im had become Muslim. Mut’im replied that he was merely granting protection, which Quraysh had to respect under tribal law.
The Prophet ﷺ performed two rak’ah at the Ka’bah and returned to his house. Mut’im and his sons, swords in hand, escorted him and stood around his house until he was safely inside. The Prophet ﷺ would never forget Mut’im’s generosity. Years later, after the Battle of Badr, he ﷺ said:
If Mut’im ibn 'Adee were still alive and had asked me to release these prisoners, I would have released them for his sake.