The Life of the Prophet ﷺ: The Loss of His Beloved Wife 💔

The boycott was not without its effects, however. Years of being denied food and access to shelter, coupled with physical abuse, took a toll on the Muslims. The persecution probably played a role in the death of the Prophet's wife, Khadijah, in 619. She had been the first convert and had stood by Muhammad [ﷺ] through the adversity he had faced at the hands of Quraysh. The emotional support she provided in the early years was indispensable for the Prophet [ﷺ], encouraging him to continue in the face of persecution.

The loss was a huge one on Muhammad [ﷺ], but it was not the only loss he had to deal with. Soon afterwards, his uncle who had protected him, Abu Talib, became ill and died. Although he did not accept Islam, he endured persecution like the rest of Banu Hashim and never gave up protection of his nephew. Beyond being another emotional loss for Muhammad [ﷺ], the death of Abu Talib had huge implications for the Muslim community. Without a strong leader, there was little to protect Muhammad [ﷺ] and the rest of the Muslim community from the leaders of Quraysh, who were becoming bolder in their attacks on the Muslims, verbally as well as physically.

Despite his love for the city of Makkah, Muhammad [ﷺ] decided to try to find another city that would accept him and give him more freedom to preach his religion than the Quraysh did. The natural choice was Ta'if, a town ruled by the tribe of Thaqif, sixty-five kilometers to the southeast of Makkah. He rode out to Ta'if and met with the three brothers who led the tribe. They unequivocally rejected his proposal that they accept Islam and refused to grant him any form of protection. To make matters worse, on his way out of the city and back to Makkah, a crowd of people from Ta'if gathered to pelt him with stones and insults, leaving him bloodied by the time he was safely out of range of the city. Islamic tradition holds that he was visited by the angel Jibreel, who asked the Prophet [ﷺ] if he would like him to destroy the city of Ta'if between two mountains as punishment for their treatment of the Messenger of God. The Prophet replied in the negative, stating that he hopes perhaps one of their descendants would one day be a believer.

This event would play a huge role in the spiritual connection between Indian Muslims and the Prophet in later centuries.