Hadith: Have you ever experienced a day harder than the day of (the battle of) Uhud? He replied: Indeed, I have suffered a lot at the hands of your people, the harshest of which was what they did to me on the Day of Al-‘Aqabah

عن عائشة - رضي الله عنها- أنها قالت للنبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - : هل أتى عليك يوم كان أشد من يوم أُحُدٍ ؟ قال: «لقد لقيت من قومك، وكان أشد ما لقيت منهم يوم العقبة، إذ عرضت نفسي على ابن عبد يَالِيلَ بْنِ عَبْدِ كُلَالٍ، فلم يجبني إلى ما أردت، فانطلقت وأنا مهموم على وجهي، فلم أستفق إلا وأنا بِقَرْنِ الثَّعَالِبِ، فرفعت رأسي، وإذا أنا بسحابة قد أظلتني، فنظرت فإذا فيها جبريل - عليه السلام - فناداني، فقال: إن الله تعالى قد سمع قول قومك لك، وما ردوا عليك، وقد بعث إليك ملك الجبال لتأمره بما شئت فيهم. فناداني ملك الجبال، فسلم علي، ثم قال: يا محمد إن الله قد سمع قول قومك لك، وأنا ملك الجبال، وقد بعثني ربي إليك لتأمرني بأمرك، فما شئت، إن شئت أطبقت عليهم الْأَخْشَبَيْنِ».
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه]

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): "Have you ever experienced a day harder than the day of (the battle of) Uhud?" He replied: "Indeed, I have suffered a lot at the hands of your people (i.e., the disbelievers from of the Quraysh Tribe), the harshest of which was what they did to me on the Day of Al-‘Aqabah when I went to Ibn ‘Abd Yalīl ibn ‘Abd Kulāl with the purpose of inviting him to Islam, but he made no response (to my call). So I departed with deep distress (to the point that I did not know where I was going). I did not recover until I arrived at Qarn Ath-Tha‘ālib. There, I raised my head and saw a cloud shading me. I looked and, lo and behold, I saw in it Jibrīl (peace be upon him) who called me and said: Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, heard what your people said to you and the response they gave you. He has sent to you the angel in charge of mountains to order him to do whatever you wish concerning them. Then the angel of the mountains called me, greeted me and said: O Muhammad, Allah has listened to what your people had said to you. I am the angel of mountains, and my Lord has sent me to you so that you may give me your orders concerning them. If you wish I would bring together the Akhshabayn (two mountains that stand opposite to each other at the outskirts of Makkah) to crush them in between."
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

Explanation

When ‘Ā’ishah asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) if he had experienced a day more difficult than the Day of Uhud, he replied: 'Yes,' and he mentioned to her the story of his journey to Taif. When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) invited the people of Quraysh to Islam, and they did not respond to him, he headed towards Taif, to convey Allah's Message to them. But, when he invited the people of Taif to Islam, their attitude was worse than that of the people of Makkah. They started throwing stones at him until his heel bled. He presented himself to Ibn ‘Abd Yalīl ibn ‘Abd Kulāl, who was one of the dignitaries of the tribe of Thaqīf in Taif. He also rejected his call. So, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) left Taif so sad and disappointed to the point of not knowing where he was going. He did not become aware of his surroundings until he reached a place called Qarn Ath-Tha‘ālib. There, a cloud hovered over him and shaded him. As he lifted his head to the sky, he saw Jibrīl inside this cloud, who said to him: This is the Angel of Mountains with me. He greets you with peace. The angel greeted the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then said to him: My Lord has sent me to you, if you wish I can make the two huge mountains collapse over them and crush them. But, out of his forbearance and foresight, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) responded: "No, for I do hope that Allah will bring forth from their progeny those who would worship Allah alone and not associate partners with Him." This is exactly what happened, as Allah brought forth from the loins of those infidels who harmed him righteous servants who worship Allah alone and who do not associate partners with Him.