Route to Ta'if and Nakhlah
From Makkah to Ta'if and back via Nakhlah; about the end of the decade before the Hijra (around 619 CE, approximate). In Ta'if the rejection and mistreatment, the garden where Addas met him, at Nakhlah the jinn listening to the Quran, and the return under the protection of al-Mut'im ibn Adi.
About this route
The route and date are only approximately determined from the sira. The exact sites of Nakhlah and of the stations in Ta'if are debated; exegetes differ on whether the verses 46:29–32 and 72:1 belong to the Nakhlah event.
Stops
Makkah: start of the journey
After the death of Abu Talib and Khadijah, the Prophet ﷺ went to Ta'if seeking support. The aim was to seek help and protection from the Thaqif tribe.
Ta'if: reception and rejection
The sira reports that the notables of Ta'if rejected the Prophet ﷺ, and that young people threw stones at him until he was injured. After this he set out back toward Makkah.
HadithSahih
Sahih Muslim 1795
Meaning summary
Aisha reports: God sent the angel in charge of the mountains to the Prophet ﷺ, who offered to bring the two mountains down on his people if he wished, because they had rejected him. The Prophet ﷺ hoped that God would bring forth from their descendants people who worship Him alone.
The hadith is linked to the rejection and mistreatment the Prophet ﷺ met in Ta'if. The text does not name Ta'if explicitly; the place and context are established from other reports and the sira.
- sunnah.com/muslim:1795
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3231
Garden of Addas
According to the sira, the Prophet ﷺ rested in a garden at Ta'if, where Addas, a Christian slave, came to him and listened to him. The exact location of the garden is not known.
Nakhlah (al-Yamaniyya)
On the way back from Ta'if, the Prophet ﷺ recited the Quran at Nakhlah during the dawn prayer; the sira and hadith report that jinn listened and then returned to their people. Nakhlah lies approximately on the road between Makkah and Ta'if.
Revelation
وَإِذْ صَرَفْنَآ إِلَيْكَ نَفَرًا مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ يَسْتَمِعُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ فَلَمَّا حَضَرُوهُ قَالُوٓا۟ أَنصِتُوا۟ ۖ فَلَمَّا قُضِىَ وَلَّوْا۟ إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِم مُّنذِرِينَ ﴿29﴾ قَالُوا۟ يَٰقَوْمَنَآ إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا كِتَٰبًا أُنزِلَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مُوسَىٰ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَهْدِىٓ إِلَى ٱلْحَقِّ وَإِلَىٰ طَرِيقٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ ﴿30﴾ يَٰقَوْمَنَآ أَجِيبُوا۟ دَاعِىَ ٱللَّهِ وَءَامِنُوا۟ بِهِۦ يَغْفِرْ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُجِرْكُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ﴿31﴾ وَمَن لَّا يُجِبْ دَاعِىَ ٱللَّهِ فَلَيْسَ بِمُعْجِزٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَيْسَ لَهُۥ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ أَوْلِيَآءُ ۚ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ فِى ضَلَٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ
Quran 46:29–32
Meaning translation (AI-assisted), not the Quran text itself
And when We turned to you a group of jinn listening to the Quran, they said, when they were present, 'Be silent.' When it was finished, they returned to their people as warners and said: 'O our people! We have heard a Book revealed after Moses, confirming what came before it, guiding to the truth and to a straight path. O our people! Respond to the caller of God and believe in him; He will forgive you your sins and protect you from a painful punishment.' Whoever does not respond to the caller of God cannot escape on earth and has no protectors besides Him; they are in clear error.
The event in which jinn listened to the Quran and returned to their people as warners; exegetes link these verses to the listening at Nakhlah, but the connection is debated (Ibn Kathir).
- Tafsir Ibn Kathir 46:29-32
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4921
Revelation
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ قُلْ أُوحِىَ إِلَىَّ أَنَّهُ ٱسْتَمَعَ نَفَرٌ مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ فَقَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْءَانًا عَجَبًا
Quran 72:1–1
Meaning translation (AI-assisted), not the Quran text itself
Say: It has been revealed to me that a group of jinn listened and said: 'Indeed, we have heard a wondrous Quran.'
The first verse of Surat al-Jinn; the hadith (Bukhari 4921) connect the surah with the jinn listening at Nakhlah. Some exegetes accept this link, others dispute it.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4921
- Tafsir Ibn Kathir 72:1
HadithSahih
Sahih al-Bukhari 4921
Meaning summary
Ibn Abbas reports: while the Prophet ﷺ was travelling with some companions towards the market of Ukaz, jinn listened to him reciting the Quran during the dawn prayer at Nakhlah; afterwards they returned to their people and told them.
The hadith places the event at Nakhlah while the Prophet ﷺ was travelling towards Ukaz and links the first verse of Surat al-Jinn with it; the sira connects Nakhlah with the return from Ta'if, and scholars differ on whether the two accounts describe the same event.
- sunnah.com/bukhari:4921
Return to Makkah: protection of al-Mut'im ibn Adi
According to the sira, the Prophet ﷺ re-entered Makkah under the protection of al-Mut'im ibn Adi, who guaranteed his safe entry into the city.
Quran text: Tanzil Project (tanzil.net), CC BY 3.0 – verbatim tanzil.net