Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) The KIND
The
Prophet Muhammad taught love, kindness and compassion to his people, and was
seen to be the most loving, kind, and compassionate of all of them. The Qur’an
mentions his kind and gentle behavior in these words: “O Messenger of Allah!
It is a great Mercy of Allah that you are gentle and kind towards them; for, had
you been harsh and hardhearted, they would all have broken away from you”
(Qur’an 3:159). There are many instances that show his kindness and
gentleness, especially to the weak and the poor. Anas, his famous servant, said:
“I served Allah’s Messenger for ten years and he never said to me,
‘Shame’ or ‘Why did you do such-and-such a thing?’ or ‘Why did you not
do such-and-such a thing?’” (Bukhari,
2038).
Once
he said to his wife: “0 ‘A’ishah! Never turn away any needy man from your
door empty-handed. 0 ‘A’ishah! Love the poor; bring them near to you and
Allah will bring you near to Him on the Day of Resurrection”.
He also went much further on to say: “Seek me among your weak ones, for
you are given provision, or you are given help only by reason of the presence of
your weak ones”. (Rahman, Encyclopaedia of Seerah, VOL. VIII,
p. 151) Allah
Almighty is Kind, and the Prophet imitated Allah’s example in its perfection
by showing kindness to his servants and all creatures without any regard for
their beliefs, color or nationality.
The Prophet said: “Allah is
kind and likes kindness in all things” (Bukhari, 6601).
He
never used any harsh words towards anyone. The worst expression he ever used in
his conversation was: “What has come over him? May his forehead become
darkened with mud”. His heart ached within him at the corrupt state of his
fellow-beings. The Holy Qur’an testifies to it in these words: “0 Muhammad,
you will, perhaps, consume yourself with grief because the people do not
believe” (Qur’an 26:3). In Surah
Kahf, we read: “Well, 0
Muhammad, it may be that you will kill yourself for their sake out of sorrow if
they do not believe in this Message.” (Qur’an 18:6). And Surah
Fatir says: “So let not your life be consumed in grief for their
sake.” (Qur’an 35:8).
He
took a great interest in the welfare of all people and had great compassion for
people in trouble. The Prophet Muhammad
imitated the attributes of Allah par excellence and
translated them into practice in the highest form possible for man.
Kindness is an attribute of Allah, which has no limits. It is extensive
and encompasses all things and all beings without discrimination.
Likewise was the kindness of the Prophet. He extended it to all beings,
both animate and inanimate and benefited all without measure. The Qur’anic
words for the Prophet’s kindness, ra’ufun
rahirn (Qur’an 9:128) are
very intensive and comprehensive in meaning and convey the true nature and
extent of the Prophet’s kindness to people. The Prophet said: “One of the
finest acts of kindness is for a man to treat his fathers’ friends in a kindly
way after he has departed” (Abu dawud, 5123)
The issue of treating friends well was also extended to include
relations: “He who wishes to have his provision enlarged and his term of life
prolonged should treat his relatives well” (Bukhari, 5985). He
emphasized on this matter because he deeply held the view that “Only kindness
prolongs life, and a person is deprived of provisions for the faults he
commits” (Ibn Majah). Bahz
b. Hakim, on his father’s authority, said that his grandfather told him that
he had asked Allah’s Messenger to whom he should show kindness and that the
Prophet had replied: “Your mother.” He asked who came next and he replied:
“Your mother.” He asked who came next and he replied for the third time:
“Your mother.” He again asked who came next and he replied: “Your father,
then your relatives in order of relationship” (Abu dawud, 5120). He dwelled on
the issue of treating orphans humanely as he stated that “The
best house among the Muslims is one which contains an orphan who is well
treated, and the worst house among the Muslims is one which contains an orphan
who is badly treated” (Ibn Majah, 3679). This means that the Prophet cautioned
his followers against general maltreatment of anyone regardless of his status.
By extending good treatment from friends to relatives and now to neighbors,
Prophet Muhammad was intent in making all humans interdependent as he emphasized
in the following words: “All creatures are Allah’s dependants, and those
dearest to Allah are the ones who treat His dependants kindly” (Rahman,
VOL VIII, p. 154).
He emphasized the kind treatment of women again and again in his speeches:
Treat
women kindly, since they are your helpers; . . . you have your rights upon your
wives and they have their rights upon you. Your right is that they shall not
allow anyone you dislike to enter your bed or your home, and their right is that
you should treat them well. (from the Farewell Sermon of the Prophet)
Once a number of women complained to the Prophet’s wives about their
ill-treatment by their husbands. On
hearing of this, the Prophet said: “Such persons among you are not good
persons.” (Abu Dawud, 1834). This condemnation by the Prophet himself was an
indication that no one will be accepted before Allah who, while on earth,
decided to be unkind to women. Another
person said to the Prophet: “0 Messenger of Allah! My relatives are such that
although I cooperate with them, they cut me off; I am kind to them but they ill
treat me.” The Prophet said this in reply: “So long as you continue as you
are, Allah will always help you and He will protect you against their
mischief” (Muslim, 4640). This was not only a way of bringing comfort to the
mind of the worried person but one of the communicative techniques of the
Prophet to assure who ever found himself in that situation to look up to Allah
to be consoled and protected. So it was pointless to preach vengeance to this
kind of people suffering from this similar fate. Indeed, Prophet Muhammad was
nothing short of a competent counselor.
He was always counseling people to be goodhearted regardless of their
sex, age or gender. Once Asma bint
Abu Bakr’s mother, who was still an unbeliever, came to see her in Madinah.
She told this to the Prophet and said: “My mother has come to see me and she
is expecting something from me. May I oblige her?” The Prophet said:
“Yes, be kind to your mother” (Muslim, 2195). This attitude of the
Prophet was equally extended to Zainab as-Saqafia, the wife of Abdullah ibn
Mas’ud and an Ansari woman. She went to see the Prophet and to inquire whether
it would be a charity if they spent something on their husbands and on the
orphans under their care. The
Prophet said: “They will get a two-fold reward, one for kindness towards their
relatives and the other for charity” (Bukhari, 1466).
There are many Ahadith concerning his kindness to animals, birds and
insects: “Allah prescribed kindness towards everything; so when you slaughter
any animal, slaughter it well; when you sacrifice, make your sacrifice good. And
let everyone sharpen his weapon and make it easy for his sacrificed animal”
(Muslim, 5055). He made this kind of statement to demonstrate his love for both
humans and animals. In essence, Prophet Muhammad was equally showing his
followers that he too is feels pain.