—then you are far too noble and worthy for me to speak with; but if you are inventing lies against Allah, you are the vilest person I could ever address.”
They mocked him, spread these words among their people, and stationed themselves in two rows along his route. As he passed, he could not lift or set down a foot without it being struck by stones, until both his feet were cut and bleeding. He finally escaped them while blood streamed from his feet.
He reached one of their orchards and sat in the shade of a vine-covered acacia tree, weighed down with anguish and pain. Inside the orchard were ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah and his brother Shaybah. Seeing them, he disliked being there, knowing their enmity toward him. When they noticed him, they sent their servant—a Christian from Nineveh named ʿAddās—carrying a bunch of grapes.
When ʿAddās arrived, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked, “From which land are you, ʿAddās?” He replied, “From Nineveh.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “From the city of the righteous man Jonah son of Amittai?” ʿAddās asked, “And how do you know about Jonah son of Amittai?” He answered, “I am the Messenger of Allah, and Allah has informed me about Jonah.” On hearing this, ʿAddās fell prostrate before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and began kissing his feet, which were running with blood.
When ʿUtbah and Shaybah saw what their servant was doing, they remained silent. When he returned to them, they asked, “What possessed you to prostrate to Muhammad and kiss his feet?” He replied, “This is a righteous man. He told me something I recognized about a prophet whom Allah sent to us, Jonah son of Amittai.” They laughed at him and said, “Do not let him turn you away from your Christianity; he is only a clever deceiver.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then returned to Mecca.
Yūnus ibn Yazīd narrated from al-Zuhri that ʿUrwah told him ʿĀʾishah once asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, “Has any day been harder for you than the day of Uhud?” He replied, “What I suffered at the hands of your people was even more severe. It was the day of al-ʿAqabah, when I presented myself to Ibn ʿAbd Yālīl ibn ʿAbd Kulāl and he did not grant me what I sought. I left overwhelmed with grief and did not come to my senses until I was at Qarn al-Thaʿālib. I lifted my head and saw a cloud shading me; I looked, and it was Gabriel—”