Sent As A Mercy

21/02/2012| IslamWeb

Allah The Almighty sent Muhammad as a mercy to the worlds. He Says (what means): {And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.} [Quran ‎21:‎107]

Hence, he is a mercy to humans and Jinn, whether believers or disbelievers, as he was sent to call them to Allah The Almighty and bring them out from darkness to light. Allah The Almighty Says (what means):

• {Say, [O Muhammad]: ‘O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, [from Him] to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death.’ So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered prophet, who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him that you may be guided.} [Quran 7:158]

• {And [mention, O Muhammad], when We directed to you a few of the jinn, listening to the Quran. And when they attended it, they said, ‘Listen quietly.’ And when it was concluded, they went back to their people as warners.} [Quran 46:29]

In a Hadeeth on the authority of Abu Nadhrah he said, “Some of those who listened to the sermon of the Prophet during the Days of Tashreeq [some of the days of Hajj] told me that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘O people! Indeed, your Lord is one and your father is one. No Arab ‎is superior to a non-Arab, and no non-Arab is superior to an Arab; and no white person is superior to a black person, and no ‎black person is superior to a white person, except in terms of piety.‎’” [Ahmad]

This clearly indicates that piety is the only criterion of superiority among people of all races and colors.

Allah The Almighty conferred a great favor upon His honorable Prophet when He made him an embodiment of all noble morals. We cannot enumerate those who embraced Islam due to his noble morals, whether it was his generosity, forgiveness, forbearance, deliberation, leniency, patience, modesty, justice, mercy, benevolence, courage, strength, or any other of his noble virtues.

Whoever reads the biography of the Prophet will realize that he adhered to noble morals in all situations and under all circumstances. Hence, people entered the religion of Allah in multitudes by the grace of Allah, first and foremost, and then because of the noble morals and traits of the Prophet . The following are some examples:

- Thumaamah ibn Uthaal, may Allah be pleased with him, embraced Islam because the Prophet pardoned him. He said to him, “By Allah, no face on earth had been more hateful to me than yours, but now it has become the dearest to my heart. By Allah, no religion on earth had been more hateful to me than yours, but now it has become the dearest to my heart. By Allah, no land on earth had been more hateful to me than yours, but now it has become the dearest to my heart.” [Al-Bukhari]

- A Bedouin urinated in the mosque while the Prophet and his Companions were sitting. The people rushed to beat him, but the Prophet ordered them to leave him. Being impressed with the forgiveness of the Prophet the man said, “O Allah, have mercy upon me and Muhammad alone.” The Prophet did not approve of this supplication that limited the Mercy of Allah The Almighty, which encompasses all things. Hence, he addressed him, saying: “You have narrowed what is vast.” [Al-Bukhari]

- The Prophet was lenient with Mu‘aawiyah ibn Al-Hakam, may Allah be pleased with him, while teaching him. Thus, Mu‘aawiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I have never seen an instructor who gave better instruction ‎than him, may my father and mother be sacrificed for him. By Allah, he ‎never remonstrated me, beat me, nor abused me.‎” [Muslim]

- The Prophet gave a man a herd of ‎sheep that was so large that the sheep took up an entire valley. When he returned to his ‎people, he said to them, “O my people! Embrace Islam, because ‎Muhammad gives like someone who has no fear of poverty.’’ ‎ [Muslim] ‎

- The Prophet gave Safwaan ibn Umayyah, who was one of the disbelieving Quraishi leaders, one hundred sheep, and then a second leader a hundred sheep and then a third leader a hundred sheep. Thus, Safwaan ,may Allah be pleased with him, said, “By Allah, the Prophet gave that to me while he was the most hateful person to my heart, but he kept giving to me until he became the dearest one to my heart.” This was the cause behind Safwaan’s reversion to Islam. [Muslim]

- The Prophet pardoned a polytheist after the man had tried to kill him with a sword and after Allah The Almighty protected His Prophet from this attempt on his life. As a result, the man embraced Islam and returned to his people calling them to Islam, and many of them entered the religion because of him. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
- When the Prophet went to Madeenah, ‘Abdullaah ibn Salaam, a Jewish rabbi, came to see him and he said, “When I saw his face clearly, I realized that this could never be the face of a liar, and the first thing I heard him saying was: ‘O people, spread greetings of peace, feed [the poor and needy], maintain ties of kinship and ‎pray [at night] when others are asleep, and you will enter Paradise ‎safely.‎’” [At-Tirmithi]

- Another Jewish rabbi called Zayd ibn Su‘nah, ‎tested the Prophet very harshly, yet he pardoned him and even ordered ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, to give him a gift. Thus, Zayd said to ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, after receiving the gift, “I recognized all the signs of prophethood when I saw the face of ‎Muhammad except two signs that were not immediately evident: his forbearance that precedes his rashness, and his forbearance that increases upon encountering ‎excessive rashness. Now I have also recognized these two signs. Bear witness, O ‎‎‘Umar, that I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with ‎Muhammad as my prophet. Also, bear witness that I give half of my wealth - and I have ‎plenty of wealth - in charity to the Ummah [nation] of Muhammad .” [Ibn Hajar]

- A third Jew said to the Prophet while he was dying, “By the One who revealed the Torah, we find your attributes and [news of] your emergence in our Book, and I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that you are His messenger.” [Ahmad]

- When An-Najaashi, may Allah be pleased with him, who was the Christian king of Abyssinia, heard about the message of the Prophet and that he was saying that Jesus, may Allah exalt his mention, was the slave and Messenger of Allah The Almighty, he said to the deputation of the Prophet “You and the one who sent you are welcome. I testify ‎that he is the ‎Messenger of Allah and that he is the one about whom Jesus, may Allah exalt his mention, gave glad tidings. Were it not for my kingship, I would have gone to him and kissed his shoes.” [Ath-Thahabi]

- Abu Sufyaan told the Christian Byzantine king, Heraclius, that the Prophet never betrayed anyone or any trust, and that he ordered them to worship Allah ‎alone and not worship anything along with Him, and that he ‎forbade them from worshipping ‎idols, and that he ordered them to pray, to speak the truth, and to be chaste. On hearing this, Heraclius said, “If what you have said is ‎true, he will very soon occupy this place underneath my feet. I ‎knew it [from the ‎scriptures] that he was going to appear but I did not know that he ‎would be from you, and ‎if I knew that I could reach him for sure, I would go immediately to meet him, ‎and if I were with him, I ‎would certainly wash his feet.‎” [Al-Bukhari]

Indeed, Allah The Almighty described the Prophet Saying (what means): {And indeed, you are of a great moral character.} [Quran 68:4]

Moreover, the Prophet said: “I was only sent to perfect high moral standards.” [Al-Bayhaqi, Al-Albaani - Saheeh] And when ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was asked about the morals of the Prophet she replied, “The morals of the Prophet were [an embodiment of] the Quran.” [Muslim]

Knowing about the noble Prophet is vital as it represents the second foundation of the three foundations that every Muslim must learn and apply, and every Muslim will be asked about these three foundations in his grave. Hence, I wrote this concise book and named it “Muhammad - Mercy to the Worlds.” In the book, I have shed light on the lineage of the Prophet his early life, his physical and moral characteristics, his miracles, the universality of his message as well as his recommendations for the members of his Ummah (nation), and his rights over them.

I exclusively ask Allah The Almighty to bless this small work and make it beneficial and solely and sincerely meant for His sake. I also ask Him to make it beneficial for me and for whoever reads it in this world and in the Hereafter. Allah The Exalted is the best and most generous One to be asked. He is also ‎Sufficient for us and the best Disposer of affairs. May the blessings of Allah be upon His Slave and Messenger, Muhammad who is the best of all creatures and the one whom He entrusted with His revelation.

May His blessings also be upon the family and Companions of His Prophet and those who correctly follow them until the Day of Judgment.