The Journey of the Prophet to Ta'if
رحلة النبي إلى الطائف
سفرِ طائف
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58 local-first recordsHistorical overview
In 619 CE (10 BH), following the Year of Sorrow when both Abu Talib and Khadijah passed away, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) traveled to Ta'if accompanied by Zayd ibn Harithah seeking refuge and allies among the Banu Thaqif tribe. However, the chieftains of Ta'if—Abd Yalayl, Mas'ud, and Habib—mocked his message and incited the town mob, youth, and slaves to pelt him with stones until he was severely wounded. The Prophet and Zayd took refuge in a grape orchard belonging to the Qurayshite brothers Utbah and Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah. There, the Prophet offered a legendary supplication expressing his absolute reliance on Allah. Observing his plight, the orchard owners sent their Christian slave Addas with grapes; Addas recognized his prophethood upon hearing 'Bismillah' and accepted Islam. The journey to Ta'if remains a profound testament to patience, faith, and perseverance in Islamic history.
Historical context and how to read this record
This record presents The Journey of the Prophet to Ta'if, dated in the archive as 10 BH / 619 CE and associated with Ta'if, Hijaz. The date, place, summary, named groups, terrain features, and references shown here come from the bundled or published event record. They provide a concise entry point for study, while the linked source notes remain the place to check what each historical or religious text actually reports. A label in the archive is not, by itself, proof that every chronology, number, or interpretation is agreed across historians.
The timeline on this page is deliberately limited to information attached to the record: its displayed event date and era, its named location, and the geographic markers that the map author normalized for the scene. These map markers are not a minute-by-minute sequence of movements. They do not claim to reconstruct every decision, speech, or formation. Where historians preserve differing accounts, the distinction matters: a conventional date can help readers orient themselves, but a date recorded in a database should not be mistaken for a universally settled day or for a primary-source quotation.
The terrain is a deterministic educational model. A shared height function keeps water, formations, landmarks, and ground visually aligned; the normalized coordinates make the same record render consistently when the optional cloud archive is unavailable. This approach supports comparison of broad relationships—such as a camp in relation to a water feature, a fortified settlement against a highland, or a route beside a valley—without presenting synthetic elevation as archaeological survey data. Lighting, camera angle, and visual scale are choices for legibility, not evidence about the historical scene.
Read the forces and commanders panel as a record of the labels supplied for this map, not as an independently verified census. Estimates in classical narratives can differ because authors preserve separate transmissions, use rounded totals, or describe groups in different ways. This page keeps uncertainty notes attached to the relevant record when they are available. A missing strength estimate means the archive does not make one here; it should not be filled by inference from the size of a marker or from the appearance of the 3D scene.
The source dossier names the references bundled with this event, including Qur’anic passages or classical works where supplied. Numbering, chapter divisions, translations, and pagination can vary by edition, so a careful citation should identify the edition and translator consulted. A source title in the list is a research lead, not a claim that the entire event is established by that work alone. Compare the passages in context, separate a source’s wording from later commentary, and consult qualified scholarship when a question concerns creed, law, or a contested historical conclusion.
For an efficient study sequence, begin with the short overview, note the event date and place, then select each geographic marker in the dual reader. The camera will move to the schematic coordinate while the corresponding source note is brought into view. Next compare the land and water features, read any force labels and their uncertainty notes, and return to the source dossier before drawing conclusions. This order helps distinguish what the archive records, what the visualization illustrates, and what a reader may need to verify in a primary edition. The purpose is source-aware orientation and respectful learning, not a substitute for historical fieldwork or a scholar’s judgment.
Record timeline and tactical markers
- Archive date: 2026-10-03 · 10 BH / 619 CE
- Recorded setting: Ta'if, Hijaz
- Map feature 1: Rugged Sarawat mountain plateau
- Map feature 2: Walled settlement of Banu Thaqif
- Map feature 3: Fertile grape orchards and gardens outside the city
- Map feature 4: Narrow rocky mountain trails
- Schematic marker 1: The Prophet & Zayd ibn Harithah · Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) · 2 individuals
- Schematic marker 2: Thaqif Chieftains & Hostile Mob · Abd Yalayl ibn 'Amr · Chieftains and incited town mob
- Schematic marker 3: Orchard of Utbah & Shaybah (with Addas) · Utbah ibn Rabi'ah · Utbah, Shaybah & Addas
Marker ordering is a reading aid, not a chronological claim about the event.
Forces and commanders
- The Prophet & Zayd ibn Harithah — Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (2 individuals)
- Thaqif Chieftains & Hostile Mob — Abd Yalayl ibn 'Amr (Chieftains and incited town mob)
- Orchard of Utbah & Shaybah (with Addas) — Utbah ibn Rabi'ah (Utbah, Shaybah & Addas)
Geography: water and landscape
- Well of Utbah's Orchard (well)
- Wadi Liyyah Stream (oasis)
- Rugged Sarawat mountain plateau
- Walled settlement of Banu Thaqif
- Fertile grape orchards and gardens outside the city
- Narrow rocky mountain trails
Sources
- Ibn Hisham, Sirat Rasul Allah, Vol. 1, pp. 419-422
- al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, Vol. 2, pp. 344-346
- Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, Vol. 3, pp. 135-138