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The
Prophet Muhammad is introduced in the Qur’an in these words:
[And
We have not sent you forth but as a mercy to mankind.]
(Al-Anbiyaa’: 107)
This
shows that his distinctive quality was that he was a blessing
incarnate in word and deed.
According
to a tradition recorded in the Sahih of Imam Muslim, when the
Prophet’s opponents greatly increased their persecution, his
Companions asked him to curse them. At this the Prophet replied,
“I have not been sent to lay a curse upon men but to be a blessing
to them.” His opponents continued to treat him and his Companions
unjustly and cruelly, but he always prayed for them.
Once
he was so badly stoned by his enemies that the blood began to spurt
from all over his body. This happened when he went to Ta’if, where
the Hijaz aristocracy used to while away their summer days. When he
attempted to call them to Islam, instead of listening to his words
of wisdom, they set the street urchins upon him, who kept chasing
him till nightfall. Even at that point, when he was utterly
exhausted and bleeding from head to foot, all he said was, “O my
Lord, guide my people along the true path, as they are ignorant of
the truth.”
His
heart was filled with intense love for all human kind irrespective
of caste, creed, or color. Once he advised his Companions to regard
all people as their brothers and sisters. He added, “You are all
Adam’s offspring and Adam was born of clay.”
All
this tells us what kind of awareness he wanted to bring about in
man. His mission was to bring people abreast of the reality that all
men and women, although inhabiting different regions of the world,
and seemingly different from one another as regards their color,
language, dress, culture, etc., were each other’s blood brothers.
Hence a proper relationship will be established between all human
beings only if they regard one another as sisters and brothers. Only
then will proper feelings of love and respect prevail throughout the
world.
According
to a hadith, the Prophet once said, “A true believer is one with
whom others feel secure. One who returns love for hatred.” The
Prophet made it clear that one who would only return love for love
was on a lower ethical plane. We should never think that we should
treat people well only if they treat us well. We should, rather, be
accustomed to being good to those who are not good to us and to not
wronging those who harm us.
The
Prophet once borrowed some money from a Jew. After a few days the
Jew came to demand payment of his debt. The Prophet told him that at
that moment he had nothing to pay him with. The Jew said that he
wouldn’t let him go until he had paid him back. And so the Jew
stayed there, from morning till night, holding the Prophet captive.
At that time the Prophet was the established ruler of Madinah and
could have easily taken action against him. His Companions naturally
wanted to rebuke the man and chase him away. But the Prophet forbade
this, saying, “The Lord has forbidden us to wrong anyone.” The
Jew continued to hold the Prophet captive until the following
morning. But with the first light of dawn, the Jew was moved by the
Prophet’s tolerance, and he thereupon embraced Islam. In spite of
being a rich man, he had detained the Prophet the day before on
account of a few pence. But now the Prophet’s noble conduct had
had such an impact on him that he was willing to give all his wealth
to the Prophet, saying, “Spend it as you please.”
According
to another hadith, the Prophet once said, “By God, he is not a
believer, by God, he is not a believer, by God, he is not a
believer, with whom his neighbors are not secure.” This hadith
shows how much he loved and cared for all human beings. One of the
lessons he taught was that we should live among others like flowers,
and not like thorns, without giving trouble to anybody.
In
another hadith the Prophet said, “If a believer is not able to
benefit others, he must at least do them no harm.” This shows that
to the Prophet the man who becomes useful to others leads his life
on a higher plane. But if he fails to do so, he should at least
create no trouble for his fellow men. For a man to be a really good
servant of God, he must live in this world as a no-problem person.
There is no third option.
The
Prophet’s own example was testified to by Anas ibn Malik, who
served the Prophet for ten years. He said that the Prophet never
ever rebuked him. “When I did something, he never questioned my
manner of doing it; and when I did not do something, he never
questioned my failure to do it. He was the most good-natured of all
men.” Such conduct gained him the respect even of his enemies, and
his followers stood by him through all kinds of hardship and
misfortune. He applied the principles on which his own life was
based in equal measure to those who followed his path and to those
who had harmed or discountenanced him.
In
the present world, everyone’s thinking, tastes, aptitude, likes,
and dislikes can never exactly coincide. For many reasons,
differences do arise in this world. But then, what is the permanent
solution to the problem? The solution lies in tolerance. The
Prophet’s entire life served as a perfect example of this
principle. According to his wife `A’ishah, “He was a
personification of the Qur’an.”
That
is to say, the Prophet molded his own life in accordance with the
ideal pattern of life that he presented to others in the form of the
Qur’an. He never beat a servant, or a woman, or anyone else. He
did, of course, fight for what was right. Yet, when he had to choose
between two alternatives, he would take the easier course, provided
it involved no sin. No one was more careful to avoid sin than he. He
never sought revenge on his own behalf for any wrong done to him
personally. Only if God’s commandments had been broken would he
mete out retribution for the sake of God. It was such conduct which
gained the Prophet universal respect.
In
the early Makkan period when the antagonists far exceeded the
Prophet’s Companions in number, it often happened that when the
Prophet would stand to pray, his detractors would come near him and
whistle and clap in order to disturb him, but the Prophet did not
even once show his anger at such acts. He always opted for the
policy of tolerance and avoidance of confrontation.
When
the opposition became very strong, the Prophet left Makkah for
Madinah. But his antagonists did not leave him in peace. They began
to attack Madinah. In this way a state of war prevailed between the
Muslims and non-Muslims.
Since
the Prophet avoided war at all costs, he strove to bring about a
peace agreement between him and the Makkans. After great efforts on
his part, the non-Muslims agreed to the finalizing of a 10-year
peace treaty, which was drafted and signed at Al-Hudaybiyyah.
While
the Hudaybiyyah treaty was being drafted, the Makkans indulged in a
number of extremely provocative acts. For instance, the agreement
mentioned the Prophet’s name as “Muhammad the Messenger of
Allah.” They insisted that the phrase “the Messenger of Allah”
be taken out and replaced by “son of Abdullah.” The Prophet
accepted their unreasonable condition and deleted the appellation
with his own hands. Similarly, they made the condition that if they
could lay their hands on any Muslim they would make him a hostage,
but if the Muslims succeeded in detaining any non-Muslim, they would
have to set him free. The Prophet even relented on this point. For
the restoration of peace in the region, the Prophet accepted a
number of such unjustifiable clauses that were added by the enemy.
In this way he set the example of peace and tolerance being linked
with one another. If we desire peace, we must tolerate many
unpleasant things from others. There is no other way to establish
peace in society.
Once
the Prophet was seated at some place in Madinah, along with his
Companions. During this time a funeral procession passed by. On
seeing this, the Prophet stood up. One of his Companion remarked
that the funeral was that of a Jew. The Prophet replied, “Was he
not a human being?”
This
incident illustrates how an atmosphere of mutual love and compassion
can be brought about in the world only when we consciously rise
above all insidious demarcation of caste, color, and creed. Just as
the Prophet did, we, too, must look at all men as human beings who
deserve to be respected at all events.
Excerpted,
with slight modifications, from: www.alrisala.org |
