Allah made His final Prophet ﷺ سُبْحَانَ اللَّه an embodiment of impeccable character. No matter how much somebody would hurt his feelings, display bad character towards him or request their right in a disrespectful manner, he would only respond with forbearance, patience and softness. Praising this beautiful quality of the Prophet ﷺ, Allah says in the Quran:
فَبِمَا
رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ
لَانفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ
Translation
from Kanz al-Īmān: So, what a great mercy it is from Allah that, O Beloved, you
became soft-hearted towards them. And if you had been harsh and hard-hearted,
they would have therefore certainly been anxious in your surrounding.¹
Sayyidunā ʿAbd Allah b. ʿAmr رضي الله عنه
mentions:
I have seen qualities of the beloved
Prophet ﷺ mentioned in previous books. He is neither
hot-tempered, nor harsh-hearted, nor one who shouts in the marketplace, and nor
someone who responds to evil with the same. He is someone who instead forgives
and overlooks.²
This is the reason why countless
disbelievers accepted Islam through the blessings of his immaculate character.
صَلُّوْا
عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّد
¹
Al-Quran, 3:159
² Tafsīr ibn Kathīr, vol. 2, p. 130
Forgiving
the difficulty caused to his daughter
Sayyidatunā Zaynab رضي الله عنها was the daughter of Allah's Messener ﷺ. After the Battle of Badr, she was sent to
Madinah al-Munawwarah by her husband, Sayyidunā Abū al-ʿĀṣ رضي الله عنه. When the Makkan Quraysh came to know of
her departure, they pursued until they came across her in Dhī Ṭuwā. Habbār b.
Aswad (who was not yet Muslim at this point) struck her with a spear, causing
her to fall from her camel and undergo a miscarriage.¹
Now observe the manner in which the
final Prophet ﷺ conducted himself
with someone who had caused his own daughter such difficulty.
The following is narrated by Sayyidunā
Jubayr b. Muṭʿim رضي الله عنه:
Upon returning from Jiʿrānah, we
were sat with Allah's Messenger ﷺ, when Habbār b. Aswad
entered through the doorway (and sat down). The Companions عليهم الرضوان said, "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! Habbār b. Aswad (has entered)." He
replied, "I have seen him." A person stood to strike him, but the
Prophet ﷺ gestured for them to sit.
Habbār himself then stood and said,
"O Prophet of Allah! May peace be upon you. I bear witness there is none
worthy of worship besides Allah, and I bear witness Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah. O Messenger of Allah! I went to many
cities fleeing from you, and I desired to settle in the lands of non-Arabs. I
then remembered your soft-heartedness, your maintaining of ties and your
pardoning of those who displayed ignorance.
¹
Tafsīr Sirāt al-Jinān, vol. 3, p. 503
O Prophet of Allah! We were caught
up in polytheism when Allah granted us guidance and saved us from ruin through
you. Overlook my ignorance and that action of mine which you have received news
of, for I confess to my evil deed and acknowledge my sin."
The merciful Prophet ﷺ replied, "Go! I have forgiven you.
Allah has favoured you by granting you the guidance of Islam, and Islam wipes
away all previous sins."¹
صَلُّوْا
عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّد
¹
Al-Isabah, vol. 6, pp. 412,413
When
an attacker became Muslim
The final Prophet ﷺ once received news that a well-known warrior hailing from Najd
(modern day Riyad) by the name of Duthūr b. Ḥārith Muḥāribi (who was not yet Muslim
at this time) had prepared an army to attack Madinah. So, he ﷺ set off with his own army of four hundred Companions عليهم الرضوان to face them. When Duthūr came to know the
Prophet ﷺ had entered his city, he hurried forth and
climbed the mountains with his army.
During this time, an individual from
his army known as Ḥabbān was captured and went on to accept Islam in the
Prophetic court.
¹
Al-Isabah, vol. 6, pp. 412,413
It just so happened to rain heavily
on him, so the Prophet ﷺ began drying his
clothes near a tree. The non-Muslims observed from the peaks of mountains,
finding the Companions عليهم الرضوان
occupied in their own work and the Prophet ﷺ
by himself. They began to rouse Duthūr to attack the Prophet ﷺ, and the former began to say, "If I am unable to kill
Muhammad, then may Allah kill me." معاذَ الله.
He raised his sword above the
Prophet's ﷺ blessed head and asked, "Who will
save you from me now?" The Prophet ﷺ
replied, "Allah will save me from you." As soon as this was said, the
Archangel Jibrīl عليه السلام descended and struck
Duthūr on the chest with such force, that the sword fell from his hands. The
Prophet ﷺ immediately took hold of it and asked,
"Now who will save you from me?" Duthūr responded, "Nobody can
save me from you!"
The Prophet ﷺ felt sympathy at his helplessness. Not only did he forgive
Duthūr, but he also returned his sword. Duthūr was deeply impressed and
inspired by the noble character of the Prophet ﷺ.
He then recited the kalimah and became a Muslim at that very moment. He
proceeded to return to his people and began inviting them to Islam.¹
¹
Al-Mawāhib al-Ladunniyyah, vol. 2, pp. 378 - 381
The blessed life of Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ stands as the greatest example of mercy,
patience, and forgiveness in human history. His noble character was so perfect
that he responded to personal harm with compassion rather than revenge, and to
hostility with kindness rather than anger. Whether it was Habbār ibn Aswad, who
caused immense suffering to his beloved daughter Sayyidatunā Zaynab رضي الله عنها, or Duthūr ibn Ḥārith, who intended to
kill him, the Prophet ﷺ chose forgiveness
when he had every opportunity to retaliate. His extraordinary mercy transformed
enemies into devoted believers and demonstrated that true strength lies in
controlling one's anger and pardoning others for the sake of Allah.
The Holy Quran praises the Prophet ﷺ for his gentle and compassionate nature,
teaching that softness of heart attracts people to the truth, whereas harshness
drives them away. His life proves that noble character is one of the most
powerful means of conveying the message of Islam. As followers of the Prophet ﷺ, we should strive to adopt these beautiful
qualities in our daily lives by forgiving those who wrong us, treating others
with patience and respect, and responding to evil with goodness whenever
possible. By following his blessed example, we earn the pleasure of Allah,
strengthen our relationships, and contribute to a society founded upon mercy,
peace, and mutual respect. May Allah Almighty grant us the ability to embody
the noble character of His Beloved Prophet ﷺ
in every aspect of our lives. Āmīn.
No comments:
Post a Comment