The Prophet Of Mercy

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Will you be eager to destroy your enemy if you have the power? Learn from the wisdom and character of the Prophet of Mercy, Allah bless him and grant him peace.

It was known as the Year of Sorrow. First, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, lost his beloved wife Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her. She was, from all people, the best supporter he had. Soon afterwards, his uncle Abu Talib died. As the head of the Prophet’s clan, he was the only person who was able to give him protection from the rest of the tribe of Quraysh. Abu Talib loved his nephew intensely, and it pained the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, all the more that his uncle died a disbeliever.

The death, in the same year, of the Prophet’s wife Khadîjah and his uncle Abu Talib magnified the Prophet’s sorrows and doubled his feelings of estrangement and alienation and filled his heart with pain. Moreover, it left him and his followers politically isolated in Makkah, without support.

The tribe of Quraysh seized this opportunity to increase their abuses and tightened their grips on the Muslims. Abu Lahab succeeded Abu Talib as the leader of the Prophet’s clan Banu Hashim, and he harbored the most bitter hatred for Islam and the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. He used to go up to the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, during the pilgrimage and in the marketplace and throw dirt and stones upon him, calling him a Sabian and a liar and warning people against following him.

Makkah became unbearable. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, had to seek support from outside of Makkah. He, Allah bless him and grant him peace, (along with his freed slave, Zayd, may Allah be please with him) headed for the neighboring town of Ta’if. He invited the people of Ta'if to Islam but he was received with humiliation by the adults, who also got their children to pelt rocks at the Messenger of Allah so heavily that he bled profusely so much that his feet became stuck to his shoes by the drying blood.

When the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was outside the city walls, he almost collapsed. They went a short distance outside of the town and stopped in a vineyard that belonged to two Makkans who were there at the time.

The owners of the vineyard had seen how he had been persecuted in Makkah and on this occasion they felt some sympathy toward their fellow citizen. They had his wounds dressed, and let him rest until he felt strong enough to resume his journey across the rough terrain between Ta’if and Makkah. It was there that he had the famous encounter with the Angel of the mountains.

The Angel was ready to turn the mount of Ta'if upside down (which would be a complete destruction of the people of Ta'if) if that was the wish of the beloved of Allah.

Rather he made du'a for them.

O Allah, please consider my weakness, my shortage of means, and the little esteem that people have of me. Oh, most Merciful Allah, You are the Lord of the oppressed, and You are my Lord. To whom would You leave my fate? To a stranger who insults me? Or to an enemy who dominates me? Would I that You have no wrath against me, Your pleasure alone is my objective. Under the light of Your faith which illuminates all darkness and on which this world and the other depend, I take my refuge. I pray that I may not become the object of Your wrath and anger. To You alone belongs the right to blame and to chastise until Your pleasure is met. There is neither power nor strength except in You.

[Tabari]

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, the wife of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, when she asked him: “Was there ever a day that was worse for you than the Battle of Uhud?”

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied:

Your tribe (Quraysh) had troubled me a lot, and the most severe of this trouble was on the day of 'Aqaba when I presented myself to Ibn `Abd Yalâyil b. `Abd Kulâl and he did not respond to my request. So I departed, overwhelmed with sorrow, and proceeded on, without rest until I found myself at Qarn al-Tha`âlib where I lifted my head towards the sky to see a cloud shading me unexpectedly. I looked up and saw within it Gabriel. He called me saying: “Allah has heard what your people have been saying to you, and how they have disputed you. Allah has sent the Angel of the Mountains to you so that you may order him to do whatever you wish to these people.”

The Angel of the Mountains called and greeted me, and then said: “O Muhammad! Order what you wish. If you like, I will cause the two mountains to fall upon them.”

I said: “No, for I hope that Allah will bring forth from their progeny people who will worship Allah Alone, and none besides Him.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

In spite of the catastrophe and hardships faced in this journey and the sorrow that not a single body embraced Islam, the heart of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was full of love and glorification of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.

While returning from Ta’if the Holy Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, also said; “Why should I pray for the destruction of these people? I do hope that their posterity will certainly be among the believers in the One Allah.” [Muslim]

Later in the Prophet's mission, the people of Ta'if became Muslim. The conversion is worthy of notice. This tribe, which had proved hostile to the new faith, was noted among the Arabs for its idolatrous priesthood. A small detachment under Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was sent to reduce them to obedience and to destroy their idols. The prince of the tribe was Adi, the son of the famous Hatim, whose generosity was spoken of all over Arabia. On the approach of the Muslim force, Adi fled to Syria, leaving his sister with his principal clansmen, to fall into the hands of the Muslims. These were conducted by Ali with every sign of respect and sympathy to Madinah.

When the daughter of Hatim came before the Prophet,Allah bless him and grant him peace, she addressed him in the following words: "Messenger of Allah, my father is dead; my brother, my only relation fled into the mountains on the approach of the Muslims. I cannot ransom myself; I count on your generosity for my deliverance. My father was an illustrious man, the prince of his tribe, a man who ransomed prisoners, protected the honor of women, fed the poor, consoled the afflicted, and was deaf to no appeal."

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied: "Your father had the virtues of a true Muslim; if it were permitted to invoke the mercy of Allah on any whose life was passed in idolatry, I would pray to Allah for mercy for the soul of Hatim." Then, addressing the Muslims around him, he said: 'The daughter of Hatim is free, her father was a generous and humane man; Allah loves and rewards the merciful." With the daughter of Hatim, all her people were set at liberty.

She proceeded to Syria and related to her brother the generosity of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. Adi, touched by gratitude, hastened to Madinah, where he was kindly received by the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. He professed Islam and returned to his people and persuaded them to abandon idolatry. They all submitted and became devoted Muslims.

May Allah Almighty guide the Ummah and bring peace to the world. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam