بسم ﷲ الرحمٰن الرحیم
Uswa e Rasool- The Mercy
Abeer Khan
TIL Women English – Year 2
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
Indeed you (O Muhammad) are of a great moral character. (68:4)
Allah ﷻ bestowed the most admirable traits on Muhammad ﷺ. Muhammad ﷺ’s way of life was marked by exceptional morality, honesty, and conviction. People who knew him in his lifetime and people who have learned about him afterward attest to his beautiful character and mannerisms with his mercifulness being an especially important aspect. Muhammad ﷺ’s mercy and kindness were so remarkable that even when he was inflicted pain by the disbelievers, he still never cursed them and instead, prayed for their salvation. Muhammad ﷺ was never unkind.
Sayyidina Anas رضي الله عنه was eight years old (ten, according to another source) when the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ arrived in Madinah. Umm Salaymرضي الله عنه, Sayyidina Anas’s mother, was a devout and upright believer who entrusted her son to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ’s care. Sayyidina Anas رضي الله عنه spent ten years of his life with the Prophet ﷺ. He attested to Prophet ﷺ’s politeness and kindness. In all the ten years that Sayyidina Anas رضي الله عنه lived with him, Prophet ﷺ never showed signs of resentment or displeasure. It was in his habit to ignore and to forgive quickly. In another hadith, reported in Bayhaqi, Sayyidina Anas رضي الله عنه, states:
“I served the Prophetﷺ, peace, and blessings be upon him, for ten years.
By Allah, he never even said to me, “Uff!” He never said harshly, “Why did you do that?” or, “Why did you not do that?”.
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5691, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2309
In Makkah, the place of his birth, Prophet ﷺ faced severe persecution and boycott by the disbelievers and the idolaters. The disbelievers of Makkah kept torturing the Muslims for twenty-one years which led Prophet ﷺ to leave his beloved city of Makkah and migrate to Madina. Due to the immense mistreatment, some of the companions of Prophetﷺ requested that he curse the evil doers so that Allahﷻ would send His wrath upon them like He punished the earlier nations for disobeying their prophets. Prophet ﷺ did not agree with that; he replied that he was sent as a mercy for the world.
Sayyidina Abu Hurayrahرضي الله عنه said that it was said to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ,
“O Messenger of Allah! Pray against the idolaters and disbelievers.” He said, “I have not been sent as one to curse and pray against anyone.
Rather, I am sent as a mercy.”
(Saheeh Muslim)
Years later, upon the conquest of Makkah, Prophet ﷺ addressed the very people who had oppressed and slandered him and who had persecuted and killed his companions. He asked them what they thought he would do with them. They replied, “You are our noble brother, son of our noble brother! We expect nothing but goodness from you.” The Prophet SAW said, ‘I say to you as Yusuf said to his brothers,
“No blame upon you today. Allah will forgive you, for He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.”
(The Noble Qur’an)
When Prophet ﷺ went to the city of Taif with Hazrat Zaid bin Harith رضي الله عنه to convey the message of Islam, the leaders of Taif sent young boys after them who threw stones at them both until they bled profusely. This atrocity was to the point that Nabi SAW’s blood pooled into his shoes but he did not curse for destruction upon the people of Taif. Hazrath Jibreel عليه سلام descended and asked our beloved Prophet ﷺ, “Shall I bring together these two mountains and destroy the people of Taif who are living in between?” As a reply, Prophet ﷺ made the dua, “O my Lord! Please give the right guidance to these people! I ask for a Muslim progeny from their lineage” (Bukhari, Muslim). Prophetﷺ actions embody the fact that he was sent as a mercy for mankind–his mercy to pray for the people of Taif instead of cursing them emphasizes just that.
“O my Lord! Please give the right guidance to these people! I ask for a Muslim progeny from their lineage”
(Bukhari, Muslim).
Allah ﷻ made the Prophet ﷺ the best and noblest of His creations with the Prophet ﷺ mercy being an extraordinary lesson for us all. Mercy is an important virtue in Qur’anic teaching and this trait is most evident in Muhammad ﷺ’s words and actions. The fact that Sayyidina Anas رضي الله عنه never saw the Prophet ﷺ’s express annoyance or be unkind in the ten years he lived with him, how Prophet ﷺ forgave the people of Makkah, and how Prophet ﷺ prayed for the people of Taif even when inflicted by immense pain by them are prime examples of Prophet ﷺ beautiful character. Indeed, as described by Hazrath ‘Āishah RA, Prophet ﷺ “practiced everything that he preached.” Imam Nawawi Rahima Ullah states, “ Allah ﷻ gathered all the marvels of manners and astounding habits in the blessed character of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.”
May Allah SWT allow us to embody Nabi ﷺ mercifulness and bless us with his company in the Hereafter. Ameen.
جزاك اللّٰه خيرا كثيرا
