Period 7 of 18
The Boycott, the Year of Sorrow and Ta'if
Quraysh boycotted his clan for about three years, then the Prophet ﷺ lost Abu Talib and Khadijah, and the people of Ta'if rejected him.
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The boycott of Banu Hashim
The sirah books record that Quraysh agreed in a written pact to boycott Banu Hashim and Banu al-Muttalib: no marriage, no trade and no dealing with them until they handed over the Prophet ﷺ. Most of his clan, Muslim and non-Muslim, stayed together in the quarter of Abu Talib for about three years, about 616 to 619 CE, enduring hunger. Years later, on the way to Makkah, the Prophet ﷺ said: “Our camp tomorrow, if Allah wills, will be at Khayf Bani Kinanah, where they swore to disbelief,” which scholars understand as referring to that pact.
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The Year of Sorrow
In about 619 CE, the tenth year of the mission, the Prophet ﷺ lost his uncle Abu Talib and, soon after, his wife Khadijah رضي الله عنها, according to the sirah books, which call this period the Year of Sorrow. Al-Musayyab reported that when Abu Talib was dying, the Prophet ﷺ said to him: “Uncle, say: There is no god but Allah, a word I will plead for you with before Allah.” He died without declaring it, which grieved the Prophet ﷺ, and Allah revealed: “You do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills” (28:56). Al-Abbas said that Abu Talib used to protect him and defend him.
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The journey to Ta'if
Aisha رضي الله عنها asked the Prophet ﷺ whether any day was harder for him than the day of Uhud. He said: “I suffered from your people what I suffered, and the hardest was the day of al-Aqabah, when I presented myself to Ibn Abd Yalil and he did not respond.” Leaving in sorrow, he found himself at Qarn al-Tha'alib, where Jibril called to him and the angel of the mountains offered to crush the two mountains over them. He answered: “Rather I hope that Allah will bring from their descendants those who worship Allah alone and associate nothing with Him.” The sirah books add that he was pelted by the rabble of Ta'if.
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The jinn listen to the Quran
Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما reported that the Prophet ﷺ went out with a group of companions toward the market of Ukaz and led them in the dawn prayer at Nakhlah. A group of jinn who passed by heard the Quran, said: “We have heard a wonderful Quran,” and returned to their people (72:1-2; 46:29-32). The sirah books place this on the return from Ta'if. The sirah books add that he then entered Makkah under the protection of al-Mut'im ibn Adi.
How the sources are used
Sources are chosen in this order: the Quran first, then the hadith collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim, and then other collections such as al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and Malik. The sirah books, mainly Ibn Ishaq as transmitted by Ibn Hisham, are used only for details not found in the hadith, and these are marked as “recorded in the sirah books.” Dates in the Christian era are approximate, and hadith numbers follow the hadith library of this website.
Hadith numbers follow the hadith library on this site, and each source opens its hadith there. Details that are not in the hadith collections are marked as coming from the sirah books.
General information for learning, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.