Forgiveness
for personal enemies, yet…
Dear Islamic brothers! These
incidents highlight how our beloved Prophet ﷺ
would treat everyone with love and compassion, as well as not become angry with
anyone due to personal reasons. But when the boundaries of sharīʿah were
breached in front of him and divine laws disregarded, signs of anger would
become visible upon his noble forehead.
Umm al-Muʾminīn Sayyidatunā ʿĀishah
Ṣiddīqah رضي الله عنها relates:
I never beheld Allah's Messenger ﷺ taking revenge for the wrongdoings that
were enacted upon him, as long as the boundaries laid down by Allah were not
broken. When one boundary from the boundaries decreed by Allah were violated,
he would then become angered greatly.¹
¹
Al-Shifā, vol. 1, p. 105
The
Prophet's anger when boundaries of sharīʿah were violated
A woman from the Banu Makhzūm clan
of Quraysh stole something, so the latter began to deliberate as to who could
mediate for her in front of the Prophet ﷺ.
Eventually Sayyidunā Usāmah b. Zayd رضي الله عنه
was selected, as he was beloved to the Prophet ﷺ
and would be able to speak with him. When Sayyidunā Usāmah mediated for said
woman, the Prophet ﷺ said, "Do you
mediate within the boundaries of Allah?"
Allah's Messenger ﷺ then stood and delivered a sermon:
O people! Nations who came before
you were destroyed for this reason; when somebody of stature would steal, he
would be set free, but when a poor person stole, he would be subjected to
punishment. By Allah! If Fāṭimah bint Muḥammad was to steal, I would (even) cut
her hand.²
¹
Al-Shamāil al-Muḥammadiyyah, p. 198, hadith: 332
² Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 4,410
Our beloved Prophet ﷺ was boundlessly compassionate and
merciful. He would excuse the oppression of his enemies. But when the sharīʿah
was opposed in front of him, his noble face would become full of anger. If we
see someone committing a sin, then with the intention of wishing well for a
Muslim and for his betterment in the hereafter, we should rectify him due to
his opposition of the sharīʿah. If there is a risk of tribulation arising due
to advising him, then at least consider it bad in your heart.
On the other hand, we should display
nothing but patience, forbearance, forgiveness and leniency when it comes to
personal matters. No matter how much someone provokes us, we should control our
hands and tongues, as well as forgive them for the sake of Allah. When the
tongue becomes out of control, even the most established of matters can
sometimes become ruined.
Remember! If we give up retaliating
against others' mistakes for the sake of Allah and with other good intentions,
our society can become a peaceful sanctuary. The impurities of tribulation and
unrest will come to an end by themselves. Forbearance and soft-heartedness are
liked by Allah, and he who possesses these admirable traits is very fortunate.
Gentleness is nothing but the adornment of humankind. A person with good
character and kind nature is loved by everyone. As a polar opposite, people
flee someone who is hot-tempered and whose heart is hard. Read the following
four hadith regarding softness and make an intention to adopt this beautiful
quality.
Four
hadith of the final Prophet ﷺ regarding softness
1. Allah is Rafīq, and He loves rifq
(softness). He grants such things through kindness which He does not grant for
harshness or any other reason.¹
2. That which contains softness only
becomes beautiful due to it, and that from which kindness is removed becomes
defective.²
3. He who is deprived of softness is
deprived of all goodness.³
4. Whoever is granted a portion of
softness, was granted a portion from the goodness of the world and
hereafter."⁴
¹
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 6,601
² Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 6,602
³ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 6,598
⁴ Musnad Imām Aḥmad: 25,314
صَلُّوْا
عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّد
Signs
of the Prophet as found in the Tawrāh
Before accepting Islam, Sayyidunā
Zayd bin Saʿnah رضي الله عنه, was once a Jewish
scholar. During the latter period, he purchased some dates from the final
Prophet ﷺ. When there were still two or three days
remaining for the dates to be given, he entered the masjid and began to grasp
the clothes and shawl of the Prophet ﷺ.
With a stern expression he said, "O Muḥammad! All the children of ʿAbd
al-Muṭṭalib have the same practice of delaying when it comes to fulfilling the
rights of people, and offering excuses has become your habit."
Seeing this, the second Caliph of
Islam Sayyidunā ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه
was overcome with anger. "O enemy of Allah!", he exclaimed, "You
treat the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with such disrespect?
By Allah! If it were not for my etiquette in his presence, I would sever your
head with my sword." The Prophet ﷺ
heard this and said, "O ʿUmar! What are you saying? You should have
encouraged him to fulfil his right and guided him towards making his request
kindly, thereby helping both of us."
The Prophet ﷺ declared, "O ʿUmar! Give him the dates he is rightfully
afforded, and some extra." When Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي
الله عنه gave him more dates than were due, he asked, "O ʿUmar! Why
do you give me more than my right?" The second Caliph of Islam replied,
"As I had frightened you with my glare, the Prophet ﷺ commanded me to give you more than your due in order to bring
joy to your heart."
Hearing this, he asked, "O
ʿUmar! Do you know who I am?" The latter replied by saying no. "I am
Zayd b. Saʿnah, a Jewish scholar." Sayyidunā ʿUmar رضي الله عنه finally asked, "So why did you
disrespect Allah's Messenger ﷺ like that?"
He replied:
O ʿUmar! In reality, I have seen
every sign of the final Prophet mentioned in the Tawrāh in his being, but there
were two signs which I had yet to test: his tolerance will precede his anger,
and the more ignorantly he is treated, the more his forbearance will increase.
I have seen these two signs in him through this plan of mine, and I bear
witness that he is a truthful Prophet. O ʿUmar! I am a very wealthy man, so
bear witness to the fact I have given half of my wealth as charity to the ummah
of the Prophet ﷺ.
He came to the Prophetic court and
entered the fold of Islam by reciting the kalimah.¹
¹ Sīrat-i-Muṣṭafā, pp. 601-603
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