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- Let us move on now to the exemplary mercy and compassion,
and forgiveness and clemency of our Prophet.
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
We should already expect that someone with his honesty,
and his humility will not hold others to standards
that he himself is not living by.
But since the closest people to him,
like his wife,
A'isha Radiallahu Anha
said his character was the Quran.
And since the Quranic message preaches mercy above all,
then we should expect to see,
that the most pronounced element of his character
was that mercy and compassion, and in fact it was.
The prophet,
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
would often tell the people
that the merciful, meaning among humanity,
are the ones that will experience mercy from Ar-Rahman,
the Most Merciful.
And he would say to them,
be sure to exhibit mercy towards those on earth,
so that the One upon the Heavens,
Our creator, will have mercy on you.
And even when he,
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
was immersed in the greatest devotional act in Islam,
The Salah, the ritual prayer,
he would tell the people,
I had initially intended
on making this prayer longer than it actually was.
But when I heard an infant or a child crying,
I kept the prayer concise.
I kept it brief,
out of consideration for the passions of its mother,
which is also preoccupied.
That mother is also preoccupied
in the prayer behind the Prophet,
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
cannot exit or rush upon her own will.
And so he rushed for her sake
to be able to cool her heart,
from seeing her baby crying that way.
And the Prophet,
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
would even tell those that were appointed as Imams,
Leaders of prayers in their respective Mosques,
in their neighborhood houses of worship.
Pray for as long as you like when you are alone,
but when you are leading others in prayer,
then keep it short.
Keep it brief.
Because behind you are the elderly and the sick,
and those that are consumed by their needs.
They have to get places,
get things done that would cause them harm
or distress or anxiety
if they are not able to get to them
in a reasonable amount of time.
And then if you look at the mercy of the Prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
with children in general.
Just the day-to-day.
It was not just mercy towards his children,
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
that he showed.
Even though all parents love their children,
not all of us show it.
The Prophet of Mercy would always show it,
and explain that this was a mercy from Allah,
in the context of someone who is saying,
why do you kiss your boys?
Meaning how else can we make them tough,
without giving them tough love?
He told the men,
how can I possibly help you,
if Allah has plucked the mercy from your heart.
But they weren't just his kids that he treated that way.
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
Like the case of this hadith.
There are other hadith
about him walking over to the children among the Ansar,
the Medinan children
As Anas RadiAllahu Anhu said
And giving them Salaam, meaning greeting them,
validating their presence and caressing their heads.
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
And he,
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
even stopped to sit with the half-brother of
Anas once, Abu Umair
because he noticed that he was visibly bothered.
He was depressed for a moment.
Why?
He said to him, where is your pet bird?
He noticed his upsettedness
and noticed what was missing from that scene,
The customary pet bird,
Abu Umair
used to keep close, the reason for his sadness.
And he consoled him in that.
SallAllahu Alaihi WaAlihi Wasallam
In fact, the Prophet,
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
even empathized and had mercy and compassion
towards animals in their suffering.
And he would warn his followers
to not over work their camels.
And not overload the riding mounts,
and what they carry on their backs.
And the Prophet,
Alaihis Salatu Wassalaam
said to people,
that a woman will be bound for the hell fire
on the day of judgment because of a cat
that she trapped in her home without feeding it,
nor releasing it to fend for itself and gather its own food.
And he said to us,
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
that there is an opportunity for charity,
Fee Kulli kabadin radb
in every living creature.
And he said,
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
that a person was once forgiven for a lifetime of sins,
because upon stopping at a well to quench their thirst,
they found a dog licking the sand,
looking for some water, parched as they were.
And so they climbed back down into the well,
and filled their shoe with water,
and held it between their teeth
so they can climb back out of the well.
Allah appreciated that mercy,
and so forgave them for all of their misdeeds.
And of course the greatest concern,
and compassion our Prophet,
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
exhibited, was him living every day,
worried and protective and anxious,
that people will continue not being receptive
of the message.
So many of them were refusing their own survival,
refusing their own salvation.
And he wished for them,
and stood at night praying for them,
and chased after them,
and the Quran accounts of this all over,
his sorrow and his grief,
and his concern over the people self-destructing.
Giving themselves off to their doom,
in front of Allah, on the day of judgment.
And that is why you find him ready to disregard anything.
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
Abu-Jahel who killed his followers,
He would pray for his guidance.
Al-Ghawrath ibn Al-Harith
who would lift a sword to his neck and catch him off guard,
He let it go.
And he took the higher road,
and the man ultimately understood
that the character of the Prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
was different.
Hind who ordered for the killing of the Prophet's uncle,
and Wahshi'i who carried it out,
both found security from the retaliation of the Prophet
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
In his hour of undisputed power.
In his condition as the head of state.
And upon experiencing that mercy,
that they would have never otherwise expected,
from any human being,
and understood full well, they didn't deserve,
they would state that the Prophet,
SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
transformed in their eyes,
by those acts of supreme mercy and forgiveness,
to the most beloved person
on the face of the earth to them,
after they had been sworn enemies to him,
until the day they die.
None of this is surprising, though amazing,
because Allah said,
we have not sent you O Muhammad,
except as a mercy to all the worlds,
without exception.
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