No One Suffered As Much As He Did
Written in Turkish by Mutlu BİNİCİ
Translated into English by İbrahim Faruk CEYLAN
Pharaoh of the Ummah
He saw feces of animals and humans as he got out of his home. His uncle Abū Lahab and his neighbor Uqba ibn Abu Mu'ayt were always leaving thorn bushes, feces and were maltreating him for years on and on. He said, “O, sons of Abd Manaf, what kind of a neighborhood is that?”[1], but nobody answered. However, he was treating his neighbors in a really good manner, offering gifts. He did not say anything else, he wouldn’t use bad words, which have become normal for us nowadays. He was so clean and beautiful that he wouldn’t say such words by his venerable mouth.
He was going to Kaabah, turn to his Lord at Maqām Ibrāhīm1 and pray his Salah2 there. His salah would drive infidels out of their mind, instigating them to insult and threaten him. Once, Abu Jahl came near him and shouted rudely, “Haven’t I banned you from Salah here?”
After he finished his Salah, he turned to Abu Jahl and replied harshly. Abu Jahl was both surprised and more furious because of this. Abu Jahl said, “By what do you trust on and threaten me? Don’t you know there is no one that has more supporters and power than I have in this valley?”.
He didn’t even reply to Abu Jahl, and he continued to walk. Allah was going to give an accurate answer to this cruel man, 
“Have you seen the one who forbids a servant when he prays? Have you seen if he is upon guidance or enjoins righteousness? Have you seen if he denies and turns away does he not know that Allah sees? No! If he does not desist, We will surely drag him by the forelock, a lying, sinning forelock. Then let him call his associates; We will call the angels of Hell. No! Do not obey him. But prostrate and draw near [to Allah].”[2]
The prophet Muhammad continued to prostrate and draw nearer to his Lord. The time a servant was nearest to his Lord was prostration. As he prostrated, infidels went mad.
Just another day, Abu Jahl was coming towards him with a big stone on his hand. He was going to crush the head of the Prophet (s.a.w.) when he was prostrating in order to satisfy Al-Lāt and Al-‘Uzzá. When Abu Jahl was just about to kill, he was stopped. He was petrified like the stone at his hand, he couldn’t move. Then, he started trembling and escaping. He had already dropped the stone from his hand, he was just thinking about his life. When people asked him, “What happened, why are you like that?”, he answered, “When I got close to him, I saw an enormous wild camel coming towards me to tear me into pieces with his hoofs. If I didn’t escape, it was going to swallow me”.[4]
O Allah! I leave Quraysh to You
Polytheists were hating The Prophet (s.a.w.) and his invitaion, they especially couldn’t stand his Salah. During Salah, the one would connect to his Lord, get blessed with peace and trust, while cruels were filled with dismay. Salah was an act of Tawhid3, pillar of islam which hold against persecution system of the polytheists. Apostle of Allah praying at Kaabah meant ignoring their power and dominion. Because of that, they were attacking the Prophet while he was praying, treating him in the worst way possible.
According to Abdullah ibn Masud, one of the Prophet’s young companions, narrated: The Prophet (s.a.w.) once was praying near Kaabah. Abu Jahl and his friends were also there. The prophet went to prostrate and stayed there long. Abu Jahl said to the ones near him, “Which one of you wants to put ...’s camel rumen on Muhammad’s back?” Uqba ibn Abu Mu'ayt, one of the most vile of them, stood up. He took the rumen full of feces and put it on the Prophet’s back.
Abdullah ibn Masud was shocked. He could neither move nor speak. He held no power to save him. Those were the first days of Islam. People who declare themselves as Muslims were no more than fingers of a hand. At that time, Abdullah was a solitary shepherd of a Qurayshi leader. The Apostle of Allah couldn’t rise because of the heaviness of rumen, while Qurayshis were holding each other trying not to fall from laughter. It is not possible to describe Ibn Masud’s despair and pain he felt from not being able to help the one he loved most.
When little Fatimah heard noises of the mad leaders of Quraysh, she came immediately and took feces off his father’s back. The youngest daughter of Muhammad (s.a.w.) was furiously shouting and insulting those cruel leaders who deemed this behavior appropriate to her father. When the Apostle of Allah finished his prostration, he rose up, opened his hands for praying, and said three times, “O Allah, I leave Quraysh to you.”
Everyone was silent. Those who were splitting their sides just before were now looking anxiously. The belief that a curse in this holy place will be accepted took their hearts into fear. How weird they were! They both believed in this place’s holiness and were wildly attacking the Prophet of Allah.
However, the Apostle of Allah had more to say,
“O My Allah! I leave Abu Jahl Amr ibn Hishām, Utbah ibn Rabi’ah, Shaybah ibn Rabi’ah, Walid ibn Utbah, Umayyah ibn Khalaf and Uqba ibn Abu Mu'ayt to you. You are the only One who can smite them.”
Years had passed. All those names were killed at the Battle of Badr by the soilders of Islam. Their rotting corpses were thrown to a well named “Kalib” [5]
My Lord is Allah
Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As narrated as follows: The polytheists were gathered near Kaabah, discussing how they would torture the Apostle of Allah, even how they would kill him. Inhuman Uqba ibn Abu Mu'ayt suddenly came near to the Prophet’s back while he was worshipping at Maqām Ibrāhīm and started choking him with his clothing. Muhammad, the Apostle of Allah, fell on his knees. He fell in such a way, people started screaming that he died. When Abu Bakr heard this, he ran to the Prophet and saved him. He was both trying to stop Uqba and saying “Do you intend to kill a man just because he says, ‘My Lord is Allah’, and he has brought forth to you the Evident Signs from your Lord?”[6]
Abu Bakr (r.a.) was a man of tough times. When all cruels of Mecca unified against our Beloved, he would appear alone, would try to save the Prophet even if it meant he would die. Asr-u Saadah3 was full of this doubtless great hero’s sacrifices.
At one time when polytheists that lost temper were beating the Prophet to knock him down, again Abu Bakr ran to the Prophet in tears, then saved him saying, “Are you going to kill a man just because he says, ‘My Lord is Allah’?”. People who were watching this brawl had asked who this man was, risked his life to save the Prophet. The answer they got was “Abu Bakr the Mad”.[7]
People thought it was pure madness to take side with the powerless, alone the Prophet. They thought Abu Bakr must have lost his mind to be giving eyeteeth for this unpromising Prophet.
Such a Sacrifice
There was no peace for Allah’s faithful and trustworthy servants even in Haram al-Sharif4. Qurayshi leaders were discussing about the Prophet at Hijr; how Muhammad (s.a.w.) regarded their clever ones as stupid, how he denied their ancestor’s thoughts and beliefs, and how he harmed their unity. The matter was so extreme that they could not bear this anymore. While they were talking, the Prophet appeared at Kaabah. He greeted al-Ḥajaru al-Aswad5 and started tawaf6. While he was passing through, the leaders started swearing and insulting him. Although he was saddened, he continued to tawaf. At his next turn, Qurayshi swearing was even worse. The Prophet still continued to tawaf. When he passed them for the third time, he stopped near this excessive group and said,
“O Qurayshis, I have been ordered with such a command that I will put you all to sword.”
Those words shook the Meccans, they froze as if a bird was on their head. They all shut up after that. The most malicious of them all, Abu Jahl, said timidly, “O, father of Qasim, go with peace. You are not from the ignorant.”
Next day, Qurayshis were arguing over Hijr.
“Did you like what you did yesterday? You are always talking about what he is doing, but when he said something bad, you left him to himself.”
Really, the Prophet’s one word was enough to silent them all. While they were blaming each other, the Allah’s messenger entered Masjid al-Haram. They immediately surrounded him and asked him, “Are you the one who said those words to us yesterday?”
Without any hesitation, the Prophet said “Yes, it was me.” After he said that, they immediately attacked him. Some men rushed to Abu Bakr and told about the situation. It was like the Apostle’s friend came so fast as if he was a bird. He sacrificed himself for the Prophet. His long and plaited hair was torn out, his face was in blood and bruises, but he saved his leader, loved one Muhammad from the hands of the enemies.[8]
I Wish I Hadn’t Had Him as My Friend
Allah’s trusted and righteous servant had been exposed to worst kind of treatment, insane swearing in the way of inviting people to Islam. Ubay ibn Khalaf got anxious when he learned his close friend Uqba ibn Abu Mu'ayt was eavesdropping on the Prophet. He supposed Uqba became a Muslim. He provoked Uqba against the Prophet by saying, “I won’t talk to you ever again unless you publicly deny and insult Muhammad.” Uqba, for the sake of Ubay, did what his friend told him to do. He brought shame to himself to not to lose friendship of Ubay. He did not lose Ubay, but he lost this world and the Hereafter. Allah mentions him as follows, “And the Day the wrongdoer will bite on his hands [in regret] he will say, "Oh, I wish I had taken with the Messenger a way. Oh, woe to me! I wish I had not taken that one as a friend. He led me away from the remembrance after it had come to me. And ever is Satan, to man, a deserter.”[9]
We should wonder whether our Lord is satisfied the friends that we have chat, play games, laugh together or not. We should think this again in order to not to regret before going to the hell.
What kind of a neighborhood is that?
Allah’s lovely messenger had suffered painful days from nearly everyone from the slave to the leader in the city. When he was going back home after all the griefs, his road was always full of thorn bush and feces. Uqba and Abū Lahab’s wives were stoning him every day, just like his suffering in Ta'if. How inhuman Abū Lahab and his wife were! In order to take revenge, they attacked and threatened fiancé’s of the Prophet’s daughters, Umm Kulthum and Ruqayyah. Utbah and Utaybah came to the Prophet, and they had declared engagement was over, also insulting the Prophet. Especially Utaybah, how can someone explain his misbehavior!
No One Suffered As Much As He Did
Those merciless men who were always looking to upset and oppress the Prophet even by targeting his daughters rejoiced over death of Muhammad’s son, spread his pain and sadness to the entire city.[11]
Abu Jahl was making life unbearable for Muslims, following the Prophet in his every step, swearing at him, as Qurayshi leaders were slandering him. Umm Jamil was reading poems to everyone, spreading rumors, mocking with the Prophet. Tyrants were fighting a war in such immorality that history had never witnessed, while Muhammad and Muslims were resisting and continuing their invitation to their Lord.
Beloved Allah’s messenger once said, "Indeed I have feared for the sake of Allah, such that no one has feared, and I have been harmed for the sake of Allah, such that no one has been harmed. Thirty days and nights have passed over me, and there was no food with Bilal and I forced something with a liver to eat, except what Bilal could conceal under his armpit." [12]
On the Prophet’s thirtieth day of suffering, his having a black slave as a companion was a truly important lesson for Muslims. It is better to understand now that a slave that is companion of the Prophet can stand up from under a giant stone.
Closer To Us Than Ourselves
The mercy to the worlds endured every possible kind of suffering and torture. He never gave up. He always had the struggle of standing against the worst that could happen. Yet, he had to give hope to Bilal when a hot boulder was placed on him; to Habbab when he was thrown to fire, to Mus‘ab when he was deprived of all his belongings. On those days, Yaseer was consoling his family saying, “We will meet in the Heaven.” pleading to his Lord for salvation of the companions of Muhammad, crying with his innocent brother, sharing the pain with them. As one of us, merciful Prophet’s heart was literally burning with his companions’ pains, the boulder was hurting him rather than Bilal, the fire was branding him, instead of Habbab.
Owner of the Pearl Mansion
When Muhammad (s.a.w.) came home after suffering in the streets of Mecca, he saw Khadijah’s beautiful face, forgetting all his pain. Allah (j.j.) was soothing his servant’s pain with his wife.[13] Who could have borne the pain that Khadijah suffered? She faced her neighbors’ attacks, cheered up her children, had been exposed to threats and defamation. It is accurate that the Prophet heralded she would have a mansion made out of pearl.
Allah Loves the Steadfast
Our Beloved Prophet was accused of things he was not worth. People labeled him a witch, a liar, a lunatic and a minstrel. People who were calling him Al-Amin7 before his prophethood were now hurting him with their words. However, he continued his sacred path to his Lord.
“And how many a prophet [fought and] with him fought many religious scholars. But they never lost assurance due to what afflicted them in the cause of Allah, nor did they weaken or submit. And Allah loves the steadfast. And their words were not but that they said, ‘Our Lord, forgive us our sins and the excess [committed] in our affairs and plant firmly our feet and give us victory over the disbelieving people.’”[15]
The Great Messenger didn’t even think to revolt, abandon his path when he felt exasperated from his society. He asked his Lord for help while praying. His lord never left him or abandoned him. He foretold divine help was near.
“So never think that Allah will fail in His promise to His messengers. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Owner of Retribution.”[16]
Greetings to the ones who were accused of false things, beaten to be knocked down, spitted to the their face, put animal feces on their back, lynched, shared the pain of their friends and families, endured no matter what they suffered, pleading mercy even for the ones attacked him, crying at night for his nation’s salvation, rushing for jihad at day, mujahideen’s leaders and their loyal companions!
Maqām Ibrāhīm : The stone on which Abraham (a.s.w.) standed while rebuilding Kaabah
Salah : Prayer, Islamic worshiping
Asr-u Saadah : Period in which Prophet Muhammad was alive
Haram al-Sharif: Masjid al-Haram, The Great Mosque of Mecca, Kaabah
al-Ḥajaru al-Aswad: The Black Stone, According to Islamic tradition, it fell from heaven as a guide for Adam and Eve to build the Kaabah.
Tawaf: To go around the Kaabah
Al-Amin: Trustworthy, Faithful
[1]Ibn Sa’d; Tabaqât, Volume 1, Parts 1.2.13
[2]Alaq:9-19
[3]Sahih Muslim, Kitab Al-Salat, No 744
[4]İbn Hişâm, Sîre,I,319-320 *
[5]Sahih Al-Bukhari Book 8, Hadith 167
[6]Sahih Al-Bukhari Vol. 6, Book 60, Hadith 339
[7]Hâkim, Müstedrek,III,67; M. Yusuf Kandehlevi, Hayatu’s-Sahabe,I,323 *
[8]İbn Hişâm, Sîre,I,309-310; Ahmed b. Hanbel, Müsned,II,218; M. Yusuf Kandehlevi, Hayatu’s-Sahabe,I,320-321 *
[9]Furkan 25/27-29; Ukbe b.Ebî Muayt Hakkında bkz: İsmail Yiğit,Ukbe b. Ebî Muat,DİA,XLII,63-64 *
[10]Beyhakî, Delâil, II,339;Heysemî, Mecmau'z-zevâid, VI, 18 *
[11]İbn Kesir, Tefsiru’l-Kurani’l-Azim,VIII,504; Mevdudi, Tefhimu’l-Kuran,VII,265 *
[12]Tirmidhi, Vol. 4, Book 11, Hadith 2472
[13]İbn Hişâm, Sîre, I, 257 *
[14]Buhârî, Book 26, Hadith 19, Al-Anbya 21:45
[15]Ali ‘Imrân 3/146-147