Mercy to The World - His Government (PUH)

Belongings of The Prophet Muhammad Peace be up on Him

The Islamic legislative system benefits everyone and equates everyone, giving the nation true power, peace of mind, stability, firmness and progress. People’s belief in lofty Islamic ideals, represented in the person of the Prophet, prevailed on everything. It is obvious that in such an environment, personal problems and disputes are minimized, and people are overwhelmed by the spirit of togetherness, adopting the trend of giving, generosity, avoiding falling into prohibitions and sins such as theft, rape, adultery, murder, sodomy, backbiting and other such crimes. People demonstrated beautiful manners which had hitherto never been known, whether throughout the Arabian Peninsula or anywhere else then. People used to favor others over their own selves in giving in the cause of Allah Almighty. One favors his friend over himself as far as wealth is concerned. The incident involving the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali and his family, wherein the verse saying " And they feed the poor, the orphan and the captive, for the love of God, (saying,)  " We feed you for the sake of God alone: We desire no reward from you, nor thanks. We only fear a Day of distressing Wrath from our Lord "  is a glorious example.

One would inquire about the well-being of his neighbour and his family before inquiring about those of his own, and wealthy people used to provide aid and food for those who needed it without being asked. The Prophet did not need to force or coerce anyone nor did he confiscate anyone’s wealth, nor did he kill anyone arbitrarily. News of the new community continued to reverberate throughout the Arabian Peninsula, the community about which the Holy Qur’an said, " You are the best nation sent to people ", and throughout surrounding countries which claimed to have deeply rooted civilizations.

Everyone felt that a new era had dawned, so all hearts were attracted to Islam and people rallied behind it willingly and obediently. Thus, tribes, countries and groups hostile to Islam yielded before the Messenger of Allah on account of the popularity of his government and the freedom of the people, blended with conviction, virtue, piety, cooperation and love for everything good. 

As part of his socio-economic policy on welfare and inheritance the Prophet used to say, “He who dies and leaves poor family behind, then they should come to me for I am responsible for them (and their welfare).” Then he went further with monitory policy and said, “One who dies and leaves a bequest, it belongs to his family. And whoever dies leaving a debt behind, I am responsible for it.”

His Manners and Ethics(PUH):

The Prophet was extremely humble, a man who mended his own sandals, patched his clothes, milked his she-camel, served his family lovingly. He loved the poor and the indigent, sat with them, visited their sick, and never insulted anyone who fell into poverty on account of his poverty nor venerated anyone wealthy on account of his wealth. He always accepted another’s excuse, never dealt with anyone in a way which the latter did not like, walked with widows and with slaves, never feared kings nor rulers, and never despised the weak. He always walked behind his companions saying, “Let me turn my back only to the angels” and sometimes walked in their midst.
He always responded to whoever invited him, accepted any present, even if it were a trotter meal, and he rewarded the giver. He would only become angry with regards to the breaches of the commands of his Lord but never for himself. He was easygoing, lenient, neither harsh nor rough, nor was he boisterous, nor profane, nor pointing out people’s faults, nor was he a flatterer. He overlooked whatever he disliked and always gave hope to whoever asked him for something. Nobody feared evil coming from him, but everyone expected good to come from him.
One of his servants have narrated saying, “I was in the service of the Messenger of Allah for ten years. Never did he ever complain to me, nor did he ever ask me why I did or did not do this or that.” It was his habit to respond to those who called upon him with the very best of response. Whoever called him, he would respond with the words “At your service”.
Jurayr ibn Abdullah is quoted as having said,“The Messenger of Allah never put a barrier before me since I accepted Islam.Whenever he saw me, he smiled. He used to joke with his companions, socialize with them, talk with them, tease their children and seat them in his lap, and he used to respond to anyone who invited him, visit the sick even if they lived in distant parts of the city, accept everyone’s apology and never put himself above anyone, including his servants, be it with regard to what he ate or wore.”
He used to ride the camel, the mare or the mule, and used to tie a stone on his stomach on account of the pangs of hunger. He always initiated whoever he met with his greeting of peace, prolonged his prayers whenever he prayed alone, but whenever he led others in the congregational prayers, he shortened it out of his concern for the convenience of those whom he led. He used to make his sermons on Fridays and on other occasions brief so that the people would not be bored. He used to be a friend of men of dignity, dealing generously with those of distinction, being humorous and never saying anything but the truth. Whenever he was assaulted and exposed to hardships because of the ignorant people, he used to say, “Lord! I plead to You to guide my people, for they do not know.” 
He did not invoke the Almighty’s wrath against them. When his molar teeth were broken and he was wounded in the face, it was extremely hard for his companions to see him in that state, so they said, “O Messenger of Allah! Why don’t you pray against them?” he said, “I was not sent to curse; rather, I was sent as a Caller [of people to God] and as a Mercy. Lord! I plead to You to guide my people, for they do not know!”.
Thus, he did not content himself by simply remaining silent while facing their mischief but forgave them, demonstrated compassion towards them, prayed for them and sought an excuse for them when he said that they did not know any better, just like a kind and compassionate father.


His Compassion (PUH):

Some of his companions narrated saying that he was once wearing a mantle with coarse edges and a Bedouin pulled him very hard, so much so that the edges left their marks on his shoulder. Then the Bedouin said, “O Muhammad! Load for me on these two camels of mine with the wealth of Allah which you have for you will not be loading for me anything of your own wealth nor the wealth of your father.” The Prophet remained silent for a moment then said, “The wealth belongs to Allah and I am His servant; O Bedouin! Shall I seek retribution for what you have done to me?” The Bedouin said, “No.” He said, “Why not?” The Bedouin said, “It is so because you do not reward evil with evil.” The Prophet smiled then ordered barley to be loaded for him on one camel and dates on another.


His Tolerance (PUH):

His people harmed him in many ways; they spat on his face, emptied sheep’s stomach over his head, knocked him to the ground and trampled on his back, put thorns in his path, confiscated his property, exiled him, conspired against him, killed his uncle, [step] daughter, [step] granddaughter, ridiculed him, called him a wizard, possessed, insane, a poet, a priest upon whom the wrath of some of their gods had befallen, ... in addition to other types of harm, so much so that he said, “No prophet has been harmed as much as I have been.” Yet he remained patient in the face of such hardships till Allah granted him the upper hand over them, placing him in charge of their affairs while they had no doubt that they would be uprooted, their community annihilated, and their wealth confiscated.
After the fall of Mecca, he did not go beyond forgiving and overlooking the harm dealt to him by the Meccans to whom he said, “What do you think I am going to do to you?” They said, “With kindness. You are a gracious brother and the son of a gracious brother.” He said, “I shall say to you just as my brother the Prophet Joseph said: ‘No harm upon you; go, for you are free,’” thus forgiving them all including the most bitter of his enemies such as AbY Sufyan and Hind.
He forgave men like Ikrimah ibn AbY Jahl who was similarto his father in his harming of the Messenger of Allah and in his animosity, spending a great deal on fighting him, like Safw"n ibn Omayyah ibn Khalaf who was very cruel to the Prophet and who used to finance the armies of the polytheists, a man who can be called in today’s terminology the “Minister of Defence” of the infidels.


His Forgiveness (PUH):

He forgave men like Habbar ibn al-Aswad who terrorized Zainab, his [step] daughter, causing her to miscarry, and consequently died after falling ill. The Messenger of Allah permitted anyone to kill him. When the man knew that the Prophet was used to forgiving criminals, he went to him
seeking his forgiveness, apologizing for his ill deeds. He said, “We, O Prophet of Allah, used to associate partners with Allah, but Allah Almighty guided us through you, saving us from perdition; so, do forgive my ignorance and forgive what you are told about me, for I do admit the evil of my actions and confess my sins.” The Messenger of Allah said to him, “I have forgiven you, and Allah has fared very well with you since He guided you to Islam, and Islam cancels whatever precedes it.”
The Prophet also forgave Wahshy, killer of Hamzah (the Prophet’s beloved uncle and partisan). It is narrated that Wahshy: embraced Islam then went to the Messenger of Allah after feeling secure from his wrath. The Prophet said to him, “O Wahshy!” He said, “Yes!” The Prophet said, “Tell me, how did you kill my uncle?” Wahshy: told him how, and he wept, then he forgave him. He also forgave Hind despite her numerous crimes.
The Prophet also forgave men like Abdullah ibn al-Zub'ari who used to lampoon the Messenger of Allah, speaking ill of him and of the Muslims. When Mecca fell in the hands of the Muslims, he fled away, and when he came to know that Muhammad Peace be up no Him was a merciful and humane Messenger of Allah, he returned to him and apologized. The Messenger of Allah accepted his apology, so the man accepted Islam and composed the following poetic verses:

I apologize to you for what I did

When in misguidance I aimlessly was lost,

So forgive me, may both my parents be

For your sake offered as a sacrifice.

Forgive my slippage for you give mercy

And upon you did mercy descend,

And I have already testified that your creed

Is truly the right creed and that you are

Among God’s servants great indeed.

Amongst the many assassination attempts on the Prophet’s life, one was that by a Jewish woman. However, the Prophet forgave the Jewess who served him poisoned sheep’s meat.
The Prophet sought her, and she admitted it. Imam Baqir said, “The Messenger of Allah summoned the Jewess who served him poisoned sheep’s meat and said to her, ‘What prompted you to do what you did?’ She said, ‘I said to myself that if he truly is a Prophet, it would not harm him, but if he seeks authority, I would relieve people of him.’ The Messenger of Allah, then, forgave her and let her go.

His Generosity (PUH):

The Prophet used to say, “Allah taught me good manners and I taught Ali. My Lord ordered me to be generous and kind and forbade me from being miserly or mean. There is nothing Allah hates more than miserliness and bad manners which ruin one’s good deeds just as vinegar ruins honey.” He used to spend everything he had by way of charity till he and his family would be bitten by hunger.
Imam Sadiq has narrated saying: that the Messenger of Allah went to al-Ji'rana where he distributed the booty (of Honain) which was quite large. People kept asking him, and he kept giving them till they pressed him against a tree, stripping him out of his garment and causing the tree to severely scratch his back, till they removed him from there and still kept asking him. He said to them, “O people! Give me back my garment for by Allah, had I had any wealth, I would have distributed it among you, and you know full well that I am neither a coward nor a miser.”
He said the following to (his uncle) Abbas during the time when he was sick and shortly before his demise, “O uncle of the Messenger of Allah! Do you accept to carry out my will, make all preparations for my funeral and pay my debts on my behalf ?” Abbas said, “O Messenger of Allah! Your uncle is an old man who has many dependents to take care of and you compete with the wind in your swiftness of generosity and open-handedness and you have a debt which is beyond your uncle’s means.”
The Messenger of Allah, as historians have recorded, used to give whenever he was asked, and when he did not have anything to give, he would make a promise of payment. Since his uncle refused to accept to carry out his will, he asked Ali to do that instead, and Ali assented and carried out the will of the Prophet. Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari has said, “The Messenger of Allah never said ‘No’ to anyone who made a request of him.”
There have been quite a few incidents narrated when a man would approach him requesting something and he would say to him, “I do not have what you are asking me for, but if we get something, we shall give it to you.”

A man once asked him for something, and he did not have anything to give him, and some of his companions were present. The latter said, “O Messenger of Allah! Allah never required you to do what you cannot.” Another companion responded to this comment and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Spend of what there is with you and do not fear that the One Who has the Throne will ever disappoint you.” The Prophet smiled and signs of pleasure were seen on his face. It is related that Imam Ja'far Sadiq said: ‘Never was the Apostle of God asked by anyone for some worldly thing without him giving it. Once a woman sent him her son and said to him: ‘Go to him and ask from him. If he says I have nothing then say to him: ‘Give me your shirt.’ The boy did what his mother had ordered him and the Apostle of God took his shirt and gave it to him.’


With a Jew:

The Commander of the Faithful is reported to have said, “The Messenger of Allah owed a Jew some money who came one day to collect them. The Messenger of Allah said to him, ‘O Jew! I do not have it.’ The Jew said, ‘O Muhammad! I am not going to part with you till you pay me back.’ The man confined the Messenger of Allah there and then till the Prophet had performed the noon, afternoon, sunset and evening prayers and went beyond that until he prayed the morning prayer (of the following day) as well. The companions of the Messenger of Allah kept threatening that Jew. The Messenger of Allah looked at them and said, ‘What are you going to do to him?’ They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! How dare a Jew to confine you like that?’ He said, ‘My Lord, the most Exalted and the Greatest, did not send me to oppress anyone with whom I have entered into an agreement nor anyone else.’ Some half of the day had passed away, when the Jew said, ‘I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger; and half of my wealth I shall give away in the way of Allah.’”
Since the Prophet was always moving around, checking about the different quarters of the city, he used to assign someone to succeed him in performing the prayers at the Mosque whenever he went elsewhere. It seems that the above incident took place at one of the quarters which he was checking.