The Prophet’s Smile: The Special Supplication
The Prophet’s Smile Series Part Four: The Special Supplication
By Shaykh Amin Buxton
Every year in the blessed month of Rabi al-Awwal, we should put in effort towards connecting with our Beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In this series, we discuss the things that brought a smile to his blessed face and made him laugh. We pray that by applying these lessons, we can gain his pleasure. What can we learn from this special supplication our Beloved Prophet Muhammad made?
The Prophet’s Special Supplication
Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Aqil al-Thaqafi narrates that he came to visit the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with the delegation of the tribe of Thaqif.
He said: “When we entered into his presence there was no one that we hated more than him. We entered, greeted him, and pledged allegiance to him and when we left there was no one that we loved more than him.
I said to him: ‘O Messenger of Allah, did you not think of asking your Lord for a kingdom like the kingdom of Sulayman?’
The Prophet smiled and said: ‘Perhaps Allah has given your companion (meaning himself) something better than the kingdom of Sulayman. Whenever Allah sent a Prophet he gave him a (special) supplication. Some of them used it for something worldly and they were given what they asked for, and some used it to pray for the destruction of their peoples, and their peoples were duly destroyed. Allah gave me this special supplication and I have kept it in reserve with Him to use as a means of intercession for my nation on the Day of Judgement.’” (Narrated by al-Hakim)
The tribe of Thaqif were the noblemen of the city of Ta’if. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to call them to Allah, they rejected him in the most offensive manner. In spite of that rejection, the Prophet refused to command their destruction but rather hoped that they would be guided. If they were not guided, he hoped that their children and descendants would.
The Muslims later defeated Thaqif at the Battle of Hunayn and unsuccessfully laid siege to Ta’if. The tribe eventually sent a delegation to the Prophet to reluctantly announce their acceptance of Islam. The narrator admits that he hated the Prophet when he first met him but during the course of one sitting, that hatred was transformed into love. Instead of bearing a grudge against them, the Prophet welcomed them with open arms. We can only imagine the wise words and the beautiful character that the Prophet showed in order to win over their hearts.
The narrator began to get a glimpse of the Prophet’s status. He began to realize that in front of him was Allah’s Beloved and he could ask whatever he wanted from his Lord. He thought that the greatest thing someone could ask for was a vast kingdom, but the Prophet corrected that notion with a gentle smile. He showed that the greatest thing you can ask for is what benefits people the most in their hour of greatest need. This is one of many narrations which tell us about the intercession of the Prophet on the Day of Judgement.
His mercy surpassed the mercy of other Prophets and he will not be content until as many members of his nation as possible are in Paradise. May none of us be deprived of his intercession on that day.
