The year in which Prophet Mohammad came out of Abu Talib Valley, after a three-year siege, was the hardest of the years since the start of the Mission.

'At Your Service O' Prophet Mohammad (21)'

'Year of Grief'

The year in which Prophet Mohammad came out of Abu Talib Valley, after a three-year siege, was the hardest of the years since the start of the Mission. It was a year of grief during which he lost his uncle Abu Talib (as) and his wife Sayyeda Khadijah (as), who both didn't spare any effort to support him in facing challenges and risks.

Abu Talib: Protector, Believer, Loving

Prophet Mohammad was under the patronage and custody of his uncle Abu Talib since childhood. The latter used to prefer the Prophet to his sons and accompany him wherever he went. He wasn't annoyed by Quraish hostility and his only objective was to defend the Prophet and the Mission.

Historians talked about a position of Abu Talib when some Quraish tyrants threw the dirt of their camels on the Prophet. He took the sword, went toward them, and ordered his brother Hamza to take the dirt and stain all the attackers by it. Then he said: "By Lord of the house I swear that I will kill anyone who moves." Then he hit their noses by his sword and ordered Banu Hashim to throw the dirt and blood on their beards.

Another situation narrated by historians is that when Abu Talib lost the Prophet (pbuh) once and did not find him. He convened with Banu Hashim and gave them arms and ordered every one of them to stand by the side of each figure of Quraish and kill him if it was proven that anything bad had been done to Mohammad (pbuh).

Moreover, Abu Talib had abandoned his position within his community, sacrificed his relations, faced big difficulties and bore great hardships in order to defend the Prophet (pbuh).

Those great sacrifices by Abu Talib, whether led by emotions, by a natural love to his nephew or by the tribal relation connecting him to the Prophet, were motivated by his belief in Mohammad (pbuh) and by a clear ideological belief that drove him to sacrifice for the sake of the holy religion.

Sayyeda Khadija: Loyal, Dedicated Wife

Sayyeda Khadija (as) was the faithful wife to her husband, the Messenger of Allah, and sincere in her faith and fulfillment. She used to receive her husband by open arms to ease his pains and difficulties. She was the wealthy wife who spent all her fortune for the sake of the Prophet's call to Islam.

Ten years after the Mission, Abu Talib passed away and Sayyeda Khadija followed him. Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) named that year "a year of grief" during which he lost the most two supporting, loving, sincere, loyal, protecting and defending persons in his life.

Granting that year such a name reflected the sacrifices made by Abu Talib and Sayyeda Khadija for the sake of Islam. It made also clear that Prophet Mohammad did not love the two figures due to personal interest or social relations, but he used to love people for Allah and to honor them as much as they were related to Allah Almighty and dedicated to the call to Islam.

Prophet Mohammad wept for Abu Talib and Sayyeda Khadija because he found the power of faith, strength, sacrifices and dedication deeply rooted in their souls. He was sad because the Islamic nation had lost such a Jihad and loyalty unprecedented in the hard times faced at the beginning of the Mission. He lost the believing eyes of Sayyeda khadijah and her reassuring smile, just as he had lost in Abu Talib his protection and refuge from enemies.

Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) hinted to that when he described the loss of Abu Talib and Sayyeda Khadija as a loss and misfortune for all of the nation, when he said: "Two crises occurred for this nation, I don't know which one is more severe than the other."

Edited and translated by E. al-Rihani