Sirah Ibn Hisham; Sahih Bukhari
The Day at Ta'if
When the Prophet ﷺ was refused, mocked, and stoned
It was the year known as the Year of Grief. The Prophet ﷺ had just lost Khadijah — his wife, his companion, the first to believe. He had lost Abu Talib — his uncle, his protector. His enemies in Makkah had grown bolder.
He traveled to Ta'if — a city of wealth and influence — hoping they might receive him where Makkah had not.
He met the three chiefs of the Thaqif tribe and presented his message. They refused, mocked him, and called him a liar. Then they did something unforgivable: they ordered the slaves and children of the city to line the streets and stone him as he left.
He walked through a gauntlet of thrown rocks. Zayd ibn Harithah — his freed slave and companion — tried to shield him with his body. By the time they reached safety, the Prophet ﷺ was bleeding from his feet, his sandals soaked through with blood.
He collapsed under a vineyard. He was alone, rejected, bleeding. This was perhaps the lowest moment of his mission.
And then he made du'a. Not a du'a of anger. Not for revenge. He said:
"O Allah, I complain to You of my weakness, my insufficient means, and my insignificance before people. O Most Merciful, You are the Lord of the oppressed, and You are my Lord. To whom do You entrust me — to a distant person who receives me with hostility, or to an enemy to whom You have given power over me? If You are not angry with me, I do not care — but Your favor is more expansive for me. I seek refuge in the light of Your face, by which all darkness is dispelled... There is no power and no strength except by You."
Then the Angel Jibreel came and brought with him the Angel of the Mountains. The Angel of the Mountains said: "O Muhammad — command me and I will crush them between the two mountains of Ta'if."
The Prophet ﷺ said: "No. Perhaps from their descendants will come people who worship Allah alone."
He was bleeding and alone at the lowest point of his mission. He did not ask for revenge. He asked only that Allah not be angry with him — and offered mercy to the people who had just stoned him. His concern, even in pain, was for those who had rejected him. And he was right: within decades, Ta'if had embraced Islam.
When you have been rejected, mocked, or humiliated — what is your first instinct? What was his? Where is the distance between them?
Find the du'a of Ta'if and memorize it, or save it. It is the prayer for your worst days.
“He was bleeding at the gates of Ta'if and prayed not for revenge — but for the children of those who stoned him.”
— Taqwa Daily