The persecution inflicted upon our Master by the polytheists was increasing day by day and becoming unbearable. Faced with this situation, on the twenty-seventh night of the month of Shawwal, which coincided with the tenth year of his prophethood, he left Mecca and went to Taif accompanied by his freed slave and adopted son, Zaid ibn Harithah.

His goal was to seek support from the Sakif tribe in Taif, to enable them to fulfill the desires of Allah. When our Master arrived in Taif, he met with three prominent members of the Sakif tribe named Abdi Yalil, Mas’ud, and Habib. He spoke to them about the obligations of Islam, the belief system, and the necessary actions required, inviting them to embrace the faith. These discussions continued for ten days.

At the end of these conversations, two of the brothers openly opposed our Master and expressed their thoughts as follows:

“If Allah has truly sent you as His Rasul, may I be cursed and disgraced as if I have stolen or torn the covering of the Kaaba!”

“Could’t Allah find someone stronger than you to send as a Rasul? Is your Rabb so weak that He couldn’t find anyone else?

The third brother, Abdi Yalil, spoke somewhat more wisely in their view:

“I swear, I don’t want to engage in conversation with you. If you are truly a Messenger, there is great danger in opposing you and not listening to your words. But if you are lying and intentionally portraying yourself as a Rasul, I still do not wish to have a conversation with you.”

 

Upon hearing the responses of the leaders of Taif, our Master felt saddened and made a request to them:

“Please, let our conversation remain between us. Do not disclose it to others.”

However, the people of Quraysh had already reached them and had begun to provoke them:

“If you don’t drive him out of your city, you will face great troubles. He will gather your ignorant, your women, and children and cause you nothing but trouble!”

Eventually, influenced by these instigations, the polytheists of Taif expelled our Master and his adopted son Hadhrat Enes from Taif:

“Leave immediately! Go wherever you want! You brought distress to your own people; they even opposed you. Do you think you can deceive us under these circumstances?”

Afterward, they arranged a group of unruly individuals to accompany the Rasul of Allah (saw) and subjected him to various forms of torment.

As our Master walked out of Taif, they began to pelt him with stones. They also threw different harmful objects at him, causing his feet to bleed profusely. His head was slightly injured, and blood began to flow. Despite the pain and difficulty, they forcibly made him stand each time he tried to sit down and forced him to walk amidst insults and the barrage of stones.

In the midst of this, Enes, the son of Zayd who tried to shield the Rasul of Allah (saw) from the stones, had his head split open and his face covered in blood. His feet were also bleeding.

Finally, they sought refuge in the garden of Utbah and Shaybah bin Rabia, not far away. They were unable to take another step or utter a single word. This was the greatest torment our Master had ever endured.

The famous supplication made by our Master at that moment was as follows:

“Oh Allah, I present to You that my strength has depleted, and I am now helpless, subjected to humiliation among the people. O Most Merciful of the merciful! You are the Rabb of those who are weak and destitute, whom everyone looks down upon.

My Rabb, You will not allow me to fall into the hands of evil and shameless enemies. You are so merciful that You will not even make me dependent on a close relative to whom You have given control over my affairs.

My Rabb, if You are not angry with me, I do not mind the hardships and afflictions I am enduring. However, it is also true that Your forgiveness and mercy are great enough to not subject me to such trials.

My Rabb, I seek refuge in Your illuminated countenance, which dispels all darkness, from falling into Your wrath or displeasure. It is the light that illuminates the darkness of this world and the Hereafter, the salvation of life.

My Rabb, I repent to You until You are pleased with me.

My Rabb, indeed, all power and might belong to You alone.”

 

At that moment, Utbah and Shaybah witnessed the situation of our Master and his adopted son. They called their Christian slave, Addas, and handed him a large cluster of grapes, instructing him to take it to the Rasul of Allah (saw).

Addas, obediently following the given order, brought the grapes directly to our Master, who took the grapes with the words, “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,” and began eating.

The utterance of the Basmala (saying “In the name of Allah”) caught Addas’s attention, and he said, “Indeed, the people of this region are unfamiliar with and do not use this phrase.”

Upon hearing this, our Master asked Addas, “O Addas, where are you from? What is your religion?”

“I am from Nineveh! I am a Christian,” Addas replied.

“So, you are a fellow countryman of the righteous man, Jonah, son of Matta,” said our Master.

Addas was surprised by this question and asked, “How do you know Jonah, son of Matta?” The Rasul of Allah (saw) explained:

“He is my brother! He was a Rasul, and I am also a Rasul!”

Upon hearing these words, Addas couldn’t control himself and prostrated before the feet of our Master (saw). Meanwhile, Utbah, who was observing from a distance, turned to Shaybah and said, “Look, the man has even converted the faith of his slave right before our eyes. He has misled him!”

At that moment, Addas also approached them. Utbah snapped at Addas, saying, “Shame on you, Addas! Look, this man has led you astray from your religion.” Addas responded to them, saying, “O Master! I swear, there is no person on earth better than this nobleman. He spoke to me about something that only a Rasul could know.”

Afterward, our Master set out on the road to Makkah with a saddened and distressed heart. During this journey, there was an incident that is narrated in a hadith from Sahih Bukhari:

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her narrates), “One day, I asked, ‘O Rasul of Allah, did you experience a day more difficult and severe than the day of the Battle of Uhud?’