Year of Sorrow and Ta’if incident Part 1

Here is a brief description of some of the issues discussed last week. Notes do not beat coming to the circle and actually being able to discuss and reflect on these incidents and the lessons in them together. Ma sha Allah the insights of sisters is something we value at the circle.

The Year of Sorrow & Ta’if Part 1

The Year of sorrow was after the Boycott which lasted 2-3 years

In the 9^th year of da’wah (meaning after Prophethood (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)): the boycott ended

The 10^th year of da’wah: The year of sorrow

3 traumatic incidents occurred that year

1.       Death of Abu Talib

He was: a full uncle, his real father figure, lived with him and was protected by him just like a father does his son. He had a strong fatherly love for him but not religious love.

Superiority of love for the sake of Allah.

On his death bed:

Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) sallallahu alaihi wa sallam asked him to convert to Islam

Abu Talib was going to because he knew the truth.

Abu Lahab: Do you dare to leave the religion of your father?

So he refused to say Laa ilaaha illallah and died a Mushrik

Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) told Ali to bury his body and didn’t participate in his burial.

 

LESSONS

·         The danger of bad companionship

 

·         The danger of following others blindly or following cultural practises blindly.

 

Allah has given you an intellect and you must use it to differentiate between truth and

falsehood.

 

·         Danger of following your forefathers and having an un-praiseworthy sense of prestige and pride for status – as Abu Talib did. He couldn’t let go of the persona he had built up over the years as Abdul Muttalib’s son.

 

He lived in the shadow of a legend (Abdul Muttalib). He had developed his own persona and he wanted to keep it even though he knew the truth.

 

·         Eaman is more than a theoretical acknowledgement or recognition of Allah and the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)hood of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.

 

·         Actions are an integral part of Eaman: Some Muslim groups say: you just need to know that Allah is Lord and Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). They say Actions are not a part of Eaman

The Story of Abu Talib proves the opposite: How do you explain Abu Talib then? He believed in Allah (as he stated in lines of poetry) and believed that Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was a Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) but still he was not a Muslim.

Many Muslims nowadays who do not pray or fast will say: Eaman is over here – pointing to their hearts…..if Eaman was over here (in the heart) it would show over here (all over your body).

 

·         Eaman needs to be acted upon.

·         Dangers of Shirk: Abu Talib did more than many Muslims did and will ever do for Islam and the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam): he was boycotted, he protected the Muslims, refused to hand them over, he suffered with them of his own choice. But those good deeds did not benefit him and he is in the fire.

·         It doesn’t matter what he did if he didn’t worship Allah. Our idea of good is  different.

It doesn’t matter how good you were to men if you did not worship Allah. People without Eaman do not do good things out of desire for Allah’s pleasure or Jannah. They do it for their own persona and image, to be respected, for press attention or for the feel-good factor it gives them.

Worshipping Allah is number 1 and then we are good to men for the sake of Allah.

Abu Talib’s punishment is least of punishments in Jahannam (which is not a desirable position to be in of course!) due to intercession of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.

 

 

Discussion:

Example of MALCOLM X: he had built up a reputation and following through the Nation of Islam – but the truth was more important to him. He was willing to give it all up when he realised he had been wrong and he moved towards the Truth to embrace it. (May Allah grant him Jannah)

 

 

2.       Death of Khadijah

Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) participated in her burial (Salatul Janazah was instituted after the battle of Uhud)

Graveyard of al-Mu’alla in Makkah.

He was greatly distressed by her death

Sahabah noticed his sorrow and recommended that he get married. So he did:

A widow: Sawdaa

A virgin: Aisha (nikah only in Makkah)

Aisha said: “I was never jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) () like I was of Khadijah even though I had never met her”

He sent food to her friends and relatives in Madinah.

Once when Hala (Khadijah’s sister) came he became very emotional as she reminded him of Khadijah.

Aisha became jealous: “Khadijah, when will you stop talking about an old lady? Allah gave you someone better than her”

Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said that Allah had not given him better than her. The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was not embarrassed to talk about those whom he loves:

“She believed in me when none else did. She embraced Islam when people disbelieved me. And she helped and comforted me in her person and wealth when there was none else to lend me a helping hand. I had children from her only.” [Musnad Imam Ahmad 6/118]

Abu Hurairah reported that the angel Jibreel came to Allâh’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) and said: “Allâh’s Messenger, lo, Khadijah is coming to you with a vessel of seasoned food or drink. When she comes to you, offer her greetings from her Lord, and give her glad tidings of a palace of jewels in Paradise where there is no noise and no toil.” [Bukhari 1/539]

 

 

A man came and asked him: “Who do you love the most in the world?”

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Aisha.”

He said “Amongst the men?”

“Her father”

He didn’t say ‘Abu Bakr’. It was as if he wanted to link the answer to Aisha in some way!

 

3.       The incident of Ta’if:

“Was there any day more difficult to you then the day of Uhud?” (In Aisha’s memory the worst day was Uhud…her memory doesn’t go back to Makkah)

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) told the story to Aisha in the most noble terms:

“I faced (opposition from your people and the most difficult matter that I faced from them was on the Day of ‘Aqabah, when I presented myself to the sons of ‘Abd Yaaleel and they didn’t respond to me as I had hoped. So I left, grieved and I did not realise where I was until i found myself at Qarn al Manaazil.”

 

This was the incident of Ta’if

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) didn’t complain…he told the story like a ‘man’ even though the incident was so hard upon him.

Now the da’wah went outside Makkah (he did da’wah to hujjaj but always in Makkah.

After death of Abu Talib, he decided to go outside Makkah. Ta’if. Very difficult to get there, very high up. Ta’if now is a holiday resort city…beautiful gardens and climate.

 

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) went there to present himself

Went to the sons of the leader who had passed away so the three sons were ruling together.

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) invited them to Islam.

All three rejected in the severest of terms and mocked him:

 

“If Allah has sent you? Who do you think you are? Then I may as well destroy the Ka’bah (ie nothing is left sacred”

 

“Did Allah not find someone better than you?”

 

“If you are a Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) you are too holy for me to speak to. If you are a liar you are too lowly for me to talk to.”

 

They sent people to chase him out of Ta’if, threw stones and people joined in and the riff-raff of Ta’if chased after him.

Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) tells the story like a man! He doesn’t talk about the difficulty in detail.

He was a human being (he was a type of superhuman, but he was still human.)

The fact that he didn’t know where he was shows his shock.

 

He reached a garden outside the city.

Was bleeding and his shoes soaked with blood and he was bruised.

He sat down

Utbah and Shaibah bin Rabee’ah (died in Badr two of the three who came out first to fight): distant cousins of his. They sent their slave ‘Addas (Christian from a Syrian province)

Addas came

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) made a beautiful Du’a:

 

“O Allah! To you alone I complain my weakness, my scarcity of resources and the humiliation I have been subjected to by the people. O Most Merciful of those who have mercy! You are the Lord of the weak and You are my Lord too. To whom have you entrusted me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom you have granted authority over my affair? But as long as you are not angry with me I do not care, except that Your favour is a more expansive relief to me (easier for me to bear). I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descends upon me. Yours is the right to reproach until You are pleased. There is no power and no might except by You.”

 

(In other words: “if you are doing this to reproach me you have every right”)

 

Analysis of the du’a: Adab of the Prophet in making du’a.

 

Importance of making du’a sincerely and pouring our hearts out to Allah, telling Allah all of the things we are thinking even though He knows.

 

NEXT WEEK WE WILL CONTINUE WITH The incident of Ta’if and Islam of Addas insha Allah.