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A major part of the Prophet’s mission was to bring
peace to the world. One of the ways in which he strove towards
this end was to attempt to convince people that all men and
women, albeit inhabiting very different regions of the world,
and different from one another in color, culture and language,
et cetera, were in fact blood brothers and sisters. His
message was crucial, for a proper relationship of love and
respect can be established only if that is how human beings
regard one another. To inculcate such feelings, the Prophet
would preach to his followers, "You are all Adam’s offspring
and Adam was made of clay." And in his prayers to his Creator,
he said, "O Lord, all Your servants are brothers." The
Prophet would exhort his followers to live in peace with their
fellow men, saying, “A true believer is one with whom others
feel secure,” one who returns love for hatred. He used to
teach the believers that anyone who would return love only
when love was given belonged on a lower ethical plane. The
true believer never reasons that only if people treat him well
that he will treat them well in return. He is accustomed
rather to doing good to those who mistreat him, and to refrain
from harming those who do him injury. The Prophet himself set
the example. All his recorded words and actions reveal him as
a man of great gentleness, kindness, humility, good humor and
excellent common sense, with a great love for all people and
even for animals. Despite
his position as leader, the Prophet never believed himself to
be greater or better than other people. He never made others
feel small, unwanted or embarrassed. He urged his followers to
behave kindly and humbly, releasing slaves whenever possible,
and giving in charity — especially to very poor people,
orphans and prisoners — without any thought of reward. He told
the people that "every religion has some special
characteristic, that of Islam being modesty." In the absence
of such a virtue, no community can have lasting peace. The
Prophet’s own modesty, coupled with great strength of
character, is depicted in a well-known story of an old Makkan
woman who hated the Prophet. Every morning when the Prophet
passed by her house, she would empty a basket of rubbish on
his head from the upper story of her house. He never once
remonstrated with her about this. One day, when the Prophet
passed through this area, no rubbish fell on his head.
Thinking that the old woman must be ill, he went upstairs to
inquire how she was, and found her ill in bed. When she
discovered that the Prophet had come to see her, she began to
weep, "I ill-treated you, and now you come to inquire after my
health!" Ultimately, she became one of his followers. What
strength of character, what patience and tolerance the Prophet
evinced in refusing to be provoked, preferring rather to show
kindness and magnanimity to one who had wished him ill. His was
a high moral character, so that even if badly treated by
others, he went on returning good for evil. People harmed him,
yet he would pray for them. He would remain patient in the
face of oppression and, regardless of the provocation, he
would refrain from becoming incensed. In setting this example,
his aim was to fashion souls that were God-oriented, that
found Allah so great that everything else paled into
insignificance. He wanted everyone to have such boundless
peace of mind that nothing could disturb him. Such balanced
individuals would never then become prey to worldliness.
Totally free from negative reaction, they would then be able
to turn everything in this world, whether material or
spiritual, into food for more profound thought, rather than
into pretexts for rash and vengeful action.
The
essence of this philosophy is expressed in one of the
Prophet’s sayings: "Nine things the Lord has commanded me:
Fear of Allah in private and in public; justness, whether in
anger or in calmness; moderation in both poverty and
affluence; that I should join hands with those who break away
from me; and give to those who deprive me; and forgive those
who wrong me; and that my silence should be meditation; and my
words be remembrance of Allah; and my vision be keen
observation." Throughout the first thirteen years of his Mission,
Prophet Muhammad preached in Makkah, but it was in the face of
bitter opposition from the Makkans. When it became impossible
for him to stay there, he left for Madinah. Wars were waged
against him, but he showed his antagonists that the power of
peace was far greater than that of war. The peace treaty of
al-Hudaybiyyah is a clear example of this, when the Prophet
agreed to every demand his antagonists made on the sole
assurance that peace would subsequently prevail. His
life’s experience ranged from penury to prosperity, from
defeat to success, yet whatever the degree of well-being or
hardship, he steadfastly trod the path of moderation. At all
times and right till the end, he remained a patient and
grateful servant of the Almighty, bringing his message of
peace and tolerance to mankind. http://www.alrisala.org/Articles/prophet/message.htm | |