He was always very patient in hardship and suffering. He was never discouraged by adverse circumstances, nor did he permit any personal desire to get a hold over him. His father had died before his birth and his mother died while he was still a little child. Up to the age of eight, he was in the supervision of his grandfather and then at his death he was taken care of by his uncle, Abu Talib. That was a very hard time for him, but he always behaved in a dignified manner.
The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), throughout his life, had to encounter a succession of bitter experiences. After marriage, he had to bear the loss of several children one after the other, and then his beloved and devoted wife Khadija died. Some of the wives he married after Khadija’s death, died during his lifetime. Towards the close of his life, he had to bear the loss of his son Abraham. He bore all these losses and calamities calmly, and none of them affected him in the least degree.
On one occasion he observed a woman who had lost a child occupied in loud mourning over her child’s grave. He admonished her to be patient and to accept God’s will as supreme. The woman did not know that she was being addressed by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and she said to the Prophet, “If you had ever suffered the loss of a child as I have, you would have realized how difficult it is to be patient under such an affliction.” The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “I have suffered the loss not of one but of seven children,” and passed on.
In the tenth year of the mission, the uncle of Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Abu-Talib and his wife Khadijah both died. With their death the abuse of the Quraish increased manifold. Of those few people who were allowed to hear the Qur’an many became Muslims. However, due to continuous torture given by the Quraish, Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) decided to preach the word of God to the people of Al-Ta’if. So, he traveled to Al-Ta’if to convey the message of God to people. When the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) reached there, the elders incited the youth against him. The fanatic youth started throwing stones upon the Prophet of Islam, so much so that the Prophet was severely wounded; he was bleeding from top to tow. His shoes were filled with blood, and it became hard for him even to walk. That moment the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed to God the Almighty saying,
“O, my Lord, unto you I bewail my weakness, inability, and disregard of mankind towards me. O Most Merciful of the merciful, you are the Lord of the weak and my Lord. Unto whom shall you deliver me? Unto one who is distant and shall glower at me, or unto an enemy whom You have given authority over me? If You are not angry against me then I do not care what befalls me, as Your gifts of well- being are more commodious for me. I seek refuge in the light of Your face that has overcome all darkness, and through which all matters of this life and the hereafter have been established in justice, that Your retribution should fall upon me, or your disdain should befall me. Unto You is all appeasement until You are appeased, and no one has power or ability except in You.”
At that time the Angel Gabriel appeared and addressed him saying: “Allah has heard what your people said to you, and how they have replied to you. Allah has sent the angel of the Mountains to you so that you may order him to do whatever you wish to these people.” The Angel of the Mountains then appeared and said, “O Muhammad! Order what you wish. If you like, I shall cause mountains surrounding Al-Ta’if, to fall upon them, and crush them into pieces.”
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, “No, for I hope that there shall be among their children those who will worship Allah alone, and will worship none besides Him.” And he prayed, “O my Lord guide these people because they know not.” He then returned to Mecca.
The tenth year of the Prophethood was a year of intense persecution and suffering in the life of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Quraish and the other tribes had continued their boycott of the Bani Hashim and the Muslims for about three years and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the people of his family and Companions lay besieged in Shi‘b Abi Talib. The Quraish had blocked up this vicinity from every side so that no supplies of any kind could reach the besieged people. This boycott continued uninterrupted for about three years and had broken the back of the Muslims and the Bani Hashim; so much so that at times they were even forced to eat grass and the leaves of trees. At last, when the siege was lifted, Abu Talib, uncle of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who had been shielding him for ten long years, died, and hardly a month later his wife, Hazrat Khadijah, who had been a source of peace and consolation for him ever since the beginning of the call, also passed away. Because of these tragic incidents, which closely followed each other, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to refer to this year as the Year of Sorrow and Grief. But all this period of suffering was spent with patience and with great tolerance.
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. the Promised Messiah and Mahdi (peace be upon him) of the age, says about the Holy founder of Islam:
The calamities and hardships that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had to endure during the thirteen years of his Meccan life cannot be imagined. Our heart trembles when we think of them. They demonstrate his high resolve, generous heartedness, perseverance, and steadfastness. What a mountain of steadfastness he was that no difficulty could shake him in the least. He did not slacken for a moment in the discharge of his duty, nor was he sorrowful. No difficulty could weaken his resolve. Some people out of misunderstanding enquire: why did he have to encounter all these misfortunes and difficulties when he was the loved one of God and His chosen one? I would say to them that water is not discovered till one digs into the earth and splits it through several feet. It is only then that agreeable water is found which is the basis of life. In the same way, delight in the cause of God Almighty can be procured only by steadfastness and firmness under difficulties and misfortunes. How can those who have no experience of these ways imagine and feel that delight? How can they be aware that when the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had to endure trouble a spring of delight and comfort welled up in his heart, and his trust in God, love of God, and faith in Divine help were strengthened? (Malfuzat, Vol. II, pp. 307-305)
Again, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi (peace be upon him) of the age wrote about the Holy founder of Islam regarding his patience and steadfastness:
Prophets and saints are raised so that people should follow them in all their moral qualities and that all seekers after truth should tread the path along which God has made them steadfast. It is obvious that high moral qualities are proved by their exercise on the proper occasion, and it is only then that they are most effective. For instance, forgiveness is praiseworthy when the wronged one has the power to take revenge, and piety is trustworthy when it is exercised at a time when means of self- indulgence are at hand. God’s design with regard to Prophets and saints is that every type of high moral quality should be manifested by them and should be clearly established.
To fulfill this design God Almighty divides their lives into two parts. One part is passed in hardships and under calamities, in which they are tormented and persecuted so that those of their high moral qualities might be manifested which can only be manifested during great hardship. If they are not subjected to great hardship, it cannot be affirmed that they were faithful to their Lord in the face of all calamities and pressed further forward in the face of hardships. They are grateful to God Almighty that He chose them for His favors and considered them worthy that they should be persecuted in His cause. God Almighty afflicts them with misfortunes so that their endurance and steadfastness and fidelity might be manifested, and they might illustrate the proverb that, “Steadfastness is higher than a miracle.”
Perfect steadfastness is not manifested in the absence of great hardships and is appreciated when a person is greatly shaken. These calamities are spiritual bounties in the case of Prophets and saints, through which their high qualities, in which they are matchless and peerless, are manifested and their ranks are promoted in the Hereafter. If they were not subjected to severe trials, they would not be awarded these bounties, nor would their sterling qualities be demonstrated to the common people. Their high resolve, fidelity and bravery would not be universally acknowledged. They became matchless, peerless, unique, unreachable, and so perfect and brave as if each of them were a thousand lions in one body and a thousand leopards in one frame. Thus, their power and strength held high in everyone’s estimation, and they arrived at high ranks of nearness to God.
The second part of the lives of prophets and saints is perfected in victory, prestige, and riches, so that such of their high qualities might be demonstrated for which it is necessary to be victorious, to possess prestige, riches, authority and power. To forgive one’s tormentors, and to forbear from one’s persecutors, and to love one’s enemies, and to wish well to one’s ill-wishers, not to love riches nor to be proud of them, and not to be miserly and to open wide the gates of beneficence and generosity, and not to make riches the means of self-indulgence, and not to make power an instrument of tyranny and transgression, are all qualities for the demonstration of which it is necessary to possess riches and power. These qualities are demonstrated when a person possesses both wealth and authority.
As without passing through a time of trial and misfortune, and also a time of prosperity and authority, these two types of high qualities cannot be manifested, the Perfect Wisdom of the Divine demanded that prophets and saints should be provided with both these types of opportunities, which comprise thousands of bounties. But the sequence of both these conditions is not the same for everyone. Divine Wisdom ordains in the case of some that the period of peace and comfort should precede the time of troubles, and in the case of others, troubles precede Divine help. In some these conditions are not apparent and in others they are manifested to a perfect degree. In this respect the foremost was the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for both these conditions were imposed upon him in their perfection in such order that his high qualities were illumined like the sun. (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 1, pp. 276-292, footnote 11)