The Year of Grief (عام الحزن)

The Year of Grief (عام الحزن), also known as the year of sorrow is synonymous with the year 619 A.D. and the 3rd year before Hijra. ¹ This year is regarded as 'The Year of Grief' or 'Aam Al-Huzun' because the Holy

wife Khadijah and his Uncle Abu Talib passed away in it. ² Furthermore, with the demise of his uncle Abu Talib, the protection which he had given to the Holy Prophet was also withdrawn.

With the death of Abu Talib and then of Khadijah , two of his closest supporters, Prophet Muhammad went through a period of sadness. Through crisis and emergencies, Abu Talib was always there as an external supporter, fending off the attacks of the people of Quraysh and Khadijah was always there as a more personal supporter, consoling and encouraging the Holy Prophet through all those hardships. After their demise, the Quraysh began to increase their maltreatment and insulted him in ways that they would have never had the courage to do while Abu Talib was alive. ³

Demise of Abu Talib

Abu Talib passed away before Khadijah , ⁴ after the end of the social boycott of

Muhammad , ⁵ in the mid of Shawwal. ⁶ It is possible that the harsh conditions of living under a siege and an embargo had a deleterious effect on Abu Talib’s health ⁷ which later on led to his illness and death. Regarding the period between Khadijah’s demise and Abu Talib’s demise, it is stated that it was 35 days. ⁸ However, others state that the period was of 3 days only. ⁹ Abu Talib fell ill, and it soon became clear that he was dying. On his deathbed he was visited by a group of the leaders of Quraysh, 'Utbah and Shaybah and Abu Sufyan of 'Abdus Shams tribe, Umayyah of Jumah, Abu Jahl of Makhzum and others. ¹⁰ They said the following to him:

  يا أبا طالب إنك منا حيث قد علمت، وقد حضرك ما ترى، وتخوفنا عليك، وقد علمت الذي بيننا وبين ابن أخيك فادعه فخذ لنا منه وخذ له منا ليكف عنا ولنكف عنه، وليدعنا وديننا ولندعه ودينه. فبعث إليه أبو طالب فجاءه فقال: يا بن أخى، هؤلاء أشراف قومك قد اجتمعوا إليك ليعطوك وليأخذوا منك. قال: فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "يا عم، كلمة واحدة تعطونھا تملكون بھا العرب وتدين لكم بھا العجم". فقال أبو جھل: نعم وأبيك وعشر كلمات. قال: " تقولون لا إله إلا الله. وتخلعون ما تعبدون من دونه". فصفقوا بأيديھم. ثم قالوا: يا محمد أتريد أن تجعل الآلھة إلھا واحدا؟ إن أمرك لعجب. قال: ثم قال بعضھم لبعض: إنه والله ما هذا الرجل بمعطيكم شيئا مما تريدون، فانطلقوا وامضوا على دين آبائكم حتى يحكم الله بينكم وبينه. ثم تفرقوا. قال: فقال أبو طالب: والله يا بن أخي ما رأيتك سألتھم شططا. ¹¹

  Abu Talib, you know the esteem we have for you; and now this (the death) that you see has come upon you, and we fear for you. You know what is between us and your brother's son. So, call him to you, and take for him a gift from us, and take for us a gift from him, that he should let us be, and we will let him be. Let him leave us and our religion in peace." So, Abu Talib sent (message) for him (Muhammad ), and when he came, he (Abu Talib) said to him: "Son of my brother, these nobles of your people have come together on account of you, to give and to take. So be it, said the Holy Prophet : “Give me one word – a word by which you shall rule over the Arabs, and the Persians shall be your subjects”. “Yes, by your father”, said Abu Jahl, “for that we will give you one word, and ten words more”. “You must say”, said the Holy Prophet : “there is no god but Allah, and you must renounce what you worship apart from Him”. They clapped their hands and said: “Would you, O Muhammad, make the gods one god? Your bidding is strange indeed!” Then they said to each other: “This man will give you nothing of what you ask, so go your ways and keep to the religion of your fathers until God judges between you and him”. When they had gone, Abu Talib said to the Holy Prophet : "Son of my brother, you did not, as I saw it, ask them anything out of the way."

Very soon after this event, Abu Talib passed away and with him, the protection which he had given the Holy Prophet , also went away and the people of Quraysh started persecuting Prophet Muhammad and his followers. They wanted Prophet Muhammad to stop the propagation of

, but the Holy Prophet remained steadfast.

Demise of Khadijah

After the demise of Abu Talib, the Holy

suffered another great loss in the form of the death of his wife, Khadijah . At the time of her death, she was about 65 years old ¹² and the Holy Prophet was nearing 50. They had lived together in profound harmony for 25 years, and she had been his wife, close friend, wise counsellor, and mother to his whole household including Ali and Zayd . After her demise, her four daughters were overcome with grief, ¹³ but the Holy comforted them by telling that Gabriel had once come to him and told him to give Khadijah the greetings of Peace from her Lord and to tell her that He had prepared for her an abode in Paradise. ¹⁴

Regarding the date of her demise, Imam Bukhari states that Khadijah passed away 3 years before the Hijra ¹⁵ and according to Baladuri, it was around 2 years before Hijra. ¹⁶ Some people state that she passed away around 5 years before Hijra, but that view is incorrect. ¹⁷ She was a staunch Muslim and was famous as Tahira ¹⁸ and the Holy

loved her so much that he did not marry any other woman as long as she lived. She is buried in Jannat ul Mua’lla, in the holy city of Makkah.

 

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• ¹ Martin Lings (1985), Muhammad ﷺ: His Life based on the Earliest Sources, Sohail Academy, Lahore, Pakistan, Pg. 96.
• ² Safi Al-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri (2010), Al-Raheeq Al-Makhtum, Dar Ibn Hazam, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 138-139.
• ³ Abd Al-Malik ibn Hisham (2009), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Hisham, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 299.
• ⁴ Abul Fida Ismael ibn Kathir Al-Damishqi (2011), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Kathir, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 172.
• ⁵ Abu Al-Abbas Ahmed ibn Ali Al-Husaini (1999), Imta’ Al-Asma bima lin Nabi Min Al-Ahwal wal-Amwal wal-Hafadah wal-Mata’a, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 45.
• ⁶ Muhammad ibn Saad Al-Basri (1990), Tabqat Al-Kubra, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 100.
• ⁷ Dr. Ali Muhammad As-Sallaabee (2005), The Noble Life of the Prophet Peace be upon Him (Translated by Faisal Shafeeq), Dar Al-Salam, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Vol. 1, Pg. 518.
• ⁸ Muhammad ibn Yusuf Al-Salihi Al-Shami (2013), Subul Al-Huda wal-Rashad fe Seerat Khair Al-Abad, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 2, Pg. 434.
• ⁹ Ahmed bin Hussain bin Ali Al-Qusantini (1984), Waseela tu Al-Islam bi Nabi Alaihi Salato Wassalam, Dar Al-Gharb Al-Islami, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 96.
• ¹⁰ Abd Al-Rahman ibn Abdullah Al-Suhaili (2009), Al-Raudh Al-Unf fe-Sharha Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 2, Pg. 224.
• ¹¹ Abul Fida Ismael ibn Kathir Al-Damishqi (2011), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Kathir, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 173.
• ¹² Abul Fida Ismael ibn Kathir Al-Damishqi (1988), Al-Bidayah wa Al-Nihayah, Dar Ihya Al-Turath Al-Arabi, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 2, Pg. 359.
• ¹³ Martin Lings (1983), Muhammad ﷺ: His life Based on the Earliest Sources, Islamic Texts Society, Lahore, Pakistan, Pg. 96.
• ¹⁴ Abu Abdullah Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal (1995), Musnad Al-Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal, Hadith: 7156, Dar Al-Hadith, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 7, Pg. 10-11.
• ¹⁵ Muhammad ibn Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999), Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith: 3896, Dar Al-Salam, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Pg. 655.
• ¹⁶ Ahmed bin Yahya bin Dawood Al-Baladuri (1996), Juml Min Ansab Al-Ashraf, Dar Al-Fikar, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 406.
• ¹⁷ Muhammad ibn Yusuf Al-Salihi Al-Shami (2013), Subul Al-Huda wal-Rashad fe Seerat Khair Al-Abad, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 2, Pg. 434.
• ¹⁸ Ibid.