Edited by Defending-Islam staff

(original source : http://islam-whatisislam.org/en/show_articles.php?id_a=20&id_i=4&id_c=3)

Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) was kind to every living creature and this kindness knew no limits. He was very kind to men, women, slaves, animals and even to his enemies. Let us explore some aspects of his kindness and mercy.

1 Mercy for Relatives:

Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) was very kind to his relatives and asked his followers to treat their parents and relatives with kindness. Abu Hurairah (Radhia Allahu Anhu) reported that a man asked Allah’s Messenger, “Who is most deserving of friendly care from me?” He replied, “Your mother.” He asked who came next and Prophet Muhammad {pbuh} replied, “Your mother.” He asked who came next and he (Prophet) replied, “Your mother.” He again asked who came next and he (Prophet) replied, “Your father.” And last of all, he replied, “Your nearest relatives.”

Anas reported Allah’s Messenger as saying, “By Him in Whose Hands is my soul, a man does not believe until he wishes for his brother what he does for himself.” Abu Hurairah (Radhia Allahu Anhu) reported Allah’s Messenger as saying, “By Allah he does not believe” and he repeated it thrice. When asked to whom he was referring, he replied, “The one from who his neighbor is not safe”. Abdullah Ibn Amr reported Allah’s Messenger as saying, “The best companion in Allah’s sight is the one who is best to his companion, and the best neighbor in Allah’s sight is the one who is best to his neighbor.” This is one of the principles put forward by Islam as a foundation for the whole structure of human relationships. Allah (SWT) says, “That your parents with great consideration. If either or both of them live with you in their old age, do not say a word of contempt to them, nor rebuke them, but speak kind words to them; treat them with humility and tenderness and pray: ‘Lord be, merciful to them jut as they brought me up with kindness and affection.’” (Qur’an 17: 23-24)

The essence of Islam is to serve Allah and be kind and good to one’s fellow creatures. The same commandment was given to nations of previous time: “Remember that We made a solemn covenant with the Children of Israel to this effect: Worship none but Allah; be good to your parents, to your relatives, to orphans and to the helpless; and speak fair to the people.” (Qur’an 2: 83)

2 Mercy for Women:

Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) was also very kind and affectionate towards women. Women were very badly treated in those times. The Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) gave them honor and dignity at par with men in the community. Omar (Radhia Allahu Anhu) reported, “We did not have much regard for women, while we were at Makkah, but they were better treated in Madinah. Allah’s Messenger established women’s rights through his sayings and commandments, which improved their position and status.”

Men enjoyed the privilege of the company of Allah’s Messenger most of the time while women did not get any time to listen to him or enquire about their problems. Therefore women requested him to allocate one day for them for this purpose. The Prophet (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) accepted their request and fixed a day for them. As women are usually of a tender and weak nature, he took special care of them and always treated them with kindness. As a result, women felt free to enquire about their problems without any fear and hesitation.

Once many women relatives of Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) were sitting around him and talking loudly to him. When Omar (Radhia Allahu Anhu) came they all left, at which the Prophet {pbuh} laughed. Omar (Radhia Allahu Anhu) said. “O Allah’s Messenger, may Allah keep you smiling. Why did you laugh?” The Prophet {pbuh} remarked that he was amazed at the behavior of those women, who, on hearing Omar (Radhia Allahu Anhu)’s voice, had all hidden themselves from him. Omar (Radhia Allahu Anhu), addressing them, said, “You fear me but do not fear Allah’s Messenger.” They all said, “You are a hot-tempered person in comparison to Allah’s Messenger!”

As a result of Prophet Muhammad’s exemplary temperament and kind treatment, women used to ask him questions and the companions were often surprised at their boldness, but he never showed any kind of aversion or displeasure towards them. It is reported by many companions, including Abu Saeed, Aisha, Anas, Ibn Abbas and Jabir (Radhia Allahu Anhu), that Allah’s messenger said, “Whoever has two or three daughters or sisters and treats them well will go to Paradise.”

3 Mercy for Orphans:

Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) was kind to all people and asked his followers to be the same. He was especially kind to orphans and asked his companions to be kind to them. Thauban reported Allah’s messenger as saying, “Only supplication averts the decree (of fate), only kindness prolongs life, and a man is deprived of provision for a fault he has committed.”

Abu Hurairah (Radhia Allahu Anhu) reported Allah’s Messsenger as saying, “The best house among the Muslims is one where an orphan is well treated, and the worst house among the Muslims is one where an orphan is badly treated.”

4 Mercy for Slaves:

The Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) was particularly kind to slaves. He used to say, “They are your brothers; give them to eat what you eat, and give them to wear what you wear.” Whenever he received any slaves, he always gave them freedom but they could never free themselves from his kindness and generosity. They left their parents, relatives and families and regarded it as an honor to live in bondage to him!

Zaid Ibn Haritha (Radhia Allahu Anhu) was a slave. Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) freed him and gave him the choice to go with his father, who had come to take him, but he refused to go with his father and preferred to stay with the Prophet. Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) loved Osama, son of Zaid, so much that he used to say that if he had been a girl, he would have adorned him with ornaments. Once Abu Mas’ud Ansari (Radhia Allahu Anhu) was beating his slave when he heard a voice behind him say, “Abu Mas’ud! Allah has more power and control over you than you have over this slave.” Abu Mas’ud turned and saw that it was Allah’s Messenger! Then he said, ‘I free this slave for the pleasure of Allah.’ Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) replied, “If you had not done so, the fire of Hell would have touched you.”

People in those days arranged the marriages of slaves but forcibly separated them whenever they wished. One man arranged the marriage of his slave to his slave-girl and then wanted to separate them. The slave complained to Allah’s Messenger, who stood up in the Mosque and addressed the people, “Why do people marry slaves and then separate them? The right of marriage and divorce belongs only to the husband and wife.” The effect of this kindness was that many slaves of polytheists used to run away and come to him. He used to grant them freedom. When the spoils of war were distributed, slaves were given their due share. The newly freed slaves received their shares first for they did not have any property.

5 Mercy for Animals:

Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) was kind to every living creature and this kindness knew no limits. He was very kind to animals as well. Arabs, like all ignorant and illiterate people, were very unkind to their animals. It was very common in Arabia to put a collar round the neck of a camel, but this practice was stopped on the Prophet’s orders. People used to cut pieces of flesh from living animals and cook and eat them. This common practice was forbidden.

It was also forbidden to shear their hair or tails. Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said that the tail was the brush and fan of these animals and hair was their quilt. He also forbade people to keep animals tied to their working equipment for a long time and said, “Don’t make the backs of animals your chairs.” Animal fights were also made unlawful. Another custom was to tie up an animal and practice arrow shooting on it. This was also prohibited.

Once Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) saw a donkey on the road with a brand on its face, and said, “Allah’s curse is on him who branded it.” As people had to brand their camels and sheep in order to identify them, they were told to brand them on parts which were not so tender. Anas (Radhia Allahu Anhu) reported that he went into a herd of sheep and saw Allah’s Messenger branding them on the ears. Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) was so kind and gentle that he advised his companions to be nice and considerate even while slaughtering animals for food. He asked them to slaughter them with the sharpest weapon, thus causing the minimum pain and suffering to the animal.

He also forbade them to sharpen the weapon in front of the animal or when the animal was ready for slaughter, but told them to do these preliminaries before the animal was brought for slaughter. Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) taught people by word and deed to be kind and polite to everyone. Abu Hurairah (Radhia Allahu Anhu) reported the Prophet as saying, “A believer is friendly (and kind).” Aisha (Radhia Allahu Anhu) reported Allah’s Messenger as saying, “Allah is gentle and likes gentleness. He gives for gentleness what He does not give for harshness and what he does not give for any thing else.”

6 Mercy for Enemies and Unbelievers:

Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) treated everybody, friend or foe, with kindness and taught his companions to do likewise. It is reported by Abu Basra Ghifari that when he was a non-believer he came to Madinah and stayed as a guest of the Messenger of Allah. He drank milk from all his goats at night but the Prophet did not say a word. That night he and all his family slept hungry! The problem of hypocrites in Madinah was a great test for the Prophet and his companions, but he always treated them kindly and with great consideration. Abdullah Ibn Ubayy and his followers embraced Islam, but at heart they were unbelievers and never really accepted Islam.

Their behavior at the time of the Battle of Uhud and on many other occasions was damaging to the cause of Islam, but Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) always treated them with kindness. When Abdulllah Ibn Ubayy died, Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) gave his cloak for his shroud! Jews were extremely hostile to Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) and his mission, but he was always kind to them. Once he went to the house of a Jew to visit his sick son. He invited the boy to Islam but the boy looked towards his father for his permission. His father gave permission and the boy embraced Islam. Once when the funeral of a Jew was passing, the Prophet stood up as a mark of respect for the dead. Once a Jew complained to him that a Muslim had slapped him. He called that Muslim at once and reprimanded him. In fact, he treated all people with kindness under all circumstances and never showed any ill-will towards anyone or ill-treated anyone. Makhul (Radhia Allahu Anhu) reported Allah’s Messenger as saying, “The believers are gentle and kind like a pliant camel which, when guided lets itself be guided and when made to sit, even on stones, does so.” Mu’adh (Radhia Allahu Anhu) said, “The last injunction Allah’s Messenger gave him when he put his foot in the stirrup was. “Treat people well, O Mu’adh.”

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