THE KINDNESS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH)

THE KINDNESS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH)

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught love, kindness and compassion to his people, and was seen to be the most loving, kind, and compassionate of all of them. The Quran mentions his kind and gentle behavior in these words: 

“O Messenger of Allah! It is a great Mercy of God that you are gentle and kind towards them; for, had you been harsh and hard-hearted, they would all have broken away from you” (Quran 3:159).

There are many instances that show his kindness and gentleness, especially to the weak and the poor. Anas, who was his helper, said: 

“I served Allah’s Messenger for ten years and he never said to me, ‘Shame’ or ‘Why did you do such-and-such a thing?’ or ‘Why did you not do such-and-such a thing?’” (Bukhari, 2038).

Once the Holy Prophet ﷺ said to his wife: “0 ‘A’ishah! Never turn away any needy man from your door empty-handed. 0 ‘A’ishah! Love the poor; bring them near to you and God will bring you near to Him on the Day of Resurrection”. He ﷺ also went much further on to say: 

“Seek me among your weak ones, for you are given provision, or you are given help only by reason of the presence of your weak ones”. 

(Rahman, Encyclopedia of Seerah, VOL. VIII, p. 151) Allah Almighty is Kind, and the Prophet ﷺ imitated Allah’s example in its perfection by showing kindness to his servants and all creatures without any regard for their beliefs, color or nationality. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah is kind and likes kindness in all things” (Bukhari, 6601).

His heart ached within him at the corrupt state of his fellow-Meccans and their rejection of One God. The Holy Quran testifies to it in these words: 

“0 Muhammad, you will, perhaps, consume yourself with grief because the people do not believe” (Quran 26:3). In Surah Kahf, we read: 

“Then perhaps you would kill yourself through grief over them, [O Muhammad], if they do not believe in this message, [and] out of sorrow.” (Quran 18:6). And Surah Fatir says:

 “So let not your life be consumed in grief for their sake.” (Quran 35:8).

The Holy Prophet ﷺ took a great interest in the welfare of all people and had great compassion for people in trouble. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ imitated the attributes of Allah par excellence and translated them into practice in the highest form possible for man. Kindness is an attribute of Allah, which has no limits. 

It is extensive and encompasses all things and all beings without discrimination. Likewise was the kindness of the Prophetﷺ. Heﷺextended it to all beings, both animate and inanimate and benefited all without measure. The Quranic words for the Prophet’sﷺkindness, Ra’ufun Rahim (Quran 9:128) are very intensive and comprehensive in meaning and convey the true nature and extent of the Prophet’s kindness to people. The Prophet ﷺ said: 

“One of the finest acts of kindness is for a man to treat his fathers’ friends in a kindly way after he has departed” (Abu dawud, 5123)

The issue of treating friends well was also extended to include relations: 

“He who wishes to have his provision enlarged and his term of life prolonged should treat his relatives well” (Bukhari, 5985). 

He emphasized on this matter because he deeply held the view that

 “Only kindness prolongs life, and a person is deprived of provisions for the faults he commits” (Ibn Majah). Bahz b. 

Hakim, on his father’s authority, said that his grandfather told him that he had asked Allah’s Messengerﷺto whom he should show kindness and that the Prophetﷺhad replied: 

“Your mother.” He asked who came next and he replied: 

“Your mother.” He asked who came next and he replied for the third time: 

“Your mother.” He again asked who came next and heﷺreplied:

 “Your father, then your relatives in order of relationship” (Abu Dawud, 5120). 

He dwelled on the issue of treating orphans humanely as he stated that 

“The best house among the Muslims is one which contains an orphan who is well treated, and the worst house among the Muslims is one which contains an orphan who is badly treated” (Ibn Majah, 3679). 

This means that the Prophetﷺcautioned his followers against general maltreatment of anyone regardless of his status. By extending good treatment from friends to relatives and now to neighbors, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was intent in making all humans interdependent as he emphasized in the following words: 

“All creatures are Allah’s dependents  and those dearest to Allah are the ones who treat His dependents kindly” (Rahman, VOL VIII, p. 154). He ﷺ emphasized the kind treatment of women again and again in his speeches:

Treat women kindly, since they are your helpers; . . . you have your rights upon your wives and they have their rights upon you. Your right is that they shall not allow anyone you dislike to enter your bed or your home, and their right is that you should treat them well. (from the Farewell Sermon of the Prophet)

Once a number of women complained to the Prophet’s wives about their ill-treatment by their husbands. On hearing of this, the Prophet ﷺ said:

 “Such persons among you are not good persons.” (Abu Dawud, 1834). This condemnation by the Prophet himself was an indication that no one will be accepted before God who, while on earth, decided to be unkind to women. Another person said to the Prophetﷺ: “0 Messenger of Allah! My relatives are such that although I cooperate with them, they cut me off; I am kind to them but they ill treat me.” The Prophet ﷺ said this in reply:

 “So long as you continue as you are, God will always help you and He will protect you against their mischief” (Muslim, 4640). 

This was not only a way of bringing comfort to the mind of the worried person but one of the communicative techniques of the Prophetﷺto assure who ever found himself in that situation to look up to Allah to be consoled and protected. So it was pointless to preach vengeance to this kind of people suffering from this similar fate. Indeed, Prophet Muhammadﷺwas nothing short of a competent counselor.

He ﷺ was always counseling people to be goodhearted regardless of their sex, age or gender. Once Asma bint Abu Bakr’s mother, who was still an unbeliever, came to see her in Madinah. She told this to the Prophet ﷺ and said:

 “My mother has come to see me and she is expecting something from me. May I oblige her?” The Prophet ﷺ said: “Yes, be kind to your mother” (Muslim, 2195). 

This attitude of the Prophet was equally extended to Zainab as-Saqafia, the wife of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud and an Ansari woman. She went to see the Prophet ﷺ and to inquire whether it would be a charity if they spent something on their husbands and on the orphans under their care. The Prophet ﷺ said: 

“They will get a two-fold reward, one for kindness towards their relatives and the other for charity” (Bukhari, 1466).

There are many Ahadith concerning his kindness to animals, birds and insects: 

“Allah prescribed kindness towards everything; so when you slaughter any animal, slaughter it well; when you sacrifice, make your sacrifice good. And let everyone sharpen his weapon and make it easy for his sacrificed animal” (Muslim, 5055). He ﷺ made this kind of statement to demonstrate his love for both humans and animals. In essence, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was equally showing his followers that he too is feels pain.

Brief History of Kindness of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is the last prophet of Almighty Allah and Quran the last sacred Holy book also revealed to him.  We can learn a lot from the history of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).Prophet Muhammad (SAW) lived his life according to Quran as Allah mentioned in Quran. He (SAW) did practically what Allah Almighty mentioned in Quran so that all mankind can follow and take guidance from him we can learn about these things from the history of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). His character was respected by all we have so many examples of the kindness of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). People throughout Medina including Jews gave him the title of “The Trustworthy.”

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is the finest example of a perfect man in all aspects of life for everyone. The Almighty Allah distinguished him from all and varied by inspired in his divine personality and exceptional qualities such as modesty, truthfulness, kindness, patience, loyalty, honesty, courage, bravery, generosity, wisdom and the like. Allah the most Glorious direct upon us to take the Prophet (SAW) behavior as an example, because he guides us to virtue and righteousness and we should follow his Sunnah and we can learn these things from the history of Prophet Muhammad (SAW):

“Certainly you have in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar for him who hopes in Allah and the latter day and remembers Allah much.” (Quran 33:21)

He (SAW) was very kind and generous to all mankind. In this article we will discuss some of his qualities which every Muslim should know and spread as much as possible:

A Man of Ultimate Consideration:

 Before the birth of Prophet (SAW) his father has died and when he (SAW) was very young his mother also passed away. His grandfather took the responsibility of his upbringing but he also died and then Prophet Muhammad (SAW) sent to his uncle Abu Talib for upbringing. Abu Talib was very poor so Prophet Muhammad (SAW) decided to work with his uncle when he was only 13 because he never wanted to be a burden on the shoulder of his uncle. At an age where many young men are only thinking about themselves, the Prophet (SAW) was already catching every opportunity to make the lives of others easier. He (SAW) was truly a man of consideration, asking for nothing in return even in the early life of Muhammad (SAW).

A Man of Mercy: 

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was a man who cared for the weak, supported women and stood for everyone who was in need we can say that He (SAW) was a man who embraces mercy. He (SAW) is the man of mercy to all mankind.Hazrat Abu Huraira said: the Prophet (PBUH) was asked to curse the infidels. He said, “I have not been sent to curse people but as a mercy to all mankind.” (Muslim).From this hadith, we can conclude that he was very kind-hearted and generous to all mankind. The Prophet’s (SAW) mercy was vast and inclusive. He spread it far and wide to the point that even animals could find refuge in his kindness.

A Man of Forgiveness: 

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was very forgiving even he did not say anything bad to his enemies but always forgave them. It has been narrated by Hazrat Anas bin Malik that eighty persons from the inhabitants of Makah fell down upon Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) from the mountain of Tan’im. They were armed and wanted to attack the Holy Prophet (SAW) and his Companions unawares. He (SAW) captured them but spared their lives. So, Allah Almighty revealed the verse: 

“And it is He Who restrained your hands from them and their hands from you in the valley of Makkah after He had given you a victory over them.”(Quran 48:24) [Muslim]. 

From his forgiving habit, we can also learn and can forgive others in this way our society could become a place of peace where we can live happily and peacefully with other people.

A Man of Kindness and Generosity: 

The Messenger of Allah Almighty set lots of social examples of kindness and generosity with his companions. There are many narrations which give a glimpse of his firm connection with the society in which he lived: Anas bin Malik, who used to frequent the Prophet’s (SAW) assembly, says that whenever the Prophet (SAW) missed any one of his companions for a period of three days, he used to inquire about that person, would pray for him and if he happened to be ill, would pay him a visit.Once a man came to the Messenger of Allah but on entering his presence, started shivering with fear. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) seeing the visitor terribly shaken and nervous, smiled and comforted him with the utmost tenderness, saying: 

“Be at ease. I am no king but the son of a Quraishite woman who used to eat dried meat.”

 Such supreme examples of kindness and generosity helped to build a strong and coherent society and spread love and affection among the believers.

A Man of Peace Lover: 

As we all know Islam is the religion of peace and our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) also proved it.  He wanted people to live in harmony and peace and encouraged them to resolve their issues and differences with peace. In one of his Hadith Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said that: “Let us go to resolve the situation and make peace between them.” (Bukhari). Being a Muslim it’s our duty to spread peace as Prophet (SAW) gave examples out of the actions He undertook to ensure peace.

A Man of Cooperation: 

Prophet (SAW) is the highest in all mankind and a role model for all of us. He (SAW) beside his qualities of kindness and a generosity was very cooperative towards all people and helps others in all matters of their life in which he could. He never treated himself as special rather always cooperative with other people. There is one narration related to his kindness and cooperative behavior:

 “I saw the Messenger of Allah on the Day of the Trench carrying dirt (that was dug from the trench) until His chest was covered with dirt.”(Bukhari). 

We can say that a Muslim must also not value status or rank, be helping towards people and give his or her fair share in the efforts that all of the people are putting just like Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

These are some qualities of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) kindness behavior, there are a lot more than these which we should read about and implement in our daily life routine. By implementing these qualities we can follow His (SAW) Sunnah.