The Year of Sorrow
This chapter covers one of the heaviest periods in the Makkan Seerah: after the boycott ended, Khadijah رضي الله عنها returned to Allah, Abu Talib left this world, Quraysh became bolder, and the Prophet ﷺ went to Ta'if seeking a door for the message.
Where This Chapter Fits
The boycott had already strained the Prophet’s ﷺ household and clan. Then two major earthly supports were no longer beside him.
Boycott ended
Banu Hashim and Banu al-Muttalib had endured years of social and economic isolation.
Support was shaken
Khadijah رضي الله عنها returned to Allah and Abu Talib left this world, leaving the Prophet ﷺ with deep grief and heavier public pressure.
A new household chapter
After this painful period, later chapters include the marriage to Sawdah رضي الله عنها and the continued path toward new openings.
Why This Year Felt So Heavy
This year is commonly known in Seerah as the Year of Sorrow because the Prophet ﷺ faced grief from more than one direction. The boycott had ended, but its strain had been severe. The body becomes tired after long hunger and isolation, and the heart becomes heavy after years of watching loved ones suffer.
Then Khadijah رضي الله عنها, the first believer and the closest support in his home, returned to Allah. Around the same period, Abu Talib, the uncle who had protected him in Makkah, left this world. These two losses were different in meaning, but both changed the Prophet’s ﷺ earthly situation.
Khadijah رضي الله عنها was support of faith, love, comfort, and sacrifice. Abu Talib was a shield of clan protection in a city where tribal protection mattered. When both were gone, Quraysh became bolder and the Prophet ﷺ carried the mission with even fewer worldly shields.
Allah Was Always His Protector
أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَآوَىٰ
Meaning: “Did He not find you an orphan and give shelter?”
Qur'an 93:6Khadijah رضي الله عنها Returned to Allah
Her place in the Seerah cannot be reduced to one moment. She stood with the Prophet ﷺ from the first revelation through years of pressure.
The first believer and the home of comfort
When the Prophet ﷺ came back from Ghar Hira trembling, Khadijah رضي الله عنها did not dismiss him, blame him, or leave him alone with fear. She comforted him, reminded him of his noble character, and took him to Waraqah ibn Nawfal.
Her words after the first revelation showed how deeply she knew him: he kept family ties, carried the weak, helped the needy, honoured guests, and supported truth. This was not shallow praise. It was a wife bearing witness to years of character.
She used her heart, home, wealth, and strength in support of the Prophet ﷺ. During the boycott, she stood with him in hardship. When she returned to Allah, the Prophet ﷺ did not lose only a wife. He lost the first believer, the mother of his children, and the one who had been home after revelation shook the mountains of his life.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3; Seerah reports in Ibn Hisham and Ibn Sa'dHer rank is established in hadith
The Prophet ﷺ remembered Khadijah رضي الله عنها with deep loyalty. Authentic hadith mention her virtue, her support, and Allah’s special honour for her.
Jibril عليه السلام came to the Prophet ﷺ and conveyed salam from Allah to Khadijah رضي الله عنها, and glad tidings of a house in Paradise. This shows how beloved her sacrifice was to Allah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3820; Sahih Muslim 2432The children of the Prophet ﷺ
Khadijah رضي الله عنها was the mother of all the Prophet’s ﷺ children except Ibrahim رضي الله عنه. This family chapter will be covered in a separate page, and later events connected to each child will be added when they occur in the Seerah timeline.
At this point in the story, the focus is on Khadijah رضي الله عنها as the believing wife, the mother, and the lifelong support who stood beside the Prophet ﷺ when Islam was still small and heavily opposed.
Seerah reports in Ibn Hisham and Ibn Sa'dA Dua for Mercy
رَّبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
Meaning: “My Lord, forgive and have mercy, and You are the best of the merciful.”
Qur'an 23:118Abu Talib Left This World
Abu Talib’s role was protection, loyalty, and clan shelter. His situation must be explained with care because the Qur'an and hadith speak clearly about guidance.
The uncle who protected him
Abu Talib had protected the Prophet ﷺ for many years. He stood against Quraysh when they demanded that he hand over his nephew, and he remained a shield during some of the most difficult Makkan years.
But guidance is from Allah alone. Authentic hadith mention that the Prophet ﷺ invited Abu Talib to say the word of tawhid near the end of his life, while leaders of Quraysh pressured him to remain upon the religion of his forefathers.
The Qur'an teaches: “Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills.” This verse is connected in tafsir and hadith discussions to Abu Talib. It teaches that the Prophet ﷺ loved guidance for him, but the opening of a heart belongs only to Allah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1360; Sahih Muslim 24a; Qur'an 28:56Guidance Belongs to Allah
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ
Meaning: “Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills.”
Qur'an 28:56Quraysh Became Bolder
After Abu Talib left this world, Quraysh’s pressure against the Prophet ﷺ increased. The clan protection that had held them back was no longer the same.
This was a painful shift. The Prophet ﷺ was still calling to Allah, still carrying revelation, still patient, and still merciful. But the public environment around him became harsher.
Seerah reports describe increased insults and harm in this period. The Prophet ﷺ did not answer cruelty with revenge. He continued looking for a door through which Allah’s message could reach people.
Seerah reports in Ibn Hisham and Ibn Sa'dBe Patient for the Command of Your Lord
وَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ فَإِنَّكَ بِأَعْيُنِنَا
Meaning: “And be patient for the decision of your Lord, for indeed, you are under Our eyes.”
Qur'an 52:48The Journey to Ta'if
With Makkah growing harsher, the Prophet ﷺ went to Ta'if hoping that another people might receive the message.
Seeking a door for dawah
Ta'if was not a random journey. The Prophet ﷺ was seeking support for the message of Allah. He went to leaders there and called them to Islam, but they rejected him harshly according to Seerah reports.
The people of Ta'if did not only reject the call. Reports mention that they treated him with cruelty and drove him away. This was one of the most painful public moments in the Makkan Seerah.
Yet the Prophet ﷺ did not curse them with destruction. He remained a mercy. The famous hadith of the angel of the mountains shows the height of his patience and hope for future guidance.
Seerah reports in Ibn Hisham and Ibn Sa'd; Sahih al-Bukhari 3231; Sahih Muslim 1795The angel of the mountains
In the authentic report, Aishah رضي الله عنها asked the Prophet ﷺ whether he had faced a day harder than Uhud. He mentioned the day of Aqabah, when he presented himself to Ibn Abd Yalil ibn Abd Kulal and did not receive what he hoped.
He said he went away while overwhelmed with grief, and when he lifted his head, he saw a cloud shading him. Jibril عليه السلام was there and told him that Allah had heard what his people said to him. The angel of the mountains was sent and offered to crush the two mountains upon them if he wished.
The Prophet ﷺ refused that. He hoped that Allah would bring from their descendants people who would worship Allah alone and not associate anything with Him.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3231; Sahih Muslim 1795Mercy at the moment of pain
This moment shows the Messenger ﷺ as mercy. He had been rejected, hurt, and left without the support he had hoped for, yet his heart still looked toward future guidance.
He did not see people only by their worst moment. He saw what Allah could bring from them later. That is Prophetic mercy: grief did not turn into cruelty, and rejection did not erase hope.
Qur'an 21:107; Sahih al-Bukhari 3231; Sahih Muslim 1795Sent as Mercy
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
Meaning: “And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.”
Qur'an 21:107Returning Toward Makkah
After Ta'if, the Prophet ﷺ still had to return toward Makkah. Seerah reports mention that he entered under the protection of Mut'im ibn Adi. This was another example of Allah opening a way through means people may not expect.
Mut'im ibn Adi was not a Muslim, but his protection mattered in the tribal world of Makkah. The Prophet ﷺ remembered noble actions and did not erase them from history.
This return shows that the Seerah is not a flat line of victory after victory. Sometimes Allah’s Messenger ﷺ was made to walk through grief, rejection, and uncertainty, while Allah was preparing future openings beyond what people could see.
Seerah reports in Ibn Hisham and Ibn Sa'dKhadijah رضي الله عنها
Use “returned to Allah” for her, because she was the first believer and a righteous Mother of the Believers.
Abu Talib
Use “left this world” for him, and keep the Qur'an and hadith wording clear regarding guidance.
Ta'if
Use the authentic angel-of-the-mountains report for the strongest source, and treat extra journey details as Seerah reports.
Dua for a Heart Held Firm
رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا
Meaning: “Our Lord, pour upon us patience and make firm our feet.”
Qur'an 2:250What This Stage Led To
The Year of Sorrow did not close the mission. It pushed the Prophet ﷺ toward new doors and new arrangements by Allah’s decree.
Khadijah رضي الله عنها returned to Allah
The first believer and the Prophet’s ﷺ deepest household support was no longer beside him in Makkah.
Abu Talib left this world
The uncle who protected the Prophet ﷺ through clan loyalty was no longer present, and Quraysh became bolder.
Ta'if showed Prophetic mercy
The Prophet ﷺ faced rejection but refused revenge and hoped for future generations to worship Allah alone.
Marriage to Sawdah رضي الله عنها
The next family chapter shows care, companionship, and household support after a period of deep sorrow.
References Used in This Chapter
Major claims are tied to Qur'an, authentic hadith, or named Seerah reports.
- Qur'an 93:6: Allah sheltered the Prophet ﷺ when he was an orphan.
- Qur'an 28:56: guidance belongs to Allah; connected in hadith and tafsir discussions to Abu Talib.
- Qur'an 52:48: patience under Allah’s watch.
- Qur'an 21:107: the Prophet ﷺ sent as mercy to the worlds.
- Qur'an 2:250: dua for patience and firmness.
- Qur'an 23:118: dua asking Allah for forgiveness and mercy.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3: Khadijah رضي الله عنها comforting the Prophet ﷺ after the first revelation and taking him to Waraqah ibn Nawfal.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3820 and Sahih Muslim 2432: virtues of Khadijah رضي الله عنها.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1360 and Sahih Muslim 24a: the Prophet ﷺ inviting Abu Talib to tawhid near the end of his life.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3231 and Sahih Muslim 1795: the Ta'if hardship and the angel of the mountains report.
- Seerah reports: the name Year of Sorrow, timing after the boycott, increased Qurayshi pressure, the Ta'if journey details, and Mut'im ibn Adi’s protection are recorded in early Seerah works such as Ibn Hisham’s Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah and Ibn Sa'd’s Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra.