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The Role of Morality in the Holy Prophet's (p.b.u.h.) Practical Life

The Role of Morality in the Holy Prophet’s (p.b.u.h.) Practical Life

  Three factors have been considered as the basic reasons for the advance of Islam:
1. The Holy Prophet’s conduct (p.b.u.h.). This element is considered as one of the important features of the advance of Islam. The Holy Prophet’s decent conduct and appealing and charming speeches were such that even his enemies could not deny them and respected them.
2. Imam ‘Ali’s endeavours [in defence of Islam]
3. Khadijah’s wealth.
However, in this article, we will deal with the first element in particular.


The Holy Qur'an refers to the role of the Holy Prophet’s conduct (p.b.u.h.) in regard to the advance of Islam and attracting the hearts. It thus states:


فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لاَنفَضُّواْ مِنْ حَوْلِكَ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الأَمْرِ 

“It is by Allah’s mercy that you are gentle to them; and had you been harsh and hardhearted, surely they would have scattered from around you. So excuse them, and plead for forgiveness for them, and consult them in the affairs.”
Based on this verse it is understood that: 1. Leniency and decent conduct is a divine gift, and those who are not lenient, are deprived of this gift.
2. Cruel and strict people can neither attract the folks nor human resources.
3. Right leadership and management are accompanied with attraction and leniency.
4. Those defeated in the battles and regretful sinners should be helped and attracted (taking into account that the occasion for the revelation of the mentioned verse relates to those Muslims who escaped in the Battle of Uhud).
5. Consultation with people is among the decent characteristics which induces unity and consolidation. 
In addition to respecting moral values, the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) himself, in his own practical life, was the embodiment of moral virtues and excellent human values. In all aspects of his life, he would face the adversities with a cheerful face and a good speech.
For example, it has been mentioned in the history that: In the ninth year after the hijrah, when a rebellious tribe was defeated in a heroic attack by the army of Islam, ‘Uday ibn Hatam’, who was one of the heads of this tribe, escaped to Syria, but his sister, named Safanah, was captured by the army of Islam.
Safanah was brought along with the rest of the prisoners to Medina, and was placed in a house near the mosque. One day, the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) paid a visit to the prisoners. Safanah took the opportunity and said:


يا محمد إن رايت أن تخلي عني، و لا‏ تشمت بي احياء العرب؛ فأني إبنة سيد قومي. كان ابي يفك العاني، و يحمي الذمار و يقري الضعيف و الجائع و يكسي المعدوم و يفرّج عن المكروب

 

  
“O Muhammad! My father (Hatam) passed away, and my guardian has gone and escaped, if possible, set me free, and let me get rid of the Arab tribes’ blames and criticisms. Verily my father, Hatam, would set the slaves free, take care of the neighbors, feed the people, and apparently greet people, and assist people in catastrophes.”
The Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.), who considerably respected the moral values, said to Safanah:
Then the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) ordered the people in charge: 


«خلوا عنها فان اباها كان يحب مكارم الاخلاق»


“Set her free, for her father would abide by the noble traits.”
Then, the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) provided her with new clothes and money to move toward Syria, and sent her to her brother, accompanied with some trustable people.
Samples of the Holy Prophet’s Conduct
In the Holy Prophet’s (p.b.u.h.) practical life, there are hundreds of samples of majestic and decent conduct, each of which is a sign of his decent disposition; in this regard the Holy Qur'an states:


وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ

 
“and indeed you possess a great character.”
In this connection a few interesting samples are mentioned:
1. ‘Uday ibn Hatam states: “My sister was captured by the army of Islam when I escaped to Sham (Syria). Thereafter, my sister came to Sham (Syria), full of composure and serenity, and blamed me for escaping and leaving her alone. I apologized, and a few days later, I asked her: ‘How did you find this man (the Holy Prophet of Islam)?’ She responded: ‘By God, I found him a glorious man. You are recommended to join him; if so, you have joined a world of dignity and greatness.’ I said to myself, truly, this is the right idea. Then, in order to accept Islam, I traveled to Medina. There, I went to his presence, and greeted him. He welcomed me, and asked who I am. I introduced myself; he then took me to his house. On our way, although he was taking me, an old, poor woman came to him and talked about her need. The Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) stopped there for a long time and guided her about her problems. I told myself: ‘By God, he is not a king.’ Then we went and arrived at the Holy Prophet’s house; he received me with a warm hospitality. He brought me a date leaf overspread, and stated: ‘Sit on it.’ I said: ‘Please you may sit on it.’ He answered: ‘No, have a seat’, and he sat on the ground himself. I said to myself, ‘This is another sign of his not being a king.’ Then, he talked about something of my debt, which was a covert secret. I understood that he was aware of secrets, and discovered that he is a messenger. His speech, predictions and affections fascinated me, and at that very moment I became a Muslim.”    
2. In the Battle of Khaybar, taken place in the seventh year after the hijrah, in which the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) took part himself, after the victory of the army of Islam against the army of the disbelievers, a group of Jews were captured by the army of Islam. One of the prisoners was Safiyah, the daughter of ‘Hay ibn Akhtab’ (the well-known Jewish scholar). Bilal Habashi, having captured Safiyah along with another woman, brought them to the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.). However, while bringing them he did not pay attention to some moral principles and moved them by the Jews’ dead bodies. Safiyah, having seen the Jews’ injured corpses, got so upset and scratched her face, showed great grief and cried bitterly.
When Bilal brought them to the Holy Prophet, the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) asked Safiyah: “Why have you scratched your face, and why are you so distressed?!” Safiyah told him about her passing by the dead bodies. The Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) got very sad because of Bill's inhuman and unethical behavior, and blamed Bilal and said:


  « أ نزعت منك الرحمة يا بلال حيث تمر بامرأتين على قتلى‏ رجالهما»

 
“O, Bilal! Have your sympathy faded when you took the two women and passed by their killed people?! Why did you act with cruelty?”
It is interesting to note that the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.), in order to compensate for Sofia's sufferings and distresses, set her free and married her. In this way, all her distresses were removed from her heart.
3. In the Battle of Hunan, in the eighth year of the hijrah, Sharma’, Hakim's daughter, who was the Holy Prophet’s foster-sister (they had suckled from the same woman during their infancy), was captured along with a group of her relatives by the army of Islam. When the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) noticed her among the prisoners, remembered her mother and Sharma's affections during the period of their infancy, and showed considerable respect and affection for Sharma’. Stood up before her, spread his cloak on the ground, seated her on it, and greeted her with special affection and told her: “You are the same person who showed me great affection during my infancy   …….”, although about sixty years had passed.
Shayma’ asked the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) to set her and her relatives free. The Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) stated that I forgave you, and in regard to the other Muslims’ right, I recommend that you apply for my forgiveness at the time of the noon prayers, so that they forgive their own, too.
Shayma’ did the same. The Muslims said: “Following the Holy Prophet, we absolve our right, too.”
The well-known biographer, Ibn Hisham writes: "The Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) told Shayma’, ‘If you would like to stay and live with us, enjoying respect and affection, and if you would like I will give you bounties and send you safely to your tribe. ’Shayma’ said: ‘I would like to go back to my tribe.’ The Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) granted her a maid and male servant; they married each other and lived with Shayma’ as her servants.” 
4. The Holy Prophet’s affection and decent conduct was such that Imam al-Sadiq (p.b.u.h.) stated: “Once, the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) said the prayers together with a group of people. A lot of people followed him in the prayers; however, they found that the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.), unlike his usual practice, said the last two prayers in a hurry. They wondered about the important incident that led the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) to end his prayers in hurry. After the prayers, they asked his Majesty: ‘What has happened that you ended the prayers without saying the recommended supplication?’ The Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) responded:


«أو ما سمعتم صراخ الصبي»


‘Did you not hear the child crying?’
It turned out that a child was crying near the location of the prayer, and there had not been anybody to soothe him. His cry had distressed the kind Prophet, so he had ended the prayers in haste, in order to soothe him.” 
5. Abd Allah ibn Sallam was one of the Jews at the time of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.). Some factors like the Holy Prophet’s moral attraction encouraged him to accept Islam, and were overtly at the side of the Muslims. He had a friend called ‘Zayd ibn Shu‘bah’. After accepting Islam, Abd Allah continuously invited Zayd to Islam, and explained to him about the glory of Islam to encourage him towards Islam; however, Zayd insisted on remaining a Jew and rejected Islam.
Abd Allah says: “One day, I went to the Prophet’s (p.b.u.h.) Mosque. To my astonishment, I noticed Zayd sitting there in the line of the prayers beside the Muslims. I got very happy, and went to him, and asked him about the reason for his acceptance of Islam. He answered: ‘I was at home reciting the heavenly book, the Torah; when I reached the part speaking about Muhammad, I read it thoughtfully, and kept in mind Muhammad’s characteristics as described in the Torah. I told myself I had better go to Muhammad and examine him, and see if he enjoys those characteristics, one of which was patience. For several days I attended his presence and carefully observed his behavior and speech, and I found those virtues in him. Then I told myself, there remains only one attribute to be checked; I should continue my examination in this regard, too. It was patience. In the Torah I had read: ‘Muhammad’s patience has superiority over his wrath. Whatever unkindness the ignorants do toward him, they will not see anything in response except patience.’  
In this regard, once I went to the mosque. I found a Bedouin coming there riding a camel. When he saw Muhammad, he got off and said: ‘I have come from here from this tribe. Drought and famine have caused all of us poverty. The people of the tribe are Muslims and are very needy; I have come to you to let you be aware of their inappropriate conditions, and their wish for your philanthropy.’
Muhammad told ‘Ali: ‘Has anything remained from the money?’ ‘Ali said: ‘No.’ The Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) got sad. At that moment I went to him and said, ‘O the Holy Prophet! If you would like I am ready to buy in advance your date palm crop; I give you the money now, then you give me the product.’ His Majesty accepted, and we made the deal; he took the money from me and gave it to the Bedouin.
I was looking forward, till there was a week for the time of the harvest; then, I went to the fields and there I saw the Holy Prophet taking part in the funeral of someone; then he sat under the shadow of a tree, along with his companions each sitting somewhere; rudely, I approached, and seized him and said: ‘O Muhammad, has remained you take people’s money and hesitate to give it back; do you know there has remained only a few days to the deadline?’
I behaved rudely and ignorantly with his majesty, although there were still a few days for the deadline to come; suddenly I heard a rough sound from behind him; I noticed ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, holding his bare sword; he told me; ‘You dog! Go away.’ He wanted to attack me with his sword; Muhammad prevented him and said: ‘There is no need for such an action, he should be recommended to be patient.’ Then he told ‘Umar: ‘Give him much more from those dates.’    
‘Umar took me with himself and gave me my right, plus twenty extra cups of date. I said: ‘What is this for?’ He answered, ‘This is due to Muhammad’s patience; since you got annoyed by my cry of anger, Muhammad ordered me to give you this extra amount, so that you are satisfied.’
When I noticed that decent conduct and great patience, I got fascinated in Islam and Muhammad’s captivating behavior (p.b.u.h.), and acknowledged the Unity of the God and Muhammad’s messengerhood, and came by the side of the Muslims.”   
These were some samples of the moral conduct of the Holy Prophet of Islam (p.b.u.h.), each of which is like a lucid mirror that reflects his captivating behavior. They reveal one of the considerable keys to the advance of Islam in its first periods. In a section of Imam ‘Ali’s (a.s.) description about Muhammad’s (p.b.u.h.) conduct one can find: “The Holy Prophet’s conduct towards his companions was such that he was always friendly, smiling and lenient; he was never cruel, heartless, or rebuking; he never used bad language, neither did he look for people’s faults, nor did he ever flattered. Nobody got disappointed with him; no one came to his house returning dissatisfied. He had removed three things from himself: Dispute in speech, talking too much, meddling in the others’ affairs; he would reproach nobody, neither did he look for people’s hidden faults; he did not talk unless in case in which there is God’s reward. When he talked, his speech was so penetrating that everybody was all ears,…”     

Comments  

#4 RE: The Role of Morality in the Holy Prophet's (p.b.u.h.) Practical LifeHamza 2015-04-25 14:02
very great
+2 #3 RE: The Role of Morality in the Holy Prophet's (p.b.u.h.) Practical Lifecuttie pai 2011-11-30 18:38
Quoting qainat khan:
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+2 #2 qainat khan 2011-09-28 17:57
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+3 #1 muhammad mubashir 2011-05-05 20:58
nice

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