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Muhammad : Mercy to Mankind
Shaykh Saalih Muhammad Aal Taalib
[(Rabee‘ul-awwal
8, 1424 (May 9, 2003)]
All praise is
due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. Peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon the Messenger, his household and companions.
Fellow Muslims!
Fear Allaah and seek for His mercy by being dutiful to Him. Allaah says,
“O you who believe! Fear
Allaah, and believe in His Messenger (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) He
will give you a double portion of His Mercy, and He will give you a light
by which you shall walk (straight), and He will forgive you. And Allaah is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
(Al-Hadeed 57:28)
Brethren in faith! Fear
Allaah and do not incline to this world and its adornments. For this world
is a temporary abode in which both righteous and sinful have their
sustenance. The Hereafter is a true appointed time in which the Lord, Who
is Omnipotent, shall judge between truth and falsehood.
Fellow Muslims! In this time
of despair and hardship, a time in which values and concepts have been
turned upside down, a time in which the powerful suppresses the weak and
the rich the poor, a time that civilizations clash, the Muslims are
seriously in need of affirming their civilization that is based on noble
concepts. It is through these noble concepts that the Ummah’s injuries can
be healed.
The world communities have
never been in a greater need to realize the defects that are in their
civilizations as they are today. They need to know the defects of their
systems of life. It is time for them to ask themselves the causes of their
problems and the misery, which their civilizations have caused. They need
to know the causes of widespread distress and anxiety that have
overwhelmed their lives.
These are just some of the
questions whose answer is provided by the Glorious Qur’aan. Allaah says,
“But whosoever turns away
from My Reminder (i.e. neither believes in this Qur’aan nor acts on its
teachings.) verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him
up blind on the Day of Resurrection. He will say: "O my Lord! Why have you
raised me up blind, while I had sight (before)." (Allaah) will say: "Like
this: Our signs came unto you, but you disregarded them (i.e. you left
them, did not think deeply in them, and you turned away from them), and so
this Day, you will be neglected (in the Hell-fire, away from Allaah's
Mercy).”
(Taa Haa 20:124-126)
Dear brother! If you reflect
on the life history of the Messenger of Allaah, you will find it full of
noble qualities in concept and practice. This is why the civilization of
his religion is the only civilization that brought happiness to the world.
‘Aaishah narrated that she asked the Prophet, 'Have you
encountered a day harder than the day (of the battle) of Uhud?" The
Prophet replied, "Your tribes have troubled me a lot, and the worse
trouble was the trouble on the day of 'Aqaba when I presented myself to
Ibn 'Abd-Yalail bin 'Abd-Kulal and he did not respond to my demand. So I
departed, overwhelmed with excessive sorrow, and proceeded on, and could
not relax till I found myself at Qarnath-Tha-alib where I lifted my head
towards the sky to see a cloud shading me unexpectedly. I looked up and
saw Gabriel in it. He called me saying, 'Allah has heard your people's
saying to you, and what they have replied back to you, Allah has sent the
Angel of the Mountains to you so that you may order him to do whatever you
wish to these people.' The Angel of the Mountains called and greeted me,
and then said, "O Muhammad! Order what you wish. If you like, I will let
Al-Akh-Shabain (i.e. two mountains) fall on them." The Prophet said, "No
but I hope that Allah will let them beget children who will worship Allah
Alone, and will worship none besides Him.” (Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim)
When the people of Makkah
made things difficult for him, persecuted him and his companions and
injured his face, he could still be heard saying while wiping blood off
his face, “O Allaah! Forgive my people for they know not what they are
doing.”
Fellow Muslims! It is with
this mercy and compassion that the Messenger of Allaah was sent. And it is
with mercy and compassion that he treated all his opponents and companions
alike. Mercy is an attribute of Allaah. He is the Compassionate, the
Merciful. And He is Kind with His creatures. He sent His Messenger with
kindness and He says,
“And We have sent you (O
Muhammad (peace be upon him)) not but as a mercy for all the worlds.”
(Al-Anbiyaa 21:107)
The Prophet also brought the
law of Islaam based on the principle of compassion. Allaah says,
“Verily, there has come
unto you a Messenger (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) from amongst
yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). It grieves him that you should
receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad (peace be upon him)) is
anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allaah, and beg Him
to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter Paradise and
be saved from the punishment of the Hell-fire); for the believers (he
peace be upon him is) full of pity, kind, and merciful.”
(At-Tawbah 9:128)
The Prophet would feel
seriously hurt by whatever was harmful to his nation. He was never given
an option to choose between two things except that he chose the easier as
long as it was not forbidden. On many occasions he had said, “Had I not
found it hard for my followers or the people, I would have ordered so and
so or I would have done so and so.” Sometimes, he would want to prolong
prayer and yet would shorten it when he heard the crying of a baby because
he understood how upset his mother would be.
Brethren in faith!
Compassion is a quality of manliness. Compassion is a quality that
emanates from a merciful heart. It is a quality of the Prophets and a sign
of perfect Eemaan and Islaam. Allaah says,
“Muhammad (peace be upon
him) is the Messenger of Allaah. And those who are with him are severe
against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves.”
(Muhammad 48:29)
Usaamah bin Zayd said, “We were with the Prophet when
one of his daughters sent (a messenger) to the him requesting him to come
as her child was dying (or was gasping), but the Prophet returned the
messenger and told him to convey his greeting to her and say: "Whatever
Allah takes is for Him and whatever He gives, is for Him, and everything
with Him has a limited fixed term (in this world) and so she should be
patient and hope for Allah's reward." She again sent for him, swearing
that he should come. The Prophet got up, and so did Sad bin 'Ubada, Muadh
bin Jabal, Ubai bin Ka'b, Zaid bin Thabit and some other men. The child
was brought to Allah's Apostle while his breath was disturbed in his chest
(the sub-narrator thinks that Usama added:) as if it was a leather
water-skin. On that the eyes of the Prophet started shedding tears. Sad
said, "O Allah's Apostle! What is this?" He replied, "It is mercy which
Allah has lodged in the hearts of His slaves, and Allah is merciful only
to those of His slaves who are merciful (to others).” (Al-Bukhaaree and
Muslim)
Compassion breeds love and affection among people.
Compassion is a delight of the heart and the way to Paradise. The
Messenger of Allaah said, “People of Paradise are three: (1) a leader who
is generous, spends in charity and is guided to the right course; (2) a
man who is compassionate, kind to every relative and every Muslim and (3)
a poor person who is virtuous and has dependants.” (Muslim)
Compassion softens the heart and leads man to be kind to
even animals and birds. Abdullaah bin Mas‘ood said, “We were with the
Messenger of Allaah on a journey. While he went to ease himself, we saw a
redstart
with two chicks and we took them. The redstart then came, spreading out
her wings. When the Messenger of Allaah arrived (and saw the bird) he
said, “Who bereaved this with her children? Return her chicks back to
her.” (Aboo Daawood)
Abdullaah bin Ja‘far narrated that the Messenger of
Allaah entered the compound of an Ansaaree man. And there here was a camel
there. When the camel saw the Prophet, it longed for him, groaned and shed
tears. The Messenger of Allaah approached it and wiped off its tears and
it became quiet. He then said, “Who is the owner of this camel? ” Who is
the owner of this camel?” A young Ansaaree man came and said, “It is me O
Messenger of Allaah!” The Prophet then said, “Won’t you fear Allaah as
regards this animal which Allaah put under your possession? It complained
to me that you starve it and overburden it.” (Aboo Daawood)
This is the Prophet’s
reaction to the maltreatment of animals. Imagine how he would have reacted
to a person who harmed humans, usurped the rights of the poor and did not
treat children and old people with compassion. The Prophet said, “Allaah
will show mercy to those who show mercy to people. Show mercy to those who
are on the earth, the One Who is in the Heaven will show mercy to you.”
The Prophet also said, “You
see the believers as regards their being merciful among themselves and
showing love among themselves and being kind, resembling one body, so
that, if any part of the body is not well then the whole body shares the
sleeplessness (insomnia) and fever with it.”
As for compassion that
Islaam shows in the area legislations, that is a very long topic. All
aspects of Islaamic law are rather compassionate in their goals, means and
applications.
Fellow Muslims! This is the
mercy with which the Messenger of Allaah was sent. Our religion is that of
compassion in times of war and peace. It is a religion of kindness towards
enemies and friends, animals and birds. It is a religion of compassion in
worship, cooperation and judgment and in all aspects of its law.
Words are not enough to
describe how compassionate the Prophet was. Compare this to the so-called
civilizations that are being claimed and that are in the real sense devoid
of compassion and justice. Compare it to civilizations that do not, in
victory, respect any pact of kinship or covenant of protection with a
believer and that strive through the land to cause corruption therein and
destroy crops and animals. And Allaah does not like corruption.
The Prophet found excuse for
his people though they wanted to kill him. He was compassionate to them
though they were fighting him. He wanted guidance and happiness for them.
In our age on the contrary, the so-called leaders of modern civilization,
who have no regard for compassion, claim to be compassionate. They find
excuses for aggression and concoct lies to justify wars, killings,
destruction and corruption.
“And when it is said to
them: "Make not mischief on the earth," they say: "We are only
peace-makers." Verily! They are the ones who make mischief, but they
perceive not.”
(Al-Baqarah 2:11-12)
It is therefore an act of
compassion to rein in these people. And to be severe with them is part of
the mercy that Islaam spreads.
Brethren in faith! Man has
not excelled above other creatures by his mere physical size or strength.
There are other creatures that are greater than him in power and size. He
only excelled by his heart, soul, intelligence and feelings. It is not a
matter of pride that man should be stern and severe, but real pride lies
in excellent characters and sublime dispositions. This is shown through
qualities like gentleness, compassion, graciousness and kindness. Allaah
says,
“And by the
Mercy of Allaah, you dealt with them gently. And had you been severe and
harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you; so pass over
(their faults), and ask (Allaah's) Forgiveness for them; and consult them
in the affairs.”
(Aal ‘Imraan
3:159)
Brethren in
Islaam! Emulate the pure characters of your Prophet and hold fast onto the
lofty principles of your religion.
Fellow Muslims! Compassion is a sign
of humility. It also removes arrogance. Compassion means doing good to
all, assisting the needy and being kind to the kith and kin. It also
entails showing sympathy for the weak, the sick, the disabled and the
orphans by making them happy. Compassion entails helping the wronged and
reining in the devilish people. Compassion means feeling concerned about
the affairs of fellow Muslims, sharing their pains and aspirations and
coming to their aid. It also entails enjoining good, forbidding evil, and
teaching the Muslims the goals of being compassionate. The Messenger of
Allaah said, “The example of me and you is like that of a man who kindled
a fire. Grasshoppers and butterflies start falling into the fire and the
man continue protecting them against it. I am holding you back from
falling into the fire and you are slipping off my hand.” (Al-Bukhaaree and
Muslim)
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