|
 Muhammad
always kept his promises and contracts at all costs, even with his
enemies, and never broke his word. He preached the Qur'an and
practiced what he taught to other people in obedience to the command
of Allah. There are several examples of his faithfulness to his
promises.
One
of the terms of the Treaty of Hudaybiyah (written in 6 a.h.) was
that if any Muslim came to Madinah from Makkah, he would be returned
on demand. While the treaty was being written, Abu Jandal escaped
from the prison of the Makkans in chains. All the Muslims were
shocked to see him in this condition, but the Prophet said to him,
"O Abu Jandal! Be patient, we cannot break the promise. Allah
will very soon find a way for you." He was returned to the
people of Makkah.
Abu
Rafi`, a slave, came to Madinah as an ambassador of the Quraysh.
When he saw the Prophet, the truth of Islam dawned on him and he
said, "O Messenger of Allah! I shall never go back to the
unbelievers." The Prophet said, "I can neither breach the
treaty nor keep the ambassadors with me. If you feel the same way
when you go there, you can come back." He went back and
embraced Islam.
Safwan
ibn Umayyah was a deadly enemy of Islam. When Makkah was conquered,
he ran away to Jeddah with the intention of going to Yemen. `Umayr
ibn Wahab came to the Prophet and told him about Safwan. The Prophet
gave him his turban and said, "This is a sign of the guarantee
of his safety." `Umayr went to Safwan with the turban and told
him that he had no cause to run away, for his safety had been
guaranteed. When he came to see the Prophet, he said, "Have you
given me safety?" The Prophet said, "Yes, it is
true."
After
the death of the Prophet, his successor kept the Prophet’s
promises. Abu Juhayfah said: I saw Allah's Messenger as a
fair-skinned man who had become gray-haired. Al-Hasan ibn `Ali
resembled him. He ordered that thirteen young she-camels should be
given to us and we went to receive them, but news of his death
reached us before they had been given to us. Then when Abu Bakr
became the caliph, he said, "If anyone has received a promise
from Allah's Messenger, let him come." So I got up, went to him
and told him of the promise and he ordered that the camels should be
given to me. |
