|
 Allah
gifted His servant and Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)
with all sublime morals. In this context, Almighty Allah says: [And
surely thou hast sublime morals] (Al-Qalam 68:4).
On
his part, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)
said, “I was sent (by Allah) to
perfect the sublime morals.”
`A’ishah
(may Allah be pleased with her) described the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him), saying, “His
morals were the morals of Qur'an.”
He
(peace and blessings be upon him) had the best morals among people.
He used to say, “O Lord! As You have beautified my image, so
beautify my morals.” Furthermore, he used to supplicate to
Allah, saying, “O Lord! I seek refuge in You from miserliness,
hypocrisy, and bad morals.” Almighty Allah protected him and
guided him to whatever is good. Allah, Most Compassionate, says: [and
(He) taught thee what thou knowest not (before) and great is the
Grace of Allah unto thee]
(An-Nisaa’ 4:133).
Following
are some of his characteristics:
-
Forbearing,
forgiving, and patient. Almighty Allah guided the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) to abide by these morals
saying, [Hold to forgiveness; command what is right; but
turn away from the ignorant] (Al-A`raf 7: 199) [And
bear with patience constancy whatever betide thee; for this is
firmness (of purpose) in (the conduct of) affairs] (Luqman
31:17). Whenever he (peace and blessings be upon him) was
given the opportunity to choose between two affairs, he always
chose the easier as long as it was not sinful. He (peace and
blessings be upon him) never avenged himself, but if Allah’s
laws were violated he would retaliate. The people of Makkah
tortured him but he said, “O Allah! Guide my people since
they do not know!” It is well known that the more the
ignorant people used to abuse the Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings be upon him), the more the latter met their
abasement with tolerance and pardon. Once a man said to him,
“Load my two she-camels with the property you have, for it
is not yours nor your father’s, but it is Allah’s.” The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kept silent, then
said, “Surely, the
property belongs to Allah and I am His servant.”
-
Generous
and liberal. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) was the most generous of people, particularly in Ramadan.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would
never deny anything he was asked for. Furthermore, he (peace
and blessings be upon him) said, “I
do not like to possess (what equals the mount of) Uhud of gold
and that three days expire while I still have (even) a dinar
(without spending it in the cause of Allah) except something I
save for my religion.”
-
Courageous.
It was related that Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with
father and son) said, “I have never seen a more courageous,
helpful, or generous man than the Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings be upon him).” Likewise, `Ali (may Allah be
pleased with him) said, “Whenever the fight grew fierce and
the eyes of fighters went red, we used to resort to the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for protection. He
was always the closest to the enemy.”
-
Modest.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was more modest
than a virgin in her boudoir. When he hated a thing, it
appeared on his face. He would never name a person about whom
he had heard ill news and wanted to discipline. Instead, he
would say, “Why did some people do such-and-such?”
Almighty Allah says: [Such (behavior) annoys the Prophet:
he is ashamed to dismiss you, but God is not ashamed (to tell
you) the truth] (Al-Ahzab 33:53).
-
Polite.
He (peace and blessings be upon him) used to join his people
and not cause dissension between them. He (peace and blessings
be upon him) used to respect, visit, and pay attention to his
Companions. He accepted any invitation and never refused
presents. He used to play with his Companions’ children and
nickname them. He was always the first to shake hands. He was
generous to whoever came to him and he was always cheerful.
-
Merciful.
Allah the Almighty says: [We sent thee not, but as a Mercy
for all creatures] (Al-Anbiyaa’ 21:107); [To the
believers is he most kind and merciful] (At-Tawbah 9:128); [It is part of the Mercy of God that thou dost deal gently
with them; wert thou severe or harsh-hearted, they would have
broken away from about thee: so pass over (their faults), and
ask for (God’s) forgiveness for them; and consult them in
affairs (of moment)]
(Aal `Imran 3:159). It is
reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
used to admonish his Companions only from time to time so they
wouldn’t get bored with his preaching. He, moreover, said, “Nobody
of you should inform me anything (bad) about my Companions for
I like to meet you with pure heart.” Also, he (peace and
blessings be upon him) said, “There
is reward for you in acts of compassion rendered to every
creature with a throbbing heart (or liver).”
-
Loyal
and kind to relatives. Whenever he received a present, he used
to give Khadijah’s friends some of it. He used to serve his
guests himself. Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her)
consoled the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when
Revelation came to him, saying, “By
Allah, He will never disgrace you. You used to establish good
and steady relationships with your relatives, give the poor,
be generous with your guests, and assist the deserving
calamity-afflicted ones.”
-
Just.
Some of his perfect qualities are justice, trustworthiness,
and truthfulness. Before his mission, he was called “The
Trustworthy.” When Usamah ibn Zayd interceded for
Al-Makhzumayah in the prescribed penalty for theft, the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Oh,
Usamah! Do you intercede in one of Allah’s prescribed
penalties? By Allah! If Fatimah bint Muhammad stole, I would
cut her hand off.” When a man said to the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him), “Be just!” he said to him, “Woe
to you! Who will be just if I am not?” About his justice
between his wives, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
be upon him) said, “O
Lord! This is my disposal in what I have control over, so
grant me Your forgiveness in what I have no control over.”
-
Humble.
He commanded people not to stand up for each other as the
non-Arabs used to do to glorify each other. Furthermore, he
(peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I am a servant
(of Allah); I eat as a servant eats and sit as a servant
sits.” Also, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Do
not excessively praise me as Christians excessively praised
the son of Mary.” Once a man entered on the Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and stood in awe.
Thereupon, the latter said, “Take it easy. I am not a
king. I am a son of a woman from the Quraish ...”
He used to fodder his she-camel, serve himself, eat with his
servant and with the sick, and clean his house.
-
Grave.
He (peace and blessings be upon him) used to keep silent most
of the time and speak only when it was necessary. His laughing
was like smiling. When he spoke, his addressees would listen
attentively. `A’ishah said, “If a man intended to count
the Prophet’s words during a speech, he could easily do
so.”
-
Ascetic.
According to `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) never ate
his fill of bread for three consecutive days until he passed
away. Rather, he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to
say, “I do not long
for this world, for I am living in it like a traveler who sat
under the shade of a tree and then departed to complete his
journey.”
-
Allah-fearing.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)
said, “I ask Allah for forgiveness a hundred times a
day.” Once he (peace and blessings be upon him)
prolonged his period of worshiping, and `A’ishah said to
him, “Allah has forgiven your past and future faults.” He
said, “Shouldn’t I
be a grateful slave?”
*
Sheikh
`Abdel Khaliq Hasan Ash-Shareef
is
an eminent Muslim scholar and da`iyah
(caller to Islam) in
Egypt
. He is one of the descendants of Zayn Al-`Abdeedin ibn Al-Husayn
(may Allah be pleased with him). He obtained his master of arts in
Islamic da`wah from the High Institute of Islamic Da`wah in
Riyadh
. Among his well-reputed works are Al-Hidayyah Ar-Rabbaniyyah
Sharh Al-Arba`een An-Nawawiyyah, Fi Wahat Al-Islam, and Min
Hayat As-Salihat. |
