PROPHET MUHAMMAD—PART II
Humility and Forbearance
THE Prophet was a man like other men. Joyous things would please him while sad things would sadden him. Realisation of the fact that he was first and foremost God’s servant, however, prevented him from placing more importance on his own feelings than upon the will of God.
Towards the end of the Prophet’s life Mariah Qibtiyah, his wife, bore him a beautiful and vivacious son. The Prophet named him Ibrahim, after his most illustrious ancestor. It was Abu Rafi who broke the good news to the Prophet. He was so overjoyed that he presented Abu Rafi with a gift. He used to take the child in his lap and play with him fondly. According to Arab custom, Ibrahim was given to a wet nurse, Umm Burdah bint al-Mundhir ibn Zayd Ansari. She was the wife of a blacksmith, and her small house was usually full of smoke. Still, the Prophet used to go to the blacksmith’s house to visit his son, putting up with the smoke that used to fill his eyes and nostrils. Ibrahim, was just one and half years old when, in the tenth year after the Hijrah (January 632 AD), he died. The Prophet wept on the death of his only son, as any father would; in this respect the Prophet appears like any other human being. His happiness and his grief were that of a normal father. But with all that, he fixed his heart firmly on the will of God. Even in his grief, these were the words he uttered:
The Prophet lived among others as an equal. No
bitter criticism or provocation would make him lose his
composure.
'God knows, Ibrahim, how we sorrow at your parting. The eye weeps and the heart grieves, but we will say nothing that may displease the Lord.'
It so happened that the death of Ibrahim coincided with a solar eclipse. From ancient times people had believed that solar and lunar eclipses were caused by the death of some important person. The people of Madinah began attributing the eclipse to the death of the Prophet’s son. This caused the Prophet immense displeasure, for it suggested this predictable astronomical event was caused out of respect for his infant son. He collected the people and addressed them as follows:
'Eclipses of the sun and moon are not due to the death of any human being; they are just two of God’s signs. When you see an eclipse, then you should pray to God.'
On one of his journeys, the Prophet asked his Companions to roast a goat. One volunteered to slaughter the animal, another to skin it, and another to cook it. The Prophet said that he would collect wood. “Messenger of God,” his Companions protested, “we will do all the work.” “I know that you will do it,” the Prophet replied, “but that would amount to discrimination, which I don’t approve of. God does not like His servants to assert any superiority over their Companions.”
So humble was the Prophet himself that he once said:
'By God, I really do not know, even though I am God’s messenger, what will become of me and what will become of you.' (Hadith of Al Bukhari)
The Prophet lived in such awe of God that he was
always a picture of humility and meekness.
One day, a Companion, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari was sitting next to a Muslim who was black. Abu Dharr addressed him as “black man.” The Prophet was very displeased on hearing this, and told Abu Dharr to make amends “Whites are not superior to blacks,” he added. As soon as the Prophet admonished him, Abu Dharr became conscious of his error. He cast himself to the ground in remorse, and said to the person he had offended: “Stand up, and rub your feet on my face.”
The Prophet once saw a wealthy Muslim gathering up his loose garment to maintain a distance from a poor Muslim sitting next to him. “Are you scared of his poverty clinging to you?” the Prophet remarked.
Once the Prophet had to borrow some money from a Jew by the name of Zayd ibn Sa’nah. A few days before the date fixed for the repayment of the debt, the Jew came to demand his money back. He went up to the Prophet, caught hold of his clothes, and said to him harshly: “Muhammad, why don’t you pay me my due? From what I know of the descendants of Muttalib, they all put off paying their debts.” Umar ibn al-Khattab was with the Prophet at that time. He became very angry, scolded the Jew and was on the point of beating him up. But the Prophet just kept smiling. All he said to the Jew was: “There are still three days left for me to fulfil my promise.” Then he addressed Umar, “Zayd and I deserved better treatment from you,” he said. “You should have told .
me to be better at paying my debts, and him to be better at demanding them. Take him with you, Umar, and pay him his due; in fact, give him 20 sa’ahs (about forty kilos) of dates extra because you have alarmed him with your threats.” The most remarkable thing about this episode is that the Prophet could still behave with such forbearance and humility even after being established as head of the Muslim state of Madinah.
So successful was the Prophet’s life that, during his lifetime, he became the ruler of the whole of Arabia right up to Palestine. Whatever he said, as the messenger of God, was accepted as law. He was revered by his people as no other man has ever been revered. When Urwah ibn Mas’ud was sent to him as an envoy of the Quraysh (627 AD), he was amazed to see that the Muslims would not let any water used by the Prophet for ablution fall on the ground, but would catch it in their hands, and rub it on their bodies. Such was their veneration for him. Anas ibn Malik, the Prophet’s close Companion says that in spite of the great love they had for the Prophet, out of respect they could not look him full in the face. According to Mughirah, if any of the Prophet’s Companions had to call on him, they would first tap on the door with their fingernails. One night, when the moon was full, the Prophet lay asleep, covered in a red sheet. Jabir ibn Samrah, another Companion says that sometimes he would look at the moon and sometimes at the Prophet. Eventually he came to the conclusion that the Prophet was the more beautiful of the two.
Being God’s humble servants, we should always remain in a
state of trepidation before our Lord and the life hereafter.
composure.
Arrows rained down on the Prophet from the enemy ranks, but his followers formed a ring around him, letting the arrows strike their own bodies. It was as though they were made of wood, not flesh and blood; indeed the arrows hung from the bodies of some of them like the thorns of a cactus tree.
Devotion and veneration of this nature can produce vanity in a man and engender a feeling of superiority, but this was not the case with the Prophet. He lived among others as an equal. No bitter criticism or provocation would make him lose his composure. Once a desertdweller came up to him and pulled so hard at the sheet he was wearing that it left a mark on his neck. “Muhammad!” he said. “Give me two camel-loads of goods, for the money in your possession is not yours, nor was it your father’s.” “Everything belongs to God,” the Prophet said, 8 Spirit of Islam Issue 35 November 2015 Biographies of the Prophet are full of incidents, which show his life to be a perfect model for mankind. “and I am His servant.” He then asked the desert-dweller, “Hasn’t it made you afraid, the way you treated me?” He said not. The Prophet asked him why. “Because I know that you do not requite evil with evil,” the man answered. The Prophet smiled on hearing this, and had one camel-load of barley and another of dates given to him.
The Prophet lived in such awe of God that he was always a picture of humility and meekness. He spoke little and even the way he walked suggested reverence for God. Criticism never angered him. When he used to put on his clothes, he would say: “I am God’s servant, and I dress as befits a servant of God.” He would sit in a reverential posture to partake of food, and would say that this is how a servant of God should eat.
He was very sensitive on this issue. Once a Companion started to say, “If it be the will of God, and the will of the Prophet ... “ The Prophet’s face changed colour in anger when he heard this. “Are you trying to equate me with God?” he asked the man severely. Rather say: “If God, alone, wills.” On another occasion a Companion of the Prophet said: “He that obeys God and His Prophet is rightly guided, and he who disobeys them has gone astray.” “You are the worst of speakers,” the Prophet observed, disliking a reference, which placed him in the same pronoun as the Almighty.
Three sons were born to the Prophet, all of whom died in infancy. His four daughters, all by his first wife, Khadijah, grew to adulthood. Fatimah was the Prophet’s youngest daughter, and he was extremely attached to her. When he returned from any journey the first thing he would do, after praying two rak’at (units of prayer) in the mosque, was to visit Fatimah and kiss her hand and forehead. Jumai’ ibn Umayr, a Companion, once asked Aisha (the Prophet’s wife) whom the Prophet loved most. “Fatimah,” she replied.
Biographies of the Prophet are full of incidents,
which show his life to be a perfect model for mankind.
But the Prophet’s whole life was moulded by thoughts of the Hereafter. He loved his children, but not in any worldly way. Ali ibn Abi Talib, Fatimah’s husband, once told Ibn Abdul Wahid a story about the Prophet’s most beloved daughter. Fatimah’s hands, he said, were blistered from constant grinding; her neck had become sore from carrying water; her clothes would become dirty from sweeping the floor. When the Prophet had received an influx of servants from some place, Ali suggested to his wife that she Spirit of Islam Issue 35 November 2015 9 Devotion and veneration by people can produce vanity in a man and engender a feeling of superiority, but this was not the case with the Prophet. approach her father and ask for a servant. She went, but could not speak to the Prophet because of the crowd. Next day, he came to their house, and asked Fatimah what she had wanted to see him about. Ali told the Prophet the whole story, and said that he had sent her. “Fear God, Fatimah,” the Prophet said, “Fulfil your obligations to the Lord, and continue with your housework. And when you go to bed at night, praise God thirty-three times, and glorify Him the same number of times; exalt His name thirty-four times, and that will make a full hundred. This would be much better than having a servant.” “If that is the will of God and His Prophet,” Fatimah replied “then so be it.” This was the Prophet’s only reply. He did not give her a servant.
The truth revealed to the Prophet was that this world did not spring up by itself, but was created by one God, who continues to watch over it. All men are His servants, and responsible to Him for their actions. Death is not the end of man’s life; rather it is the beginning of another, permanent world, where the good will enjoy the bliss of Paradise and the wicked will be cast into a raging hell. With the revelation of this truth also came the commandment to propagate it far and near. Accordingly, ascending the height of the rock of Safa, the Prophet called the people together. First he made mention of the greatness of God. Then he went on to say:
Devotion and veneration by people can produce vanity in a man and
engender a feeling of superiority, but this was not the case with the Prophet.
'By God, as you sleep so will you die, and as you awaken so will you be raised after death: you will be taken to account for your deeds. The good will be rewarded with good and the evil with evil. And, for all eternity, the good will remain in heaven and the evil will remain in hell.'
One who goes against the times in his personal life is faced with difficulties at almost every step, but these difficulties are not of an injurious nature. They may wound one’s feelings, but not one’s body. At the most, they are a test requiring quiet forbearance. But the position is quite different when one makes it one’s mission to publicly oppose convention—when one starts telling people what they are required to do and what not to do. The Prophet was not just a believer; he was also entrusted with conveying the word of God to mankind. It was this latter role that brought him into headlong collision with his countrymen. All forms of adversity—from the pain of hunger to the trepidation of 10 Spirit of Islam Issue 35 November 2015 The truth revealed to the Prophet was that this world did not spring up by itself, but was created by one God, who continues to watch over it. battle—were inflicted on him. Yet throughout the twenty-three years of his mission, he always remained just and circumspect in his actions. It was not that he had no human feelings in him and, therefore, incapable of bitterness; it was simply that his conduct was governed by the fear of God.
Three years after the Prophet’s migration to Madinah, Makkan opponents mounted an assault on Madinah and the Battle of Uhud took place. At the beginning, the Muslims held sway; but later on a mistake made by some of the Prophet’s Companions gave the enemy the chance to attack from the rear and sway the tide of battle in their favour. It was a desperate situation and many of the Companions started fleeing from the field. The Prophet was left alone, encircled by the armed forces of the enemy. Like hungry wolves, they advanced upon him. The Prophet started calling to his Companions. “Come back to me, O servants of God,” he cried. “Isn’t there anyone who will sacrifice his life for my sake, who will fend these oppressors off from me and be my Companion in Paradise?’
Imagine how dreadful the situation must have been, with the Prophet crying for help in this manner. Some of his Companions responded to his call, but such confusion reigned at the time that even these gallant soldiers were not able to protect him fully. Utbah ibn Abi Waqqas hurled a stone at the Prophet’s face, knocking out some of his lower teeth. A famed warrior of the Quraysh, Abdullah ibn Qumayyah, attacked him with a battle-axe, causing two links of his helmet to penetrate his face. They were so deeply embedded that Abu Ubaydah broke two teeth in his attempt to extract them. Then it was the turn of Abdullah ibn Shahab Zuhri, who threw a stone at the Prophet and injured his face. Bleeding profusely, he fell into a pit. When for a long period the Prophet was not seen on the field of battle, the word went around that he had been martyred. Then one of the Prophet’s Companions spotted him lying in the pit. Seeing him to be alive, he cried jubilantly, “The Prophet is here!” The Prophet motioned to him to be silent, so that the enemy should not know where he was lying.
The truth revealed to the Prophet was that this world did not
spring up by itself, but was created by one God, who
continues to watch over it.
In this dire situation, the Prophet uttered some curses against certain leaders of the Quraysh, especially Safwan, Suhayl and Harith. 'How can a people who wound their prophet ever prosper!’ he exclaimed. Even this was not to God’s liking, and Gabriel came with this revelation:
'It is no concern of yours whether He will forgive or punish them. They are wrongdoers.' (THE QURAN 3: 128)
This admonition was enough for the Prophet and his anger subsided. Crippled with wounds, he started praying for the very people who had wounded him. Abdullah ibn Mas’ud later recalled how the Prophet was wiping the blood from his forehead, and at the same time praying:
'Lord, forgive my people, for they know not what they do.' (Hadith of Muslim)
The Prophet was not just a believer; he was also entrusted
with conveying the word of God to mankind.
Biographies of the Prophet are full of incidents of this nature, which show his life to be a perfect model for mankind. They show that we are God’s servants, and servants we should remain in every condition. Being God’s humble servants, we should always remain in a state of trepidation before our Lord and the life Hereafter. Everything in the universe should serve to remind us of God. In every event we should see the hand of the Almighty, and, for us, every object should portray God’s signs. In all matters of a worldly nature, we should remember that everything will finally be referred to God. Fear of hell should make us live humbly among our fellows, and longing for Paradise should impress on us the significance of this world. So conscious should we be of God’s greatness that any idea of demonstrating our own greatness should appear ridiculous. No criticism should provoke us and no praise should make us vain. This is the ideal human character, which God displayed to us in the conduct of His Prophet.
Second Best
Try, try by all means, to achieve the
very best, but when you feel that you
can only get the second best, then
accept it gracefully.