The people of Mecca knew that Abu Lahab, the new chief of the tribe of Hashim, was not inclined to take action against those who perpetrated the bounds of decency against the Prophet (sa). Now, the road was clear for all and sundry to abuse Prophet Muhammad (sa) and his companions, and so their persecution continued. In hope of spreading the message of Islam and gaining the support of the influential tribe of Thakif, the Prophet (sa) journeyed to Ta'if.

Upon reaching the city he went straight to the house of Amr, Umair's son whose sons Abd Yalil, Masood and Habib were its tribal leaders and invited them to Islam, then sought their alliance. The hearts of the brothers were unreceptive, one of them swore that he would tear down the covering of Ka'ba if Allah had sent him as His Messenger. Another mocked the Prophet (sa) saying, "Couldn't Allah have found someone better than you to send!" As for the third brother he said, "By Allah, don't let me speak to you ever again. If you are as you claim, the Messenger of Allah, then you are far too important to speak with me; on the other hand, if you are lying, it is not befitting for me to speak with you!"

As the Prophet (sa) endured these harsh remarks with patience and as he got up to leave the brothers called their household and slaves together and encouraged them to hurl abusive statements at the Prophet (sa). The commotion attracted other members of the tribe who joined them and so the Prophet (sa) sought the peace and quite of an orchard belonging to Utba and Shayba. Gradually the crowd dispersed and the Prophet (sa) tied his camel to a palm tree then sat down under its shade and reproached himself as he supplicated to Allah.

The Nazarene Slave from Nineveh

Now Utba and Shayba had seen what had happened to the Prophet (sa) and their hearts softened a little toward him so they sent a young Nazarene slave by the name of Addas with a dish of grapes to him. As Addas gave the dish to the Prophet (sa) he looked up smiled and thanked him then took some grapes and before eating them said, "Bismillah". The pronouncement astonished Addas who said, "By Allah, this is not the way the people of this country speak." The Prophet (sa) looked up at him and inquired, "Which country do you come from, and what is your religion?" Addas replied that he was a Nazarene, a follower of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, from far away Nineveh (Ninawah).

The Prophet (sa) heart was full of joy and commented, "From the town of the righteous man Jonah, the son of Mattal." Addas was even more surprised and asked the Prophet (sa) how he knew about Jonah to which he replied, "He is my brother, he was a prophet and I am a prophet." Addas' heart rejoiced and he bent over and kissed his head, then his hands and feet.

Meanwhile, Utba and Shayba had been observing the Prophet (sa) from a distance and were disturbed when they saw Addas respecting the Prophet (sa) by kissing him and said to each other, "Look, he is already corrupting our slave!" When Addas returned to them they asked why he had acted as he did. Addas answered, "He is the finest man in this country and has told me things that only a prophet would know." To this Utba and Shayba exclaimed, "Do not let him seduce you from your religion - your religion is better than his!"

The Valley of Nakhlah

The Prophet (sa) realized he could expect no help whatsoever from the people of Thakif, so he mounted his camel and set off back to Mecca. Several days had passed and dusk was about to descend but he decided to continue on his journey then take his rest in the valley of Nakhlah -- which is about a days ride from Mecca. Upon reaching the valley he dismounted and offered his prayer.

Whilst he was standing in prayer a party of Jinn from Nasibhin happened to pass by and were captivated by his recitation of the Koran and stopped to listen. The jinn were created before humans, and unlike the human who was created from clay and whose father is Adam, the jinn were created from smokeless fire and their father is satan, the stoned and cursed. But before the creation of the jinn and human, the angels were created from light. Despite the fact that satan is the father of the Jinn, there are among them believers. The Prophet (sa) had received several Revelations that spoke of not only mankind but also jinn, in which both were given good news of Paradise and warned of the punishment of Hell. Now, in the valley of Nakhlah he received another Revelation:

"Say: 'It is revealed to me that a party of jinn listened and then said: 'We have indeed heard a wonderful Koran, that guides to the Right Path. We believe in it and we will not associate anyone with our Lord. He - exalted be the Majesty of our Lord who has neither taken to Himself a wife, nor a son! The ignorant fool among us has spoken outrageously against Allah, we never thought that either human or jinn would ever tell a lie against Allah!'" Koran 72:1-5

The Road to Mecca

As he set off on the final stage of his homeward journey, the matter of the people of the Thakif’s refusal to accept the mercy of Allah weighed heavily upon the Prophet’s mind. Not long after he had set off, a Meccan riding a fast horse, caught up with him whereupon the Prophet (sa) expressed his concern to him. The Meccan agreed to ride on ahead of the Prophet (sa) and go to Al Akhnas, Sharik's son to ask him if he would be prepared to ally his tribe to the Prophet (sa).

However, Al Akhnas was not considered to be a full-blood member of the Koraysh and sent a reply back to the Prophet (sa) saying that on this account he was unable to help in this matter. When the Prophet (sa) learned of Al Akhnas' refusal, his thoughts turned to Suhail, Amr's son, so he asked the Meccan to return again to Mecca and approach Suhail, but Suhail also declined.

The Meccan returned yet again to Mecca, but this time the Prophet (sa) asked him to approach Al Mutim, Adiy's son, who, some time ago, retrieved what remained of the boycott document posted in the Ka'ba. Mutim was agreeable, so the Prophet (sa) entered Mecca with his support, where, fully armed, Mutim stood near the Ka'ba with his sons and nephews and announced that he had allied himself to the Prophet (sa). Abu Jahl was among those present that day and asked, "Are you giving him your support, or are you following him!" "Support of course!" replied Al Mutim.

The Anger of Utba

One day, Prophet Muhammad (sa), Abu Jahl and some of the leaders of the Koraysh happened to be near the Ka'ba at the same time. In his usual way Abu Jahl turned to some members of the tribe of Abdu Manaf and said in a tone that mocked, "Is this your Prophet, children of Abdu Manaf?"

Utba, Rabia's son replied in an angered tone saying, "What is wrong if we have a Prophet or a king!" The Prophet (sa) overheard his reply and spoke to Utba in a kindly reminded, "O Utba, your anger was not for the sake of Allah, but on your own account." Then he turned to Abu Jahl and warned, "As for you Abu Jahl, a great affair will befall you. It will cause you to laugh a little, but weep a lot." Then he spoke to the leaders of the Koraysh saying, "A great affair will come upon you which you will indeed hate." Despite Mutim's inclination toward the Prophet (sa) he did not embrace Islam and died shortly before the encounter of Badr.