Shaykh Kamal ElMekki Revisiting the Seerah AlMaghrib Institute IlmFest

Quran, An-Nadr ibn Harith

Quran, An-Nadr ibn Harith would stand up and he would begin to tell stories from his travels, from his journeys.

Once upon a time there was a king and people would come and sit and listen to him. And not once does the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) tell him, Listen, can you go tell your story somewhere else? Why do you have to tell it exactly where I recite Quran? They called him a liar. And he doesn't say, Look, you're calling me a liar, but your gold is with me in my house.

So you know that I'm honest. He never argues the point. They called him a poet.

He never argues I'm not a poet. They call him a mad man. He doesn't go out and say, Look, you know I'm not mad.

They warn people of him. They warn people from his religion, Don't listen to this man. And he doesn't say, Look, stop doing that.

They attack his character. And he doesn't go out and defend himself. They attack his religion.

One narration, during the time of the delegations at Hajj. A man says, I saw a young man, meaning the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), followed by an elderly man who was cross-eyed and he had two braids in his hair. And the young man would go to talk to people and the old man behind him would tell them, Look, we know him.

We're his people. He's a liar. Don't listen to him.

He says, Later on I learned that was the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). That was his uncle, Abu Lahab. He says though, that never once did the young man turn around and say, Look, can you leave me alone? Isn't that amazing? Not once did the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) sayLook, leave me alone. Look, could you not follow me? Could you allow me to talk to people? Could you not call me a liar? Don't sing while I'm reciting the Qur'an, please.

Could you sing somewhere else? You know I'm not a poet. Could you tell your story somewhere else? Not once. Why is that? I'm not going to answer that one.

I'll let Sheikh Abdul Bari answer that one so you can take the course now. Isn't that good? Great. Alright.

The Wisdom of Choosing Abyssinia

We all know the first hijrah was to Abyssinia. Look, with the Seerah, you have to stop and ask, Why? Why? Why pick Abyssinia? There's some things that are not good about Abyssinia. Right? For one, it's far.

So contact between the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and the muhajireen, the immigrants, would be difficult. So that's not a good thing about Abyssinia. The second thing, it's a different language.

You have to learn a language all over again. Different culture. That's also not a good thing.

So why Abyssinia? And one thing we learn with the Seerah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), nothing is random. Nothing is done for just no reason or haphazardly like that. Everything, there's a wisdom behind it.

Advantages of Abyssinia

So, the advantages of Abyssinia, despite the pros, let's look at the cons. Number one, and probably the most important one, is that there was a just leader there. So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) even described him saying:

So there is a king there where no one is dealt with unjustly.

So that's the first advantage. The second thing is that the people were Christians in Abyssinia. And for the Muslims, they had some kind of affinity towards the Christians.

You remember when there was the battle between the Christians and the Magians, the Muslims were hoping that the Christians would win. So, because they're Ahlul Kitab, they believe in the same Prophets. And on the same note, the Qur'an shows us that also the Christians are closer to the believers.

They have less hatred than others towards the Muslims. Okay. So now it was far from Mecca.

We said being far from Mecca was a bad thing, but it's also a good thing because it's safe there. So we know that the people who make hijrah there are not going to be attacked or brought back or anything like that. It's a far distance.

The fourth thing is that it's independent. Abyssinia was independent. It's true that it was still under the church of Alexandria, but not Caesar or anyone else could come and dictate to them what to do or influence them on what to do.

Another point is that the Abyssinians had a good relationship with the Quraysh. So the Quraysh aren't going to consider attacking them like they did to Medina. And another thing is that they were economically strong, so there would be no boycott as a result of that.

They're not going to boycott them or do something like that. They won't affect them. So now we see Abyssinia as a very intelligent choice and not just some random decision, pick a spot on the map, let's go there.

Everything was planned very, very carefully. If ever the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) sent someone to do something, you know what? If you don't know that person, just stop. That's a Sahabi.

Go and read their Seerah. Why did the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) send this man in particular? Why did he choose this individual in particular?

The Selection of Mus'ab ibn Umair

For example, Mus'ab ibn Umair. Mus'ab ibn Umair, he was the one that was sent to give da'wah to people in Medina.

So why did the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) pick Mus'ab ibn Umair? Because you know who I would pick, right? I would pick Abu Bakr. He's the best after the Prophet. Abu Bakr, Jazakallah khair.

Could you take care of Medina? I would pick Abu Bakr for everything. If I need water, I would ask Abu Bakr, Jazakallah khair. He's the best, you know, Abu Bakr.

But the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) picks Mus'ab ibn Umair. So you want to understand why? Go and look at the Seerah of Mus'ab ibn Umair. Read his biography.

Then you start to see the genius of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). There are actually many of the known reasons why the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) chose Mus'ab ibn Umair. But we're going to look at one of the more uncommon or not popular reasons.

The Transformation of Mus'ab

And that is basically, if you look at his Seerah, he used to be a very like, very well-dressed, very luxurious young man in Mecca. He was the talk of the town. He always had on the best oils, the most expensive oils, the best clothing.

He's a wealthy young man. Always looked good and always smelled good. So after he became Muslim, his mother, she basically, she starved him and he was beaten.

And he became so poor that in one narration, he one day walked in upon the companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) as they were sitting and talking. When they saw him, they all put their heads down and they all wept. Because of how he looked now.

All the good smell is gone. The good oils are gone. He's in tattered and torn clothing.

And they cried because all this, he lost everything because he said:

That Allah is my Lord. So, in sending someone like this to the Medinians, there's a fantastic lesson here. A man who used to live in luxury and now he has nothing of materialism because of this religion.

So he's sending this man, besides the fact that he's young and intelligent, all the other known facts. But he's sending this person in particular to the Medinians to say, Look, this is what will happen. This is what's expected.

The Message to the Ansar

Because now if you go back to when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would sit and discuss with the different tribes to see who will take him in.

Those discussions, some of them said, Yeah, we'll take you in. We'll defend you.

We'll protect you. But we have one condition. That when you die, we take over.

You see. So they wanted something of the dunya. But the Ansar, and the Ansar are really fantastic people.

When the Ansar sat with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) they said, Okay, what do we get if we defend you the same way we defend our women and children, we put our lives on the line, we give you from our wealth. What do we get in return? And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) can't offer them anything. What can he offer them? Stock options, money, profits.

He has nothing. He says one word. The Ansar are amazing people.

He says one word and they give him the pledge immediately. He says, Al-Jannah. And that's it.

That's all you get. If you're gonna spend all your money, you may not get reimbursed, but you'll get Al-Jannah. And they agreed.

So now he's sending them a young man who lost all materialism, seeking that Jannah. Good reminder for them. So that's one of the wisdoms behind sending Mus'ab ibn Umair.

Always you stop and say, Why this person? Why that person? And you begin to appreciate the depth of the Seerah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). The intelligence of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Okay.

The Strategic Choice of At-Ta'if

We know that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) went and gave da'wah to At-Ta'if. Everybody knows the story of At-Ta'if. But we gotta stop and ask, Okay, why did he choose At-Ta'if? Why did he choose At-Ta'if? There were many other places.

Why At-Ta'if? And again, it's not just random. There's always a plan. There's always thinking behind it.

Strategic Reasons for At-Ta'if

First of all, At-Ta'if, it was like the number two city after Mecca. As far as population and as far as trade. And even the Arabs regarded it as a great city.

Because if you remember, in the Qur'an they said:

They said, if this Qur'an had been revealed to a great man from one of the two cities (Quran 43:31). What are the two cities? They're talking about Mecca and At-Ta'if. So they saw At-Ta'if as a great city.

So he chose the number two city in the area. That's number one. Number two, it has the tribe of Thaqif.

The tribe of Thaqif is a very strong tribe. Because the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) needs a strong tribe that would stand up to the Quraysh. So, this is a strong tribe.

That's a good reason to go to At-Ta'if. And you know this because even after the conquering of Mecca, the Muslims tried to conquer Thaqif and they weren't successful. They besieged them for one month and they couldn't break them down.

And they left. And later on At-Ta'if came into Islam by themselves. So, that's another reason.

You see excellent planning here. Not just randomness. The third thing, is that there was also religious competition between the two.

Because the Meccans, they had the Ka'bah and they had their idol, Hubal. But At-Ta'if had Al-Lat. That was their big one, Al-Lat.

So, it's not a bad idea to go approach At-Ta'if with this new religion because they might want to say, well you know what, we can pull the rug out from under the Quraysh if we have the true prophet of Allah. So, there was religious competition already and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was using that to his advantage.

Geographic and Economic Considerations

The other thing is that At-Ta'if is not really far from Mecca.

It's about a hundred kilometers or so, give and take. It could be a little less, a little more than that. It's about a hundred kilometers from Mecca.

So, it's not very, very far. So, it could still be in contact and close enough to Mecca. The other thing is that also the wealthy amongst the Quraysh and the nobles amongst them, they had property in At-Ta'if.

So, Bani Hashim had property in At-Ta'if. Bani Abd Shams and Bani Mahzum, all of them had money and property that they owned in At-Ta'if. So, it would be a financial blow to them if At-Ta'if came under the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) So now, the next time you hear the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) went to At-Ta'if, you know that there were reasons and wisdoms behind going to At-Ta'if.

It wasn't just chosen like that. Well, it's close enough. Let's go there.

Why Walk to At-Ta'if?

But wait a minute. We said it's a hundred kilometers away. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) walked to it.

Why? Isn't that strange? But you all know he walked to it. But stop and ask why? Why did he walk to At-Ta'if? And there were many riding animals. There were camels and horses and mules and donkeys he could have taken.

But he walked. Why walk? And he only took with him Zayd ibn Haritha. Just Zayd ibn Haritha.

That's also strange. You know who I would take? Abu Bakr, Jazakallah Khan, I need you to come with me on something. You know what, we're going to At-Ta'if, I might take Abu Bakr and Hamza (رضي الله عنهم)

I would take a bunch of people with me because we need that support, right? But it's strange that he only takes Zayd ibn Haritha. So why take just Zayd and why walk for a hundred kilometers when you can ride?

Because look, when does he go to At-Ta'if (صلى الله عليه وسلم)? He goes after the death of Abu Talib, after they came out of Shi'ab Abu Talib, the ravines when they were boycotted for three years in the ravines. Khadijah (رضي الله عنها) passed away.

Abu Talib passed away. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) now has no protectors to the point where even the riffraffs now come and they put sand on his head (صلى الله عليه وسلم). So now he needs to find protection somewhere.

And the Meccans if they see him with a traveling animal, with provision, with camels and so on, going out somewhere, they'll know what's going on immediately. They're going to know, okay, he's trying to leave to find support somewhere else. And they're going to stop him.

So he had to leave in a way that was very inconspicuous, that didn't look fishy or suspicious. That basically, he's walking. And when you walk, you're going somewhere nearby.

Otherwise he would have taken a riding animal. So it looks very, what's the word? Very innocent that he's just walking somewhere. And he didn't take Abu Bakr and Uthman and all that.

He just took Zayd ibn Harithah who used to be known as Zayd ibn Muhammad, who used to be the adopted son of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

So to the Quraysh, what does it look like? A man and his son going somewhere nearby. That's what it looks like.

That's why he walked. But you only recognize all these benefits and all these wisdoms if you stop and say, why did he walk? Why did he just take Zayd (رضي الله عنه) with him and so on and so forth. Okay.

The Angel of the Mountains Incident

We know a number of things that on the way back from Al-Ta'if and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) reached a place called Qarn Al-Tha'alib which is about 35, some say 30 kilometers away, a walk away from Al-Ta'if. So he left Al-Ta'if. He's walking for about 30 or 35 kilometers.

He gets to a place called Qarn Al-Tha'alib. Now, the human beings walk at the speed of about 6 kilometers per hour. So we're looking at 5 hours of walking and then suddenly the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) he's so vexed, he's so overtaken that he's not even aware of what's going on until he recognizes that he's under some shade.

And he looks up and there's a cloud and Jibreel (عليه السلام) is on it and with him is an angel. The angel of the mountains as we all know. Now, I'm gonna leave this for you to investigate further because I'm gonna give you the argument that the angel of the mountains when he came down, he offered to crush the people of the city between the two mountains.

The Two Mountains of Mecca

Okay. So, I'm gonna argue that he actually offered to crush the people of Mecca between the two mountains, not the people of Al-Ta'if. Why? Because he says, he says basically:

Al-Akhshabayn are the two mountains (Bukhari 3231).

And what are the two mountains? One of them known as Abu Qubays and the other, Al-Ahmar. These are the two mountains around Mecca. And there are no two mountains around Al-Ta'if.

So he says, I'll basically flatten them between the two mountains. Right? So the two mountains are in Mecca. So he's saying, if you would like, I will squish the Meccans between the two mountains.

Why the Meccans? It's the people in Al-Ta'if who threw rocks at him and made him bleed. So why the Meccans? Because the Meccans now know he was in Al-Ta'if for a number of days, by the way. So in his absence, they figured out.

They knew. People met him in Al-Ta'if and they knew that, Oh! He's trying to get help outside of Mecca. He's gonna be in trouble when he gets back.

So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was worried about the reaction of the Meccans when he goes back into the city. How dare you try to go out and find support behind our back. That's why he stopped and got the jiwar, which is the protection from Mut'ib ibn Adi.

He goes to this man and he gets protection from him before he enters Mecca. Because he was worried about the Meccans. And that's why the angel offered to crush the Meccans between the two mountains.

And you all know the end of the story. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم),how merciful and how sweet he was (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He said, No, because I hope that from their loins, from their ancestors will be people who worship Allah جل جلاله. And that's phenomenal. Especially after the condition that he's in.

Alright. And the angel comes like five hours later, he gets this offer. So, he was already, I mean, worried enough.

He's been that worried all this time. You know, you know what I would do, right? I would have agreed. Be like, you know what? Yes, please.

Hook him up. Do that thing between the two mountains. Jibreel, if you could do what you did to the people of Lut, you know, where you pick them up and you bring them down and stuff.

Let's get some hail on that thing. Let's get... I'm going to ask for a number of things. A number of good punishments.

Like, look, I'll get my family out of the city, then I'll give you the signal. When I go like this, let it rip. I'll watch from, I'll watch from a distance.

You know? But of course, this was the rahmah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Okay, I've got eight minutes left. Let's see if we can finish this last one in eight minutes.

The Hijrah: Ultimate Planning and Preparation

It's interesting how when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and Abu Bakr were on their way making the hijrah, they left the house of Abu Bakr and now this is the hijrah journey starting.

Abu Bakr's Anxiety vs. The Prophet's Calm

Abu Bakr was really worried. So, sometimes he would be riding for a while in front of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Then for a while, he's behind the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Then for a while, he's to his right. Then for another while, he's to the left of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). So he's just going around him like this.

And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is just making dhikr of Allah, very, very calm. Then he noticed Abu Bakr moving all over the place. He said, He asked Abu Bakr, what is it? He said, Ya Rasulullah, I'll be riding next to you.

Then I'll fear, what if there's an ambush up ahead? So I start walking or riding ahead of you. So if they catch me, you can make it. Then I said, what if they catch up with us from behind? So I start going behind you for a while.

Then I said, what if they come from the right? So I go to the right. What if they come from the left? And all the time, he's just moving around like this. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is just making dhikr of Allah.

The Contrast at Badr

Then, fast forward to the Battle of Badr. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is making du'a. And he's raising his hands until his cloak falls off his shoulders.

And Abu Bakr puts them on. And now Abu Bakr is saying, it's enough of you calling on your Lord. Allah will give you what He promised you.

So why this great drastic difference here? One time, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is calm. And Abu Bakr is the one panicking. The next time, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) keeps making du'a non-stop.

And Abu Bakr is saying, you've called upon Allah enough. So why the difference here? The scholars say. And again, you would notice this if you stop and look at the details of the Seerah.

The Explanation

So the scholars say, the difference is that for Badr, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)he thought that he was taking an army of 300 plus to intercept a caravan guarded by 60 men. That's no big deal. It's not much of a battle.

Then he discovers they're meeting an army three times bigger. And they weren't very well prepared for that. So because they haven't made all human preparations, he intensified the du'a.

But when it came to the hijrah, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) made every possible or humanly possible preparation. There was nothing to do but be calm and rely upon Allah. That's it.

He did everything else he could possibly do. So just let's quickly, in the last few minutes, look through all the different preparations for the hijrah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Because the hijrah of other people, by the way, and everything was so organized. It's strange that this ummah started out so extremely organized.

People think that, you know, whenever you're ready, make hijrah, go to Medina. So just gather your food and your bags, put it on the donkey and go. No.

Everyone came and sought permission from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Everyone checked with him first. It was very, very organized. Very organized.

The Detailed Preparations for the Prophet's Hijrah

So now, this is the hijrah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) himself. And the first thing is that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is going to announce it to Abu Bakr that he's given permission to leave now. He can make the hijrah.

When does he leave? Waqtul Zahira. Which is a time when people are taking the noon nap. It's a hot time.

There's no one around. Everyone's taking a nap. Really, really hot in Arabia.

So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) chooses this time when no one's out and it's a time when he used to not visit Abu Bakr ever during that time. So he goes at a time, a different time. That's the first thing that was showing you how the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is concealing this.

You find that Abu Bakr who still doesn't know that they're going to go out for a hijrah. He didn't know. He wasn't told like in 3 days we'll go.

Just now he's finding out. So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) walks in and he says:

Take out whoever is in the house. So then Abu Bakr says they're my family and it's okay to talk in front of them.

So until this point Abu Bakr doesn't know that they're going to make hijrah. And then the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) tells him. So Abu Bakr became so pleased and happy.

He said:

I'm going to be your companion in this trip. May my father be ransomed for you, Ya Rasulullah. And then he cried out of happiness. Aisha (رضي الله عنها) said, I didn't know that people could cry out of happiness until I saw Abu Bakr cry out of happiness. Okay. Wait a minute.

Abu Bakr's Emotional Response

Why on earth is he crying out of happiness? There's going to be a bounty put on their head. There's going to be people trying to kill them. There's a chance of dying.

Like nobody is so happy that they cry out of happiness. Because look, my friend, you're going to come with me on this journey. There are going to be bad guys shooting at us, trying to kill us.

We're going to be wanted, fugitives from this point on. What do you say? He goes, this is beautiful. This is great.

It's an unlikely reaction. What does it show you? The love that Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) had for the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Then he had two camels. He thought that he might be the companion of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). So he had two camels.

No one stressed them out. They always had water available to them. Always well fed.

These were ready to go. It's the equivalent of having two cars, gas all the way full and just ready to go. Then, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)his plan was not to spend the night at his home.

The Night Plan

Look at the planning. Ali (رضي الله عنه) would sleep in his bed and he would also return the amanat, the trust, the things that people have entrusted with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would stay at the house of Abu Bakr until the night starts to calm down. There's less traffic.

Then they left from the back of the house. I mean, everything they could've possibly done, they have done. They left from the back of the house.

The Route and Guide

There was a known path to Medina and there was another path that was very difficult and longer and towards the coast of the Red Sea. And that's the path that they took. Then they brought someone to show them the way.

And that was Abdullah ibn Urayqit. That was planned as well. Then they left in the direction of Yemen, which is not what you would expect if you're going to Medina.

So, where are they going in the direction of Yemen? To Ghar Thawr, the cave of Thawr where they stayed for three days. I know what we think. They stayed there for a few minutes.

Kuffar came, left, saw a pigeon, saw a spider web and walked away. But no, they stayed there for three days. Okay? Three days and just hanging out, just waiting.

Why Three Days in the Cave?

Why three days? So that the Kuffar, they don't, you know, they intensify the search in the beginning. Then they start to, everyone goes back to their business and they maybe lose hope and it calms down. The search is not as intense.

So they're waiting for things to calm down. That's number one. Then, they had the animals go back.

The animals, they rode to the cave because it's eight kilometers away. The animals go back with Abdullah ibn Urayqit and he's going to bring them back on the third day. Then they need news.

The Intelligence Network

What's going on in Mecca? So they had Abdul Rahman, the son of Abu Bakr. And he was a precocious young man. He was a small boy but he was way ahead of his age.

So, people would speak freely in front of him because he doesn't look like he knows what's going on but he knew what was going on. Then he would come and give him the news. Then his tracks and the tracks of the animals would be covered by the freed servant of Abu Bakr, Amr ibn Fuhayrah.

He would come in with the goats, walk over the tracks of Abu Bakr's son and of the initial approach of Abu Bakr and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). So everything was so planned. Who's going to bring the food? Asma, the daughter of Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنها). Now, why her and what is so great about choosing Asma to bring the food?

Why Choose Asma?

Number one, it's a woman and no one would expect her to be involved in this. Number two, she was pregnant.

No one would expect a pregnant woman to be involved with this because this is an 8 kilometer distance. She's going to make this walk every day for 3 days and it was also towards the end of her pregnancy and there was a climb up to the cave as well. Who would expect something like that?

So all these details, you can only appreciate when you stop and ask and you stop at every place in this Seerah because you can look at it as a story and just laugh where it's funny and cry where it's sad or you can look at it in a little bit more detail and appreciate the genius of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) I'd like to thank you for being an attentive audience.

Salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Revisiting the Seerah: The Story of Deep Analysis

Introduction: Looking Beyond the Surface

I'm going to take stories that we know from the Seerah. But when you look at them in a little bit more detail, they start to change. We all know certain stories, but when you look at them in a bit more detail, you ask questions, ask about every word, why did the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) do this, every action, every person that he chose to do a task, to fulfill a task.

Every time you see something like that in the Seerah, stop and ask. Don't just take it as a story, don't just rush through it. So I'm going to take an incident that we're all extremely familiar with, and we're going to look at it in a little bit more detail, and you're going to see it change inshaAllah.

The Cave of Hira: A Deeper Look

We all know the story of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in the cave. True? I guarantee everyone in this room knows that story, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in the cave, when Jibreel (عليه السلام) came to him. Let's look at the story again, in a little bit more detail, or maybe we're focusing on a different angle here.

The Prophet's Love for Solitude

So first thing, Aisha (رضي الله عنها) she said in a hadith that:

"Solitude was made beloved to him" (Bukhari 3).

So basically the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) - this indicates that Allah made him love to be alone and to meditate. So he would go out in the cave, and he would sit there and meditate for a long, long time. Sometimes the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would stay an entire month, and many scholars believe that it was on the 27th of Ramadan, when Jibreel actually came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). But we all know this story, but let's look at some things here, some details.

The Setting and Atmosphere

First of all, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is for 27 days, staying in this cave, and he's all alone. And you can imagine how quiet it is, unbelievably quiet. And even back then, cities weren't noisy like our cities now.

There were no factories, electrical equipments, and vehicles. So it was very, very quiet. You can hear a pin drop when you're sitting in the cave, up there in the hillock.

So it's extremely quiet. He doesn't hear anyone coming up the cave. Because Khadija (رضي الله عنها) she would send servants, the servants, with food, to bring food to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). But look at how intelligent she was.

She would tell him to leave the food at the mouth of the cave. Obviously, I mean, he left town to be alone. So if you're gonna go in and say, look I brought you this, and chicken, and curry this, and

curry that, and then you start telling him the news, and guess whose donkey gave birth, that defeats the purpose.

He left town to be alone. So look how wise she was رضي الله عنها

She would instruct him to put the food at the mouth of the cave and leave. So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is sitting in this quiet place for 27 days. Does not hear anyone coming up the mountain.

He doesn't hear rocks falling, anyone clambering up. And suddenly from inside, from within the cave, and it's pitch dark, suddenly he hears someone say:

A man saying, read or recite.

The Prophet's Remarkable Response

We know the story, right? But, pause. Let's look at it differently. How would you react? How would you react? I know what sisters would do.

They would scream and run all the way to Mecca. But brothers, how do we react when we're afraid or scared? We get aggressive, right? Yeah, we get aggressive. So we clench our fists up.

Who are you? What's going on? How long have you been there? We want to get violent all of a sudden. How long have you been sitting there listening to me? How did you get in here? I didn't hear you come in. We have a million and one questions of our own, correct?

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم hears this man suddenly, in the quiet of the cave, say:

And he doesn't ask him any question. He just responds to the man's demand. And he says:

Which has two different ways you can understand it. I don't know how to read. Or, what would you like me to read? What would you like me to read?

That's unbelievable.

You're telling me, this man scared the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم,startled him in the middle of the darkness of this cave, and he's telling, he's responding to him. He's like, what would you like me to read? What does that tell you? It tells you the incredible, it shows you the incredible akhlaq of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. His akhlaq were so superb, that they were prevalent. That they showed up even in a place and a time, when he should be shocked or startled or scared.

But what comes through first? His akhlaq. First thing that comes through is his akhlaq. And a lot of times, you get to see people's true akhlaq in different situations, in difficult situations.

Or for brothers when they play sports. You see the brother in the masjid, he's about to faint from the iman in his heart. He's like this.

Then on the basketball court, he's like, what, what, yeah, yeah, yeah. Are you the same guy that was... So, you see incredible akhlaq on the part of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. It's the first reaction, good manners. Someone shocks him like that, and he says, what would you like me to read? Or I don't know how to read.

The Physical Encounter

So then, Jibreel عليه السلام embraces the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says:

So what does that mean? Because you know sometimes, and wallahi I love these sweet and sensitive speakers. I heard one speaker and he was saying, you know how Islam began? You know how this great religion began? It began with a hug. When Jibreel عليه السلام came and he hugged the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. I love stuff like that, I swear.

He didn't hug him. He says:

He almost killed him. Squeezed him that hard.

And mind you, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was a strong man. He had a good frame, he was physically very strong. He says, he squeezed him that hard.

Then again he says:

Then again he says, I don't know how to read, or what would you like me to read? Again you see good manners. He doesn't say, look you already asked me that, now who are you? Never. Then he says the third time:

He took me and he squeezed me for the third time.

And then he says again:

He says, I don't know how to read, or what would you like me to read? And then he left. And it's so amazing, that until Jibreel عليه السلام walked out of the cave, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم never said, by the way you didn't tell me, who are you? How long have you been here? How did you get up here without me hearing you? And none of those questions. Is that amazing or what? Yes, I answered myself.

Yes, yes, it is fantastic. Doesn't that change the story of the cave now? Yes, yes, doesn't it actually. What's going on here?

The House of Al-Arqam: Strategic Brilliance

Okay, look, something else that we all know, everyone in this room knows, that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمwhen he was teaching the da'wah in secret or in private, he taught at the house of Al-Arqam ibn Abu Al-Arqam.

So you just read, you know, I know he was at the house of Al-Arqam ibn Abu Al-Arqam. But you know what? You stop and pause, look at it in a little bit more detail, and you begin to appreciate the صلى الله عليه وسلم genius of the Prophet

Why Al-Arqam's House?

Why did he choose the house of Al-Arqam ibn Abu Al-Arqam? Because you know whose house I would have chosen? Abu Bakr's house. Hey, he's the best after the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلمso why would I go anywhere else? Abu Bakr, jazakallah khair, can we use your house? Fantastic.

But the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم didn't choose the house of Abu Bakr or Uthman or any of the nobles. He chose the house of Al-Arqam ibn Abu Al-Arqam. Why is that? So the first thing, is that Al-Arqam رضي الله عنه was a Muslim, and people didn't know that he was a Muslim.

But people knew Abu Bakr was a Muslim, they knew Uthman was a Muslim, but they didn't know that about this young man. Which is the second thing, he was a young man. He was about 16 years old.

So you'd expect that the lesson or the classes would be held in the house of one of the nobles, one of the well-known people, one of the elderly people.

But who would expect it to be in the house of a young man who is 16 years old? And someone that's not known to be Muslim. So now you begin to appreciate the genius of this location.

Likewise, his house was near the area of As-Safa and Al-Marwah. And that's very intelligent, because there's a lot of traffic there. There's a lot of foot traffic.

So nobody would notice a number of people going in and out, because there's already a hustle and bustle, there's already movement there. Versus, if the house of Al-Arqam, Ibn Abu Al-Arqam, was in the middle of a field. Imagine.

We're trying to have a class in secret, it's in the middle of this field. So you see a Muslim, walking down, all the way, gets into the house. You see another one, leaving the house.

Ten minutes later, there's another one, walking to the house. Wouldn't you detect that? Very detectable, right? But being in the area of As-Safa and Al-Marwah, there's already a lot of traffic, a lot of foot traffic. So, no one would realize people are coming and going out of this house.

The Tribal Wisdom

The third thing, and a very brilliant thing, is that Al-Arqam, Ibn Abu Al-Arqam, was from the tribe of Banu Makhzum. Banu Makhzum. They had known animosity and competition with the tribe of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, Banu Hashim.

So, and the evidence to that, is during the Battle of Badr. One of the leaders, Al-Akhnas Ibn Shuraik, he pulled Abu Jahl to the side. He wanted to ask him a question.

He said:

Do you think Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is a liar? Does he lie? And so, Abu Jahl said:

He said, he never lied. And we used to call him Al-Amin. So what's your issue with this man صلى الله عليه وسلم ? He says:

He said, we competed over honor with Banu Abd Manaf, the tribe of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. We competed over honor. So they fed people, we fed people. They helped people out, we helped people out.

And they gave and we gave people as well:

Until we were on equal footing and we're like two race horses, neck and neck. When we were like almost at a tie, like two race horses who were tied, competing with each other:

Suddenly they said, look, there's a prophet from amongst us who gets revelation from the heavens. So Abu Jahl is saying, so how can we compete with that? How can we ever reach that? We can't say we have a prophet as well. So he's basically showing this animosity and this competition that will lead him to say what he said in the end.

He says, wallahi we're not going to believe in him at all and we're not going to believe him either. We won't follow him, we won't believe in him. So there was known animosity between Bani Makhzum and the tribe of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. So now you see the genius of picking the house of Al- Arqam ibn Abu Al-Arqam.

So now the next time, you're at a lecture or a khutbah and then the sheikh says, of course the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم taught in the house of Al-Arqam ibn Abu Al-Arqam. The guy next to you will be like, yes we know that. But you will be like, Al-Arqam ibn Abu Al-Arqam.

And people will look at you like you're crazy. Like so what, Al-Arqam ibn Abu Al-Arqam, everybody knows that. You'll be like, yes.

But I know some additional information that you don't know so just go play something. You know something, it's amazing. The Seerah is amazing.

The Buraq and Prophetic Wisdom

Just look at every action and just stop and ask, why did the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم do this? And maybe sometimes you get maybe too detailed in it but perhaps you can come up with a possible wisdom. I'm saying, a possible wisdom. So for example, something interesting, when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم rode the Buraq to Baitul Maqdis, the animal that took him to Baitul Maqdis, he tied the animal and then went inside.

Now why did he tie it? It's an animal that came from the heavens with Jibreel. Jibreel spoke to it so it understood language and it knew the greatness of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. So it wasn't like an animal that you know, just came from nowhere, unruly, it's going to walk away. So it came from the heavens, spoke language, knew who the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was.

So why tie it? Why did the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم tie it? You know it's not going to run away. Let me check out earth, see how earth is. It's not going to do that.

So why tie it to the post? If you look at the hadith in Sahih Muslim, and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says:

So he says, I tied it to the place or the post where all the prophets tied their animals (Muslim 162). So now you start to see a possible wisdom here. And I'm saying a possible wisdom.

So all the prophets tied their animals to this post. And even though they came on worldly animals that may escape or may wander off, and I'm not on a worldly animal, and it's not going to wander off, I'm still going to do what all my brothers did. Every one of them tied their animal here, I will tie my animal here, even though it's not going to run away.

So it's a possible wisdom of the solidarity with his brothers, the other prophets of Allah. Okay. Let's take something else that we... Let me ask you a question then.

The Prophet's Response to Opposition

We know that the Quraysh, they used a lot of techniques against the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. So he would begin reciting Quran, and they would pay girls to get up and start singing, and drown out his

recitation of the Quran. And he wouldn't say anything to them. Then they had a man, An-Nadr ibn Harith, he was a man who was well-traveled.

And he says, Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is not better than me. He tells stories, meaning the Quran, and I tell stories as well. So he would follow the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. And whenever he recited the Quran, An-Nadr ibn Harith would stand up and he would begin to tell stories from his travels, from his journeys.

Once upon a time there was a king and people would come and sit and listen to him. And not once does the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم tell him,Listen, can you go tell your story somewhere else? Why do you have to tell it exactly where I recite Quran? They called him a liar. And he doesn't say, Look, you're calling me a liar, but your gold is with me in my house.

So you know that I'm honest. He never argues the point. They called him a poet.

He never argues I'm not a poet. They call him a mad man. He doesn't go out and say, Look, you know I'm not mad.

They warn people of him. They warn people from his religion, Don't listen to this man. And he doesn't say, Look, stop doing that.

They attack his character. And he doesn't go out and defend himself. They attack his religion.

One narration, during the time of the delegations at Hajj. A man says, I saw a young man, meaning the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم,followed by an elderly man who was cross-eyed and he had two braids in his hair. And the young man would go to talk to people and the old man behind him would tell them, Look, we know him.

We're his people. He's a liar. Don't listen to him.

He says, Later on I learned that was the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. That was his uncle, Abu Lahab. He says though, that never once did the young man turn around and say, Look, can you leave me alone? Isn't that amazing? Not once did the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم say, Look, leave me alone. Look, could you not follow me? Could you allow me to talk to people? Could you not call me a liar? Don't sing while I'm reciting the Qur'an, please.

Could you sing somewhere else? You know I'm not a poet. Could you tell your story somewhere else? Not once. Why is that? I'm not going to answer that one.

I'll let Sheikh Abdul Bari answer that one so you can take the course now. Isn't that good? Great. Alright.

The Wisdom of Choosing Abyssinia

We all know the first hijrah was to Abyssinia. Look, with the Seerah, you have to stop and ask, Why? Why? Why pick Abyssinia? There's some things that are not good about Abyssinia. Right? For one, it's far.

So contact between the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the muhajireen, the immigrants, would be difficult. So that's not a good thing about Abyssinia. The second thing, it's a different language.

You have to learn a language all over again. Different culture. That's also not a good thing.

So why Abyssinia? And one thing we learn with the Seerah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم,nothing is random. Nothing is done for just no reason or haphazardly like that. Everything, there's a wisdom behind it.

Advantages of Abyssinia

So, the advantages of Abyssinia, despite the pros, let's look at the cons. Number one, and probably the most important one, is that there was a just leader there. So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) even described him saying:

So there is a king there where no one is dealt with unjustly.

So that's the first advantage. The second thing is that the people were Christians in Abyssinia. And for the Muslims, they had some kind of affinity towards the Christians.

You remember when there was the battle between the Christians and the Magians, the Muslims were hoping that the Christians would win. So, because they're Ahlul Kitab, they believe in the same Prophets. And on the same note, the Qur'an shows us that also the Christians are closer to the believers.

They have less hatred than others towards the Muslims. Okay. So now it was far from Mесса.

We said being far from Mecca was a bad thing, but it's also a good thing because it's safe there. So we know that the people who make hijrah there are not going to be attacked or brought back or anything like that. It's a far distance.

The fourth thing is that it's independent. Abyssinia was independent. It's true that it was still under the church of Alexandria, but not Caesar or anyone else could come and dictate to them what to do or influence them on what to do.

Another point is that the Abyssinians had a good relationship with the Quraysh. So the Quraysh aren't going to consider attacking them like they did to Medina. And another thing is that they were economically strong, so there would be no boycott as a result of that.

They're not going to boycott them or do something like that. They won't affect them. So now we see Abyssinia as a very intelligent choice and not just some random decision, pick a spot on the map, let's go there.

Everything was planned very, very carefully. If ever the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) sent someone to do something, you know what? If you don't know that person, just stop. That's a Sahabi.

Go and read their Seerah. Why did the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) send this man in particular? Why did he choose this individual in particular?

The Selection of Mus'ab ibn Umair

For example, Mus'ab ibn Umair. Mus'ab ibn Umair, he was the one that was sent to give da'wah to people in Medina.

So why did the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) pick Mus'ab ibn Umair? Because you know who I would pick, right? I would pick Abu Bakr. He's the best after the Prophet. Abu Bakr, Jazakallah khair.

Could you take care of Medina? I would pick Abu Bakr for everything. If I need water, I would ask Abu Bakr, Jazakallah khair. He's the best, you know, Abu Bakr.

But the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) picks Mus'ab ibn Umair. So you want to understand why? Go and look at the Seerah of Mus'ab ibn Umair. Read his biography.

Then you start to see the genius of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). There are actually many of the known reasons why the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) chose Mus'ab ibn Umair. But we're going to look at one of the more uncommon or not popular reasons.

And that is basically, if you look at his Seerah, he used to be a very like, very well-dressed, very luxurious young man in Mecca. He was the talk of the town. He always had on the best oils, the most expensive oils, the best clothing.

He's a wealthy young man. Always looked good and always smelled good. So after he became Muslim, his mother, she basically, she starved him and he was beaten.

And he became so poor that in one narration, he one day walked in upon the companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) as they were sitting and talking. When they saw him, they all put their heads down and they all wept. Because of how he looked now.

All the good smell is gone. The good oils are gone. He's in tattered and torn clothing.

And they cried because all this, he lost everything because he said:

That Allah is my Lord. So, in sending someone like this to the Medinians, there's a fantastic lesson here. A man who used to live in luxury and now he has nothing of materialism because of this religion.

So he's sending this man, besides the fact that he's young and intelligent, all the other known facts. But he's sending this person in particular to the Medinians to say, Look, this is what will happen. This is what's expected.

The Message to the Ansar

Because now if you go back to when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would sit and discuss with the different tribes to see who will take him in.

Those discussions, some of them said, Yeah, we'll take you in. We'll defend you.

We'll protect you. But we have one condition. That when you die, we take over.

You see. So they wanted something of the dunya. But the Ansar, and the Ansar are really fantastic people.

When the Ansar sat with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)they said Okay, what do we get if we defend you the same way we defend our women and children, we put our lives on the line, we give you from our wealth. What do we get in return? And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) can't offer them anything. What can he offer them? Stock options, money, profits.

He has nothing. He says one word. The Ansar are amazing people.

He says one word and they give him the pledge immediately. He says, Al-Jannah. And that's it.

That's all you get. If you're gonna spend all your money, you may not get reimbursed, but you'll get Al-Jannah. And they agreed.

So now he's sending them a young man who lost all materialism, seeking that Jannah. Good reminder for them. So that's one of the wisdoms behind sending Mus'ab ibn Umair.

Always you stop and say, Why this person? Why that person? And you begin to appreciate the depth of the Seerah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). The intelligence of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Okay.

The Strategic Choice of At-Ta'if

We know that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) went and gave da'wah to At-Ta'if. Everybody knows the story of At-Ta'if. But we gotta stop and ask, Okay, why did he choose At-Ta'if? Why did he choose At-Ta'if? There were many other places.

Why At-Ta'if? And again, it's not just random. There's always a plan. There's always thinking behind it.

Strategic Reasons for At-Ta'if

First of all, At-Ta'if, it was like the number two city after Mecca. As far as population and as far as trade. And even the Arabs regarded it as a great city.

Because if you remember, in the Qur'an they said:

They said, if this Qur'an had been revealed to a great man from one of the two cities (Quran 43:31). What are the two cities? They're talking about Mecca and At-Ta'if. So they saw At-Ta'if as a great city.

So he chose the number two city in the area. That's number one. Number two, it has the tribe of Thaqif.

The tribe of Thaqif is a very strong tribe. Because the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) needs a strong tribe that would stand up to the Quraysh. So, this is a strong tribe.

That's a good reason to go to At-Ta'if. And you know this because even after the conquering of Mecca, the Muslims tried to conquer Thaqif and they weren't successful. They besieged them for one month and they couldn't break them down.

And they left. And later on At-Ta'if came into Islam by themselves. So, that's another reason.

You see excellent planning here. Not just randomness. The third thing, is that there was also religious competition between the two.

Because the Meccans, they had the Ka'bah and they had their idol, Hubal. But At-Ta'if had Al-Lat. That was their big one, Al-Lat.

So, it's not a bad idea to go approach At-Ta'if with this new religion because they might want to say, well you know what, we can pull the rug out from under the Quraysh if we have the true prophet of Allah. So, there was religious competition already and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was using that to his advantage.

Geographic and Economic Considerations

The other thing is that At-Ta'if is not really far from Mecca.

It's about a hundred kilometers or so, give and take. It could be a little less, a little more than that. It's about a hundred kilometers from Mecca.

So, it's not very, very far. So, it could still be in contact and close enough to Mecca. The other thing is that also the wealthy amongst the Quraysh and the nobles amongst them, they had property in At-Ta'if.

So, Bani Hashim had property in At-Ta'if. Bani Abd Shams and Bani Mahzum, all of them had money and property that they owned in At-Ta'if. So, it would be a financial blow to them if At-Ta'if came under the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). So now, the next time you hear the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) went to At-Ta'if, you know that there were reasons and wisdoms behind going to At-Ta'if.

It wasn't just chosen like that. Well, it's close enough. Let's go there.

Why Walk to At-Ta'if?

But wait a minute. We said it's a hundred kilometers away. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) walked to it.

Why? Isn't that strange? But you all know he walked to it. But stop and ask why? Why did he walk to At-Ta'if? And there were many riding animals. There were camels and horses and mules and donkeys he could have taken.

But he walked. Why walk? And he only took with him Zayd ibn Haritha. Just Zayd ibn Haritha.

That's also strange. You know who I would take? Abu Bakr, Jazakallah Khan, I need you to come with me on something. You know what, we're going to At-Ta'if, I might take Abu Bakr and Hamza (رضي الله عنهم)

I would take a bunch of people with me because we need that support, right? But it's strange that he only takes Zayd ibn Haritha. So why take just Zayd and why walk for a hundred kilometers when you can ride?

Because look, when does he go to At-Ta'if (صلى الله عليه وسلم)? He goes after the death of Abu Talib, after they came out of Shi'ab Abu Talib, the ravines when they were boycotted for three years in the ravines. Khadijah (رضي الله عنها) passed away.

Abu Talib passed away. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) now has no protectors to the point where even the riffraffs now come and they put sand on his head (صلى الله عليه وسلم). So now he needs to find protection somewhere.

And the Meccans if they see him with a traveling animal, with provision, with camels and so on, going out somewhere, they'll know what's going on immediately. They're going to know, okay, he's trying to leave to find support somewhere else. And they're going to stop him.

So he had to leave in a way that was very inconspicuous, that didn't look fishy or suspicious. That basically, he's walking. And when you walk, you're going somewhere nearby.

Otherwise he would have taken a riding animal. So it looks very, what's the word? Very innocent that he's just walking somewhere. And he didn't take Abu Bakr and Uthman and all that.

He just took Zayd ibn Harithah who used to be known as Zayd ibn Muhammad, who used to be the adopted son of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

So to the Quraysh, what does it look like? A man and his son going somewhere nearby. That's what it looks like.

That's why he walked. But you only recognize all these benefits and all these wisdoms if you stop and say, why did he walk? Why did he just take Zayd (رضي الله عنه) with him and so on and so forth. Okay.

The Angel of the Mountains Incident

We know a number of things that on the way back from Al-Ta'if and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) reached a place called Qarn Al-Tha'alib which is about 35, some say 30 kilometers away, a walk away from Al-Ta'if. So he left Al-Ta'if. He's walking for about 30 or 35 kilometers.

He gets to a place called Qarn Al-Tha'alib. Now, the human beings walk at the speed of about 6 kilometers per hour. So we're looking at 5 hours of walking and then suddenly the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)he's so vexed, he's so overtaken that he's not even aware of what's going on until he recognizes that he's under some shade.

And he looks up and there's a cloud and Jibreel (عليه السلام) is on it and with him is an angel. The angel of the mountains as we all know. Now, I'm gonna leave this for you to investigate further because I'm gonna give you the argument that the angel of the mountains when he came down, he offered to crush the people of the city between the two mountains.

Which city was that? Ta'if? Who says Al-Ta'if? Put your hands up. Who says Mecca? Put your hands up. Fantastic.

The Two Mountains of Mecca

Okay. So, I'm gonna argue that he actually offered to crush the people of Mecca between the two mountains, not the people of Al-Ta'if. Why? Because he says, he says basically:

Al-Akhshabayn are the two mountains (Bukhari 3231).

And what are the two mountains? One of them known as Abu Qubays and the other, Al-Ahmar. These are the two mountains around Mecca. And there are no two mountains around Al-Ta'if.

So he says, I'll basically flatten them between the two mountains. Right? So the two mountains are in Mecca. So he's saying, if you would like, I will squish the Meccans between the two mountains.

Why the Meccans? It's the people in Al-Ta'if who threw rocks at him and made him bleed. So why the Meccans? Because the Meccans now know he was in Al-Ta'if for a number of days, by the way. So in his absence, they figured out.

They knew. People met him in Al-Ta'if and they knew that, Oh! He's trying to get help outside of Mecca. He's gonna be in trouble when he gets back.

So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was worried about the reaction of the Meccans when he goes back into the city. How dare you try to go out and find support behind our back. That's why he stopped and got the jiwar, which is the protection from Mut'ib ibn Adi.

He goes to this man and he gets protection from him before he enters Mecca. Because he was worried about the Meccans. And that's why the angel offered to crush the Meccans between the two mountains.

And you all know the end of the story. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم),how merciful and how sweet he was (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He said, No, because I hope that from their loins, from their descendants will be people who worship Allah (جل جلاله). And that's phenomenal. Especially after the condition that he's in.

Alright. And the angel comes like five hours later, he gets this offer. So, he was already, I mean, worried enough.

He's been that worried all this time. You know, you know what I would do, right? I would have agreed. Be like, you know what? Yes, please.

Hook him up. Do that thing between the two mountains. Jibreel, if you could do what you did to the people of Lut, you know, where you pick them up and you bring them down and stuff.

Let's get some hail on that thing. Let's get... I'm going to ask for a number of things. A number of good punishments.

Like, look, I'll get my family out of the city, then I'll give you the signal. When I go like this, let it rip. I'll watch from, I'll watch from a distance.