‘Am al-Huzn — The Year of Sorrow (619 CE)
Before the Ta’if journey, two devastating losses occurred within weeks of each other:
Khadijah (May Allah be pleased with her): After 25 years of marriage, she died at approximately 65. She was his first believer, his financial support, his emotional sanctuary. “She believed in me when people denied me, she believed in me when people did not, she supported me with her wealth when people refused, and Allah gave me children through her.”
Abu Talib: His paternal uncle and protector died having never formally declared Islam. His protection had been primarily tribal — no Quraysh leader could attack the Prophet while Abu Talib lived without risking tribal war. With both gone, the Prophet was exposed.
The Ta’if Journey
The Prophet traveled with his freed slave Zayd ibn Haritha. He met with the three chiefs of Thaqif — the three sons of ‘Amr — one by one. All refused. The third told him: “If you are really a prophet, you are too important for me to speak against. And if you are lying against Allah, then I should not speak to you.”
When the Prophet left, Thaqif set their youth and slaves after him, lining the road in two rows, pelting him with stones until his feet bled. Zayd shielded him with his own body. They took refuge in a garden belonging to ‘Utba and Shayba, sons of Rabi’a (who were Quraysh — enemies — but showed this minimum hospitality).
The Ta’if Du’a
Sitting exhausted and bleeding under a grapevine, the Prophet made a prayer preserved in Tabarani and quoted in every major Sira:
“O Allah, to You alone I complain of my weakness, my scarcity of resources, and my humiliation before people. O Most Merciful of the merciful — You are the Lord of the oppressed, and You are my Lord. To whom will You entrust me? To a distant stranger who will treat me harshly? Or to an enemy You have given power over me? As long as You are not angry with me, I do not care — but Your well-being is wider for me. I seek refuge in the light of Your face by which the darkness is illuminated and the affairs of this world and the next are set aright — from Your anger falling upon me or Your displeasure descending upon me. Yours is the right to reproach until You are pleased. There is no power and no might except through You.”
The Angel of the Mountains descended offering to crush Ta’if between its mountains. The Prophet refused: “Rather, I hope that Allah will bring forth from their loins people who will worship Allah alone.”
See also: Prophet Muhammad, Seerah Early Mecca, Seerah Medina, Understanding Dua, Bohra History, Sahaba