Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 20 - Incident of Ta'if - Yasir Qadhi | January 2012
Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 20 - Incident of Ta'if - Yasir Qadhi | January 2012
When and Why the Prophet PBUH Decided to Go to Ta'if
We continue from last time. We discussed how the Prophet's PBUH uncle and wife passed away. With this, Abu Lahab first offered protection to the Prophet PBUH but then retracted it after asking, "Where will my father be?" As a result of this, life in Makkah became almost impossible and this is when the Prophet PBUH began thinking of leaving Makkah. Notice for the last 10 years he didn't think of leaving. Only when politically he had no protection and it became almost impossible to remain there that he thought of moving. This shows the general ruling is that we should remain in the society we live in as the Prophet PBUH did. This is a huge lesson for us: Even if life gets difficult, we have a responsibility still in our own communities. We learn from the seerah that a person should stay in his society for as long as it's feasible. The Prophet PBUH only did Hijrah when it became impossible for him to remain in Makkah.
So the first thing the Prophet PBUH tried was to go to Ta'if. Why? For many reasons:
1. The closest city to Makkah (that is large) was Ta'if. Ta'if and Makkah were twin cities. They had a love-hate relationship. Because they were so close there were rivalry, and because they were so close they couldn't afford too much animosity, and they had peace treaties between them. Allah SWT references Ta'if in the Qur'an, quoting what al-Walid ibn al-Mughira said, "Two major cities."
وَقَالُوا لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنُ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ مِّنَ الْقَرْيَتَيْنِ عَظِيمٍ
"And they say, 'Why is not this Quran sent down to some great man from [one of] the two major cities (Makkah and Ta'if)?'" [43:31]
2. Because Ta'if was so close, the people of Ta'if knew the people of Makkah very intimately. Unlike if he had gone to a strange city, they would not have known his people. There was a very strong relationship between them. In fact so much so that one of the chieftain of Ta'if is married to a distant aunt of the Prophet PBUH. So there's even a blood relationship.
______________
Introduction
And so the Prophet PBUH decided to try giving dawah in Ta'if - this happened in the month of Shawwal, basically a few weeks after Abu Talib & Khadija RA died, and as soon as Abu Lahab retracted his protection. The Prophet PBUH tried a secret attempt, along with Zayd ibn Harithah, his adopted son - they ventured on foot to Ta'if. They didn't take a horse or a camel so as not to arouse any suspicion. In our times it takes an hour and a half by car. To walk up would take 1-2 days; taking a horse would be significantly easier but still the Prophet PBUH chose not to. This also shows the tactics and planning of the Prophet PBUH: Yes he had trust in Allah, but this doesn't mean he acted foolishly. Indeed putting your trust in Allah doesn't mean you be rash. But rather you plan everything perfectly and then in your heart you realize it's up to Allah. And so him and Zayd left the town by foot arousing no suspicion. Indeed if the Quraysh knew what he was doing they might harm him then and there.
Also, leaving Makkah signified him cutting off any and all ties with the Quraysh i.e for him to take any move at this moment is a sign that he has accepted the status he is in.
We have a beautiful narration reported by Aisha RA in Bukhari. She doesn't know about the Makkan seerah. So she asked the Prophet PBUH, "Was there any day worse than the Battle of Uhud?" And the Prophet PBUH immediately says, "Yes. Your people have hurt and irritated me a lot. And the worst irritation I got was on the Day of Aqaba (Aqaba is where the stoning took place - outside of Ta'if). On that day I presented myself (to the leaders of Ta'if) and they didn't respond the way I wanted them to." Note the Prophet PBUH leaves it generic. He didn't go into details as he didn't want Aisha's pity. And the Prophet PBUH said, "And they caused me grief and sadness." So we learn that even though Uhud was worse physically, Ta'if was worse psychologically. Indeed the Prophet PBUH said Ta'if was worse than Uhud. Also, the Prophet PBUH said, "I didn't know where I was until I reached Qarn al-Tha'alib/قرن الثعالب (about 7-8 km outside of Ta'if)." And this indicates that after the stoning, he was in a state of shock. And from this we learn that when something traumatic happens it's natural to act in this manner, but it's important we get over it.
Also notice how the Prophet PBUH didn't say any other details about this. Were it not for the fact that Aisha RA asked him, he would not even have mentioned Ta'if. This shows the strength of the mind of the Prophet PBUH. A Muslim is not someone who whines for sympathy. He does not victimize himself. The Muslim is strong and has honor for himself. The Prophet PBUH suffered worse than us yet he didn't grovel for sympathy in front of others.
_______________
The Dawah in Ta'if
Ibn Ishaq provides us many more details. It's a well known and authenticated story. The Prophet PBUH walked to Ta'if and presented himself to the leaders of Ta'if, who were three brothers: Abd Yalil, Mas'ud, and Habib the sons of Amr. (Their father was the chieftain of Ta'if - but these three brothers made a pact that they would not fight over succession and decided to govern Ta'if together. So they were together the chieftains of Thaqif. Thaqif was the main tribe in Ta'if, as Quraysh was the main tribe in Makkah. And Thaqif and Quraysh are big rivals.) The Prophet PBUH sets up a meeting with these three brothers and presents the message of Islam to them and asks them to convert. But all three rejected in the utmost sarcastic manner. One said, "If Allah has sent you as a prophet, I might as well tear down the curtains of the Ka'bah (in remorse)." The second said, "Has Allah not found anyone better than you?" The third said, "I cannot speak to you, because if you really are a prophet then you are too holy for me. And if you are a liar then you are too beneath my dignity that I respond to you." So all three of them mocked him with the utmost mockery, so the Prophet PBUH said, "Okay, I will leave," but he requested, "Please don't tell the Quraysh that I came." And they agreed and respected this and Quraysh did not hear about this visit from them at least. Once again this shows the Prophet PBUH had a plan right to the very end. You do what you can and then you put your trust in Allah.
Now according to the more authentic reports, he didn't leave Ta'if right then and there but rather he stayed for a week trying to give dawah to the individuals/laymen. (Side note 1: This is again a sign of wisdom that you approach those with status and power first; but don't ignore the masses either.) (Side note 2: We don't have the full story in precise detail as only Zayd was with the Prophet PBUH, and he died very early, in the Battle of Mu'tah i.e. he didn't live after the Prophet PBUH to tell us this stories.) However we have authentic reports from some of the later Thaqafi Muslims recalling, "I remember the Prophet PBUH preaching in the marketplace in Ta'if. And no one responded to him." And in one such incident when someone might appear to have converted, this is what sparked the mob - the big incident we all know about. There was a potential of some people converting, and that was when the leaders of Ta'if panicked and they send a mob against the Prophet PBUH. And they told this mob to stone and kick the Prophet PBUH out of the city. The Prophet PBUH bled so much that his sandals were soaked with blood. Zayd ibn Harithah tried his best to protect him - he himself was injured from head to toe. The entire mob continued to pelt them until finally they let them out of the city, at Qarn al-Manazil/Qarn al-Tha'alib (قرن المنازل/قرن الثعالب). And this is where the Prophet PBUH referred to when he said, "I didn't realize until I'm in Qarn al-Manazil."
______________
After the Rejection
Qarn al-Manazil is where the famous incident took place: The Prophet PBUH saw some shelter and sat under a tree that was next to a gardened wall. But he didn't know this garden belonged to Utbah and Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah; a distant cousin of the Prophet's PBUH father. (Note many Quraysh had gardens in Ta'if as it was a beautiful city with lush gardens and the perfect climate for growing greenery. To this day Ta'if is a desert resort. And there's plenty of water; thus there are lots of fruits and vegetations unheard of in Makkah or Yathrib.) And so this is where the Prophet PBUH sat down and said the famous du'a mentioned in the Seerah of Ibn Ishaq. One of the scholars of our times says even though this du'a is not in Bukhari or Muslim and has some missing links, we don't need an isnad since the wordings of the du'a can only come from the heart of a prophet. It's so perfect and moving it doesn't need an isnad. And this du'a was:
اللهم إني أشكو إليك ضعف قوتي وقلة حيلتي وهواني على الناس ، أنت رب المستضعفين وأنت ربي إلى من تكلني إلى بعيد يتجهمني أم إلى قريب ملّكته أمري إن لم يكن بك غضب عليّ فلا أبالي ولكن عافيتك أوسع لي أعوذ بنور وجهك الذي أشرقت به الظلمات وصلح عليه أمر الدنيا و الآخرة من أن تنزل بي غضبك أو يحل عليّ سخطك لك الحمد حتى ترضى ولا حول ولا قوة إلى بك
"O Allah, to you I complain of my weakness of strength, and my helplessness and lowliness before men. You are the most merciful and the Lord of those who are humble and weak, and you are my Lord. To whom do you leave me with? To somebody who is a stranger that will treat me harshly (Ta'if)? Or to a close relative who You have given ultimate power over me (Abu Lahab)? As long as you are not angry with me, I don't care. Except for the fact that Your protection from tribulation, Your ease and comfort, is more easy for me. O Allah, I seek refuge in Your Face that is the source of the light that gets rid of the darkness because of which this world is guided. And I seek refuge in Your Face that your anger comes down upon me. It's your right to criticize until you are content. And there is no power or change except with You and through You."
______________
Lessons From the Du'a of the Prophet PBUH
This du'a is really one of the gems of the seerah.
The Prophet PBUH said, "To you I complain," which shows there is a legitimate concept of complaining to Allah in Islam. It's a part of our tawhid. Indeed Ya'qub complained to Allah in the Qur'an [12:86].
Complaints to Allah is of two types - one is kufr, the other is the essence of tawhid:
The first type is to reject/challenge the decree and qadr of Allah. "Why are you doing this Allah? I DON'T DESERVE THIS!" This type of complaining is not just a sin but it's kufr. And Iblis is the prime example of this who said to Allah, "It's your fault. You let me go astray." (paraphrase from the Qur'an [7:16][15:39])
The second type is the opposite of this, which is the essence of tawhid: You complain to Allah seeking refuge in Allah from Allah turning to Allah for His sympathy. A complaining to Allah to get His mercy. To get sympathy from Allah. The best example is the Prophet PBUH. The Prophet PBUH himself complained to Allah. The Arabic is 'shakwa (شكوى)' - where the Prophet PBUH said, "Ya Allah look at me and help me." Notice there's an element of, "O Allah I am worried - are You angry with me?" After all the stoning and pain, the Prophet's PBUH main fear is, "Have I done something wrong? Are You angry with me?" So what's causing him distress is not the pain of the body, but the possibility he has done something to cause Allah's anger. The Prophet PBUH basically is saying, "As long as this isn't Your punishment I am happy." He is basically saying, "I don't care what state You leave me in - as long as You're not angry with me." Note also the Prophet PBUH said, "If You give me something better it's easier for me." So it's allowed to ask Allah to protect us from trials and give us something easier. We don't challenge Allah's decree but we DO ask for something easy. Also notice the Prophet PBUH concludes with, "And there is no power or change except with You and through You" - we learn from a hadith that this kalimah, la hawla wala quwwata illa biLlah (لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله), is a treasure from the treasures of Jannah. And it's such a perfect conclusion, "Only You can change my condition - only You have the power."
Also notice that du'a is the weapon of the believer. In this state he is literally alone with no one other than Zayd. He doesn't have a city to go back to i.e. Makkah, and the sister city, Ta'if, completely rejected him. He has no money or food or shelter. And so he makes du'a. As long as we have du'a, we will find a way out of our problems. Du'a grants what nothing else grants. The only thing that changes qadr is du'a, as the Prophet PBUH said.
______________
Conversation with Addas
So the Prophet PBUH says this du'a under a tree, next to a wall. And little did he know this wall belongs to Utbah and Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah (his distant uncles). The two had seen from the distance how the Prophet PBUH is being stoned out of Ta'if, so they felt pity for the Prophet PBUH. And they also felt a sense of hamiyyat al-jahiliyyah, "How can they do this to one of our own?!" And so they decided to gift him some of their fruits. And they sent their servant Addas (Iraqi Christian) with a bowl of grapes to him. And notice these fruits are of the most soothing, comforting and lush fruits. And Allah gifts it to the Prophet PBUH right then and there. So he accepted the gift and said, "Bismillah (in the name of Allah)," and began eating.
Addas was shocked and said, "What is this phrase? (This is not the phrase of the local Arabs!)" And so the Prophet PBUH said, "This is something my Lord has taught me. And where are you from O Addas?" Addas said, "I am from Nineveh." So the Prophet PBUH smiled and said, "The city of Yunus ibn Matta?" i.e. Jonah the son of Matthew. Addas was shocked and said, "How did you know Yunus ibn Matta? Nobody in this whole land has ever heard of him at all?" The Prophet PBUH said, "How do I not know Yunus. He is my brother; and I am his brother. We are both prophets of Allah." And this is a miracle that the Prophet PBUH knows this. The Arabs had nothing to do with Yunus and his story. And Addas is the only actual practicing Christian for a hundreds of miles around. Here he meets a man who knows what Nineveh is, and who Yunus is. And so Addas instantly began kissing the feet of the Prophet PBUH as the Christians did out of respect like they did with their elders and priests. And he believed in the Prophet PBUH right then and there.
The two masters are staring in shock, so when he comes back they tell him, "Woe to you, why are you kissing his hands and feet?" Addas said, "O my masters, there is no one on earth better than him since he is a prophet as he told me things only a prophet could know." The 2 masters (Utbah and Shaybah) said, "O Addas, he has bewitched you, as your religion is better than his."
Later on they tried to force Addas to fight against the Prophet PBUH in the Battle of Badr but he refused to obey his own masters, which was unheard of. Addas said, "Wallahi, even the mountains could not harm him." And his masters met their death at the Battle of Badr.
______________
Malak al-Jibal
And after this Bukhari narrates: The Prophet PBUH said, "When I reached Qarn al-Manazil, I looked up and there was a cloud that had given me shelter, and in this cloud there was Jibril AS. And he said to me, "O Muhammad, your Lord has heard what your people have said to you, and their rejection of you. And He has sent me with the Angel of the Mountain to put at your disposal." Then the Prophet PBUH heard another voice who said, "I am the Angel of the Mountain. Say what you want; I am at your disposal. If you want I can squeeze this city in between the two mountains." But the Prophet PBUH said, "No - rather I hope Allah will extract from their children those who will eventually worship him without associating partners."
______________
Lessons From the Incident of Ta'if
We can learn so many lessons from the story of Ta'if:
1. The Prophet PBUH was inflicted with so many harsh trials so that Allah could raise his ranks in this world and the next. And through this Allah AWJ is telling us that the comfort of this world is NOT what we are living for.
2. Look at the du'a of the Prophet PBUH - his main worry was that everything he went through in Ta'if might have been a punishment from Allah, that he did something wrong. And as long as he didn't do wrong, he is satisfied. But he would be more satisfied if Allah gave him ease. In other words, his main concern was the pleasure of Allah, and not the suffering of his body. This is the perfection of tawhid.
3. The effects of being firm to tawhid. When Addas comes, the Prophet PBUH didn't hide his identity. Before eating, the Prophet PBUH said, "In the name of Allah." And this simple act led to the conversion of Addas. This shows that obeying Islam and not being embarrassed of your religion will bring about good in this world and the hereafter. Being proud and practicing is the honor of a Muslim.
4. Look as well how Allah responded to what happened. First by sending the Prophet PBUH someone from Iraq. There is symbolism here: That, "Know ya Rasulullah, that you are on the truth. Even a person from the further corner of the land will recognize this truth." - Even if the near have rejected you now, the far shall accept you soon. See as well how immediately Allah SWT responded to the du'a of the Prophet PBUH, physically and spiritually: (1) Physically by sending fruits and grapes, sheltering him with the clouds; and then (2) sending down Jibril AS down to ask him, "What do you want; here is the Angel of the Mountain," etc.
5. And again see also the perfection of the character of the Prophet PBUH. The miracle isn't that Allah sent down an angel to destroy the nation. The miracle is that even after all the trouble he went through, the humiliation he had from Ta'if still ringing in his ears, the blood is still pouring down, the Prophet PBUH said, "NO - don't crush them. Perhaps not them, but their offspring will convert to Islam." THIS is truly a miracle that after all this physical and mental stress the Prophet PBUH still has the mercy in his heart to save the people of Ta'if. If this is not "Rahmatan lil-Alamin" [21:107] then what is? If this is not "The most noble character" [68:4] then what is? Wallahi if someone says one mockery or joke we would remember it for years. Imagine the Prophet PBUH suffering in such a severe manner, but still he was merciful and forgiving of the people of Ta'if, and made du'a that one day the city would be a Muslim city. And indeed our Prophet PBUH himself conquered Ta'if barely 10 years later in the Battle of Hunayn. (And to this day, Ta'if is one of the most visited tourist resorts by Muslims. It's a stunning city.) If the Prophet PBUH had willed, there would be no Ta'if. The very place where the Prophet PBUH was stoned, that place has been made into a masjid where Allah is worshiped. This is the du'a of the Prophet PBUH being answered. Now the whole Ta'if is full of masjids and Muslims where Allah is worshiped day and night.
6. And this incident also shows that one shouldn't react emotionally. We should react like the Prophet PBUH did which is calmly, rationally, collecting ourselves, and thinking long term.
7. We see that there is a role model for us for every problem that we suffer from - every rejection, every Islamophobia, etc. Surely what happened to the Prophet PBUH was much worse than what can happen to anybody else. And in how the Prophet PBUH reacted, we find: "There is a perfect role model in the Prophet PBUH." [Quran, 33:21]
______________
The Night of the Jinn
Although the incident of Ta'if might not have been what we call a 'political success,' it resulted in the conversion of Addas. And the conversion of one person is worth more than a hundred camels. As the Prophet PBUH said in a hadith: "If Allah guides one person through you, it will be better for you than a whole lot of red camels."
And Addas wasn't the only man/group who converted. Further on the way back to Makkah, the Prophet PBUH camped in the Valley of Nakhla, and as was his habit, he prayed tahajjud. (No matter how tired he was, he has not yet taken a bath from the wounds, the scars have not yet healed, there was nobody there, it's a cold desert, YET the Prophet PBUH never once gave up his tahajjud. Contrast this with how some of us can barely make out 5x a day fard salah in our comforts.) And Allah told us what happened next. What happened is a miracle the eyes of men cannot witness - Allah says, "When we caused a group of jinn to come pass by you, and they started listening to the Qur'an," [46:29] Allah caused a group of jinn to come pass by the Prophet PBUH as he was standing praying and reciting the Qur'an. And Allah says the jinn didn't come out of nowhere, He caused their travel plans to go such that they are wandering right next to the Prophet PBUH. Further Allah says, "When they were in your presence, they all said, 'Quiet, listen.'" [46:29] Subhan'Allah. If the world of men rejected him, the world of jinn says quiet and listen. And they listened to the whole of the tahajjud and, "They were transformed" not only into Muslims, but "Warners" [46:29] (mini-messengers, scholars, and teachers). They said to their people:
قَالُوا يَا قَوْمَنَا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا كِتَابًا أُنزِلَ مِن بَعْدِ مُوسَىٰ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ وَإِلَىٰ طَرِيقٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
يَا قَوْمَنَا أَجِيبُوا دَاعِيَ اللَّهِ وَآمِنُوا بِهِ يَغْفِرْ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُجِرْكُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
"O our people! We have just listened to a Book that has been sent down after Moses. It contains the Books that came before it and it guides to the Truth and to a Straight Way. O our people! Accept the invitation of the one calling to Allah and believe in him. Allah will forgive you your sins and will save you from a painful torment." [46:30-31]
We see from this that these were Jewish jinns - they had believed in Musa and the Tawrat. Indeed jinns follow the religions of men. There are Jewish, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist jinns etc. And when these Jewish jinns heard the recitation of the Qur'an, they knew the Qur'an came from the same being who had sent down the Tawrat, so they converted to Islam.
Therefore there is a huge symbolism here that, "Ya Rasulullah, even if all of mankind right now you think they have rejected you, the world beyond mankind have accepted you - the world of the jinn." Also from the conversion of Addas, "Even if the people of Makkah have rejected you, the people of Iraq, from the furthest corner, know that you are upon the Truth." Nobody can prevent the spread of the Truth.
And this was the first batch of jinn converts to Islam. And these jinns went to their people calling them to Islam. And they then came back to Makkah while the Prophet PBUH was in Makkah, and they learned Islam from him. We know this from Ibn Mas'ud, who was asked by his student Alqama ibn Qays, "Was anyone there when the Prophet PBUH witnessed the Laylat al-Jinn (the Night of the Jinn)?" He said, "No, nobody was there. One night we were with the Prophet PBUH and then he disappeared. And we looked for him everywhere. And we could not find him. And we thought he had been kidnapped or assassinated. And we spent the worst night of our lives until the morning broke and we saw him coming from the direction of Ghari Hira. So we said, 'Ya Rasulullah, where were you?' The Prophet PBUH said, 'One of the callers of the jinn came to me telling me that there is a congregation waiting for me. So I went out to meet them and recited the Quran.' Then he PBUH walked with us and showed us their campsite - the fires they had lit and the after effects of that." This is the version in Sahih Muslim.
Another version is that the Prophet PBUH said, "Whoever wants to come with me to be with the matter of the jinn can come." And in this report, Ibn Mas'ud went with him. "And we started walking until we came to a valley outside of Makkah and he PBUH drew a line in the sand and said, 'Sit here and do not move until I come back.' So the Prophet PBUH continued walking and recited the Quran. Then a whirling of black clouds appeared around him until he disappeared and I couldn't see him, but I could hear him. One group of clouds remained, but the Prophet PBUH was nowhere to be seen. (The clouds split up. One group of jinn took the Prophet PBUH somewhere, and the other stayed in the visible distance.) When the Prophet PBUH came back after Fajr, he asked, 'Where is the other group of jinn?'" Ibn Mas'ud pointed to the group of clouds, and the Prophet PBUH gave them some bones and some animal dung. The bones are food for the jinn, and animal dung are food for their animals (the jinns' animals). This particular portion of hadith is found in Bukhari and Muslim in many different locations: The Muslim jinns asked the Prophet PBUH, "Where will we get our food from?" The Prophet PBUH said, "Every bit of bone that my ummah eats and mentions Allah's name over shall become flesh for you." (The reason they asked this is because the shayatin eat that over which Allah's name has not been mentioned, i.e. basically a 'haram meat'. So now that they've accepted Islam, they were wondering where would their food come from.) And the animal droppings in our world will be transformed into the food for their animals. (This shows that even jinns have animals - there is something called animal jinns as well.)
__________
Returning to Makkah
So as explained, by walking out of Makkah and disappearing for 10 days, the Prophet's PBUH fate is sealed. He is officially cut off from Makkah. So now he is basically in limbo. Zayd asked him, "Ya Rasulullah, how are we going to enter Makkah now that you have been 'expelled' from it?" The Prophet PBUH said, "Allah will make a way out for us. And Allah will help his prophet and make the truth supreme." Subhan'Allah! There is no Makkah or Ta'if - he is literally camped in the desert but he has ultimate tawakkul. This is where tawakkul comes into play - he did everything he could, didn't fall short in anything, so now it's up to Allah. So the Prophet PBUH sent emissaries to two/three allies in the Quraysh that he thought could help. Obviously he didn't even bother with Banu Makhzum since Abu Jahal and al-Walid ibn al-Mughira were the ones in charge. The first man he approached was al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq, but he sent a message back saying, "I am not in a position to give you protection." The Prophet PBUH then sent the request to Suhayl ibn Amr's tribe. (Note both Suhayl and al-Akhnas eventually accept Islam. This shows that the Prophet PBUH is not sending it to random people. These are people he knows they sympathize with him unlike Abu Lahab, Abu Jahal, etc.) Suhayl ibn Amr then sent a message back basically saying he too cannot give protection. The excuses they gave were flimsy excuses, not true excuses - the Prophet PBUH knows what he's doing. If they wanted to, they could have given him protection. (Note as well the fact that they gave flimsy excuses shows that their animosity towards Islam is not the same as the animosity of Abu Jahal and others.)
Then the Prophet PBUH sent a request to Mut'im ibn Adi. He is the chief of the Banu Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf, and he is the only one who died a pagan in this list of three. (Recall Mut'im was the main one who broke the boycott. He was the one who would send an entire camel full of food, drinks, etc. which by the way would be equal to ~$50,000+$20,000 in our times - a massive amount of money.) The Prophet PBUH sent him a message, "Will you give me your protection?" Mut'im didn't just send a messenger back saying yes, he tells his sons, "Go arm yourselves and bring Muhammad [PBUH] back. Protect him and bring him straight back to me." Subhan'Allah. So an entourage of the sons of Mut'im ibn Adi went outside of Makkah all of them dressed to fight, and they came in with the Prophet PBUH protected. And Mut'im went to the Ka'bah to receive him. And he said to the Prophet PBUH, "Do tawaf, I will wait for you." So the Prophet PBUH did tawaf armed with guards doing tawaf with him. And when he finishes, Mut'im stands up and says, "O people of Makkah! I have given my protection to Muhammad [PBUH]." Abu Sufyan stood up and said, "Are you his follower or are you just giving protection [still as a pagan]?" Mut'im said, "No, I am not his follower, I'm just giving protection." Then Abu Sufyan said, "In that case we shall accept it." (Notice had Mut'im converted, the Quraysh would have rejected the protection. So there is a great wisdom in why certain people didn't convert.)
After this, the Prophet PBUH remained under Mut'im's protection for 1.5-2 more years. But he knows it's a very precarious situation. So he kept on looking for another way, until Allah finally allowed him to do Hijrah. And shortly after the Hijrah, Mut'im died.
(This protection and the breaking of the boycott is the reason why the Prophet PBUH praised Mut'im so highly. He gave him a huge badge of honor after the Battle of Badr saying, "If Mut'im gave me one word, I would have freed all these 73 natnas (pow), no questions asked!" And in this we see a great wisdom: Putting religion aside, there are a lot of non-Muslims who do good for this world. And yes we draw a line - the Prophet PBUH didn't pray Mut'im's janazah or pray for him. But still the Prophet PBUH gave him that badge of honor that will remain until the Day of Judgement.)
(The Prophet PBUH said in a hadith in Sahih Bukhari, "Indeed, Allah helps this religion [even] through a disbelieving/evil man." Mut'im might have been evil in his religion which is the worst type of evil [shirk], but in other affairs, he was a good man. Therefore brothers and sisters, we need to form relations with the Mut'ims of our times. When we find them, we form allegiances. We praise them, they praise us. But we have a line - we don't praise their religion. Many of these might be atheists or Christians, but not a problem at all.)
One final point: After being rejected 2 times, the Prophet PBUH could have tried another city - emigrate to Abyssinia where Najashi would definitely have accepted him; but he still wanted to live in Makkah, the land of persecution. Why? Because despite the pain and suffering, there's no other place he calls home. And he only leaves when it becomes a matter of life or death.