|
 Muhammad
proved by his living example that he was the most truthful and
honest person of his age. He was a poor orphan who had started
trading with his uncle, but in a very short time, owing to his
honest and fair dealings with all people, he became well-known and
respected. Every Makkan, rich or poor, knew him as As-Sadiq (the
Truthful) and Al-Amin (the Trustworthy). When Muhammad was yet a
young man, the Ka`bah was rebuilt. A dispute arose among the various
tribes of Makkah as to who should have the honor of laying the Black
Stone in its place in the Ka`bah. They decided that the first one to
enter the Ka`bah the next morning would settle the dispute. Muhammad
was the first to enter that morning and when the people saw him,
they were all very happy that Al-Amin and As-Sadiq had come and
would be the one to decide. He put the Black Stone on a cloth so
that every tribe could hold the cloth and help to lift the stone,
which he then set in place.
Once
the chiefs of the Quraysh were sitting and talking about him. An-Nadar
ibn al-Harith, the most experienced of them all, said, "O
Quraysh! You have not been able to find any plan to meet the
calamity that has fallen upon you. Muhammad grew up from childhood
in your presence. He was the most liked, honest and faithful among
you. Now when he has grown to maturity and has presented these
things to you, you say, he is a magician, a soothsayer, a poet, a
mad man. By Allah! I have heard his Message, he is none of these
things. A new calamity has fallen upon you."
The
Prophet once gathered together all the people of the Quraysh near
Mount Safa and asked them, "O Quraysh! If I say that an army is
advancing on you from behind the mountains, will you believe
me?" All said in one voice, "Yes, because we have never
heard you telling a lie." All the people of Makkah, without any
exception, swore to his truthfulness and honesty, for he had lived
an unblemished and extremely pious life among them for forty years.
Yet most of them still refused to accept him as the Messenger of
Allah.
He
had lived his whole life in purity and virtue among them, and even
his staunchest enemies acknowledged this. They knew that he was the
most honest and truthful person among them. The Holy Qur'an,
therefore, appealed to them to look at his life and try to
understand. How could he tell lies against Allah, when he did not
tell lies against human beings!
When
the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius received a letter from the Prophet
inviting him and his people to Islam, he called the Arab traders who
were then visiting his country. He asked Abu Sufyan, their leader,
"Did you ever find Muhammad telling a lie before his claim to
Prophethood?" He replied that he had not. Then Heraclius said,
"I asked you if he had ever told a lie and you replied that he
had not. I am sure, if he had spoken unjustly against Allah, he
would not have abstained from speaking falsely against
human-beings." Heraclius then questioned him about the
Prophet's general behavior and conduct with people. Abu Sufyan
replied, "Muhammad is nobly born, is honest and truthful, and
has never broken a pledge. He enjoins his followers to worship none
but One God and to pray to Him alone. He preaches kindness, piety
and tolerance towards all and his followers are on the
increase."
The
pagans of Makkah, though they rejected Muhammad’s call to Islam,
still trusted none but him with their belongings when they traveled.
When the Prophet finally escaped Makkah for Madinah, he asked his
cousin `Ali to stay behind to return the pledges he was keeping.
Trustworthy to all, he wouldn’t keep even a penny’s worth of his
enemies’ property. |
