The Holy Prophet (sas) was a man of strict and absolute justice. However, his justice was complemented with a balancing sense of perfect kindness. In the Battle of Badr, one of his uncles Abbas, while fighting on the side of the idolaters, was arrested by the Muslims. Like other prisoners, his hands and feet were also bound against a pillar in the mosque, but rather too tight. The Holy Prophet (sas), whose home was adjacent to the mosque, could not sleep at night, distressed at hearing his sobs and cries. When this was reported to his companions present in the mosque, they loosened Abbas’s ties. After a while, when the Holy Prophet (sas) couldn’t hear any moaning, he became worried and enquired as to why the sounds had stopped. Somebody said that the ties of Abbas had been relaxed. He said: “If you have done this to Abbas do the same to every prisoner”. This having been done he could at least rest in peace. This is how he showed his kindness without compromising justice.
Once a daughter of a prominent Arab chieftain was caught stealing; her name was Fatimah, the same as that of the Holy Prophet’ s (sas) daughter. This matter was being disputed outside the house of the Holy Prophet (sas) and some people were asking for mercy as she was the daughter of a powerful chief. They persuaded Osama (ra), the son of a liberated slave of the Holy Prophet (sas), whom the Holy Prophet (sas) loved so much, to intercede on her behalf. He proceeded to do so. But this annoyed the Holy Prophet (sas) so much that the vein on his forehead darkened and he said: “What do you mean by this intercession? I would most certainly have done what Allah wants me to do even if my daughter Fatimah (ra) had committed this crime.”
The Holy Prophet (sas) once owed money to a Jew. The Jew thought it was overdue whereas it was not so. He confronted the Holy Prophet (sas) and demanded his money, using very harsh words, and accused that all Quraish were bad debtors who never honoured their promises. He had not only insulted the Holy Prophet (sas) but also his tribe. Umar (ra), who was also there, became extremely annoyed and his hand went for his sword. The Holy Prophet (sas) stopped Umar (ra), who had now used some abusive words against the Jew and was perhaps about to strike him, and said: “Umar, you should have behaved differently. First you should have told me to be mindful of the contract and pay in time, then you should have told him to be kind in his demands and merciful to his debtors”. Then he turned to another of his companions and said: “Still there are three days, I know the limit is not yet over, but pay him whatever I owe and add some more because of the harsh attitude of Umar.” This was his behaviour when openly insulted in the company of his companions. His sense of justice was supreme. It was absolute, not in any way connected to his personal, tribal or religious loyalties.
Today the Jewish/Muslim relationship is a much-misunderstood concept and needs to be corrected. I will quote some examples from the Holy Prophet’s (sas) relationship with Jews because we must follow his conduct in this regard; any contradictory attitude has to be dismissed. The Holy Founder of Islam, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had built an image in the society of being a man of absolute justice. Even when there were feuds between Muslims and Jews, or Muslims and idolaters, they would seek his judgement. In one case it is reported that a piece of land was disputed between a Muslim and a Jew. They approached the Holy Prophet (sas) and asked him to decide the matter. The Holy Prophet (sas) first asked the Muslim claimant to provide proof. The Muslim said that he had no witnesses but was telling the truth on his word of honour. The Holy Prophet (sas) ignored him and asked the respondent to swear in the name of God if the land belonged to him. The Muslim protested and said: “O Prophet of God, he will swear falsely. It is trivial for him to be untruthful for a piece of land”. The Holy Prophet (sas) replied: “There is no other way to decide this matter, if he swears then the land would be his”. And that is exactly what happened.
Once a small trade party visited Khaiber, an area occupied by a Jewish clan by the name of Bani-Nazeer. These people were earlier expelled from Medina and were rehabilitated there; but that is a different story. This place had become a Jewish stronghold from then on. When the trade party from among the Muslims visited Khaiber, one of them was murdered. They returned to the Holy Prophet (sas) and asked that the responsibility for the murder should be placed on Jews of that area, and blood money imposed on them as a group. The Holy Prophet (sas) said: “Do you have any proof of this man being murdered by a Jew?” They replied: “There is no witness but it has to be one of them, nobody else lives there.” The Holy Prophet (sas) said: “The only available course is that the Jews must swear their innocence.” The Jews did that and were acquitted of the murder. However, by the order of the Holy Prophet (sas), the aggrieved were paid blood money from the state treasury. We see in him kindness wedded to his sense of justice in the most beautiful and well poised way, which is indeed a pleasure to watch.
The Holy Prophet (sas) was also very kind to his servants and slaves. The question of slavery is a much-misunderstood concept in the West. I will not touch upon this in any detail but I assure you that there is only one permissible way mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, by which slaves can be en-slaved. This is in Chapter Al-Anfaal, verse sixty-eight. It reads that the only way of making human beings slaves is after a very severe battle, not just a skirmish. In those days there was no system of prisoner of war camps, so the prisoners would be distributed to different homes. We also see that the Holy Qur’an goes on to suggest numerous routes for liberation of the slaves. There are so many verses on this subject, that after going through these, it is surprising how slavery could ever be conceived by the present day Muslims as validated perpetually. According to the Holy Qur’an, if a slave is not liberated by ransom paid by his relatives, and has no other means of getting liberated, he can demand his liberation from a Muslim court. All he has to do is to appeal to the court, asking immediate release, on the condition that he will earn and pay back on small easy instalments whatever cost is considered to be his value. These injunctions were very strictly imposed in the days of the Holy Prophet (sas). Sometimes thousands of slaves were liberated in a single day. Owing to the legacy of the past and also because those were troubled times, some slaves were inherited by people and went on serving private homes. The Holy Prophet (sas) repeatedly admonished Muslims that they should be as kind to them as to their kith and kin. We find mention of many such incidents; for instance, when a master and a slave went together for buying something, the shopkeepers could not distinguish between them as to who was the master and who was the slave. Once Ali (ra), who later became the Fourth Caliph of Islam, after the Holy Prophet (sas), went shopping and asked for two identical pieces of clothing. The shopkeeper suggested that he should buy clothes of different colour. He said: “My master, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, told me to treat my slaves as I would my own kith and kin. So whatever I wear, I shall make my slave wear the same”.
Abu Masood Badri (ra) relates: “I was striking a slave with a whip when I heard a voice behind me: “Beware, Abu Masood”. I was so upset that I did not recognise the voice until the person drew near and I discovered it was the Holy Prophet (sas) and he was saying: “Beware, Abu Masood. Allah has more power over you than you have over this slave”, and I responded: “Messenger of Allah, I will set him free to win the pleasure of Allah”. The Holy Prophet (sas) observed: “If you had not done that you would have been singed by the fire”.
Zaid (ra) is often quoted in the history of Islam because he is the only slave to have lived with the Holy Founder (sas) of Islam. He reports: “During my service to the Holy Prophet (sas), I made many mistakes, but he never said woe to me, even once. He never criticised me. There was no question of beating me of course.”
Zaid (ra) was bought as a slave by Muhammad (before his prophethood) during the pre-Islamic period. Zaid’s father and uncle who lived in Persia, came to learn that Zaid (ra) could be found in Mecca serving as a slave to (Hazrat) Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). They approached him in Mecca and begged him to liberate Zaid (ra). He said: “Of course I will do that but why not ask him? He is a free man; if he wants to stay I cannot compel him to leave.” So he kept quiet while Zaid (ra) was made to appear before his father and uncle. There was an emotional meeting as they had met after a long time. They asked Zaid (ra) to return to his home. He replied: “If the choice is mine, I will not return because I have discovered a man who is dearer to me than my father, my mother, my uncle and everyone else in the world.” Hearing this, the Holy Founder (sas) of Islam took them out and, in the presence of some people proclaimed: “I declare that Zaid (ra) is no longer a slave. From now on he will be my adopted son.”