Ta'if and the Angel of the Mountains

Looking Beyond Makkah

With Abu Talib gone, the Prophet ﷺ had lost his protector in Makkah. Historians reportHistorians report that he went to Ta'if, a town in the mountains south-east of Makkah, to ask its tribe, Thaqif, to support him and accept Islam. Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah 1:419–420

Ta'if was everything Makkah was not: cool, green and full of orchards. But its leaders were not interested. They turned him away.

“The Hardest Day”

We know how this felt because the Prophet ﷺ told Aishah about it himself, many years later. She had asked him: “Have you ever had a day harder than the day of Uhud?” Uhud was the battle where he was wounded and seventy Companions were killed. Yet he answered that he had suffered a lot from her people, and the worst of it was the day he presented himself to Ibn Abd Yalil ibn Abd Kulal, and he refused him. Bukhari 3231Muslim 1795

I went away, overwhelmed with sorrow, walking without knowing where I was going, and I did not come to myself until I reached Qarn al-Tha'alib.

Notice that the Prophet ﷺ did not hide his pain. He said plainly that this was the hardest day. Feeling hurt is not a lack of faith.

A Cloud and an Offer

At Qarn al-Tha'alib he raised his head and saw a cloud shading him. In it was Jibril, who called to him: “Allah has heard what your people said to you and how they answered you. He has sent you the Angel of the Mountains, so that you may order him to do whatever you wish to them.” Bukhari 3231

Then the Angel of the Mountains greeted him and said: “O Muhammad, if you wish, I will bring the two mountains together on them.” Bukhari 3231

Imagine having that power right after the worst day of your life.

His Answer

No. Rather, I hope that Allah will bring out from their descendants people who worship Allah alone, and associate nothing with Him.

He chose mercy. He did not even think only of the people in front of him, but of their children and grandchildren who had not yet been born.

And his hope came true. Years later, Thaqif came to Madinah and accepted Islam, and the people of Ta'if became Muslims. You will read about this later in the series.

The Qur'an describes him exactly like this: “We have sent you, O Prophet, only as a mercy for the whole world.”Qur'an 21:107

Listeners at Nakhla

There is another remarkable story from this road. Ibn Abbas reported that once, when the Prophet ﷺ was travelling with some Companions towards the market of Ukaz, he stopped at a place called Nakhla, between Makkah and Ta'if, and led them in the Fajr prayer. Bukhari 773

A group of jinn heard the Qur'an being recited. They stopped and listened. Then they went back to their people and said: “We have heard a wondrous recitation that leads to right guidance, so we believed in it.” Allah then revealed Surah al-Jinn to tell the Prophet ﷺ what had happened. Bukhari 773Bukhari 4921