# d);)tit-re,.J',:.ii'-:'' 3\L/rl "

Some of the Manners '--

of

tdu(.tion.l Dep.rlm.nr in M.da. Al-Wnt.n

ir-.1.-r.-,irt il-f l*ltLp9j9 r|.nJ!l, iJ.cJ!,iJtJJl :r:lllrv^tiv/yr.. drrrjrisi -i{rib.iljirr.r e! ;+ bu 1r r . tq^ +sg tt . ...0 jitA

r:.-: e-ljj' 3)Lj'l J-.

Some of the Mannersof

The Prophet (#)

ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDFirst Edition1427H- 2006

@ Madar al-Watan PublicationsMalaz Branch

(Ph: 4792042 - Faxr 47239411Swaidi Branch

(Phr 4267L77 - Fan 42673771P.O. Box 331"0

Email u op@dar-alwatan. comhttp ://www.m adar-alwatan. com

Some of the Mannersof

The Prophet (#). U E . r l q l t - . I

#,+'ll Ol|it uD

Prepared by.The Eilucetiona.l Drynrtuta* in Mnilar aI-

Wnten

ilEulffi$F

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord ofthe worlds, and may Allah exalt themention of His Prophef who was sentas a mercy to the worlds, and may Herender him, his household andcompanions safe from every evil.

There is no doubt that our Prophet(#) was the paradigm of excellentmanners, and beautiful cltaracteristicsand traits, which no one elsecomprehensively possessed. Even hisenemies who fought and disbelievedin him, attested to this fact. Abu lahl,who was one of the harshest enemiesof Islam, said: 'O Muhammad! I donot say that you are a liar! I only deny

what you brought and what you callpeople to.'

AII mankind, including his enemiesrecognize his airtues

Truly what the enetny attests to isbut the truth

The Prophet (W) was the paradigm ofexcellent manners. Alla}u the Exalted,praised him saying:

{end verily, you (O Muhammad #)are on an exalted (standard of)character.) [68:al

6

Allah, the Exalted, said that he is amercy to mankind.

{nna by the Mercy of Allah, youdealt with them gently. And hadyou been severe and harsh-hearted,they would have broken away fromabout you.) [3:159J

The Prophet exemplified the Qur'an,until it was said that he was a Qur'anwalking on the earth. When his wifewas asked about his mErnners, she said:'Do you not re'cite the Qur'an?' th*ysaid: 'Yes'. She said: 'The manners ofthe Prophet were the Qur'an.'

Ibn Katheer said: 'This means that theProphet (#) abided by the laws and

commands of the Qur'an from itsprohibitions and observed the virtuousdeeds mentioned in it.,.'

Before Muhammad. (#) wascomrnissioned as a Prophet, he was

known amongst his people as 'Al-

Ameen' i.e. the Trustworthy, for he wasvery truthful and upright in everymatter.

Some of his Companions describedhis manners sayingt

'FIe was never rough. fle neverraised his voice in public or usedfoul language. He did not repay evilwith evil; rather, he forgave andpardoned. He did not hit anyone

except in jihad. He did not raise hishand to hit a senrant or wornan. Hewould not become angry if he waswrong€d, nor would he avengehimself. He only became angrywhen people transgxessed the limitsand boundaries of Allah; in that casehe avenged. The Prophet (#) was notgiven a choice between two matters,except that he chose the easier of thetwo, as long as it was not a sinful act.If that act was a sinful act, he wouldbe the farthest from it. When heentered his home he was a nonnalindividual, he would clean hisclothes, rnilk his sheep, and ser:vehimself.'

The Prophet (#) did not speak unlesshe needed to. He would visit hisCompanions, see to their needs, keepthem unitedo and not ward them away.He would beautify the good andstrengthen it. He would not move intoany posfure except while mentioningAllah. If he sat with a people he wouldsit at the end of the sitting. Fre wouldallot each one in his sitting a dueportion of time. Those sitting with himwould believe that th*y were the mostprivileged to him. He would not rejector let the beggar leave empty handed;he would give him what he asked for,or at least say to him a good. word. Hewould respect the elder, and was kindto the youn& and hetp the one who

l0

was wronged. He always smiled. FIewas well-mannered and kitrd. He wasnot severe or harsh-hearted. He nevermade fun of his Companions, nor washe miserly. He was the most tolerant ofpeople.

We have mentioned a few of theProphefs beautiful characteristics andtraits, and this is but a drop in anocean. Whoever reads his biographyand cornes to know of his actions andstatements would have to admit thegreahess of Prophet Muhammad {#).Thomas Carlyle, the famous Scottishwriter, attested to this. He said in hisbook 'Heroes, Hero-Worship, and theHeroic in History':

11

'But, from an early eS€, he had beenremarked as a thoughtful man. Hiscompanions named him "AI Amin,The Faithful." A man of truth andfidelity; true in what he did, in whathe spoke and thought. They notedthat he always meant something. Aman rather taciturn in speech; silentwhen there was nothing to be said;but pertinent, wise, sincerg when hedid speak; always throwing light onthe matter. This is the only sort ofspeech worth speaking! Through lifewe find him to have been regarded asan altogether solid, brotherly,genuine man. A serious, sincerecharacter; yet amiable, cordial,companionable, jocose even - a good

t2

laugh in him withal: there are menwhose laugh is as untrue as anythi*gabout them; who cannot laugh. Aspontaneous, passionate, yet j,ttt,

true-meaning man! Full of wildfaculty, fire and light; of wild worth,all uncultured; working out his life -

takes in the depth of the Desert there.'

'They called. him a prophet, you say?Why, he stood there face to face withthem, here, not enshrined in anymystgry, visibly clouting his owrrcloak, cobbling his own shoes,fighting, counseling ordering in themidst of them, Th*y must have seenwhat kind of a man he was, let himbe called what ye like. No emperor

13

with his tiaras was obeyed as thisman in a cloak of his own clouting.During three and twenty years ofrougb actual trial, I find somethingof a veritable hero necessary for thaiof itself.'

This is an attestation of a WesterryChristian writer. He read aboutMuhammad, and his opinion was notdifferent than the position held by theMuslims regarding him. Let us talk indetail about the beautiful manners ofthis great Prophet regarding his trr€rcflrpardoning, forgivingness andcompassion, and other traits from hisinteractions with others. I,ve will quoteclear examples to clarify this point.

I4

Anas b. Malik, with whom Allah ispleased said: 'I have not seen aryronemore mercifuI and kind towards young

drildren than the Prophet (##).

Ibraheem, the son of the Prophet (#),

was dyi*g, Anas b. Malik, with whomAllah is pleased, said:

'We entered the house of Abu Saif -

the blacksmith * with the ProPhet(#), Abu Saif's wife was the wet-nurse of his son, Ibraheem. TheMessenger of Allah (#) lifted hisson, Ibrahe€ffi, and smelled andkissed him. After a while he wentand saw his son again - he was

dyrog. The Prophet (#) started to

cqy. Abdunahmaan b. Auf' with

15

whom Allah is pleased, said: 'O

Prophet of Allah, you too cry!' TheMessenger (#) said: 'O Ibn Auf,this is a mercy' - the Prophet (#)shed more tears and said: 'The eyesshed tears, the heart is saddene{and we only say what pleases ourLord, and we are saddened by yourdeath, 0 lbraheem!' (Bukhari)

Al-Aqra b. Habis, with whom Allah ispleased, saw the Messenger of Allahkissing al-Hasan b. Ali and he said: 'I

have ten children, and I have neverkissed any of them!' The Messenger ofAltah (#) said:

'Whoever does not have mercy willbe shown no metey.'

16

Some Bedouins came to the ProPhet(#) and said: 'Do you kiss Yourchildren?' He said: 'Yes'. TheY said:'But we do not kiss our children'' The

Messenger of Allah (H) said:

'What can I do, if Allah hasremoved the mercy from yourhearts?'

Arras b. Malik, with whom Allah ispleased said the Messenger of Allah(#) would visit the Ansar, and greet the

young drildren, and rub their heads.'

t7

Anas b. Matik, with whom Allah ispleased, said the Messenger of Allah(#) was the most well manneredperson. I had a young brother whosename was Abu Umair - he would playwith a small bird called 'An-Nughair'.

The Prophet (ffi) said to hinn:

'O Abu Urnair, what did theNughair da?!' while he was playingwithit. (Muslim)

Look at the Prophefs nnanners withhis servant, Anas b. Malik. He said: ,I

served the Messenger of Allah (ffi) forten years/ and hy Allah he did notexpress displeasure once/ nor did he

18

say about something that I did, '*hy

did you do it?' or to something that Idid not do, 'why didn't you do it?'(Agreed upon)

This is a great example of the kind,forgiving nature of Muhammad (#).Furthermore, Anas said:

'The slave-girl from Madinahwould seek the Prophefs help andhe would take care of her needs.'(Ibn Maiah)

Anas b. Malik, may Allah be pleasedwith her, said: 'A partially insanewoman from Madinah said: "OMessenger of Allah! I need your help.

19

The Messenger of Allah (W) took care ofher needs.

(Bukhari)

lrdeed these explicit, beautifulmanners are the manners ofprophethood, and the embodiment ofthe teachings of the Qur'an; with thisthe praised and noble city of Madeenahwas established during the Prophefslife.

The Prophet (#) was kind andmerciful towards the young andelderly. He said:

'When I want to lengthen theprayer and I hear a child crying Ishorten it, for fear that the mother

20

would have difficulty.' (Agreed

upon)

Other examples of his mercy: A

Bedouin entered the Masjid of theMessenger of Allah (W) and urinated init. The Companions rebuked him butthe Prophet (W) said: 'Leave him alone,let him finish!' so the Companions let

him finish it. The Prophet (H) calledhim and said: 'The Masiid is not aplace for urination or filth; it is a place

of remembrance of Allth, the Exalte4and recitation of the Qurtan.' (Agreed

Upon)

2t

Look at the mercy and considerationof the Prophet (#), he did not want theman to be harmed, even though heurinated in the most purest of places,the House of Allah. Thereafter, theProphet (#) called him and taught himin a kind and merciful manner.

Another man came to the Prophet (#)and said: 'O Messenger of Altah! I havebeen destroyed!' He said: 'What hasdestroyed you?' He said: 'I approachedmy wife (i.e. engaged in sexualintercourse) while I was fasting during(the fasting hours of) Ramadhan.l The

1 The expiation for this is to free a slave, and if he cannot affordor find a slave, then to fast two months consecutively from Fair(dawn) till sunset. If he cannot, then he can feed sixty poorpeople.

22

Messenger of Allah (ffi) said: 'Can youfree a slave?' The man said: 'no!' TheProphet (ffi) then said: 'Can

You fasttwo consecutive months?' The man

said: 'no!' The Messenger of Allah (#)

then asked him: 'Can you feed sixtypoor people?' The man said: 'no!' Theman then sat dowry and after a shortperiod of time, a large basket of dateswas brought to the Prophet (#), and hegave it to the mary and said: 'Give thisout in charity.' The man said: 'Shall Igive it to one who is poorer than me?There is no house in Madinah more inneed than me!' The Prophet (#) smiledtmtil his white molars were visible. FIesaid to the man: 'Take it, and feed.

your faurily.' (Agreed Upon)

?3

This man committed a grave error inIslam, he should have expiated for hissin, but his ordeal ended with a giftfrom the Prophet for him and hisfamily. How merciful and kind theProphet was! The sinner refurnedjoyously to his family, with a valuablegift from the Messenger of Allah (ffi).An excellent lesson is to be learned.from this event; the proper manner inwhidr we should deal with peopleswhen they make mistakes, and how tocorrect them. Indeed, he is theMessenger of Allah (ffi).

The Prophet (#) was merciful toanimals as well. He taught people to be

24

kind to animals, centuries before any

society or committee was set for'kindness towards animals.' The

Prophet (H) said:

'A woman was Punished on

account of a cat. She tied it until it

died; she did not give it food to eat

or water to drink, nor did she allowit to eat insects,' (Agreed UPon)

He (#):

'No man kills a bird or anYthitggreater without its right' excePtAllah would ask him about it on

the Day of Resunection.' It was

said: 'O Messenger of Allah' what is

its right?' He (W) said: 'Its right is

25

that it should not be killed exceptfor food, not that one should cut itshead and throw it.'

The Prophet (#) ordered that oneslaughter in an appropriate andmerciful manner. FIe (#) said:

'Indeed Allah has prescribed mercyon everything. If you kill, kill in anappropriate manner, and if youslaughter, slaughter in anappropriate manner, and sharpenyour blades before you slaughter.'

The Prophet (#) said:

26

'Do not use a live animal for target

practice.' (Agreed UPon)

That is do not shoot arrows at it, as is

done in butl fights, common in SPain

and other countries. In Islam this is

unlawful, for it oPPoses the concePt of

mercy in Islam; the bull would be shot

with arrows, stabbed while onlookers

watch in amusement and delight.

Among the manners of ProPhet

Muhammad (#) was that he Pardonedand forgave. A'ishah said:

'! asked the Messenger of Altalt

(ffi): "Did you face a daY harder and

more intense than the Battle of

Uhud?" He rePlied:'I suffered a lot

27

from your people! The worst Isuffered was on the Day of al-'Aqabah when I spoke to Ali b.Abd Yaleel b. Abd Kilaal (in orderto support me) but he disappointedme and left me. I left the areawhile I was quite worried, andwalked - when I reached an areacalled Q,arn ath-Tha'alib, I raisedmy head to the sky and noticed acloud that shaded me. Angel

Jibreel (ffi) called me and said: 'O

Muhammad! Allah, the Exalted,has heard what your people havesaid to you - and has sent theAngel in charge of the mountains,so you can command him to dowhat you please.' The Prophet (ffi)

28

said: 'The Angel in charge of the

mountains called me saYing: 'MaY

Allah praise You and keeP safe

from all evill O Muhammad, I will

do whatever You command me to

do. If you like I can bring the

Akhshabnin Mountains together

and cmsh them all.' The

Messenger of Allah (ffi) said: 'It

may be that Allah raises from

iunong them a Progeny who

worship Allah alone and associate

no partners with Him.'

(Bukhari #3059)

This is how merciful the ProPhet (#)

was to the non&elievers who harmed

him and plotted to kill him, and drove

29

him out of his city, Thus the prophetwas described by Allah in His words:

{Rna We have sent you (OMuhammad #) not but as a mercyfor the worlds.) [21: L}Tl

His mercy and forgivingness is veryapparent when he entered Makkahafter having conquered it, and hisenemies who disbelieved in him, andfought against him. History standswifiress to the mercy of Muhammadwith those who fought against him fortwenty years. The prophet (#) said:'Today is the duy of Mercifulness., Hethen headed towards the people ofMakkah and said to them:

30

"What do )'ou think I will do toyou? tt They answered: "You willonly do something favourable;you are a kind and generousbrother, and a kind and generousnephew!" The Prophet (W) said:"Go - you are free. 't (Baihaqi#18055)

A Prophet, who prevents his peoplefrom killing a bird without reason,would not allow unnecessary bloodshed. The ProphFt (#) said:

'Indeed I am a bestowed mercy.'(Al-Hakim)

3 l