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In the Islamic tradition, the Year of Sorrow ( ar, عام الحزن, ‘Ām al-Ḥuzn, also translated Year of Sadness) is the Hijri year in which
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
's wife
Khadijah Khadija, Khadeeja or Khadijah ( ar, خديجة, Khadīja) is an Arabic feminine given name, the name of Khadija bint Khuwaylid, first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In 1995, it was one of the three most popular Arabic feminine names in th ...
and his uncle and protector Abu Talib died. The year approximately coincided with 619 CE or the tenth year after Muhammad's first revelation. After the death of Abu Talib, Muhammad became vulnerable due to the loss of clan protection granted by Abu Talib (who was also the chief of
Banu Hashim ) , type = Qurayshi Arab clan , image = , alt = , caption = , nisba = al-Hashimi , location = Mecca, Hejaz Middle East, North Africa, Horn of Africa , descended = Hashim ibn Abd Manaf , parent_tribe = ...
). He began to be the target of physical attacks by his Meccan opponents. He visited Ta'if to look for help and invite the inhabitants to Islam, but was rejected. On the way back to Mecca, he petitioned several prominent Meccans to ask for protection. Chief Mut'im ibn 'Adi, from the
Banu Nawfal ) , type = Qurayshi / Adnanite Arab Tribe , image = , alt = , caption = Banner of Banu Taym , nisba = Al-Nawfal () , location = Western Arabian Peninsula, especially in Mecca (present-day Saudi Arabia) , descen ...
clan, acceded to his request, escorted Muhammad into the city and announced the clan's protection of Muhammad.


Death of Khadija

Khadija, Muhammad's first and only wife for the 25 years up to her death, died in 619 CE when she was about 65 years old. Muhammad was almost 50 at this time, and the death happened not long after the end of the boycott against Muhammad's clan. The boycott prohibited, among other things, trade with Muhammad's family. The food shortage that it caused probably contributed towards Khadija's death.


Death of Abu Talib

Muhammad's uncle Abu Talib was the chief of Muhammad's clan,
Banu Hashim ) , type = Qurayshi Arab clan , image = , alt = , caption = , nisba = al-Hashimi , location = Mecca, Hejaz Middle East, North Africa, Horn of Africa , descended = Hashim ibn Abd Manaf , parent_tribe = ...
, in whose household Muhammad (who was an orphan) had lived since the death of his grandfather
Abd al-Muttalib Shayba ibn Hāshim ( ar, شَيْبَة بْن هَاشِم; 497–578), better known as ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, ( ar, عَبْد ٱلْمُطَّلِب , lit=Servant of Muttalib) was the fourth chief of the Quraysh tribal confederation. He was ...
. As the clan chief, he granted protection to Muhammad, even as Muhammad gained enmity from some in the Quraish tribe due to his call to Islam. Per the Meccan customs at the time, such protection was considered inviolate, and therefore Muhammad's enemies were unable to attack him. Abu Talib fell gravely ill shortly after Khadija's death.


Loss of protection

The death of Abu Talib meant that Muhammad no longer had the benefit of his clan's protection. Abu Talib was succeeded as chief by his brother Abu Lahab whose protection of Muhammad was nominal at best, and Muhammad could not find any other chief who wanted to become his protector. Under the Meccan custom at the time, this meant that he was defenseless and could be killed with impunity. Muhammad's detractors in Mecca began to mistreat and physically attack him. One assailant passed by his house and threw spoiled
offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but usually excludes muscle. Offal may also refe ...
into his cooking pot. Another threw a sheep's uterus mixed with blood and excrement when he was praying in his courtyard. Another assailant threw a handful of dirt on his face when he was coming from the
Kaaba The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...
. When one of his daughters weepingly cleaned up the dirt at home, he consoled her that "God will protect your father", and remarked that the Quraish treated him much worse after Abu Talib's death.


Visit to Ta'if

Because the situation in Mecca had become more difficult, Muhammad decided to leave for Ta'if, a city about 100 km southeast of Mecca. In Ta'if, he visited the three brothers who were leaders of
Banu Thaqif The Banu Thaqif ( ar, بنو ثقيف, Banū Thaqīf) is an Arab tribe which inhabited, and still inhabits, the city of Ta'if and its environs, in modern Saudi Arabia, and played a prominent role in early Islamic history. During the pre-Islamic ...
, the tribe that inhabited the city. The three brothers granted him an audience, and he invited them to Islam and to help him against his enemies. They rejected his request, and after Muhammad had left, sent their slaves and servants to harass him. As he fled he took refuge in a private orchard. The orchard's owners, Meccan Quraishi brothers Utbah and Shaybah sympathized with their imperilled tribesman, and sent
Addas Addas ( ar, عَدَّاس) was a young Christian slave boy who lived in Taif, a mountainous area south of Mecca, during the times of Muhammad. Originally from Nineveh, supposedly he was the first person from the western province of Taif to convert ...
, their Christian slave from
Nineveh Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ba ...
, to treat him with grapes. As Addas was offering the grapes to Muhammad, they talked and he was impressed by Muhammad's knowledge of the Ninevite prophet
Jonah Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' Ben (Hebrew), son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria ...
As a result, it is stated that he accepted Islam.


Search for a new protector

Rejected by the people of Ta'if, Muhammad wished to return to Mecca, but did not want to risk going there without tribal protection. On the way to Mecca he sent word to several prominent Meccans to request protection. The first two, Akhnas ibn Shariq of
Banu Zuhrah Banu Zuhrah ( ar, بنو زُهرة) is a clan of the Quraysh tribe. Akhnas ibn Shariq al-Thaqifi and the Banu Zuhrah were with the Meccan as part of the escort that preceded the battle of Badr, but since he believed the caravan to be safe, he d ...
and Suhayl ibn Amr of Banu Amir, rejected his request. Both leaders' stated that the reason for this had nothing to do with their opposition to Islam, but was rather out of tribal principles. Akhnas, though well respected in Banu Zuhrah, was not technically its member and felt that he could not extend protection in the tribe's name, while Suhayl said that his clan came from a different branch of Quraish than the rest of Meccan Quraishis and would not be able to protect Muhammad against them. Subsequently, he sent word to Mut'im ibn 'Adi, the chief of
Banu Nawfal ) , type = Qurayshi / Adnanite Arab Tribe , image = , alt = , caption = Banner of Banu Taym , nisba = Al-Nawfal () , location = Western Arabian Peninsula, especially in Mecca (present-day Saudi Arabia) , descen ...
. He was one of the five Meccan leaders who had initiated the end of the earlier Meccan boycott. Mu'tim agreed, and the next day he met Muhammad with his sons and nephews, and then escorted him fully armed into Mecca. They went to the Kaaba where Mu'tim announced the protection. Upon seeing this, leading opponent of Muhammad, Abu Jahl told Mu'tim and his family "Whom you protect, to him we give protection".


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* * * {{Muhammad footer Life of Muhammad 619 Grief Islamic terminology