The question
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked the Prophet ﷺ whether he had ever faced a day harder than the day of Uhud, the battle where he was wounded and many Companions were killed. He told her his people had hurt him greatly, and that the hardest was the day of al-‘Aqabah (Sahih al-Bukhari 3231).
Rejected
He presented his message to Ibn ‘Abd Yalil ibn ‘Abd Kulal, a leader of Ta’if, who gave him no answer he hoped for. The Prophet ﷺ left, overwhelmed with sorrow, and kept walking without noticing where he was until he reached Qarn ath-Tha‘alib (Bukhari 3231).
The hadith calls it “the day of al-‘Aqabah”. Scholars of hadith explain that this refers to his journey to Ta’if. We have left out details that are not in this hadith.
The cloud and the angel
He raised his head and found a cloud shading him. In it was Jibril, who called out that Allah had heard what his people said to him and how they answered him, and had sent the angel of the mountains to do whatever he commanded.
The angel of the mountains greeted him and said that, if he wished, he would bring the two mountains of Makkah (al-Akhshabayn) down on them (Bukhari 3231, Sahih Muslim 1795).
His answer
He had every reason to say yes. Instead he said no. He hoped that Allah would bring from their descendants people who would worship Allah alone, without partners (Bukhari 3231).
He chose to wait for people who had not been born yet. Allah describes him: “And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds” (Quran 21:107).
What we can take from it
- Grief is not weakness. The best of creation walked without knowing where he was going from sorrow. Allah still heard.
- Help can come in the moment you feel most alone. The cloud came after the rejection, not before it.
- Mercy is a choice made when you have power. He was offered revenge and chose hope for their children instead.