Introduction:
When the companions once asked him about the most difficult moment and situation he had ever met throughout his call to Islam, prophet Mohammad said it was his visit to al-Taif. The city which is about one hundred and seven kilometers south of Makkah witnessed the darkest moment in history and the journey of prophet Mohammad to promote Islam.
the prophet Mohammad
Stars shine in the darkest skies:
Despite the disappointing reception which prophet Mohammad suffered in al-Taif, it was a real turning point in the path of the call to Islam. The first good indications came when prophet Mohammad resorted to the vineyard in al-Taif. It seemed that the owner of the vineyard pitied prophet Mohammad and sent him his servant, Addas, with a cluster of grapes. The servant offered the grapes to prophet Mohammad who took it saying “In the name of Allah” This astonished the servant and said that the Arabs in that area didn’t speak or say as prophet Mohammad said. prophet Mohammad asked Addad where he had come from. Addas told prophet Mohammad that he had come from Ninve, Iraq. At this point prophet Mohammad said that the town was the homeland of prophet Yunus ibn Matta, which Addas acknowledged. It seemed Addas believed prophet Mohammad and embraced Islam.
The support of Allah at Wadi Nakhla:
As if Allah was saying to prophet Mohammad: “You have done your part, humans rejected your call; I will make the Jinn accept your call.” heavy hearted as he was prophet Mohammad returned back to Makkak. The journey back to Makkah took several days. One night during that journey, prophet Mohammad began to perform his night prayers. reading the Holy Quran in his prayers, some Jinn happened to be listening. When they did, they embraced Islam at once. Moreover, they raced to their folk Jinn warning them that they had heard a book revealed after the book of Mousa. they urged their folk to answer the call of Allah.
What does Allah want us to do?
The Holy Quran is full of examples to show us what Allah wants us to do. When Allah wanted to feed Mariam who was giving birth, He commanded her to “rock” the trunk of the palm tree. How could a weak woman like Mariam rock a palm tree? Allah only asked her to do what she should. The rest was done by Allah. When Allah wanted to save Mousa from killing, Allah asked the mother of Mousa to cast him in the Nile. how could a river in which people drown, save a new born baby? It was the role of Mousa’s mother to try. The rest was done by Allah. when Allah wanted to save Noah and his followers; and destroy all the unbelievers, Allah commanded Noah to build the ship on the sand. How could a ship sail on the sand? it was the role of Noah to do what he was commanded. The rest was done by Allah.
Yathrib is in the north, al-Taif is in the south:
Madina, Yathrib is the new cradle of Islam. although prophet Mohammad traveled only for one hundred and seven kilometers to call the people of Al-Taif to embrace Islam. They rejected him. It didn’t matter when prophet Mohammad went to them himself. Meanwhile, prophet Mohammad didn’t travel to Yathrib. It was the people of Yathrib who came to Makkah for pilgrimage. prophet Mohammad met some Yathrib people during the pilgrimage season. The people of Yathrib were better than the people of al-Taif. It turned out to be as if prophet Mohammad wanted to promote Islam in the south, al-Taif. Allah wanted Islam to spread in the north, Yathrib. prophet Mohammad wanted to promote his call only one hundred and seven kilometers away from Makkah. Allah wanted Islam to spread more than four hundred kilometers away in Yathrib.
Bad news, good news:
No sooner had prophet Mohammad returned from al-Taif than he had two pieces of bad news. Khadija, the prophet’s first wife, died. His first wife Khadija was not just an ordinary wife. The mother of the believers Khadija was a source of relief, support and stability to prophet Mohammad. She was generous both materially, spiritually and morally. In fact, Khadija was the first human to embrace Islam. However, everything has ended. so, Khadija disappeared from prophet Mohammad’s life.
