Prophet with People

"By the grace of Allah, you are gentle towards the people; if you had been stern and harsh-hearted, they would have dispersed from round about you" The noble Qur'an, A'al-Umran(3):159

Even with all of his concerns and obligations, Muhammad (s.a.a.w.) never became unmindful of his people. He had a special place in his heart for each one of them and he was known among them for his soft-spokenness, his generosity, his tolerance, and his friendliness.

He would joke with his companions, sit and talk with them, play with their children and sit them on his knee. He would respond to the call of the free man or the slave, or the young girl or the poor. He would visit the sick on the opposite end of the city and he would attend their funerals. He would accept the people's apologies and their excuses, and he was the most humble among them.

Abdullah ibn Al-Haritha narrated:

"I have never seen anyone who smiled more continuously than the Messenger of Allah (s.a.a.w.)" (Narrated by Al-Tirmathi)

Usamah ibn Zayd narrated:

"The daughter of the Prophet (s.a.a.w.) sent (a messenger) to the Prophet (s.a.a.w.) requesting him to come as her child was dying. However, the Prophet (s.a.a.w.) returned the messenger and told him to convey his greeting to her and say: "Whatever Allah takes is for Him and whatever He gives is for Him. Everything with Him has a limited fixed term (in this world) and so she should be patient and hope for Allah's reward." 

She again sent for him, swearing that he should come. The Prophet (s.a.a.w.) stood up, and so did Sa'id ibn Ubadah, Mu'ath ibn Jabal, Ubay ibn Ka'ab , Zayd ibn Thabit and some other men. [When he arrived,] the child was brought to Allah's Apostle (s.a.a.w.), his chest heaving. On that the eyes of the Prophet (s.a.a.w.) began shedding tears. Sa'd said, "O Allah's Apostle! What is this?" He replied, "It is mercy which Allah has lodged in the hearts of His slaves, and Allah is merciful only to those of His slaves who are merciful (to others)." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari)

Muhammad (s.a.a.w.) as a Witness

Allah T'ala sent the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w.) as شَاهِدً

Allah T'ala says in the Holy Quran:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا

O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good news and a warner. (33:45)

The meaning of the Prophet's being a "witness" is very vast. It includes three kinds of evidence:

(1) Verbal evidence, i.e. the Prophet should bear out the truth of the realities and principles on which Allah's Religion is based and tell the world plainly that they are the truth and all that is opposed to them is falsehood. He should rise to proclaim without hesitation and fear the Being of Allah and His Unity, the existence of the angels, the corning down of Revelation, the occurrence of life-after-death, the Hell and Heaven, all are realities, even if they appear strange to the world, and the people mock the one presenting them, or call him a madman. 

Likewise, the Prophet should openly present before the people the concepts, values, principles and rules pertaining to morality and civilization and social life that God has revealed to him, and reject as wrong all the concepts and ways which are prevalent and are opposed to them, even if the whole world rejects them as wrong and violates them in practice. Similarly, the Prophet should proclaim as lawful what is lawful in Allah's Law even if the whole world regards it as unlawful, and should proclaim as unlawful whatever is unlawful in Allah's Law even if the world regards it as lawful and pure.

(2) Practical evidence: That is, the Prophet in his own life should practically demonstrate all that he has been commissioned to present before the world. His life should be free from every shade of that which he calls evil, and his own character should clearly reflect that which he calls good; he should be the foremost in carrying out what he regards as obligatory, and most cautious in refraining from what he calls sinful. 

Kindness to Animals

The Prophet (pbuh) not only preached to the people to show kindness to each other but also to all living souls. He forbade the practice of cutting tails and manes of horses, of branding animals at any soft spot, and of keeping horses saddled unnecessarily. [Sahih Muslim] If he saw any animal over-loaded or Milad he would pull up the owner and say,

"Fear Allah in your treatment of animals." [Abu Dawood]

A companion came to him with the young ones of a bird in his sheet and said that the mother bird had hovered over them all along. He was directed to replace her offspring in the same bush (Mishkat, Abu Dawood)

During a journey, somebody picked up some birds eggs. The bird's painful note and fluttering attracted the attention of the Prophet (pbuh), who asked the man to replace the eggs. [Sahih Bukhari]

Justice of the Prophet

Justice of the Prophet (s.a.a.w.)

The Prophet (pbuh) asked people to be just and kind. As the supreme judge and arbiter, as the leader of men, as generalissimo [head commander and chief] of a rising power, as a reformer and apostle, he had always to deal with men and their affairs. He had often to deal with mutually inimical and warring tribes when showing justice to one carried the danger of antagonizing the other, and yet he never deviated from the path of justice. In administering justice, he made no distinction between believers and nonbelievers, friends and foes, high and low. From numerous instances reported in the traditions, a few are given below.

Sakhar, a chief of a tribe, had helped Muhammad (pbuh) greatly in the siege of Taif, for which he was naturally obliged to him. Soon after, two charges were brought against Sakhar: one by Mughira of illegal confinement of his (Mughira's) aunt and the other by Banu Salim of forcible occupation of his spring by Sakhar. In both cases, he decided against Sakhar and made him undo the wrong. [Abu Dawud]

Abdullah Bin Sahal, a companion, was deputized to collect rent from Jews of Khaibar. His cousin Mahisa accompanied him but, on reaching Khaibar, they had separated. Abdullah was waylaid and done to death. Mahisa reported this tragedy to the Prophet (pbuh) but as there were no eye-witnesses to identify the guilty, he did not say anything to the Jews and paid the blood-money out of the state revenues. [Sahih Bukhari]

Forgiveness by the Prophet

A Jewess came to Allah's Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) with poisoned mutton and he took of what had been brought to him. (When the effect of his poison were felt by him) he called for her and asked her about that, whereupon she said: I had determined to kill you. Thereupon he said: Allah will never give you the power to do it. He (the narrator) said that they (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) said: Should we not kill her? Thereupon he said: No. He said: I felt (the effects of this poison) on the uvula of Allah's Messenger. (Sahih Muslim)

It has been narrated on the authority of Hadrat Anas Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that eighty persons from the inhabitants of Makka swooped down upon Allah's Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) from the mountain of Tan'im. They were armed and wanted to attack the Holy Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) and his Companions unawares. He (the Holy Prophet) captured them but spared their lives. So, Allah (The Glorified and the Exalted) revealed the verse:

"And It is He Who restrained your hands from them and their hands from you in the valley of Makkah after He had given you a victory over them." (48:24)

(Sahih Muslim)

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Description of the Prophet

In order to understand the message of Islam, it is first necessary to acquaint ourselves with the prophet of Islam. You cannot, as the popular saying goes, separate the message from the messenger. It is therefore only natural to wish to study the life of Muhammad (pbuh), his manners and his morals, and to see how Islam manifested itself in his person as a living example for all Muslims till the end of time.

Abu Hurairah described him as follows:

"He was of medium build, closer to being tall. His skin was extremely white, his beard was black, his mouth was pleasant, his eyebrows were long, and his shoulders were wide"

Ibne Malik said:

"I never touched silk or any soft fabric equal to the softness of his palm, and I never smelled a scent more pleasing than his."

Hind ibn Abi Hala (the son of Muhammad's wife Kadijah) described Muhammad (pbuh) as follows:

"The Messenger of Allah was of consecutive sorrows, continuous thought, never finding rest, long in silence. He did not speak without cause. He spoke with his full mouth (was not arrogant), and spoke concisely. His speech was just, with neither excess nor deficiency. He was not pompous, nor denigrating. He exalted all blessings no matter how small and never belittled a single one. He would never praise his food nor criticize it. He was never angered by matters of this life nor that which was associated with it. However, if justice was transgressed nothing could stand up to his anger until justice was established. He never became angry for his own self nor sought retribution for himself. If he gestured, he did so with his whole palm. If he was amazed, he overturned it. If he spoke, he struck with his right palm the inside of his left thumb. If he became angry he turned away, and when he was happy he lowered his gaze. The majority of his laughter was [restricted to] smiling."

Ali ibn abi Talib described Muhammad (pbuh) as follows:

"He was not vulgar nor did he condone vulgarity, and he was not one to shout in the market place. He did not reward evil with evil, rather, he would forgive and overlook. He never in his life struck anything with his hand except when he was fighting in the name of Allah. He never struck a servant nor a woman, and I never saw him taking revenge for an injustice dealt him, except if the prohibitions of Allah were transgressed. For if the prohibitions of Allah were transgressed he was among the strongest of them in anger. He was never given a choice between two matters but he chose the simplest of the two. If he entered into his home he was a man like any other; cleaning his own garment, milking his own goat, and serving himself.

The Message of Islam for All

In or about the year 570 the child who would be named Muhammad and who would become the Prophet of one of the world's great religions, Islam, was born into a family belonging to a clan of Quraysh, the ruling tribe of Mecca, a city in the Hijaz region of northwestern Arabia.

Originally the site of the Ka'bah, a shrine of ancient origins, Mecca had with the decline of southern Arabia (see Chapter l ) become an important center of sixth-century trade with such powers as the Sassanians, Byzantines, and Ethiopians. As a result the city was dominated by powerful merchant families among whom the men of Quraysh were preeminent.

Muhammad's father, 'Abd Allah ibn'Abd al-Muttalib, died before the boy was born; his mother, Aminah, died when he was six. The orphan was consigned to the care of his grandfather, the head of the clan of Hashim. After the death of his grandfather, Muhammad was raised by his uncle, Abu Talib. As was customary, Muhammad as a child was sent to live for a year or two with a Bedouin family. This custom, followed until recently by noble families of Mecca, Medina, Tayif, and other towns of the Hijaz, had important implications for Muhammad. In addition to enduring the hardships of desert life, he acquired a taste for the rich language so loved by the Arabs, whose speech was their proudest art, and learned the patience and forbearance of the herdsmen, whose life of solitude he first shared and then came to understand and appreciate.

About the year 590, Muhammad, then in his twenties, entered the service of a widow named Khadijah as a merchant actively engaged with trading caravans to the north. Sometime later Muhammad married Khadijah, by whom he had two sons - who did not survive - and four daughters.

During this period of his life Muhammad traveled widely. Then, in his forties he began to retire to meditate in a cave on Mount Hira outside of Mecca, where the first of the great events of Islam took place. One day, as he sat in the cave, he heard a voice, later identified as that of the Angel Gabriel, which ordered him to:

God’s Sole Right to Worship

“O mankind, worship your Lord who has created you and those before you, that you may become righteous. He Who has made the earth a resting-place for you and the sky a canopy, and has sent down water from the sky and thereby brought forth fruits for your sustenance. Do not, then, claim that there is any power that could rival God, when you know.” (Quran 2:21-22)

In these verses is the first commandment mentioned in the Quran, God proves the illogicality of worshipping others besides or instead of Him. He addresses humanity as a whole to direct all acts of worship to Him alone. He announces to them that He is their Lord, Sustainer, and Creator. Human beings did not appear out of nowhere, but rather God is the One who brought them into being out of nothingness. After their creation, God did not leave them on their own, rather He took care of them when they were in the womb of their mothers, and God has been caring for them throughout their life by providing for them various sources of sustenance. He created things in this life in such a way that they would be of benefit and comfort for people. Therefore, it is the Sole right of God – who created us and those who came before us - that He be worshipped, for it is He and none else who provided us these things.

Everything apart from God, such as humans, angels, and spirits, are created by God. Thus, creation should not be adored and worshipped as God. No created being owns or controls anything in the universe and, therefore, can neither harm nor benefit without God’s permission. God asks us rhetorically, how can we worship other beings besides Him while we know deep inside that God has no equal or rival? Due to this, God, and none other, has the sole right to command and He, and none else, deserves our strict obedience. He deserves to be singled out in all acts of worship, without association of any partners.

But so often we see worship being reduced to dry, empty rituals. God informs us in this verse that the goal of worship is to achieve Taqwa. In most Quran translations, Taqwa is translated as fear, piety, or righteousness. Perhaps a more accurate translation is ‘God-consciousness’ or ‘God-awareness.’ Taqwa is to be aware of God’s presence at all times and to put a shield between oneself and God’s displeasure by doing what is right. God does not benefit and is not in need of our worship, rather worship, as all His other commandments, is of benefit to our own selves. When a person worships God, they are reminded about Him, and in turn reminded of the purpose of their life, and they themselves will be discouraged from committing vein and evil deeds. These reminders lead to Taqwa or God-consciousness. If a person achieves this state of being, they do or say nothing except that they keep in mind the true reality of that deed, whether it is pleasing to his Lord or incurs His anger.

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Salvation from Hellfire

God has said in the Quran:

“Those who have disbelieved and died in disbelief, the earth full of gold would not be accepted from any of them if one offered it as a ransom. They will have a painful punishment, and they will have no helpers.” (Quran 3:91)

So, this life is our only chance to win Paradise and to escape from Hellfire, because if someone dies in disbelief, he will not have another chance to come back to this world to believe. As God has said in the Quran about what is going to happen for the unbelievers on the Day of Judgment:

“If you could but see when they are set before the Fire (Hell) and say, “Would that we might return (to the world)! Then we would not reject the verses of our Lord, but we would be of the believers!” (Quran 6:27)

But no one will have this second opportunity.

The Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said: “The happiest man in the world of those doomed to the Fire (Hell) on the Day of Judgment will be dipped in the Fire once. Then he will be asked, ‘Son of Adam, did you ever see any good? Did you ever experience any blessing?’ So he will say, ‘No, by God, O Lord!’”

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Real Happiness and Inner Peace

Real happiness and peace can be found in submitting to the commands of the Creator and the Sustainer of this world. God has said in the Quran:

“Truly, in remembering God do hearts find rest.” (Quran 13:28)

On the other hand, the one who turns away from the Quran will have a life of hardship in this world. God has said:

“But whoever turns away from the Quran,[1] he will have a hard life, and We will raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment.” (Quran 20:124)

This may explain why some people commit suicide while they enjoy the material comfort money can buy. For example, look at Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam), formerly a famous pop singer who used to earn sometimes more than $150,000 a night. After he converted to Islam, he found true happiness and peace, which he had not found in material success

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