Khadija (ra) was referred to earlier as his employer. She was the rich lady who sent him on a trade mission up to Syria. He was found to be always successful in these assignments. But I believe there was another part of this trade, which was the most successful of all, but is usually omitted from being mentioned. When Khadija (ra) ultimately married him, he was a man of twenty-five, whereas she had already passed her youth and was forty years of age. Despite this age difference, when she proposed, he accepted and lived with her for another twenty-five years. After this marriage had taken place, knowing his dignity and character, Khadija (ra) offered him her entire property and gave him everything she had. The trade I mentioned as the most honourable, most wonderful and the most successful was this: having received all that wealth and property, he distributed it entirely to the destitute without keeping a penny for himself. It is also a great tribute to Khadija (ra) who, being the richest woman of Arabia, suddenly became one of its poorest, and never raised an eyebrow, living the rest of her life most faithfully with Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. She was in love with the man who had not yet emerged as a prophet. However, it was not the outward charm of that man but his inward beauty, sparkling like a jewel, which she was in love with. This became evident when the Holy Founder (sas) of Islam received his first message from God. He was so completely shaken by its force that he returned home trembling as if a fever was about to take hold of him. Khadija (ra) thought he was about to fall ill and loaded him with blankets. Later, he told her about the experience he had of an angel appearing in the form of a man and commanding him to recite. He was fearful about himself, entirely shaken, he could not fathom what was happening to him. Khadija (ra), on hearing this, addressed him and said:
I have known you for some time and I know you look after the requirements of the needy and share their miseries. You are a person who carried the burdens of those whose backs are broken under the load of afflictions. You are restoring the virtues, which have disappeared from the earth. You are kind and considerate to relations and observe the very best conduct in relationships. You are true and always have been so. How could God let you go to waste? I believe in what you have seen.
It was purity of the man within him, which convinced his wife that he was a true Prophet. As such she became the first believer in the Holy Founder (sas) of Islam and realised that it was impossible for a true man to emerge as a false prophet.
Bosworth Smith has related this incident in his own words and says:
“Allah will not suffer thee to fall to shame. Hast thou not been loving to thy kinsfolk, kind to thy neighbours, charitable to the poor, faithful to thy word, and ever a defender of the truth?”
(Page 78)
In contrast to the attitude of Khadija (ra) the opinion of all his friends was suddenly transformed after he declared himself to be a Messenger from God. Those who used to call him Al-Amin, the most trustworthy, who went to him for resolving their disputes and who trusted him entirely, started blaming him as guilty of extreme falsehood. Bosworth Smith records this contradictory attitude of the Meccans, after Prophet Muhammad’s (sas) pronouncement of being commissioned from God, in the following words:
“People pointed the finger of scorn at him as he passed by: ‘There goeth the son of Abdallah, who hath his converse with the heavens!’ They called him a driveller, a star gazer, a maniac-poet. His uncles sneered, and the main body of the citizens treated him with that contemptuous indifference, which must have been harder to him to bear than active persecution.”
(Page 79)
Then he tells us that Meccans tried persuasion and treaties, bribes and threats against Prophet Muhammad (sas)
“Should they array against me and put the sun on my right hand, and the moon on my left,” said Mohammed, “yet while God should command me, I would not renounce my purpose.”
(Page 80)
“These are not the words, nor this the course of an impostor”, writes Bosworth Smith.
Prophet Muhammad (sas) was a humble man in every relationship with people and was humble, of course, to God. He was humble even to those who had accepted him to be the Prophet of God. Once in Medina, after he had already been told by God that he was the Seal of Prophets, which means the very best among them, one of his companions developed an argument with someone who held in very high respect an earlier prophet by the name of Jonah (as). The companion of the Holy Founder (sas) of Islam said that Muhammad (sas) was superior, whereas the other said that Jonah (as) was far better. When this was reported to the Holy Prophet (sas), he said: “Do not declare my excellence over Jonah (as), son of Muta, because it is against the dignity of human relationship to go on boasting about your leaders against the leaders of others. The matter of superiority of one over the other is a question to be decided by God, not something to be exulted over.” That was the message given to us, unfortunately forgotten by many Muslims of today.
A similar incident happened between a Jew and a Muslim over the question of superiority between Muhammad (sas) and Moses (as). The Muslim became extremely annoyed with the haughty attitude of the Jew and even slapped him. This Jew went to the Holy Prophet (sas) and complained. The companion responsible for this was very strongly rebuked by the Holy Prophet (sas), who then used the same expression as used in the last incident: “Don’t declare me to be. better than Moses.” He went on to relate the excellence of Moses (as) and paid tribute to him by way of comforting the distress caused to the Jew’s heart.
We hear of the Holy Prophet (sas) standing the whole night, seeking forgiveness from Allah. His companions noticed that his feet became swollen because of his standing the most part of the night in prayer. They had never seen him committing a sin and believed him to be the most innocent man on earth. They asked him: “Sinless as you are, why, O Prophet of God, you seek forgiveness from Allah?” He replied: “Should I not be grateful to my God for all the favours bestowed upon me?” At another occasion when the same question about forgiveness and man’s piety was being discussed, the Holy Prophet (sas) told his companions that no human on earth would be forgiven because of good deeds. It is only Allah’s Grace, which ultimately delivers humans from the bondage of sin and grants them admission into heaven. This made them wonder and one of them asked: “O Prophet of God, will you not be forgiven for your piety and good deeds?” He said: “No, not even me. I will be forgiven only by the Grace of God. Everything belongs to Him, nothing is ours. Whatever He has granted us, we use it and employ it to the best of our knowledge and abilities. Even a man with acts of piety, having spent all his life doing good deeds, will not be forgiven because of his actions. Those noble opportunities were given to him by God.”
His humility knew no bounds. When sitting among his followers, ordinarily clothed, eating the same food as they did, he did not occupy a very special place. Many a time, people were mistaken as to who was the Holy Founder (sas) of Islam. Abu Bakr (ra), who later became the First Caliph of Islam, was older than he and perhaps had a longer beard, I don’t know, but something in him led some strangers to address him as the Prophet of God. In a respectful attitude he would then tum to the Holy Prophet (sas) and lead them to him.
Once Umar (ra), who later became the Second Caliph of Islam, took his permission to perform Umrah; a lesser pilgrimage to Mecca than Hajj. The Holy Prophet (sas) of Islam turned to him and said: “Yes, go ahead, perform the Umrah and please do not forget me in your prayers.” Such was the humility of the man, on whose prayers every Muslim depended that he was asking one of his own servants to remember him in his prayers.
All through his life he shared in every type of hardship faced by the Muslims in general. During the Battle of the Ditch he is known to have suffered hunger along with the others. When portions were allotted in digging the ditch, he was no exception and did his part of labour. Once a companion saw him in a state that overwhelmed him. He remarked: “On the day of the Battle of Al-Ahzaab, I saw the Holy Prophet (sas) carrying earth which was covering the whiteness of his abdomen”. He was saying: “Without you, O Lord, we would have no guidance, nor have given any charity, nor prayed; so please bless us with tranquillity and make firm our feet when we meet our enemy. Indeed, people have oppressed us but never shall we yield if they try to bring affliction upon us because of you.”
Jaabir narrates that they were digging in the days of Al-Ahzaab and came across a big rock. They told the Holy Prophet (sas) about it. When he got up, they saw a stone tied to his belly; he had not eaten anything for three days. It was an Arab custom to tie a stone like this when extremely oppressed with hunger, perhaps this helped to alleviate its pangs. In another narration of the same incident, we find that companions of the Holy Prophet (sas) had a stone each tied to their bellies, but when the Holy Prophet (sas) lifted his shirt to show them, they saw two stones tied to his belly indicating that he was suffering from hunger more than them. Jaabir (ra), on seeing this plight, could not bear it any longer. He took his permission to leave for the women’s quarters, sought his wife and asked her if she had anything to eat. She said that there was a goat and some flour. He told her to slaughter the goat because he had seen the Holy Prophet (sas) in such an unbearable state.
That was the man, Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who always shared miseries with his devoted servants. There was no difference whatsoever. On the contrary, from many narrations on this subject we can believe that he suffered the most.
He was a dauntless, fearless person who never refrained from approaching danger head on. In his lifetime, he fought many defensive battles without ever waging a single offensive war. He was usually found in the most dangerous areas of the battle, where the fighting would rage like mad. A narrator reports that when the Holy Prophet (sas) was sought during a battle, they would look for him in that area where combat was at its fiercest and he would always be in the midst. Once in Medina, during the dead of the night, people heard some disturbing noises. In those days attack was feared from all sides, so they saddled their horses and went on to investigate. They found the Holy Prophet (sas) already returning from that place riding an unsaddled horse. He had gone singly, in haste, without even preparing his ride. He assured them that it was nothing serious and they could all return to their homes.
Once during a journey on a very hot summer’s day, he was resting under the shade of a tree. A Bedouin, who belonged to the idolaters, saw his opportunity, as the Holy Prophet (sas) was alone. He picked up the sword of Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be on him, and woke him up saying tauntingly: “Who would save you from my hands?” He replied: “Allah.” This short answer so overwhelmed this man that his hands trembled and the sword fell from his hand. This time the Holy Prophet (sas) picked up the sword and asked the man: “Now, who would save you from me?” The man trembling with fear could only reply: “You are a gracious and merciful person, please spare my life.” The Holy Prophet (sas) said: “Woe unto you, you did not even draw a lesson; it was God Who saved me from you.” This man was pardoned, of course. The Holy Prophet (sas) was a very big-hearted person.
The Holy Prophet (sas) loved no place on earth greater than a mosque. This love in his heart was so intense that it is inconceivable for anyone else to have similar feelings. Once a Bedouin who was not a Muslim came to visit Medina and was lodged in the mosque. In those days and even today in some parts of the world, mosques are used as guesthouses. Being a place of worship, mosques are kept very clean, even shoes are not permitted inside. But this man, out of ignorance, started urinating in the courtyard of the mosque. The Holy Prophet (sas) and his companions were present in the mosque at that time. Some of the companions rushed towards him to punish him for this offence, but were immediately stopped by the Holy Prophet (sas). They were told not to disturb him during the act. When he had finished the Holy Prophet (sas) asked for a bucket of water and he himself washed that place. Then he turned to his companions and said: “You were not raised by God to cause difficulties for people. Always remember that you were raised to bring relief to mankind”.
Once a delegation of Christian leaders from Najraan came to Medina for debating issues of difference between Islam and Christianity. They stayed there for three days. While engaged in a dialogue in the Holy Prophet’s (sas) mosque, the time for their prayers arrived. They asked permission from the Holy Prophet (sas) to go out to offer their prayers. The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said that the mosque was also a place of worship and they were welcome to pray there, and they did. In the meantime, some companions reached the mosque and saw the Christians worshipping facing the opposite direction from the Qiblah in that Mosque. They moved forward to object to this, but he firmly prohibited them from interfering and said: “I have permitted them because this is the house of God, and no man has the right to object to anyone who worships God in a place devoted for the sake of worship”.
On another occasion, a delegation from the monastery of St Catherine begged him to write a pronouncement to the effect that their monastery should be protected when Islam would become victorious in that part of the world. The Holy Prophet (sas) immediately accepted the request and wrote orders to that effect. To my knowledge, the parchment on which this order was written is still preserved in Turkey. It reads: ‘No one should ever interfere with the property of the Monastery, nor with the figure of the cross or any other article which represents their faith. They should not be molested in any manner whatsoever. Anyone ignoring this will not be one of us’.
So much is said about the prevailing hatred between Muslims and Jews but it was just one-sided during the time of the Holy Prophet (sas). Although the Jewish clans in and around Medina vehemently opposed Prophet Muhammad (sas), his conduct to them always remained just and humane. Once when he was sitting with his companions, a funeral procession passed nearby and he stood up in respect. Someone pointed out that the corpse belonged to a Jew. He replied: “Was this person not given life by God? Was he not a creation of God? Remember, in things which are common to man, we must show respect, irrespective of one’s religion, race or creed”. This is the essence of Islam, it was not only taught by word of mouth but was also practised in every detail.
He was a man of love, a love of beauty mingled with humility. He loved children, even respected them. After the demise of the Holy Prophet (sas), one of his companions passed through a group of children and said Assalam-o-Alaikum (peace be on you). They were young and were surprised that a highly respected elderly person, a companion of the Holy Founder (sas) was greeting them by saying: “Peace be on you.” When he found the children so surprised, he told them: “I always observed the Holy Founder (sas) doing this. It was his habit to take the lead in saying Assalam-o-Alaikum even to children”.
Osamah bin Zaid (ra) narrates that while he was a child he was picked up by the Holy Prophet (sas) and put on one of his knees, then the Holy Prophet (sas) put his grandson Hasan (ra) on his other knee, and embracing them both prayed to God: “Oh my Lord, show mercy to them as I am showing mercy to them”. This incident left an indelible mark on Osamah bin Zaid (ra), who reported it with tears in his eyes.
The Holy Founder (sas) of Islam had a very pleasant sense of humour. He used to joke with children to amuse them with light talk. However his humour would never hurt anyone. There are many reports of his jokes with children and sometimes with old people.
Anas (ra) reports: The Holy Prophet (sas) used to become intimate with children. Once my younger brother’s sparrow called “Nughar” died. The Holy Prophet (sas) cheered him up by saying: ‘O Abu Omair! What has little Nughar (calling it as ‘Nughair’) done to you?’ Whenever he met him, he said the same thing until Abu Omair forgot his Nughar and started enjoying being addressed by the Holy Prophet (sas) thus.
Once Hasan (ra), the grandson of the Holy Prophet (sas) wanted to ride a camel. He seated him on his shoulders and posed to be his camel. This made Hazrat Hasan (ra) smile with pleasure. All such small jokes are not reported, but this much is certainly reported that he always had similar pleasing talks with small children.
Once an old woman enquired from him whether she would also be granted permission to enter paradise. In answer the Holy Prophet (sas) said that no old person would ever enter paradise. She was deeply taken aback at that and expressed her grief. The Holy Prophet (sas) smilingly put her at ease by observing: All those who enter the paradise would have been turned young.