Go!
You are all free!
Dear Islamic brothers! The entire
sacred life of the Prophet ﷺ was decorated with
great accounts of forbearance, mercy and compassion. The leniency and kindness
he displayed during the Conquest of Makkah is particularly unparalleled.
When the final Prophet ﷺ gazed intently upon the thousands of
disbelievers who had gathered during the Conquest of Makkah, he realised they
had their heads and gazes lowered out of fear. Amongst them were wicked
individuals who had laid thorns on his path, thrown stones at him and made
every possible attempt to martyr him ﷺ.
Today they stood before him as trembling criminals. They began to think the
armies of the Muhājirīn and Anṣār would eradicate them and put an end to their
lineages.
As they despaired and became
hopeless, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
raised his merciful gaze towards them and announced, "Speak! Are you aware
of how I will deal with you today?" They began to tremble at this
question, but seeing his merciful expression, they hopefully pleaded, "أَخٌ كَرِيْمٌ وَابْنُ أَخٍ كَرِيْمٍ – You are a generous
brother, the son of a generous father."
Everyone had their gazed affixed
upon his illuminated face, and ears were eagerly waiting to hear his judgement.
The conqueror of Makkah then generously declared, "There is no blame upon
you today. Go! You are all free."
Hearing this prophetic statement,
the heartfelt gratitude they felt manifested in tears which then flowed from
their eyes and onto their faces Their calls of "لَا
اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰه" began to echo
throughout the Ḥaram.
اللّٰهُ
اَكْبَرُ! O historians
of the world! Is the biography of any victor filled with such a beautiful and
enlightened chapter? This is the unmatchable magnificence of the Allah's final
Prophetﷺ, which even the kings of this world
cannot ever hope to reach.¹
سُبْحَانَ
اللّٰه Observe the distinguished eminence
of Allah's Messenger ﷺ. These were the
same people who had shown boundless injustice towards him, caused immense
difficulty as he spread Islam and even compelled him to leave his city. They
did not stop there and continued this improper treatment even after his
migration.
Yet on the day Makkah was conquered;
when the Prophet ﷺ and his loyal
Companions overpowered them, he displayed incomparable forbearance and compassion
by forgiving them all. He did not resort to taking revenge or retaliating.
Acting upon the biography of the
final Prophet ﷺ, we should also
display forgiveness even if we possess the ability to take revenge. This is
better than retaliating and is a means of reward in the hereafter. Allah says
regarding this:
¹
Seerat-e-Mustafa, pp. 438 - 441
وَجَزَاۤؤُا
سَيِّئَةٍ سَيِّئَةٌ مِّثْلُهَا ۚ فَمَنْ عَفَا وَاَصْلَحَ فَاَجْرُهٗ عَلَى
اللّٰهِ ۚ اِنَّهٗ لَا يُحِبُّ الظّٰلِمِيْنَ
*Translation
from Kanz al-Īmān: The retribution for an evil act is an evil equal to exactly
that; so, whosoever forgave and made amends, his reward is therefore upon (the
responsibility of the Generosity of) Allah. Indeed, He does not befriend the
unjust.*¹
There are countless examples from
the sanctified life of our beloved Prophet ﷺ
in which he forgave those who caused harm to him. In order to ameliorate our
conduct so that it conforms with the example found in the biography of the
Prophet ﷺ, let us listen to four further accounts
regarding his forbearance and generosity.
1.
Pardoning someone who wished to take his life
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was once resting during a journey.
Ghawrath b. Ḥārith then came, took the sword of the Prophet ﷺ and removed it from its sheath, intending to martyr him. When
the Prophet ﷺ awoke from his sleep,
Ghawrath said, "O Muḥammad! Who can save you from me now?" He replied
by simply saying, "اللّٰه".
Ghawrath was overawed when he heard
this, causing him to let go of the sword he was holding. The Prophet ﷺ then picked it up in his sacred hand and
asked, "Who is there to save you from my hand now?"
¹
Al-Quran, 42:40
Ghawrath began to plead, saying,
"Only you can save my life!" The Messenger of Allah ﷺ let him go and forgave him. After this incident, Ghawrath
returned to his nation and said, "O people! I have returned after meeting
a person who is the best of all humans on Earth."¹
2. A
mark upon his blessed neck
Sayyidunā Anas رضي الله عنه narrates:
I was once walking with the Prophet ﷺ whilst he wore a Najrani shawl around him,
the edges of which were thick and rough. A villager then suddenly grasped and
pulled on this shawl, which caused its edge to leave an abrasion on the blessed
neck of the Prophet ﷺ. The villager said,
"The wealth of Allah you have in your possession; order for me to receive
some of it". Allah's Messenger ﷺ
turned to him, smiled and ordered for him to be granted some wealth.²
3.
Forgiveness for the magician and poisoner
Labīd b. Aʿṣam performed magic on
the final Prophet ﷺ, yet in return, the
Prophet ﷺ did not take revenge. He also forgave the
non-Muslim woman who gave him poison.³
¹
Al-Shifā, vol. 1, p. 107
² Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3,149
³ Al-Mawāhib al-Ladunniyyah, vol. 2, p. 91
4.
Making duʿā for those who physically harmed him
During the Battle of Uḥud, some ends
of the Prophet's ﷺ holy teeth were
subject to damage, and his noble face wounded. This was unbearable for the
honourable Companions رضي الله عنهم,
and they thus requested, "Make duʿā for their destruction." The
Prophet ﷺ replied, "I was not sent as a curser,
but as an inviter and a mercy."
اللَّهُمَّ
اهْدِ قَوْمِي فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
"O Allah! Guide my people, for they do not know me."¹
صَلُّوْا
عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّد
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