Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 42
42 comfort and consolation, and the death of his uncle exposed him to greater ill-treatment and persecution. In dozens of ways his opponents made it almost impossible for him to leave his house to carry his message to any section of the people of Mecca or to those who might be on a visit there. Because of these circumstances Muhammad decided to go to Ta’if, a town about sixty miles southeast of Mecca, which was also a resort of pilgrimage and was more pleasantly situated than Mecca itself. The people of Ta’if had close trade relations with the people of Mecca. They carried on agriculture and fruit-growing in addition to their trade activities. On his journey to Ta’if, the Prophet was accompanied by Zaid, his freedman. In Ta’if the leading townsmen received Muhammad and freely let him have his say ⎯ but paid little heed to his message. After a while they even showed signs of apprehension lest his welcome in Ta’if might embroil them with the Meccans. So they left him to be dealt with by street urchins and the riff- raff of the town. The Prophet and his companion were finally turned out by mocking and jeering crowds who pelted them with stones. Both were wounded and bleeding as they left Ta’if behind them. Weary and sore, they dragged themselves along a short distance, and when quite clear of the town, stopped in a vineyard belonging to two Meccans. The owners, who happened to be in the vineyard at the