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Abu Taalib thereupon restored his courage and the courage of his forefathers at once, clasped the

right hand of his nephew with his two hands, and said, "Say what you like, for, by Allah, I will never

force you to do anything at all."

Muhammad (PBUH) then did not depend on his uncle for protection and security, though his uncle

was capable of that, but he was the one bestowing security, protection and steadfastness on people

around him.

Any honest person who beholds a scene like that cannot but hasten to love, be loyal to, and believe

in that Messenger (PBUH).

His persistence regarding truth, his perseverence with the message, and his patience during great

troubles were all for the sake of Allah and not for personal benefit. All these were bound to attract

brilliant minds and to awaken the conscientious people to follow the light beckoning to them and hasten

to the honest and true Messenger (PBUH) who came to purify our souls and guide us. People beheld him

while harm was reaching him from every comer. The condolence he had sought in his uncle Abu Taalib

and his wife Khadiijah was denied him because they both died within days of each other. Whoever

desires to imagine the extent of persecution and war launched by the Quraish against the unarmed

Messenger, suffice it to know that Abu Lahab himself, who was his most bitter rival and enemy, was so

conscience-stricken one day by what he beheld that he announced he would protect the Messenger, help

him, and stand against any aggression against him. But the Messenger refused his protection and

remained lofty, raising his head and remaining loyal to his message. Nobody could avert harm from him

because nobody dared to do so! Even the eminent Abu Bakr could do nothing but weep.

One day, the Messenger (PBUH) went to the Ka'bah and, while he was circumambulating it, the

nobles of the Quraish who were waiting for him suddenly ran and surrounded him, saying, "Is it you that

say such-and-such a thing about our deities?" And he calmly answered them, "Yes, I say that." They held

him by the end of his clothes while Abu Bakr pleaded for his release, saying with tears pouring, "Are you

going to kill a man for saying, Allah is my Lord?"

Whoever saw the Messenger on the day of At-Taa'if was sure to see some example of his truth and

loyalty worthy of him. He turned his face towards the tribe of Thaqiif, calling them to Allah, the One and

the Vanquisher.

Was not what he was encountering from his clan and his folk enough? Did it not warn him of an

increasing harm when it comes from people he had no blood relations with? Absolutely not, because

these harmful consequences were not considered by him. Almighty Allah had commanded him to deliver

the message, and that was enough. He remembered the day when the intransigence of his community

increased and he went home covering himself in bed in sorrow. He heard the voice of heaven reaching

his heart, and immediately he heard the voice of revelation casting the same matter as on the day of the

cave: "O you encovered --- Arise and warn" (74:1-2).

Then he had to deliver the message and warn. Therefore, he was a Messenger who did not care

about harm and did not search for comfort. Let him go then to Al-Taa'if to convey the word of Allah to

its people.

There, however, the nobles of the community surrounded him and were more cunning than their

mates in Makkah. They set children and hooligans against him, and they abandoned the most sacred of

the customs of the Arabs, which is hospitality to guests and protection of the one who asks for help.

They set their hooligans and their young boys after the Messenger (PBUH), throwing stones at him.

This was the one for whom the Quraish offered to collect money to make him the richest among them

and to be their leader and king! Yet, he refused saying, " l am but the slave of Allah and His Messenger."

Now we behold him in At-Taa'if where he retired to an orchard to be protected by its walls from the

pursuit of the hooligans. His right hand was stretched towards heaven praying to Allah while his left