Amongst the multiple excellent manners of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, are clemency, forbearance, patience and forgiveness when it was expected that he might punish, and his patience during times of hardship.Clemency is the condition of dignity and constancy during provocation.Forbearance means being able to restrain oneself and enduring pain and injury.Patience has a similar meaning. Forgiving means declining to hold something against his violation.
Allah says, "Accept the easing, order with fine jurisprudence, and avoid the ignorant." 7:199.
When this verse was revealed to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, he asked the Archangel Gabriel to expanded upon its meaning. Gabriel replied, "Wait until I ask the One who knows." Upon his return he said,
"O Muhammad, Allah orders you to bond yourself with those who sever themselves from you and to give to those who refuse to give to you, and pardon those who are unjust to you."
Allah also conveyed to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, the saying of Lokman to his son,
"And bear patiently with whatever may fall upon you, indeed that is true constancy." 32:17.
And, "Let them pardon and forgive." 24:22.
Also, he who bears patiently and forgives – indeed that is true constancy." 42:43.
Even the most clement amongst mankind has been known to lapse at one time or another. However, our Prophet, praise and peace be upon im, was not subject to lapse, in fact it was the reverse, his forbearance in times of adversity,even when intense, became more distinct, and when those who opposed him tried their best to harm him in one way or another it only served to increase his forbearance.
Lady Ayesha, wife of the Prophet, Mother of Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "Whenever the Messenger of Allah was given an option between two matters he always chose the easier of the two as long as it was not sinful. If it was sinful then he was the furthest of people from it. For himself he never took revenge, but if the honor of Allah had been violated he would take revenge for His sake."
During the Battle of Uhud the Prophet's tooth was broken and he sustained an injury to his face. It was almost unbearable for the Companions to see him in such condition and they said,
"If only you would supplicate for a curse against them!" But the reply of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, was,
"I have not been sent to curse, rather I was sent as an inviter (to Allah) and as a mercy.O Allah guide my nation because they do not know." Upon seeing the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, bleeding, Omar said,
"May my father and mother be your ransom! O Messenger of Allah, Noah supplicated against his nation when he said,
"My Lord, do not leave a single unbeliever upon the earth." 71:26.
If you had supplicated such a curse against us we would all have been destroyed. Your back has been trodden on, your face blooded, your tooth broken, yet you refuse to say anything except good. You said,
'O Allah guide my nation because they do not know.'"
Dear reader, observe the perfection of his graciousness, the virtuous rank (the internal and external perfection), the excellence of his character, his generosity, absolute patience and forbearance in his saying. Our Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, did not remain silent regarding them, instead he pardoned, showed compassion and mercy towards them, then interceded for them with a supplication. He said, 'guide' then apologized for their ignorance with the words, 'indeed, they do not know.'
On another occasion a man accused the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, with unfairness and said,
"Be fair, this is a division by which the Face of Allah is not desired!"
It was indeed a provoking statement but the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, just drew his attention in a polite manner by admonishing him and reminding him, by saying,
"Who will be fair if I am not fair? Indeed, I would fail and be lost if I did not act fairly."
One of the Companions was outraged by the man's accusation and was about to strike him, but the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, intervened and stopped him. Ghawrath, Harith's son and others were discussing a raid on Dhatur Rika where they planned to assassinate the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him. When they came across him they found him sitting under a tree. He did not prevent them from drawing near and as Ghawrath stood over him with a drawn sword in his hand he said,
"Who will protect you from me!" The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, replied, "Allah" whereupon the sword fell from his hand and the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, took hold of it and said,
"Who will protect you from me?" Ghawrath replied, "Punish me in the best manner" whereupon the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, arose and left him. When Ghawrath returned to his tribe he exclaimed,
"I have come to you from the best of people!"
After the victory at Khybar, a Jewess poisoned the meat she had prepared for the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him. The meat spoke to him telling him that it had been poisoned and the woman confessed. Rather than punishing her he pardoned her.
Another Jew proficient in the art of magic named of Labid Al Azam was approached by a fellow Jew to concoct a spell of deadly proportion to kill the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him. However, the angels informed him of his action and the cure was revealed to him. When he regained his strength, the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, neither reprimanded nor punished Labid.
Abdullah, Ubayy's son was amongst the hypocrites of Medina and despite the seriousness of his and their actions, coupled with the detrimental things they said against the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, he took no action against them even when an outraged Companion suggested that one of their number should be put to death, he turned to him and said,
"No, do not let it be said that Muhammad kills his companions."
Anas recalled an incident as he traveled with the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, was wearing a thick cloak when a Bedouin rode up to him and pulled his cloak so violently that it left a mark on the side of his neck. The Bedouin demanded,
"Muhammad, let me load my two camels with the property of Allah you have in your possession. You will not let me load up with either your property or your fathers!"
The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, remained silent for a while then said,
"This is the property of Allah and I am His worshiper." He continued, "Shall I retaliate for your actions Bedouin?" The Bedouin replied, "No." Whereupon the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, asked "Why not?" The Bedouin replied,
"Because you do not repay a bad action with a bad action!" The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, laughed and ordered one camel to be loaded with barley and the other with dates.
Lady Ayesha, said, "I never saw the Messenger of Allah take revenge for an injustice inflicted upon him as long as it was not one of the orders of Allah which must be complied with. His hand never struck anyone unless it was during the course of a Holy War in the Name of Allah, and he never hit a servant or a woman."
There was the time when a man was brought before the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and he was informed,
"This man wanted to kill you!" The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, replied, 'Do not fear, do not fear! Even though you wanted to do that, you would not have been given the power over me."
Before the conversion of Zaid, Sana's son, who was a Jew, Zaid went to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and demanded the repayment of a debt.As he did he tugged at the Prophet's robe and pulled it from his shoulder, then seized him and proceeded to behave in an uncouth manner saying,
"Children of Abdul Mutalib you are delaying!" Omar got up and chased him away and in doing so spoke harshly to him. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, smiled and said,
"Omar, both he and I need something from you. Order me to repay well and order him to ask for his debt well."
Then he said, "I still owe him three." Dutifully, Omar ordered that Zaid be repaid and added to it twenty more on account of frightening him. Zaid converted to Islam saying,
"Amongst the signs of his Prophethood were two that I had yet to see in him, they were forgiveness when he encountered quick-temperedness and extreme ignorance and this only increased him in clemency. I tested him in both and found both in him as he is described in the Torah."
There are numerous Prophetic sayings that portray his forbearance, and these are but a sampling. If you wish to learn more about these noble virtues you will find them in authentic references of the prophetic sayings together with multiple chains of transmitters. All narrate how he patiently handled the harshness, hardships and injury meted out to him during the era known as the
"Time of Ignorance"
by the Koraysh and thereafter Allah gave him power over them by causing him to be victorious. The Koraysh persisted even though they realized they were subject to being overcome and their hierarchy put to death.However the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, continuously pardoned and overlooked their actions and asked them,
"What do you say I have done to you?" Their reply was, "Good, a generous brother and a generous nephew."
Whereupon he replied with Prophet Joseph's saying to his erring brothers, "'Let no reproach be on you this day.' Go you are free."
Anas tells us "At the Dawn Prayer eight men from Tanim came intent on killing the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him. They were seized but the Messenger of Allah set them free. Allah sent down the verse
"It was He who restrained their hands from you…" 48:24.
Abu Sufyan and his companions were responsible for the martyring of the Prophet's uncle and many of his Companions. Despite the great loss and hurt, the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, forgave him and treated him gently saying,
"Isn't it about time you knew that there is no god except Allah?" Abu Sufyan replied, "May my father and mother be your ransom! How forbearing and generous you are in maintaining the ties of kinship!"
It is a fact that he was the slowest of all people to anger and the easiest to please.
Allah says, "Accept the easing, order with fine jurisprudence, and avoid the ignorant." 7:199.
When this verse was revealed to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, he asked the Archangel Gabriel to expanded upon its meaning. Gabriel replied, "Wait until I ask the One who knows." Upon his return he said,
"O Muhammad, Allah orders you to bond yourself with those who sever themselves from you and to give to those who refuse to give to you, and pardon those who are unjust to you."
Allah also conveyed to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, the saying of Lokman to his son,
"And bear patiently with whatever may fall upon you, indeed that is true constancy." 32:17.
And, "Let them pardon and forgive." 24:22.
Also, he who bears patiently and forgives – indeed that is true constancy." 42:43.
Even the most clement amongst mankind has been known to lapse at one time or another. However, our Prophet, praise and peace be upon im, was not subject to lapse, in fact it was the reverse, his forbearance in times of adversity,even when intense, became more distinct, and when those who opposed him tried their best to harm him in one way or another it only served to increase his forbearance.
Lady Ayesha, wife of the Prophet, Mother of Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "Whenever the Messenger of Allah was given an option between two matters he always chose the easier of the two as long as it was not sinful. If it was sinful then he was the furthest of people from it. For himself he never took revenge, but if the honor of Allah had been violated he would take revenge for His sake."
During the Battle of Uhud the Prophet's tooth was broken and he sustained an injury to his face. It was almost unbearable for the Companions to see him in such condition and they said,
"If only you would supplicate for a curse against them!" But the reply of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, was,
"I have not been sent to curse, rather I was sent as an inviter (to Allah) and as a mercy.O Allah guide my nation because they do not know." Upon seeing the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, bleeding, Omar said,
"May my father and mother be your ransom! O Messenger of Allah, Noah supplicated against his nation when he said,
"My Lord, do not leave a single unbeliever upon the earth." 71:26.
If you had supplicated such a curse against us we would all have been destroyed. Your back has been trodden on, your face blooded, your tooth broken, yet you refuse to say anything except good. You said,
'O Allah guide my nation because they do not know.'"
Dear reader, observe the perfection of his graciousness, the virtuous rank (the internal and external perfection), the excellence of his character, his generosity, absolute patience and forbearance in his saying. Our Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, did not remain silent regarding them, instead he pardoned, showed compassion and mercy towards them, then interceded for them with a supplication. He said, 'guide' then apologized for their ignorance with the words, 'indeed, they do not know.'
On another occasion a man accused the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, with unfairness and said,
"Be fair, this is a division by which the Face of Allah is not desired!"
It was indeed a provoking statement but the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, just drew his attention in a polite manner by admonishing him and reminding him, by saying,
"Who will be fair if I am not fair? Indeed, I would fail and be lost if I did not act fairly."
One of the Companions was outraged by the man's accusation and was about to strike him, but the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, intervened and stopped him. Ghawrath, Harith's son and others were discussing a raid on Dhatur Rika where they planned to assassinate the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him. When they came across him they found him sitting under a tree. He did not prevent them from drawing near and as Ghawrath stood over him with a drawn sword in his hand he said,
"Who will protect you from me!" The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, replied, "Allah" whereupon the sword fell from his hand and the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, took hold of it and said,
"Who will protect you from me?" Ghawrath replied, "Punish me in the best manner" whereupon the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, arose and left him. When Ghawrath returned to his tribe he exclaimed,
"I have come to you from the best of people!"
After the victory at Khybar, a Jewess poisoned the meat she had prepared for the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him. The meat spoke to him telling him that it had been poisoned and the woman confessed. Rather than punishing her he pardoned her.
Another Jew proficient in the art of magic named of Labid Al Azam was approached by a fellow Jew to concoct a spell of deadly proportion to kill the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him. However, the angels informed him of his action and the cure was revealed to him. When he regained his strength, the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, neither reprimanded nor punished Labid.
Abdullah, Ubayy's son was amongst the hypocrites of Medina and despite the seriousness of his and their actions, coupled with the detrimental things they said against the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, he took no action against them even when an outraged Companion suggested that one of their number should be put to death, he turned to him and said,
"No, do not let it be said that Muhammad kills his companions."
Anas recalled an incident as he traveled with the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, was wearing a thick cloak when a Bedouin rode up to him and pulled his cloak so violently that it left a mark on the side of his neck. The Bedouin demanded,
"Muhammad, let me load my two camels with the property of Allah you have in your possession. You will not let me load up with either your property or your fathers!"
The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, remained silent for a while then said,
"This is the property of Allah and I am His worshiper." He continued, "Shall I retaliate for your actions Bedouin?" The Bedouin replied, "No." Whereupon the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, asked "Why not?" The Bedouin replied,
"Because you do not repay a bad action with a bad action!" The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, laughed and ordered one camel to be loaded with barley and the other with dates.
Lady Ayesha, said, "I never saw the Messenger of Allah take revenge for an injustice inflicted upon him as long as it was not one of the orders of Allah which must be complied with. His hand never struck anyone unless it was during the course of a Holy War in the Name of Allah, and he never hit a servant or a woman."
There was the time when a man was brought before the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and he was informed,
"This man wanted to kill you!" The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, replied, 'Do not fear, do not fear! Even though you wanted to do that, you would not have been given the power over me."
Before the conversion of Zaid, Sana's son, who was a Jew, Zaid went to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and demanded the repayment of a debt.As he did he tugged at the Prophet's robe and pulled it from his shoulder, then seized him and proceeded to behave in an uncouth manner saying,
"Children of Abdul Mutalib you are delaying!" Omar got up and chased him away and in doing so spoke harshly to him. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, smiled and said,
"Omar, both he and I need something from you. Order me to repay well and order him to ask for his debt well."
Then he said, "I still owe him three." Dutifully, Omar ordered that Zaid be repaid and added to it twenty more on account of frightening him. Zaid converted to Islam saying,
"Amongst the signs of his Prophethood were two that I had yet to see in him, they were forgiveness when he encountered quick-temperedness and extreme ignorance and this only increased him in clemency. I tested him in both and found both in him as he is described in the Torah."
There are numerous Prophetic sayings that portray his forbearance, and these are but a sampling. If you wish to learn more about these noble virtues you will find them in authentic references of the prophetic sayings together with multiple chains of transmitters. All narrate how he patiently handled the harshness, hardships and injury meted out to him during the era known as the
"Time of Ignorance"
by the Koraysh and thereafter Allah gave him power over them by causing him to be victorious. The Koraysh persisted even though they realized they were subject to being overcome and their hierarchy put to death.However the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, continuously pardoned and overlooked their actions and asked them,
"What do you say I have done to you?" Their reply was, "Good, a generous brother and a generous nephew."
Whereupon he replied with Prophet Joseph's saying to his erring brothers, "'Let no reproach be on you this day.' Go you are free."
Anas tells us "At the Dawn Prayer eight men from Tanim came intent on killing the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him. They were seized but the Messenger of Allah set them free. Allah sent down the verse
"It was He who restrained their hands from you…" 48:24.
Abu Sufyan and his companions were responsible for the martyring of the Prophet's uncle and many of his Companions. Despite the great loss and hurt, the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, forgave him and treated him gently saying,
"Isn't it about time you knew that there is no god except Allah?" Abu Sufyan replied, "May my father and mother be your ransom! How forbearing and generous you are in maintaining the ties of kinship!"
It is a fact that he was the slowest of all people to anger and the easiest to please.
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