Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtoom [The Sealed Nectar]

Author: Shaikh Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuree

Published: Wednesday 12th August, 2015



The Year Of Grief

Abu Talib's Death:

In Rajab, the tenth year of the Prophethood, Abu Talib fell ill and passed away, six months after leaving the confinement at Ash-Sh’ib. In another version, Abu Talib breathed his last in Ramadan, three days prior to the death of Khadeejah (رضي الله عنها). On the authority of Al-Musaiyab, when Abu Talib was on the death bed, the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) entered the room where he saw Abu Jahl and ‘Abdullaah bin Abee Omaiyah. He requested his uncle:

“My uncle, you just make a profession that there is no true god but Allaah, and I will bear testimony before Allaah (of your being a believer).”


Abu Jahl and ‘Abdullaah bin Abee Omaiyah addressing him said: “Abu Talib, would you abandon the religion of ‘Abdul-Muttalib?” The Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله علیه وسلم) constantly requested him (to accept his offer), and (on the other hand) was repeated the same statement (of Abu Jahl and ‘Abdullaah bin Abee Omaiyah) till Abu Talib gave his final decision and he stuck to the religion of ‘Abdul-Muttalib and refused to profess that there is no true god but Allaah. Upon this the Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله علیه وسلم) remarked:

“By Allaah, I will persistently beg pardon for you till I am forbidden to do so (by Allaah).”


It was then that Allaah, the Magnificent and Glorious revealed this verse:

“It is not (proper) for the Prophet and those who believe to ask Allaah’s forgiveness for the Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah) even though they be of kin, after it has become clear to them that they are the dwellers of the Fire (because they died in a state of disbelief).” [9:113]


And it was said to the Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله علیه وسلم):

“Verily! You (O Muhammad (صلى الله علیه وسلم)) guide not whom you like.” [28:56]


It goes without saying that Abu Talib was very much attached to Muhammad (صلى الله علیه وسلم) . For forty years, Abu Talib had been the faithful friend the prop of his childhood, the guardian of his youth and in later life a very tower of defence. The sacrifices to which Abu Talib exposed himself and his family for the sake of his nephew, while yet incredulous of his mission, stamp his character as singularly noble and unselfish. The Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) did his best to persuade his octogenarian uncle to make profession of the true faith, but he remained obdurate and stuck to the paganism of his forefathers, and thus could not achieve complete success. Al-‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib narrated that he said to the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) “You have not been of any avail to your uncle (Abu Talib) (though) by Allaah, he used to protect you and get angry on your behalf.” The Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) said: “He is in a shallow fire, and had it not been for me, he would have been at the bottom of the (Hell) Fire.”

Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudree narrated that he heard the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) say, when the mention of his uncle was made, “I hope that my intercession may avail him, and he be placed in a shallow fire that rises up only to his heels.”


Khadeejah Passes Away To The Mercy Of Allaah:

Only two months after the death of his uncle, did the Messenger of Allaah (صلى الله علیه وسلم) experience another great personal loss viz., the Mother of believers, his wife Khadeejah passed away in Ramadan of the tenth year of his Prophethood, when she was sixty-five years old, and he was fifty. Khadeejah was in fact a blessing of Allaah for the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم). She, for twenty-five years, shared with him the toils and trials of life, especially in the first ten years of his ministry of Prophethood. He deeply mourned over her death, and once he replied in an honest burst of tender emotions:

“She believed in me when none else did. She embraced Islaam 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.”


Abu Hurairah reported that Gabriel came to Allaah’s Messenger (صلى الله علیه وسلم) and said:

“Allaah’s Messenger, lo, Khadeejah 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.”


These two painful events took place within a short lapse of time and added a lot to his grief and suffering. The Makkans now openly declared their campaign of torture and oppression. The Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) lost all hope of bringing them back to the right path, so he set out for At-Ta’if seeking a supportive atmosphere. But there too, he was disappointed and he sustained unbearable tortures and maltreatment that far outweighed his miserable situation in his native town.

His Companions were on equal footing subjected to unspeakable torture and unbearable oppression to such an extent that his closest friend, Abu Bakr, to escape pressure, fled out of Makkah and wanted to leave for Abyssinia (Ethiopia) if it were not for Ibn Ad-Daghanah who met him at Bark Al-Ghamad and managed to dissuade him from completing his journey of escape and brought him back under his protection.

The death of Abu Talib rendered the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) vulnerable, and the polytheists availed them of that opportunity to give free rein to their hatred and highhandedness and to translate them in terms of oppression and physical tortures. Once an insolent Qurayshite intercepted him and sprinkled sand on his head. When he arrived home, a daughter of his washed the sand away and wept. “Do not weep, my daughter. Allaah will verily protect your father.” The Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) said.

Rapid succession of misfortunes, led the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) to call that period, ‘the year of grief and mourning’. Thenceforth, that year bore that appellation.


His Marriage To Sawdah (رضي الله عنها) In Shawwal, The Tenth Year Of Prophethood:

The death of Khadeejah left the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) lonely. The name of Sawdah was suggested to him for marriage which he accepted. This lady had suffered many hardships for the sake of Islaam. She was an early convert to the Islaamic Faith and it was by her persuasion that her husband had embraced Islaam. On the second emigration to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), Sawdah had accompanied her husband As-Sakran bin ‘Amr. He died on their way back to Makkah leaving her in a terrible state of destitution. She was the first woman for the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) to marry after the death of Khadeejah. Some years later she granted her turn with the Prophet (صلى الله علیه وسلم) to her co-wife, ‘Aa'ishah.


 

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