STEADFASTNESS IN THE FACE OF HARDSHIPS
It is really very hard for. the Muslims of to-day to
imagine, and
much less to endure or even to attempt to endure, the
hardships that
were borne by the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam)
and his
illustrious companions in the path of Allah. Books of
history are
full of stories of their sufferings. It is a pity that
we are so
indifferent to those events and our knowledge is so
poor in this
regard. I open this chapter with a story about the
Prophet
(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) himself to get the
blessings of Allah,
which are sure to attend his auspicious mention.
The Prophet's (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) Journey to
Taif
For nine years, since his selection by Allah for His
mission, the
Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) had been
delivering the message
of Allah in Makkah and making all-out efforts to guide
and reform
his community. Excepting a few persons who had either
embraced Islam
or who helped him though not accepting his creed, all
the rest in
Mecca left no stone unturned in persecuting and
deriding him and his
followers. His uncle Abu Talib was one of those
good-hearted people
who helped him, in spite of his not entering into the
fold of Islam.
The following year, on the death of Abu Talib, the
Qu-reysh got a
free hand and therefore accelerated their sinister
pursuits without
check and hindrance. At Taif, the second biggest town
of Hijaz,
there lived Banu Thaqif, a clan strong in number. The
Prophet
(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) left for Taif with the
hope of winning
them over to Islam, thus giving quarter to Muslims
from the
persecution of the Qureysh, and also establishing a
base for the
future propagation of Islam. On reaching Taif he
visited the three
chieftains of the clan separately, and placed before
each of them
the message of Allah, and called upon them to stand by
his Prophet's
(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) side. Instead of
accepting his message,
they refused even to listen to him and,
notwithstanding the
proverbial Arab hospitality, each of them treated him
most
contemptuously and rudely.
They plainly told him that they did not like his stay
in their town.
The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) had expected
a civil, even
a cordial treatment and due courtesy in speech from
them, as they
were the heads of the clan. But one of them sneered:
"Hey, Allah has made you a Prophet!" The other
exclaimed with
derision:
"Could Allah not lay His hand on anyone else, beside
you to make him
His Prophet?"
The third one gibed at him:
"I do not want to talk to you, for if you are in fact
a Prophet,
then to oppose you is to invite trouble, and if you
only pretend to
be one, why should I talk with an impostor?"
The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam), who was a
rock of
steadfastness and perseverance, did not lose heart
over this check
from the chieftains, and tried to approach the common
people; but
nobody would listen to him. Instead they asked him to
clear off from
their own town and go wherever else he liked. When he
realised that
further efforts were in vain, he decided to leave the
town. But they
would not let him depart in peace, and set the street
urchins after
him to hiss, to hoot, to jeer at, and to stone him. He
was so much
pelted at with stones that his whole body was covered
with blood,
and his shoes were clogged to his feet. He left the
town in this
woeful plight. When he was far out of the town, and
safe from the
rabble, he prayed to Allah thus:
"0, my Allah! To Thee I complain of the feeble-ness of
my strength,
of my lack of resources and my being unimportant in
the eyes of
people. 0, Most Merciful of all those capable of
showing mercy! Thou
art the Lord of the weak, and Thou art my own Lord. To
whom art Thou
to entrust me; to an unsympathetic foe who would
sullenly frown at
me, or to an alien to whom Thou hast given control
over my affairs?
Not in the least do I care for anything except that I
may have Thy
protection for myself. I seek shelter in Your
light-the light which
illuminates the Heavens and dispels all sorts of
darkness, and which
controls all affairs in this world as well as in the
Hereafter. May
it never be that I should incur Thy wrath, or that
Thou should be
displeased with me. I must remove the cause of Thy
displeasure till
Thou art pleased. There is no strength nor power but
through Thee."
The Heavens were moved by the prayer, and Jibrail
(Alayhis salaam)
appeared before the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe
wasallam), greeting
him with Assalamu Alaikum and said:
"Allah knows all that has passed between you and these
people. He
has deputed an angel in charge of the mountains to be
at your
command."
Saying this, Jibrail (Alayhis salam) ushered the angel
before the
Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam). The angel
greeted the Prophet
(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) and said:
"0, Prophet of Allah! I am at your service. If you
wish, I can cause
the mountains overlooking this town on both sides to
collide with
each other, so that all the people therein would be
crushed to
death, or you may suggest any other punishment for
them."
The merciful and noble Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe
wasallam) said:
"Even if these people do not accept Islam, I do hope
from Allah that
there will be persons from among their progeny who
would worship
Allah and serve His cause."
Behold the conduct of our noble Prophet (Sallallaho
alaihe
wasallam), whom we profess to follow! We get so much
irritated over
a little trouble or a mere abuse from somebody that we
keep on
torturing and taking our revenge throughout our lives
in every
possible manner. Does it become people who claim to
follow the
magnanimous
Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam)? Look, even after
so much
suffering at the hands of the Taif mob, he neither
curses them nor
does he work for any revenge, even when he has the
full opportunity
to do so.
It is really very hard for. the Muslims of to-day to
imagine, and
much less to endure or even to attempt to endure, the
hardships that
were borne by the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam)
and his
illustrious companions in the path of Allah. Books of
history are
full of stories of their sufferings. It is a pity that
we are so
indifferent to those events and our knowledge is so
poor in this
regard. I open this chapter with a story about the
Prophet
(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) himself to get the
blessings of Allah,
which are sure to attend his auspicious mention.
The Prophet's (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) Journey to
Taif
For nine years, since his selection by Allah for His
mission, the
Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) had been
delivering the message
of Allah in Makkah and making all-out efforts to guide
and reform
his community. Excepting a few persons who had either
embraced Islam
or who helped him though not accepting his creed, all
the rest in
Mecca left no stone unturned in persecuting and
deriding him and his
followers. His uncle Abu Talib was one of those
good-hearted people
who helped him, in spite of his not entering into the
fold of Islam.
The following year, on the death of Abu Talib, the
Qu-reysh got a
free hand and therefore accelerated their sinister
pursuits without
check and hindrance. At Taif, the second biggest town
of Hijaz,
there lived Banu Thaqif, a clan strong in number. The
Prophet
(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) left for Taif with the
hope of winning
them over to Islam, thus giving quarter to Muslims
from the
persecution of the Qureysh, and also establishing a
base for the
future propagation of Islam. On reaching Taif he
visited the three
chieftains of the clan separately, and placed before
each of them
the message of Allah, and called upon them to stand by
his Prophet's
(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) side. Instead of
accepting his message,
they refused even to listen to him and,
notwithstanding the
proverbial Arab hospitality, each of them treated him
most
contemptuously and rudely.
They plainly told him that they did not like his stay
in their town.
The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) had expected
a civil, even
a cordial treatment and due courtesy in speech from
them, as they
were the heads of the clan. But one of them sneered:
"Hey, Allah has made you a Prophet!" The other
exclaimed with
derision:
"Could Allah not lay His hand on anyone else, beside
you to make him
His Prophet?"
The third one gibed at him:
"I do not want to talk to you, for if you are in fact
a Prophet,
then to oppose you is to invite trouble, and if you
only pretend to
be one, why should I talk with an impostor?"
The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam), who was a
rock of
steadfastness and perseverance, did not lose heart
over this check
from the chieftains, and tried to approach the common
people; but
nobody would listen to him. Instead they asked him to
clear off from
their own town and go wherever else he liked. When he
realised that
further efforts were in vain, he decided to leave the
town. But they
would not let him depart in peace, and set the street
urchins after
him to hiss, to hoot, to jeer at, and to stone him. He
was so much
pelted at with stones that his whole body was covered
with blood,
and his shoes were clogged to his feet. He left the
town in this
woeful plight. When he was far out of the town, and
safe from the
rabble, he prayed to Allah thus:
"0, my Allah! To Thee I complain of the feeble-ness of
my strength,
of my lack of resources and my being unimportant in
the eyes of
people. 0, Most Merciful of all those capable of
showing mercy! Thou
art the Lord of the weak, and Thou art my own Lord. To
whom art Thou
to entrust me; to an unsympathetic foe who would
sullenly frown at
me, or to an alien to whom Thou hast given control
over my affairs?
Not in the least do I care for anything except that I
may have Thy
protection for myself. I seek shelter in Your
light-the light which
illuminates the Heavens and dispels all sorts of
darkness, and which
controls all affairs in this world as well as in the
Hereafter. May
it never be that I should incur Thy wrath, or that
Thou should be
displeased with me. I must remove the cause of Thy
displeasure till
Thou art pleased. There is no strength nor power but
through Thee."
The Heavens were moved by the prayer, and Jibrail
(Alayhis salaam)
appeared before the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe
wasallam), greeting
him with Assalamu Alaikum and said:
"Allah knows all that has passed between you and these
people. He
has deputed an angel in charge of the mountains to be
at your
command."
Saying this, Jibrail (Alayhis salam) ushered the angel
before the
Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam). The angel
greeted the Prophet
(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) and said:
"0, Prophet of Allah! I am at your service. If you
wish, I can cause
the mountains overlooking this town on both sides to
collide with
each other, so that all the people therein would be
crushed to
death, or you may suggest any other punishment for
them."
The merciful and noble Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe
wasallam) said:
"Even if these people do not accept Islam, I do hope
from Allah that
there will be persons from among their progeny who
would worship
Allah and serve His cause."
Behold the conduct of our noble Prophet (Sallallaho
alaihe
wasallam), whom we profess to follow! We get so much
irritated over
a little trouble or a mere abuse from somebody that we
keep on
torturing and taking our revenge throughout our lives
in every
possible manner. Does it become people who claim to
follow the
magnanimous
Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam)? Look, even after
so much
suffering at the hands of the Taif mob, he neither
curses them nor
does he work for any revenge, even when he has the
full opportunity
to do so.
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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