Prophet’s Patience in the Face of Abuse

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) had become involved in da’wah and embarked on the path of advice and instruction. He (Peace be upon him) invited the people to worship Allah Alone, associating no partner with Him. And he (Peace be upon him) called upon them to abandon the pagan customs of their forefathers: polytheism, idol worship and all immoral and unlawful practices. Only a few believed in him; the majority did not.

Although Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) had safeguarded and protected his life by means of his uncle, Abu Talib, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was abused, restricted and persecuted severely. In the seventh year of prophethood, Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him), Abu Talib and the clans of Bani Hashim and Bani Muttalib took refuge in a small piece of land belonging to Abu Talib. The Quraysh decided to forcibly confine them to it, both the Muslims and non-Muslims who had supported their kinsmen, except for Abu Lahab. They agreed to enforce a boycott of the Prophet's extended family, to not accept from them any terms of settlement, to stop them from entering the marketplaces and to prevent any provisions from reaching them until they handed over the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) to them for execution. They put this injustice in writing and hung the parchment inside the Ka’bah. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) then told his companions to immigrate to Abyssinia in view of the increased oppression. This was the second emigration – eighty-three men and eighteen women migrated - and some Muslims from Yemen joined them.

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) and those with him remained in exile for nearly three years in a state of extreme hardship and hunger, managing on the little that was slipped through secretly, until they were finally reduced to eating the leaves of trees. This continued until the tenth year of prophethood, when some men of the Quraysh put an end to the boycott and they were able to get out.

That same year the Prophet's (Peace be upon him) wife, Khadijah, passed away, and after two months, his uncle, Abu Talib. With his uncle's death, the Quraysh were free to persecute him more than ever, and increased their hostility and abuse of him.[1]

In the authentic collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim, it is related that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) was once praying near the Ka’bah while Abu Jahl was sitting with some of his friends nearby. The previous day they had slaughtered a she-camel, so Abu Jahl said, "Which of you will take its dead foetus and put it on Muhammad's (Peace be upon him) back while he is prostrating?" So the most wicked of them went and brought it, and when the Prophet (Peace be upon him) prostrated he placed it between his shoulders and they laughed until they fell over one another. His daughter, Fatimah, came and threw it off him and began to curse them. When the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had completed his prayer he raised his voice supplicating against them, saying, "O Allah, deal with Quraysh" three times. When they heard this they stopped laughing, fearing his supplication. He (Peace be upon him) continued,

"O Allah, deal with Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, ‘Utbah ibn Rabi’ah, Shaybah ibn Rabi’ah, al-Waleed ibn ‘Utbah, Umayyah ibn Khalaf and ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu’eet." Ibn Mas’ud said, "By the One who sent Muhammad with the truth, I saw those whom he named fallen dead on the day of Badr; they were dragged and thrown into the well of Badr."

And al-Bukhari narrated that one day ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu’eet grabbed the Prophet (Peace be upon him) by his shoulders and wound his clothing around his neck, choking him severely. Abu Bakr came running and pushed him back, shouting, "Would you kill a man for saying, 'My Lord is Allah?'"[2]

When persecution of Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) worsened he (Peace be upon him) set out for Taif to invite the tribes of Thaqeef to Islam, but only met from them obstinacy, ridicule and abuse; they threw stones at him until his heels bled. So he (Peace be upon him) decided to return to Makkah, and on his way, at Qarn ath-Tha’alib, he (Peace be upon him) looked up and found a cloud had shaded him. Within it was Jibreel, who called to him, "Indeed, Allah has heard what your people have said to you and how they respond to you and He has sent you the angel of the mountains so you may order him to do whatever you wish concerning them.” The angel of the mountains addressed him, saying, "O Muhammad, indeed, Allah has heard what your people have said to you and how they respond to you. I am the angel of the mountains and Allah has sent me to you to order me to do whatever you wish. If you wish, I will crush them between the two mountains [of Makkah]."  But the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) replied,

"Rather, I hope that Allah will bring forth from their loins those who will worship Allah alone without any partner and not associate anything with Him."  (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)