An article discussing various aspects revolving around our beloved Prophet ﷺ, such as his kidness, humility, compassion and much more. Our beloved Prophet ﷺ was of examplary character of the utmost highest level. Whether it be in social aspects, in dealings with one another, in day to day life, there is no one better to emulate than our Beloved ﷺ. It is upon us that we follow our Prophet ﷺ in all aspects of our life, so the world can see the beauty of our Prophet ﷺ.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العلمين، و الصلاة و السلام على من اختص بخلق عظيم، و على آله و صحبه
أجمعين اما بعد
You might also like
The article includes the following topics:
- A great and important principle
- The exalted character of the Prophet ﷺ
- The Speech of The Prophet ﷺ
- The Humour of The Prophet ﷺ
- The Humility of Rasulullah ﷺ
- The Justice, Compassion, and Mercy of Rasulullah ﷺ
- Conclusion
A great and important principle
Picture this scene. It is the day of Ahzaab. An immense battle is taking place. Everyone is panicked and stressing. But the Rasul of Allah,our Rasul, our Nabi, whose character and nobility oceans of praise will never be able to fulfill their description, He is an ocean of tawakkul, sheer and utter reliance upon Allah Ta’ala.
Allah Ta’ala reveals the verse: (لقد كان لكم في رسول الله أسوة حسنة) Verily for you in Rasulullah ﷺ is an excellent example. Imam Ibn Katheer mentions in his tafseer:
“This Ayah is an important principle, to follow the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in all his words, and deeds, etc. Hence Allah commanded the people to take the Prophet ﷺ as an example on the day of Al-Ahzab, with regard to patience, guarding, striving and waiting for Allah to provide the way out; may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him forever, until the Day of Judgement. Allah says to those who were anxious and impatient and were shaken by feelings of panic on the day of Al-Ahzab: لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ (Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow) meaning, ‘why do you not take him ﷺ as an example and follow his lead?’ Allah says: لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا (for him who hopes in Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.)”
Note that Imam Ibn Katheer says that this ayah indicates to (اصل كبير) , a great and important principle, informing us that the following of Rasulullah ﷺ in everything that we do is not something to be overlooked, rather it is part of the foundations of Deen, a principle of life. Something that is prevalent today, and actually for that matter throughout time, is the need for a role model, a figurehead, someone to look up to. Someone that represents your goals and aspiration. Who is ‘impeccable’ in every way. Someone that you can take inspiration from, who you can mould your life after.
Throughout history, man has always looked up to another more ‘senior’ man for direction and inspiration. It is sad and unfortunate, that in our Ummah, the youth and grown ups alike choose these inspirations and role models from the pool of filth that is movie stars, football players, players from other sports, famous people, etc. this is sad because our Ummah has been given the best of creation, the greatest of all men, the Beloved of Allah Ta’ala. A man who was truly perfect in every way. A man whose character friends and enemies alike testified to. This is Rasulullah ﷺ. Our Nabi, our Messenger, our Rasool, our Shining Star, our Guiding Light.
To write an article on the character of Rasulullah ﷺ in its entirety would require millions of pages, and still it wouldn’t be enough. However we seek to highlight a few points, to refresh the minds and embed the example that is our Rasul. To make the message clear, that the most perfect and best of role models is Rasulullah ﷺ, and his way is the only successful one out there.
The Exalted Character of The Prophet ﷺ
Allah Ta’ala says: (و انك لعلى خلق عظيم) Verily, you are on an exalted character. The Quraan bears testimony to the lofty status of the character of Rasulullah ﷺ. Saying that He ﷺ is of High Character and Virtue. To understand the character of Rasulullah ﷺ, in link with this ayah, Imam Tabari (Allah bless him) mentions a narration in his Tafseer :
عن سعيد بن هشام قال: اتيت عائشة ام المؤمنين رضي الله عنها، فقلت: اخبريني عن خلق رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم فقالت: كان خلقه القرآن. اما تقرأ :(و انك لعلى خلق عظيم).
Sa’eed bin Hisham said: I came to Aisha Mother of the Believers and I said: Inform me regarding the character of Rasulullah ﷺ, so she said: His character was the Quraan. Have you not read : (Verily you are on an exalted character)
Subhanallah. This narration indicates that anyone who wants to know about the perfection of character and manners that was Rasulullah ﷺ, he has to look no further than the Quraan. All of the good qualities that the Quraan mentions with regards to the believers, the qualities of humility, justice,kindness,giving towards relatives, not committing oppression, reliance upon Allah Ta’ala, fear of Allah Ta’ala, and so many more, all were found in Rasulullah ﷺ and more.
This was his perfection. That he emulated the Quraan, He didn’t just read it and teach it. A point that can be deduced from here is that it is upon every Muslim, scholar or not, who reads the Quraan and knows about His Rasul, that he emulate the Quraan and Sunnah in his life. That he becomes an embodiment of it, and he tries to follow in the footsteps of his beloved, Rasulullah ﷺ.
The Speech of The Prophet ﷺ
We will now touch on three qualities of Rasulullah ﷺ. Rasulullah ﷺ had so many amazing qualities, and it is impossible for us weak servants to encompass them all. However we speak about them to create the plough for Rasulullah ﷺ in our hearts, and to light the fire of admiration and keep it burning until the day we leave this world. May Allah Ta’ala grant us a death close to our Habeeb (Beloved) ﷺ .
The Speech of Rasulullah ﷺ: Rasulullah ﷺ was excellent in speech. He was the most faseeh (eloquent) of all the Arabs. Yet even though the speech of Rasulullah ﷺ was of such a high calibre, He would not speak swiftly.
Aisha (Allah bless her) says, “Rasulullah ﷺ ‘s speech was such (so clear) that if anyone wished to count the words, they could have easily done so.” [Bukhari: 3567]
This was to make it easy for the people to hear and understand what He was saying. We find this in another narration:
Aisha (Allah bless her) says, “Rasulullah ﷺ’s speech was so clear that everyone could understand it.” (Abu Dawood no. 4839).
The nature of Rasulullah ﷺ was to always make things easy for people, and it is clearly evident just from the way He ﷺ would speak and address people. Another aspect of the speech of Rasulullah ﷺ is that generally, while speaking, he would smile. There is great benefit in this, as a smile puts the person being addressed at ease. And imagine the smile of the greatest of creation! Ya Rabb!
Abu Darda (Allah bless him) narrates, “I never saw or heard Rasulullah ﷺ saying something except whilst smiling.” [Musnad Ahmad: 21732]
Another important aspect of the speech of Rasulullah ﷺ is that He was always truthful. This was attested to even by the enemies of Rasulullah ﷺ. The incident of the great Sahabi, Abu Sufyan (Allah bless him),and his meeting with Heraclius, is testament to this. (This is before Hadhrat Abu Sufyan accepted Islam.)
Heraclius asked him, “Did Muhammad ever speak lies before claiming Nubuwwah?” Abu Sufyan replied in the negative. Heraclius then said, “How can the person who cannot speak lies about people speak lies about Allaah?” [Bukhari: 7, Muslim: 1773]
How sad is it that we live in a time where lies are rife amongst the people. We lie to anyone without even considering it a sin. May Allah Ta’ala grant us the realisation of the error of our ways and grant us the ability to always speak the truth. Ameen. Another aspect to touch on with regards to the speech of Rasulullah ﷺ is that when speaking to someone, he would always give them his full attention, so much so that the person would feel as if they were the most important and most beloved person to him.
The Humour of The Prophet ﷺ
Another aspect is the humour of Rasulullah ﷺ. Even though He was the Rasul of Allah, and he had a great amount of responsibility, yet he would keep things light hearted with the Sahabah. This is excellent, as this type of nature draws people makes, and makes them feel confident, safe, and at peace with a person. Two narrations mention this:
Amr ibn Al Aas (Allah bless him) says, “Even when speaking to the worst of people, Rasulullah ﷺ would turn his full attention to the person so that (they would feel special and) their hearts would be won over. When speaking to me, Rasulullah ﷺ also turned his full attention towards me until I eventually felt that I was the best of all the Sahaabah. ‘O Rasulullaah!’ I once asked, ‘Am I better or Abu Bakr?’ ‘Abu Bakr,’ came the reply. ‘O Rasulullaah!’ I asked further, ‘Am I better or Umar?’ When Rasulullah ﷺ replied that Umar was better, I pursued the enquiry saying, ‘O Rasulullaah! Am I better or Uthmaan?’ ‘Uthmaan,’ he replied. After asking Rasulullah ﷺ and after he had been truthful to me, I wished that I had never asked him these questions.” [Shamaail Tirmidhi: 344]
Another narration –
Abu Hurayrah (Allah bless him) reports that the Sahaabah once asked, “O Rasulullaah! You manage to joke with us?” Rasulullah ﷺ replied, “However, I speak only the truth (when I joke).” [Tirmidhi: 1990; Shamaail Tirmidhi: 237; Al-Adabul-Mufrad: 265]
The Humility of Rasulullah ﷺ
Despite being the best of creation, the leader of the Ambiya, the Master of Arabs and non-Arabs, Rasulullah ﷺ clothed himself with humility and turned it into a well known and salient trait. This had an effect on everyone around Rasulullah ﷺ. It allowed anyone to approach him as no one felt that he would turn them away out of pride or haughtiness, and it opened the way for Him to approach anyone and deal with them in the best of ways. It is the nature of insaan that we like to be praised. We love to be told that we are something, that the work we have created is something, and that we are better than/ the best. This is our nature. Yet if this is continuous and goes unchecked, it leads a person to pride, feeling entitled and going out of his way to attain praise and status. Yet this wasn’t the way of Rasulullah ﷺ. He disliked unnecessary praise, even though He was the greatest creation of Allah Ta’ala. A narration proves this:
Umar (Allah bless him) said on the mimbar, “I heard Rasulullah ﷺ say, ‘Do not praise me as the Christians praised Isa ibn Maryam. I am only His slave. Say, ‘the servant of Allah and His messenger.” [Bukhaari: 3445]
My beloved and respected ustaadh, Moulana Moosa Kajee Sahib mentions in his kitaab on the sublime character of Rasulullah, that Nabi ﷺ said this out of humility. When a person reaches the stage of true humility, he cannot see his own perfections. A person should cloak himself with humility, and Allah Ta’ala will honour him in ways he never thought possible. This can be easily gauged from the lives of the Sahaabah, Tabi’een, and the great Ulema and Luminaries of the past and present. With regards to the complete humility of Rasulullah ﷺ, Hadhrat Anas (RA) says,
“Rasulullah ﷺ visited the sick, attended funerals, mounted a donkey and accepted the invitation of slaves. During the Battle of Quraizah, he was mounted on a donkey which had a noseband and a saddle made of palm fibres.” (Tirmidhi no. 1017, Ibn Maajah no. 4178)
It is the habit of kings and rulers to only mount the best of horses. Rasulullah ﷺ did not feel it below his dignity to mount a donkey. Rasulullah ﷺ also never felt it below himself to accept the invitation of those who had a lower status than him, and if they came and took his hand to direct Him somewhere, he would follow them. He would not hurt them or their feelings in any way. May Allah Ta’ala grant us humility in our lives, and a closeness to His creation.
The Justice, Compassion, and Mercy of Rasulullah ﷺ
Allah Ta’ala commands us in the Holy Quraan:
(إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ)
Verily, Allah orders justice and kindness, and giving (help) to the relatives, and He forbids immoral sins, and evil and tyranny. He admonishes you, so that perhaps you may take heed. [16:90]
Allah Ta’ala in the above verse commands with justice and kindness, and forbids us from oppression. Rasulullah ﷺ was a practical example of this too:
Ummul Mu’mineen Aisha (Allah bless her) narrates, “The Quraysh became worried over the Makhzumi woman who committed theft. They spoke among themselves saying, ‘Who will speak to Rasulullah ﷺ about her?’ Someone among them said, ‘Who can have such courage except for Usaamah ibn Zayd, the beloved of Rasulullah ﷺ?’ Usaamah (Allah bless him) therefore went and spoke to him. Rasulullah ﷺ asked, ‘Are you interceding with regard to one of the penal laws of Allaah?’ He then stood up and addressed the people saying: ‘When a noble person from the past nations committed theft, the people left him (and did not punish him). But when a weak person committed theft, they applied the penal law to him. This caused their destruction. I take an oath by Allaah, if Faatimah bint Muhammad steals, I will chop off her hand.” [Bukhaari: 6788; Muslim: 1688]
This was the sublime justice and fairness of Rasulullah ﷺ. He did not favour anyone upon another, thereby robbing the shariah of its rights, or robbing someone of theirs. Rather, Rasulullah ﷺ was fair throughout, even if it was being just to a disbeliever, even then, Rasulullah ﷺ was dealt with justice and fairness. It was not the habit of Rasulullah ﷺ to treat some people lightly just because they were noble, even though they had broken the laws of Allah Ta’ala, and it was not His habit to treat some people in a harsh manner just because they were from a lower class. Rather, our Rasul ﷺ was fair and just with everyone, and this was such a salient quality that in some cases the opponents would even come to Rasulullah ﷺ so that he would settle their matters, just because they knew and had confidence in His fairness.
The Kindness and Compassion of The Prophet ﷺ
While being just, at the same time Rasulullah ﷺ was the epitome of kindness and compassion, and everyone around Rasulullah ﷺ felt loved and cared for.
Abu Hurayrah (Allah bless him) narrates that a Bedouin urinated in the musjid. The people ran towards him in order to beat him. Rasulullah ﷺ said, “Leave him. Pour a bucket of water over his urine. You have most certainly been sent to make things easy and not to make them difficult.” [Bukhaari: 220; Muslim: 285]
Abu Qataadah al-Haarith ibn Rib‘ee (Allah bless him) narrates that Rasulullah ﷺ said, “I stand up to perform salaah and I intend to prolong it. But then I hear the crying of a child and I therefore shorten my salaah, not wanting to cause any anxiety to the child’s mother.” [Bukhaari: 707; Muslim: 470]
Abu Hurayrah (Allah bless him) narrates that a man who had consumed alcohol was brought to Rasulullah ﷺ. He ﷺ said, “Beat him.” Abu Hurayrah (Allah bless him) narrates, “There were among us those who beat him with their hands, those who beat him with their sandals, and those who beat him with their clothes. When the man turned and departed, some people said, ‘May Allaah disgrace you.’ Rasulullah ﷺ said, ‘Do not say that. Do not help Shaytaan against him.” [Bukhaari: 6777]
From the above narrations, we can clearly see that Rasulullah ﷺ had an immense amount of empathy for His companions, and would take into consideration their conditions and what they went through. Rasulullah ﷺ would treat with kindness the man and the woman, the sinner and the worshipper, the believer and the non-believer. Rasulullah ﷺ never felt it beneath himself to treat everyone in a good manner.
Conclusion
Whatever has been mentioned is for us to take lesson, to apply and compare to our lives and see how much of the Sunnah are we following. Not just the Sunnah of salaah, or of wudhu, but following the Sunnah through and through, learning from the perfection that was Rasulullah ﷺ, and making ourselves like him. If we strive to be like Rasulullah ﷺ, then our love for Rasulullah ﷺ will increase.
This striving should also be in learning the Sirah, in emulating Rasulullah ﷺ when it comes to clothes, food, conveyances etc. When a person is truly in love with someone, he seeks to copy them in everything they do, because his love pushes him towards this. The point has to be made, that if we wear western clothing, only consume western food, drown our lives in their culture, then how can we ever expect the love of Rasulullah ﷺ to truly enter our hearts. It won’t. Only through emulation of Rasulullah ﷺ, can this burning fire of love be lit and grown into a huge blaze that consumes us, and then we will be from those with Rasulullah ﷺ, as is mentioned in a Hadeeth: (المرء مع من احب) متفق عليه Rasulullah ﷺ said: A person will be with whom he loves.
Do we not desire to be with Rasulullah ﷺ and all of those that love him?
In conclusion, I would like to add, that it is important for all of us to remember, brothers and sisters, that the first Madressa for the child is the home. The first teacher is the mother. The first role model is the father. If the mother and father lead a life upon the road of Sunnah, the children will see a practical example in them, and following the Sunnah will be easy for the children thereafter. If we want to see change, it has to start with us. May Allah Ta’ala grant us the love of Rasulullah ﷺ, make it a means of us getting closer to Him, May He grant us a life upon the Quran and Sunnah, and a death upon the Quraan and Sunnah. Ameen.
