Life-of-Muhammad

Life of Muhammad sa 27with him. Ill-treatment did not upset the Prophet sa . Heeven welcomed it as evidence of interest in his Message.One day, for instance, the Meccans by a general intriguesaid nothing to him nor did they ill-treat him in anyway. The Prophet sa retired home disappointed, until thereassuring voice of God made him go to his peopleagain.THE PROPHET sa GOES TO TA’IFIt seemed that in Mecca now nobody would listen tohim and this made him sad. He felt he was stagnating.So he decided to turn elsewhere for the preaching of hisMessage, and he chose Ta’if, a small town about sixtymiles to the south-east of Mecca and famed for its fruitand its agriculture. The Prophet's sa decision was inkeeping with the traditions of all Prophets as . Moses asturned now to the Pharaoh, now to Israel, and now toMidian. Jesus as , similarly, turned now to Galilee, now toplaces across the Jordan, and now to Jerusalem. So theHoly Prophet sa of Islam, finding that Meccans would illtreatbut not listen, turned to Ta’if. In polytheistic beliefsand practices Ta’if was not behind Mecca. The idols tobe found in the Ka‘ba were not the only, nor the onlyimportant, idols in Arabia. One important idol, al-Lat,was to be found in Ta’if; because of it Ta’if also was acentre of pilgrimage. The inhabitants of Ta’if wereconnected with those of Mecca by ties of blood; andmany green spots between Ta’if and Mecca were ownedby Meccans. On arrival at Ta’if, the Prophet sa had visitsfrom its chiefs but none seemed willing to accept theMessage. The rank and file obeyed their leaders anddismissed the teaching with contempt. This was notunusual. People immersed in worldly affairs alwaysregard such a Message as something of an interferenceand even an offence. Because the Message is withoutvisible support—such as numbers or arms—they alsofeel they can dismiss it with contempt. The Prophet sa