You complain about your internet being slow. About your boss being difficult. About your parents not understanding you. About not having the latest phone.
And then you read what Prophet Muhammad ﷺ went through, and suddenly your entire list of problems looks like what it actually is—absolutely nothing.
Let me tell you a story that Islamic historians have documented through authentic chains of narration, a story that should make you cry if your heart still has any softness left in it. A story about a man who endured more pain in one afternoon than most of us will experience in our entire lives. A story about suffering so profound that when you truly understand it, you’ll never look at your own struggles the same way again.
The Shoes Filled With Blood
According to historical Islamic accounts preserved by scholars who meticulously documented the Prophet’s life, the year was 619 CE—what became known in Islamic tradition as the Year of Sorrow. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had just lost two of the most important people in his life within weeks of each other, as noted by early biographers who studied the Seerah extensively.
First, Khadijah رضي الله عنها—his wife, his best friend, his refuge, the woman who believed in him when everyone else called him crazy. The woman who spent her entire fortune supporting his mission. The woman who held him when he came home shaking after receiving the first revelation. She was gone.
Then Abu Talib—his uncle, his protector, the man who raised him, the shield that stood between him and the Quraysh who wanted him dead. Without Abu Talib’s tribal protection, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ became an open target, as documented in historical Islamic sources that chronicle this devastating period.
Now imagine this: You’re fifty years old. Your wife just died. Your uncle just died. The people in your city want to kill you. You’ve spent ten years preaching a message that most people reject, mock, and violently oppose. You’re emotionally devastated, physically exhausted, and spiritually carrying the weight of an entire revelation on your shoulders.
What would you do? Most of us would break. Most of us would give up. Most of us would hide.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ walked to Taif—a journey of about sixty miles on foot through the desert heat, as described by scholars who have studied the geographical and historical context of this journey.
He went there hoping. Praying. Believing that maybe, just maybe, the people of Taif would listen. That they would accept Islam. That they would protect him. That they would give him the support he desperately needed.
According to detailed accounts preserved in classical Islamic historical texts studied by scholars across centuries, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ approached the three leaders of Taif—Abd Yalil, Masud, and Habib, the sons of Amr ibn Umayr. He sat with them. He explained Islam. He invited them to believe in Allah ﷻ.
They laughed at him. Mocked him. Rejected him with contempt and cruelty that Islamic historians note was exceptionally vicious even by the standards of pre-Islamic Arabia.
But it gets worse. So much worse.
These leaders didn’t just reject him—they incited the entire town against him. Historical accounts documented by early Islamic scholars describe how they gathered the street children, slaves, and outcasts, and told them to chase the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ out of the city. To stone him. To humiliate him.
Imagine the scene. A fifty-year-old man. Grieving. Exhausted. Alone except for his freed slave Zaid ibn Harithah رضي الله عنه. Being chased through the streets by a mob throwing rocks at him.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, as narrated by Aishah رضي الله عنها in an authentic hadith recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (Book 55, Hadith 572) and Sahih Muslim (Book 32, Hadith 79): “That day was the hardest day of my life.”
Think about that. The man who would later be wounded at Uhud, who would face assassination attempts, who would lose children, who would endure every imaginable hardship—he said Taif was the worst day of his life.
They threw stones at him until he bled. According to historical narrations authenticated by scholars of hadith, his blessed feet bled so profusely that the blood filled his shoes and congealed, making it painful to even walk or perform ablution. Zaid ibn Harithah رضي الله عنه tried to shield him with his own body, getting injured in the process while attempting to protect the Messenger of Allah ﷻ from the barrage of stones.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, wounded and bleeding, managed to escape to an orchard on the outskirts of Taif. He sat down under the shade of a tree, and according to accounts preserved by early Islamic historians and authenticated by scholars, he made a dua that should shatter every heart that hears it.
[The Prophet’s Dua in Taif – As Documented in Tafsir Literature]
“O Allah, to You I complain of my weakness, my insufficient strength, and my insignificance before mankind. You are the Most Merciful of the merciful. You are the Lord of the weak, and You are my Lord. To whom will You entrust me? To a distant person who will misuse me? Or to an enemy to whom You have given power over me? If You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your favor upon me is enough. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which darkness is illuminated and the affairs of this world and the Hereafter become right, from Your anger descending upon me or Your displeasure befalling me. I continue to seek Your pleasure until You are pleased. There is no power and no might except with You.”
Read that again. Slowly. The Prophet of Allah ﷻ, bleeding and broken, saying “If You are not angry with me, I do not care” about anything else, as scholars of Islamic spirituality emphasize when teaching about true reliance on Allah ﷻ.
The Moment That Changes Everything
While the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was sitting there under that tree, wounded and rejected, something happened that Islamic tradition has preserved through multiple authentic chains of narration as one of the most significant moments in prophetic history.
Jibreel عليه السلام descended from the heavens with another angel—the Angel of the Mountains, as documented in authentic hadith collections studied by scholars of Islamic theology for over fourteen centuries.
Aishah رضي الله عنها narrated, as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (Book 60, Hadith 3231) and Sahih Muslim (Book 32, Hadith 6309): “Aishah رضي الله عنها asked the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, ‘Have you encountered a day harder than the day of the Battle of Uhud?’ The Prophet ﷺ replied, ‘Your people have troubled me a lot, and the worst was the day of Aqaba when I presented myself to Ibn Abd Yalail bin Abd Kulal and he did not respond to what I intended. I departed, overwhelmed with excessive sorrow, and I could not relax until I found myself at Qarnath Thaaleb where I lifted my head towards the sky to see a cloud shading me. I looked up and saw Jibreel عليه السلام in it. He called me saying, “Allah has heard your people’s saying to you, and how they have replied. Allah has sent the Angel of the Mountains to you that you may order him to do whatever you wish to these people.”
The Angel of the Mountains called out to him. According to the authentic narration preserved by Imam Muslim and studied by Islamic scholars across generations, the angel said: “O Muhammad! Order what you wish. If you like, I will cause the two mountains (Akhshabain – the mountains surrounding Makkah and Taif) to fall upon them and crush them.”
Stop right here. Let this sink in. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had been rejected, beaten, bloodied, humiliated, and chased out of two cities. His wife was dead. His uncle was dead. His feet were soaked in his own blood. And Allah ﷻ was giving him the option—right then and there—to destroy everyone who had hurt him.
One word. That’s all it would have taken. One word from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and the mountains would have collapsed on Taif and Makkah. Every person who threw stones at him. Every person who mocked him. Every person who rejected the truth. All of them—gone.
What did he say? According to the authentic hadith documented by scholars who preserved prophetic traditions with meticulous precision, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ responded: “No, rather I hope that Allah will bring forth from their descendants people who will worship Allah Alone, and none besides Him.”
Let that destroy you. He said no.
He chose mercy over revenge. He chose hope over hate. He chose the future over the present pain. And according to Islamic historical accounts, he wasn’t just being philosophical—he was literally bleeding when he made this decision, as emphasized by scholars who teach the Seerah to illustrate the depth of prophetic compassion.
Three Years of Starvation
But Taif wasn’t even the worst of it. If you think that was the peak of suffering, you don’t know the full story that Islamic historians have documented through authenticated sources spanning centuries of scholarship.
Let’s rewind a few years. According to historical accounts preserved in classical Islamic texts, starting in the seventh year after revelation began, the Quraysh of Makkah declared a complete economic and social boycott against the entire clan of Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib—every single person associated with Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, whether they believed in Islam or not.
The boycott document was written by Baghid bin Amir bin Hashim and signed by all the Quraysh leaders, as documented by early Islamic historians whose works remain foundational to Seerah studies. According to scholarly accounts, they hung this treaty inside the Kaaba itself to give it religious and social authority.
The terms, as preserved in historical Islamic sources: No one from the Quraysh was allowed to marry from Banu Hashim. No one was allowed to trade with them. No one was allowed to sell them food or water. Complete isolation, as noted by scholars who study pre-Islamic Arabian tribal customs and the severity of such sanctions.
Abu Talib رضي الله عنه gathered the entire clan and moved them to a narrow valley outside Makkah called Shib Abi Talib, where they would spend the next three years in conditions that Islamic historians describe as unbearably harsh.
Three years. Not three days. Not three months. Three years of starvation, isolation, and suffering documented through multiple chains of narration studied by scholars of Islamic history.
According to accounts preserved by early biographers and authenticated by later scholars, the conditions were so severe that the people trapped in that valley were reduced to eating leaves from trees. The cries of hungry children could be heard echoing through Makkah at night. Women and elderly people suffered from malnutrition-related illnesses, as noted in historical texts that document this devastating period.
Imam Ali عليه السلام wrote in a letter documented by Islamic historians, describing what they endured: “They decided our fate and posed oppressions against us, they blocked our access to water, they frightened Muslims, put spies to watch us and forced us to take shelter in a narrow valley… They banned having any marital relations and trades with us.”
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was there. For three years. Watching his family starve. Watching children cry from hunger. Watching his beloved wife Khadijah رضي الله عنها grow weaker and weaker from the harsh conditions, as scholars note when discussing the factors that contributed to her eventual death.
And he never stopped. He never gave up. He never cursed them. He never sought revenge.
Traditional Islamic scholarship emphasizes that during this entire boycott, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ continued to preach Islam whenever someone would visit during the sacred months when limited interaction was permitted, demonstrating patience that scholars describe as superhuman yet divinely supported.
[Surah Al-Inshirah, Ayah 5-6]
“For indeed, with hardship comes ease. Indeed, with hardship comes ease.”
The City He Had to Leave
The boycott finally ended in the tenth year of prophethood when some sympathetic Quraysh members tore up the document—which had miraculously been eaten by termites except for the words “In Your Name, O Allah,” as recorded in multiple historical Islamic sources and cited by scholars as a sign of divine intervention.
But the damage was done. According to accounts documented by early Islamic biographers, Khadijah رضي الله عنها never fully recovered from the physical hardships of those three years in the valley. Shortly after emerging from Shib Abi Talib, she fell ill and passed away, leaving the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ devastated with grief that scholars note was compounded by the immediate subsequent loss of Abu Talib.
Then came the year that Islamic tradition calls the Year of Sorrow—619 CE. First Khadijah رضي الله عنها died. Then Abu Talib died. Then came Taif.
And after Taif, according to historical Islamic accounts authenticated by scholars who studied the Hijrah extensively, the persecution in Makkah intensified to levels that made remaining there impossible. The Quraysh, emboldened by Abu Talib’s death, began planning to assassinate the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, as documented in classical historical texts.
Allah ﷻ commanded him to leave. To make Hijrah. To abandon the city where he was born, where he grew up, where his children were born, where his wife was buried.
According to authentic narrations preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari and other foundational hadith collections, when the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ left Makkah, he stopped at the edge of the city, turned back to look at it one final time, and said with tears in his blessed eyes: “I swear by Allah, O Makkah, you are the most beloved of Allah’s lands to Allah, and you are the most beloved of Allah’s lands to me. If your people had not driven me out, I would never have left you.”
Islamic scholars who study the emotional and spiritual dimensions of the Seerah emphasize this moment as one of profound heartbreak—the Prophet ﷺ was being forced into exile from the land he loved, a pain that anyone who has been displaced or forced to leave their home can understand but multiplied by the sacred nature of Makkah itself.
The Love That Conquered Everything
Here’s what breaks me every single time when studying authentic accounts preserved by Islamic scholars across generations: After everything they did to him—the torture, the starvation, the mockery, the stones, the exile—the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ never stopped loving them. Never stopped praying for them. Never stopped hoping they would be guided, as emphasized repeatedly by scholars of Islamic spirituality and prophetic character.
When the people of Taif threw stones at him, he prayed that their children would become believers. And according to Islamic historical records, years later when Taif finally accepted Islam during the conquest period, that prayer was answered—their descendants did become Muslims, filling the city that had once driven him out with believers, as documented by scholars who chronicle the spread of Islam.
When he finally conquered Makkah—the city that had starved him, exiled him, tried to kill him—according to authentic hadith narrated by multiple companions and preserved in collections like Sahih Muslim, he stood at the door of the Kaaba and asked the gathered Quraysh: “What do you think I will do with you?” They replied, “Good, you are a noble brother and the son of a noble brother.” He said: “I say to you what Prophet Yusuf عليه السلام said to his brothers: ‘No blame will there be upon you today. Allah will forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.'”
Complete forgiveness, as scholars of Islamic ethics emphasize when teaching about the prophetic model of mercy even toward those who caused the deepest suffering.
Traditional Islamic scholarship documented through centuries notes that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had every right under tribal law and Islamic jurisprudence to seek retribution. Instead, he chose mercy, proving what Allah ﷻ said about him in the Quran.
[Surah Al-Anbiya, Ayah 107]
“And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.”
What This Means for Your Small Problems
You’re reading this on a phone or computer. You have food in your fridge. You have a roof over your head. You haven’t been chased through streets while people throw rocks at you. You haven’t watched your family starve for three years. You haven’t buried your spouse and then been forced to leave your home.
Yet you complain. You get angry. You hold grudges. You seek revenge for the smallest slights. You can’t forgive that one person who said something mean about you three years ago.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ went through suffering that would destroy most people, as Islamic scholars emphasize when teaching about prophetic endurance. And every single time, he chose patience over anger, mercy over revenge, hope over despair.
Traditional Islamic teachings preserved through scholarly consensus across generations emphasize that the Prophet’s example during these trials wasn’t just about him—it was a template for how believers should face hardship, demonstrating that true strength lies in maintaining compassion even through unimaginable pain.
[Surah Al-Ahzab, Ayah 21]
“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah often.”
When you’re going through something difficult—and I mean actually difficult, not “my Wi-Fi is slow” difficult—remember Taif. Remember the shoes filled with blood. Remember that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had the power to destroy everyone who hurt him, and he chose mercy instead, as scholars note when discussing divine wisdom in providing the Prophet ﷺ with this choice to demonstrate the superiority of forgiveness.
When you want to hold a grudge, remember the boycott. Remember three years of starvation. Remember that after all that, he still prayed for their guidance rather than their destruction.
When you’re forced to leave something you love—a relationship, a job, a place—remember Hijrah. Remember him standing at the edge of Makkah, looking back with tears, but still moving forward in obedience to Allah ﷻ, as Islamic scholars teach when discussing trust in divine decree.
The Standard You Can’t Escape
Here’s what makes this even more profound, according to Islamic teachings emphasized by scholars across centuries: The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ didn’t go through all of this just to show off his patience. He didn’t endure all this suffering just so we could read inspiring stories about him.
He went through it to set the standard. To show us what real faith looks like. To demonstrate that following Allah ﷻ means sacrifice, as traditional Islamic scholarship consistently emphasizes when teaching about the cost of true belief.
Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه narrated, as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (Book 56, Hadith 2680) and Sahih Muslim (Book 43, Hadith 7147): “The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: ‘The most severely tested people are the prophets, then the next best, then the next best. A person is tested according to his religious commitment. If his religious commitment is strong, his test is more severe. If his religious commitment is weak, his test is according to his religious commitment. A servant will continue to be tested until he walks on the earth with no sin.'”
The suffering wasn’t random. It wasn’t meaningless. According to Islamic theological understanding preserved through scholarly tradition, it was precisely because he was the best of creation that his trials were the most severe—showing us that difficulty doesn’t mean Allah ﷻ has abandoned you; it means He’s preparing you for something greater.
Every time you read about the Prophet’s suffering documented in authentic Islamic sources, you’re supposed to ask yourself: If he went through all that for this message, what am I willing to sacrifice for it? If he could forgive people who tried to kill him, can I forgive someone who hurt my feelings? If he could remain patient through three years of starvation, can I be patient through one difficult day?
[Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 214]
“Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said, ‘When is the help of Allah?’ Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near.”
What You Need to Do Right Now
Stop making excuses. Islamic teachings preserved through scholarly tradition don’t give you permission to be weak just because things are hard. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ went through hardships that would break the strongest among us, yet he never complained, never gave up, never stopped worshipping Allah ﷻ.
According to accounts documented by his companions رضي الله عنهم and preserved in authentic hadith collections, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would pray at night until his blessed feet would swell. When Aishah رضي الله عنها asked him why he pushed himself so hard when Allah ﷻ had already forgiven all his sins, he replied, as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (Book 19, Hadith 4837): “Should I not be a grateful servant?”
He prayed until his feet swelled—after everything he had been through, as scholars emphasize when teaching about prophetic devotion. And you struggle to get up for Fajr after sleeping eight comfortable hours in a warm bed?
First: Fix your relationship with patience. The next time something difficult happens—actually difficult, not inconvenient—remember Taif. Remember the blood-filled shoes. Remember that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ endured it with dignity and turned to Allah ﷻ in supplication rather than cursing his circumstances, as Islamic spiritual guides teach when helping believers develop true sabr.
Second: Fix your relationship with forgiveness. According to Islamic teachings emphasized consistently by scholars, holding grudges is a disease of the heart. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ forgave people who tried to murder him, as documented throughout the Seerah. You can forgive someone who said something rude to you. Choose mercy over revenge, as traditional Islamic ethics consistently emphasize based on prophetic example.
Third: Stop complaining. Scholars of Islamic spirituality note that every complaint against your circumstances is essentially a complaint against Allah’s decree. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ never complained about his trials—he only complained to Allah ﷻ, seeking His help while accepting His wisdom, as preserved in his supplications recorded by early Islamic scholars. There’s a massive difference between making dua for relief and ungratefully complaining about your situation.
[Surah Ash-Sharh, Ayah 1-8]
“Did We not expand for you, [O Muhammad], your breast? And We removed from you your burden which had weighed upon your back and raised high for you your repute. For indeed, with hardship comes ease. Indeed, with hardship comes ease. So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship]. And to your Lord direct [your] longing.”
The Weight of This Knowledge
You can’t unknow this now. You can’t read about what the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ went through and then continue living like your small problems are unbearable, as Islamic scholars emphasize when teaching about proper perspective on worldly difficulties.
According to traditional Islamic understanding preserved through scholarly consensus, every Muslim will be asked about the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ on the Day of Judgment. We’ll be asked if we knew him. If we followed him. If we loved him. And part of loving him, as scholars of Islamic spirituality consistently teach, is knowing his story—not just the victories, but the suffering. The pain. The sacrifice.
The blood in his shoes. The three years of starvation. The grief of losing Khadijah رضي الله عنها and Abu Talib. The humiliation of Taif. The heartbreak of leaving Makkah. And through all of it, the unwavering patience, the unshakeable faith, the unconditional mercy documented in authentic Islamic sources studied by scholars for fourteen centuries.
He suffered so you could have Islam. He endured so you could have guidance. He bled so you could have the Quran. And according to Islamic teachings emphasized by scholars across generations, the least you can do—the absolute minimum—is try to follow his example when your trials come, remembering that they pale in comparison to what he endured.
The next time you want to give up, remember he never did. The next time you want to hate someone who hurt you, remember he chose mercy. The next time you think your test is too hard, remember that authentic historical accounts show us he went through worse—and he did it with grace, with patience, and with love.
[Surah Al-Ahqaf, Ayah 35]
“So be patient, [O Muhammad], as were those of determination among the messengers and do not be impatient for them. It will be—on the Day they see that which they are promised—as though they had not remained [in the world] except an hour of a day. [This is] notification. And will [any] be destroyed except the defiantly disobedient people?”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for general educational and informational purposes only. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy in presenting Islamic teachings based on authentic historical sources, scholarly interpretations, and verified hadith collections, readers are strongly advised to consult qualified Islamic scholars in their local area for specific religious rulings, detailed interpretations, and matters requiring expert guidance. The accounts presented reflect understanding drawn from classical Seerah literature and contemporary Islamic scholarship, and should not replace personal consultation with knowledgeable religious authorities for individual circumstances.