The Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ Prayer in Taif
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ faced great misfortunes, especially during the Mecca period; He was denied by his people, tortured, threatened with death, and trapped. On the other hand, he witnessed many tests of himself, his family’s members, and the respected Companions from captivity to torture, from illness to death.
However, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ never complained about fate; when he experienced intense pain, he sought refuge in God’s mercy. When he was stoned and expelled from Taif, a place he had hoped for, the words he uttered under a tree, raising his hands to the sky, were painful yet instructive.
اَللّٰهُمَّ إلَيْكَ أَشْكُو ضَعْفَ قُوَّتِي وَهَوَانِي عَلَى النَّاسِ، يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ أَنْتَ رَبُّ الْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ وَأَنْتَ رَبِّي إلَى مَنْ تَكِلُنِي؟ إلَى بَعِيدٍ يَتَجَهَّمُنِي أَمْ إلَى عَدُوٍّ مَلَّكْتَهُ أَمْرِي. إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ بِكَ غَضَبٌ عَلَيَّ فَلاَ أُبَالِي، وَلَكِنْ عَافِيَتُكَ هِيَ أَوْسَعُ لِي. أَعُوذُ بِنُورِ وَجْهِكَ الَّذِي أَشْرَقَتْ لَهُ الظُّلُمَاتُ وَصَلَحَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرُ الدُّنْيَا وَاْلآخِرَةِ مِنْ أَنْ تُنْـزِلَ بِي غَضَبَكَ أَوْ يُحِلَّ عَلَيَّ سَخَطُكَ. لَكَ الْعُتْبَى حَتَّى تَرْضَى وَلاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِكَ
Oh! Allah, I complain to you about my weakness and my lack of respect for people. Oh! Forgiving Allah. You are the Lord of despicable and despised combines; you are my Lord… To whom do you leave me? To the people who are bad spoken, bad-faced; or the enemy involved in my job? If you do not have wrath against me, if you are willing to do so, I will never mind the misfortunes and sufferings that I have suffered. If this misfortune and torment on me does not come from your wrath, I would tolerate it from my heart. However, your appetite is desirably more spacious-wide and wider. I take refuge in your light which is the source of the world and hereafter issues from your wrath; I will expect your forgiveness until you are satisfied! Divine, all power and strength are only in you.
Ibn Hisham, Sira 2/255; Tabari, Tarikh 2/241-242.
