Then Ibn Isḥāq went on to relate the Prophet’s entry into Mecca. After the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) had endured from the people of Mecca and Taʾif what he had endured, and after making the afore-mentioned supplication, Gabriel descended upon him accompanied by the Angel of the Mountains—as recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.

ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her, asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “Has any day been harder for you than the Day of ʾUḥud?”

He replied, “I have suffered greatly at the hands of your people, and the most painful day I ever experienced with them was the day of al-ʿAqabah. I presented myself to Ibn ʿAbd Yālīl ibn ʿAbd Kilāl, but he did not grant me what I sought. I departed, overwhelmed with grief, and did not regain my senses until I found myself at Qarn ath-Thaʿālib. I lifted my head, and there was a cloud shading me. I looked, and behold, within it …”