These residing within the Indian Subcontinent got here to know extra about “lynching” solely after 2014 when the current dispensation got here to energy in New Delhi and a frequent instances of lynching and tried lynching got here to gentle.

Islam and Muslims nevertheless should not unfamiliar with such assaults. In actual fact, one of the crucial notorious case chronicled within the historical past is “tried lynching” of Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him) in Taif – a metropolis in western Saudi Arabia now well-known because the Metropolis of Roses..

It was 619 AD – The Yr of Grief. The Prophet had misplaced two of his strongest supporters and sources of consolation, his spouse, Khadijah, and his uncle, Abu Talib.

Makkah remained harsh, merciless and unforgiving for him. The persecution of Muslims by the leaders of Quraysh was at its peak. The Prophet therefore determined to take the message of oneness of Allah – The Almighty, and preach Islam past Makkah. Situated 50 miles from his birthplace, Taif was the Prophet’s apparent selection.

He trekked from Makkah to Taif in hopes that folks there are clever and they’ll certainly consider and settle for the message of Islam. On reaching Taif, the Prophet met the chiefs of Banu Thaqif, the foremost tribe within the metropolis, and urged them to go away idol worship and embrace Islam. They not solely refused to simply accept the Prophet’s name but additionally unleashed a bunch that pelted stones on him with such an depth as if to lynch him in broad day gentle.

The Prophet was accompanied by Zayd bin Harithah (RA) in his journey from Makkah to Taif. Each of them had been wounded by the stones thrown at them. Their toes, and so the land of Taif, had been coated in blood.

Bleeding and rejected, the Prophet (peace be upon him) rested on a rock and prayed to Allah. He (peace was so compassionate and merciful; he didn’t ask Allah to punish the folks of Taif or to execute revenge in opposition to them.

Historic accounts actually confirms that Angel Jibreel got here to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) at that second and instructed him if he wished, Allah might order an angel to break down the 2 mountains surrounding the folks of Taif and crush them.

However as an alternative of searching for revenge in opposition to the folks of Taif, what the Prophet mentioned to Angel Jibreel has been recorded within the historical past in these golden phrases:

“I moderately hope that Allah will increase from amongst their descendants individuals who will worship Allah the One, and won’t ascribe companions to Him.”

Allah, The Almighty, didn’t disappoint his beloved Prophet. Taif as we speak has a inhabitants of 1,200,000 folks, predominantly Muslim.

A predominantly Muslim metropolis, Taif is the summer season capital of Saudi Arabia. It’s identified for its grapes, pomegranate, figs, roses, and honey. Anybody residing in Saudi Arabia loves to go to Taif for its cooler climate and the gorgeous surroundings of its mountains.

Taif’s beneficial local weather makes it house to almost a thousand rose farms, with fragrant blossoms stretching from Wadi Mahram to Al-Hada. First, the rose bushes blossom within the valley of Wadi Mahram, then increased up in Al Hada, and at last at 2,500 meters in Al Shafa, the mountains to the south of town.

Each spring roses bloom in Taif, roughly 300 million blooms yearly, turning pockets of the Kingdom’s huge desert panorama a vivid and aromatic pink. That is maybe why town of Taif organises numerous festivals themed round roses.

Additionally annually, a nook of town’s vibrant Al Rudaf Park transforms right into a rose village. On this beautiful setting, dances, performs and exhibitions are dedicated to roses, alongside shows from rose farmers and producers, whereas components of the park are carpeted within the flowers.

The Taif Rose Competition, in its second version, set a Guinness World Report for the largest basket of roses. The basket consisted of 84,450 assorted roses, which took greater than 168 hours of labor, and 190 younger women and men from Taif contributed to creating it.

Each spring, farmers head to the fields to reap stunning rose petals. As soon as the hand-picked blooms are gathered in baskets, they’re taken to native distilleries the place the flowers are sorted, weighed and distilled in big copper alembics. The perfumed oil has turn out to be well-liked among the many thousands and thousands of Muslims who go to the Kingdom for Umrah and Hajj. The identical is then additionally used to cleanse the partitions of the sacred Kaaba in Makkah.

“The life cycle of the Taif’s roses begins in December of every yr, when farmers return to care for his or her fields and bushes. After 55 days, their scent mixes with the aromatic lush juniper bushes within the gardens’ paths. The wealthy colours of nature combine, saying the season of selecting rose petals in the identical time early spring of yearly. They’re then transported in bushels to Taif’s rose oil extraction factories.”

A number of centuries in the past Taif rose petals weren’t distilled within the metropolis. As a substitute, they had been gathered and transported by camel caravan to the Muslim Holy Metropolis of Makkah the place artisanal Indian distillers had been liable for gently urgent the flowers and extracting the dear oil.

In Taif there’s a rose variant referred to as Rosa Damascena Trigintipetala – higher generally known as Wardh Taifi. It stays a thriller how the 30-petal Wardh Taifi arrived in Taif. With similarities to the well-known Bulgarian Kazanlik rose, some say it was dropped at Saudi Arabia by the Ottoman Turks, who as soon as dominated an enormous empire over a lot of the Arabian peninsula. Others declare that it got here from the Persian rose plantations round Shiraz and Kashan, or India.

No matter the way it arrived within the highlands of Saudi Arabia, there are few aromas as revered within the Islamic world.

The dear essence of Taif rose is intertwined with Islamic tradition, most notably within the twice-yearly ceremonial washing of the Holy Kaaba within the Grand Mosque of Makkah, which makes use of the highest-quality rose oil.

In the course of the Hajj, the Kiswah is sprinkled with rose water, and in addition in accordance with the assumption, upon conquering Istanbul in 1453, Sultan Mehmet II had the Aya Sophia washed with rose water earlier than changing it right into a mosque.

In Islam, the rose is named the Flower of Heaven. Some understand roses as symbols of the human soul so, the gorgeous scent of the rose is related to spirituality.

Revered eleventh century Persian Doctor Ibn Sina was one of many first scientists to emphasise the therapeutic impact of the rose scent on the guts and mind. He wrote:

“Due to its beautiful perfume, the rose addresses the soul.”

As a result of Taif rose is so exceptionally uncommon – with anyplace between 10,000 and 15,000 hand-picked roses creating only a small vial of oil – it’s the final gesture to honour a visitor with a dab on their wrist or bestow a newly-married couple with a vial as a marriage present.

#Taif as soon as tried to lynch #ProphetMuhammed, now produces #Roses to clean Holy Kaaba pic.twitter.com/Gir44gOZUZ

— ummid.com (@ummid) December 28, 2022

The international locations like Morocco, Syria, India and France, develop and harvest the Damask rose in a lot bigger portions than Taif, rising in 1000’s of farms. Nonetheless, Taif’s ‘humble’ quantity of roses produces the valued rose water (utilized in cooking, tea and occasional) and rose oil utilized in fragrance.

Though town of Taif is miles away from France, the phrase ‘La Vie en Rose’ can specific the sweetness and pleasure that Taif roses illuminate. A pleasure that should be skilled not less than as soon as in a lifetime.

[With inputs from Saudi Gazette and Bayt Al Fann (@BaytAlFann)]

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