The tenth year of Mecca’s life is called the Year of Sorrow. The incident occurred about six months after the ban imposed by the Quraysh ended. Abu Talib, the man who stood by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in good times and bad, is on his deathbed today. Those people thought they would send their delegation to Abu Talib for the last time because people’s mental state weakens before death. Their intention was to mediate between the two parties and for that purpose they sent a delegation. Ibn Hisham (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned: Each group met with Abu Talib and discussed matters with him. This group included great leaders like Abu Jahl, Abu Sufyan, and Utbah.
He said to Abu Talib, “O Abu Talib, you are on your deathbed. You are a person of high status to us. We want you to resolve the problem that your nephew is having with us.” You explain to him that he will follow his religion and we will follow ours.
Abu Talib summoned the Prophet (peace be upon him). When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) arrived, Abu Talib said, “O my nephew, the Quraysh want to make a deal with you. They want you to agree to whatever they propose and they want you to agree to whatever you propose.”
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to them, “Come to me on a promise that you will be the most respected in the whole world, and the Arabs will respect you.” Abu Jahl said, “Why such a proposal? We agree to ten.” Then he said, “Then say, ‘There is no god but Allah.'”
They were very angry when they heard this: “Abandon all the idols you worship.” They said, “How is it possible, Muhammad, that you deny all the Creators and tell us to worship only one Creator?” Then they became disappointed and said, “If this man does not agree with us, we will wait and see what Allah decides between us.”
Then they left. Allah revealed a verse in the Quran about this.
Sad. By the Qur’an containing reminder… But those who disbelieve are in pride and dissension.
(Quran 38:1-2)
When Abu Talib was on his deathbed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came and sat beside him and said, “Uncle, you should say, ‘La ilaha illallah’, meaning, ‘There is no god but Allah.'” Tell me these things so that I can testify on your behalf before Allah on the Day of Judgment.
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was saying these words, Abu Jahl was beside him. Abu Jahl was determined in his evil deeds. This Abu Jahl was the mastermind behind all kinds of anti-Islamic acts and conspiracies. Abu Jahl was unrivaled in his opposition to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He plotted against the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in every way he could.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) is sitting on one side of Abu Talib and Abu Jahl and Abdullah ibn Abi Umar is sitting on the other side.
Then Abu Jahl said, “O Abu Talib, do you want to die abandoning the religion of your fathers?” By saying these things, he was trying to confuse Abu Talib. The more the Prophet (peace be upon him) tried to tell Abu Talib that there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the more Abu Jahl tried to stop him. This continued until Abu Talib’s last words. Finally, Abu Talib said that he would die on the religion of his father Abu Muttalib. These were his last words before he died and Abu Talib died. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that he would seek forgiveness for him, but Allah forbade him from doing so. Abu Talib had been raising the Prophet (peace be upon him) since he was eight years old and had kept him with him. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) spent his childhood with Abu Talib, and even after he grew up, he remained with Abu Talib. He helped the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) for more than 42 years. He saved the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) from the hands of the Quraysh. The helping hand that he extended to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) from the age of 8 remained extended until he was 50.
Abu Talib spent most of his life protecting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Abu Talib spent most of his life protecting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
So he decided that he would pray for Abu Talib, but when he decided to do so, Allah revealed this verse:
It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of Hellfire.
(Quran 9:113)
Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbid praying for Abu Talib? Abu Talib knew very well how happy his nephew would be if he died a Muslim.
Abu Talib was compassionate towards the Prophet (peace be upon him) until his last moments. But the reason he did not recite the Kalima was the fear of losing respect from the Quraysh.
Then Allah revealed this verse:
Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.
(Quran 28:56)
Guidance is only determined by Allah, and not even the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) knows who will receive guidance. His responsibility was to convey the message of Allah to the people, but it was not a matter of who would receive Allah’s guidance.
Only God has the power to change a person’s heart. Therefore, Islam does not support forcing anyone to believe.
There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
(Quran 2:256)
Faith is a matter of the heart and man cannot control the heart. So everyone is given freedom to choose which religion to follow. Hey, who used this power and how? Everyone will be questioned before Allah. However, freedom does not apply only to Muslims but also to non-Muslims.
Non-Muslims cannot be forced to convert to Islam, but once someone has converted, they cannot leave Islam. The penalty for leaving Islam is death. The reason for the death penalty will be discussed in a future episode, God willing.
The Prophet’s wife, Khadija, died two months after Abu Talib’s death. Instead of rising from one sorrow, one has to fall into another sorrow, which is why the year is called the year of sorrow.
This year is called the year of sorrow because it was the year in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) lost two of his dearest people in his life.
For this reason, two people came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) with all their might to help him spread Islam.
Khadija (RA) helped Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) by providing financial support through trade and commerce, just as she helped him spread Islam. Abu Talib tried to save the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from the persecution of the Quraysh. The two people who had been the most supportive of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) left that path, and the level of persecution by the Quraysh increased that year. As long as Abu Talib was alive, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was able to spread Islam without any major obstacles. But after the death of Abu Talib, the Prophet (peace be upon him) faced problems in carrying out his duties in Islam. When Aslam returned home after enduring the torture of the Quraysh, Khadija (RA) would be by his side.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) found his wife by his side at the most difficult moment of his life. But after Khadija’s death, he became very lonely. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not marry again until two or three years after Khadija’s death. Many scholars say that there is a kind of secret knowledge behind the simultaneous occurrence of such events, namely, that Allah Almighty teaches us to have patience with Allah Almighty in all matters.
Allah Almighty wanted Muslims not to look to Abu Talib or Khadija (may Allah be pleased with them) to spread Islam. So that they are forced to look only to Allah in this struggle. So Allah Almighty put the Prophet (peace be upon him) in a difficult situation where there was no one to help him. Now what lessons can we learn from the death of Abu Talib?
First of all, blind religious beliefs about ancestors can be harmful to us. We need to be very careful about the prevailing norms of society. In the past, people used to blindly follow the customs of their ancestors. We see this kind of thing in today’s society too.
The second point is that only the most beloved servant of Allah had the power to guide. But the guidance was not in the hands of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He wanted his uncle to die as a Muslim, but that did not happen.
Thirdly: A non-Muslim can be prayed for as long as he is alive, but after his death, he cannot be prayed for again. The Prophet himself was not allowed to pray for his uncle. Fourth, Allah appointed a disbeliever to protect the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) because no Muslim could have done this. If Abu Talib had become a Muslim, his clan would not have placed him in the position of leader. This is also a secret knowledge of Allah through which He protected the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) by giving him a disbeliever among the disbelievers.
Fifth, faith means accepting, not just knowing. Abu Talib knew that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was a messenger sent by Allah, but despite knowing this, he did not accept the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). So it’s not only important to know, but also to act accordingly.
The word Muslim means to acknowledge. Just knowing does not make one a Muslim. Many scholars say that this confession is prayer because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that prayer is what distinguishes between the disbelievers and the believers.
Sixth, Taqwa or fear of Allah keeps a person or Muslim steadfast in his faith. The reason why Abu Talib did not become a Muslim, he himself said, was because of public shame. Nowadays, many of us Muslims are abandoning many of the commandments of Islam for this same reason.
Finally, point number seven is to get along with good people. Abu Talib lived with those who were against Islam. Abu Talib lived with those who were against Islam. This is the fatal consequence of bad company. If we are with bad people, their false beliefs and mentality will influence us. Which will do no good for our religion except harm.
With the death of Abu Talib, the Prophet (peace be upon him) lost his security.
Taking advantage of Abu Talib’s absence, the Quraysh tribe increased their oppression. Because they wanted many things for Abu Talib, but they could not do it. They took steps that they could not have imagined during Abu Talib’s lifetime.
For example, a man from the Quraysh tribe came and threw dirt in the face of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) returned home in a state of confusion, Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) burst into tears upon seeing him. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Don’t cry, mother, Allah will protect your father.”
When Abu Talib was alive, the Quraysh did not dare to harm the Prophet (PBUH), but now they are doing just that.
In the previous episode, we mentioned the story of the Quraish’s torture of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
However, the situation improved somewhat when Abu Lahab became somewhat kinder to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). But that didn’t last long. I will narrate the incident from the book Al Bidaya Wal Nihaya .
Imam Abu Ibn Kathir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: When Abu Talib and Khadija (RA) died, the Prophet (PBUH) faced two tragedies. The deaths of these two people were only 5 days apart. At that time, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stayed at home most of the time and rarely went out. This led to the Quraish behaving in a way that they had not dared to do before. Now they began to behave in that way. Then Abu Lahab came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, “O Muhammad, do your work, no one can harm you until I die.”
As a result, the Prophet Muhammad was safe for a few days and began to preach Islam in his own way.
One day, Abu Jahl came to Abu and said, “Ask Muhammad where your father’s last address is.” Then he asked Muhammad, “O Muhammad, where is the final destination of Abu Muttalib?”
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) replied, “His final destination is with his people.” Then Abu Lahab said to the two men that Muhammad had replied that his father’s final destination was with his people. Then the two men said, “But he says that Abu Muttalib’s final destination is Hell.”
This time Abu Lahab said, “O Muhammad, Abu Muttalib will go to Hell.” Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “If anyone dies believing in the religion in which Abu Muttalib died, he will naturally go to Hell.”
Only Abu Lahab said this, “By Allah, I will remain your enemy forever because you believe that Abdul Muttalib will go to Hell.”
From that moment on, Abu Lahab and the people of Quraysh gathered together and became more ruthless towards the Prophet (peace be upon him).
In this situation, the propagation of Islam in Mecca became more difficult. After preaching Islam in Mecca for 10 long years, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) tried to spread Islam outside Mecca. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) went to Taif to preach Islam and Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) accompanied him.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) met the people of the tribe of Shakib. They were three brothers. Salam invited them to Islam and asked for their help and support.
But the behavior of these three people in the far north was extremely disgusting. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stayed in Taif for 10 days and he visited every person in the tribe and invited everyone to Islam. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told them that it is okay if you do not accept Islam, but I request you to keep my discussion with you a secret from the people of Mecca. But the people of the tribe of Shakib were so wicked that they sent some boys behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and these boys started throwing stones at the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Zayd.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Zayd continued running and while running they came to one of his fields. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was very tired. His body was bruised by the stone.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) took refuge in a house in Mecca and sat leaning under a grape tree. He was very upset because he didn’t expect to be rejected like this. He prayed to God in great pain.
Allah Almighty sent help to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at that time. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was very hungry. Seeing this situation, the owner of the vineyard ordered his servant to let the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) eat grapes.
The owner of the garden was a Meccan, but he decided to help the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in this situation. Meanwhile, the Christian slave took grapes for the Prophet (peace be upon him).
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said Bismillah while eating. The slave was very surprised to hear this and said, “The phrase you said is not something the people of the country say.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) realized that the slave was of a different religion. He asked him, “Where is your home country?” He replied, “Iraq.” Then he said, “You are from the village of Yunus bin Makhtar, and he was a prophet of Allah.”
Ad-dyaash said how do you know about the Yunus ‘s son Makhtar?
Then the Messenger of Allah said that he was a prophet of Allah and he is my brother and I am also a prophet.
Just hearing this. and he bowed down and kissed the feet and forehead of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to preach Islam wherever he went. When the slave returned to his master, they asked him, “Why did you kiss his feet and head?” He replied, “Because he is a prophet of Allah.” His master said, “Do not follow his words and abandon your religion, for your religion is better than his religion.”
One day, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what other terrible day did you see after Uhud?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Yes, I saw it. It was the day of Taif.”
I invited them but they didn’t accept. I was devastated. On the way, I saw a piece of cloud above my head, but it was the angel Gabriel, peace be upon him. He told me that Allah Almighty had appointed angels for you on the mountains. Those angels told me that you should order us to merge the people of Taif between two mountains. I replied to each one that no, I hope that Allah will create from among them servants who will worship Allah alone. After receiving help from the sky, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) felt calm and resumed his journey. He stopped at Wadi Akhlai.
He waited there for a while. One day he was reciting the Quran. Some jinn were living in that area. They heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) reciting the Quran and came to him to listen to some more verses and eventually became Muslims.
What lessons can we learn from the Taif incident? First, when the people of Taif were throwing stones at the Prophet (peace be upon him), Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) was protecting him. He was using his body as a shield. A similar incident was seen in the Battle of Uhud. In that battle, the companions used their backs as shields to protect the Prophet (peace be upon him) from arrow strikes. Secondly, when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) invited the people of Taif to Islam, they did not respond and instead drove him away. But the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Do good deeds because you do not know what the consequences of your actions will be.”
Thirdly, a while ago we discussed the incident of the Christian slave Ad-dyaash with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
This incident teaches that small acts of worship and calling to Islam work. The Prophet (peace be upon him) began his meal by saying Bismillah, and this word created a request in the mind of the educated servant. Ad-dyaash wanted to know the meaning of this word and from there the conversation between the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and from there he began to believe in Islam.
Small things can attract people to Islam. Many embraced Islam, impressed by the words and conduct of the Companions.
The fourth prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is not only interesting but also instructive. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) made this supplication when he was tired and exhausted. Blood was flowing from his body. Allah Ta’ala had brought him into this situation, but he did not complain to Allah Ta’ala. Rather, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was wondering if he had committed any mistake, so he said, “O Allah, if I have suffered this pain as a result of any mistake on my part, then I have no complaint.” Again, at the end of this prayer, he asks Allah for deliverance from this danger.
A believer will be content with Allah in all circumstances. That is why the Messenger of Allah remained content with Allah despite facing many hardships.
The fifth Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was Rahmatullahi alaameen. Taif Propagating Islam was the most difficult for him. He has never been treated as badly as he was by the people of Taif. The people of Taif made him bleed, but he did not pray for them afterwards. The reason for this is that the prophets do not take these reasons personally because they come as messengers from Allah. Rejecting them does not mean rejecting any person, but rather rejecting the word of Allah.
