Description
of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
Muhammad (pbuh) was of a height a little
above the average. He was of sturdy build with long
muscular limbs and tapering fingers. The hair of his head
was long and thick with some waves in them. His forehead
was large and prominent, his eyelashes were long and
thick, his nose was sloping, his mouth was somewhat large
and his teeth were well set. His cheeks were spare and he
had a pleasant smile. His eyes were large and black with a
touch of brown. His beard was thick and at the time of his
death, he had seventeen gray hairs in it. He had a thin
line of fine hair over his neck and chest. He was fair of
complexion and altogether was so handsome that Abu Bakr
composed this couplet on him:
"as there is no darkness in the
moonlit night so is Mustafa, the well-wisher,
bright."
His gait was firm and he walked so fast
that others found it difficult to keep pace with him. His
face was genial but at times, when he was deep in thought,
there there were long periods of silence, yet he always
kept himself busy with something. He did not speak
unnecessarily and what he said was always to the point and
without any padding. At times he would make his meaning
clear by slowly repeating what he had said. His laugh was
mostly a smile. He kept his feelings under firm control -
when annoyed, he would turn aside or keep silent, when
pleased he would lower his eyes (Shamail Tirmizi).
His dress generally consisted of a
shirt, tamad (trousers), a sheet thrown round the sholders
and a turban. On rare occasions, he would put on costly
robes presented to him by foreign emissaries in the later
part of his life (Ahmed, Musnad, Hafiz Bin Qaiyyam).
His blanket had several patches
(Tirmizi). He had very few spare clothes, but he kept them
spotlessy clean (Bukhari). He wanted others also to put on
simple but clean clothes. Once he saw a person putting on
dirty clothes and remarked,
"Why can't this man wash
them." (Abu Dawud, Chapter "Dress").
On another occasion he enquired of a
person in dirty clothes whether he had any income. Upon
getting a reply in the affirmative, he observed,
"When Allah has blessed you
with His bounty, your appearence should reflect
it." (Abu Dawud)
He used to observe:
"Cleanliness is piety".
His house was but a hut with walls of
unbaked clay and a thatched roof of palm leaves covered by
camel skin. He had separate apartments for his wives, a
small room for each made of similar materials. His own
apartment contained a rope cot, a pillow stuffed with palm
leaves , the skin of some animal spread on the floor and a
water bag of leather and some weapons. These were all his
earthly belongings, besides a camel, a horse, and an ass
and some land which he had aquired in the later part of
his life (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud). Once a few of his
disciples, noticing the imprint of his mattress on his
body, wished to give him a softer bed but he politely
declined the offer saying,
"What have I to do with
worldly things. My connection with the world is like
that of a traveler resting for a while underneath the
shade of a tree and then moving on."
Amr Ibn Al-Harith, a brother in law of
the prophet (pbuh), says that when the prophet died, he
did not leave a cent, a slave man or woman, or any
property except his white mule, his weapons and a piece of
land which he had dedicated for the good of the community
(Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari).
He advised the people to live simple
lives and himself practised great austerities. Even when
he had become the virtual king of arabia, he lived an
austere life bordering on privation. His wife Aiysha (ra)
says that there was hardly a day in his life when he had
two square meals (Muslim, Sahih Muslim, Vol.2, pg 198).
When he died there was nothing in his house except a few
seeds of barley left from a mound of the grain obtained
from a Jew by pawning his armour (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari,
Chapter "Aljihad").
He had declared unlawful for himself and
his family anything given by the people by way of zakat or
sadaqa (types of charity). He was so particular about this
that he would not appoint any member of his family as a
zakat collector (Sahah-Kitab Sadqat).
"By the grace of
Allah, you are gentle towards the people; if you had
been stern and ill-tempered, they would have dispersed
from round about you" (translation of
Qur'an
3:159)
About himself the prophet (pbuh) said
"Allah has sent me as an
apostle so that I may demonstrate perfection of
character, refinement of manners and loftiness of
deportment." (Malik, Mawatta; Ahmed, Musnad;
Mishkat)
By nature he was gentle and kind
hearted, always inclined to be gracious and to overlook
the faults of others. Politeness and courtesy, compassion
and tenderness, simplicity and humility, sympathy and
sincerity were some of the keynotes of his character. In
the cause of right and justice he could be resolute and
severe but more often than not, his severity was tempered
with generosity. He had charming manners which won him the
affection of his followers and secured their devotion.
Though virtual king of Arabia and an apostle of Allah, he
never assumed an air of superiority. Not that he had to
conceal any such vein by practice and artifice: with fear
of Allah, sincere humility was ingrained in his heart. He
used to say,
"I am a Prophet of Allah but
I do not know what will be my end." (Bukhari,
Sahih Bukhari, Chapter "Al-Janaiz")
In one of his sermons calculated to
instill the fear of Allah and the day of reckoning in the
hearts of men, he said,
"O people of Quraish be
prepared for the hereafter, I cannot save you from the
punishment of Allah; O Bani Abd Manaf, I cannot save you
from Allah; O Abbas, son of Abdul Mutalib, I cannot
protect you either; O Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, even
you I cannot save." (Sahahin)
He used to pray,
"O Allah! I am but a man. If
I hurt any one in any manner, then forgive me and do not
punish me." (Ahmed, Musnad, Vol. 6 pg. 103)
He always received people with courtesy
and showed respect to older people and stated:
"To honor an old man is to
show respect to Allah."
He would not deny courtesy even to
wicked persons. It is stated that a person came to his
house and asked permission for admission. The prophet
(pbuh) remarked that he was not a good person but might be
admitted. When he came in and while he remained in the
house, he was shown full courtesy. When he left Aiysha
(ra) said,
"You did not think well of this
man, but you treated him so well."
The prophet (pbuh) replied,
"He is a bad person in the
sight of Allah who does not behave courteously and
people shun his company bacause of his bad
manners." (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari)
He was always the first to greet another
and would not withdraw his hand from a handshake till the
other man withdrew his. If one wanted to say something in
his ears, he would not turn away till one had finished
(Abu Dawud, Tirmizi). He did not like people to get up for
him and used to say,
"Let him who likes people to
stand up in his honour, he should seek a place in
hell." (Abu Dawud, Kitabul Adab, Muhammadi
Press, Delhi).
He would himself, however, stand up when
any dignitary came to him. He had stood up to receive the
wet nurse who had reared him in infancy and had spread his
own sheet for her. His foster brother was given similar
treatment. He avoided sitting at a prominent place in a
gathering, so much so that people coming in had difficulty
in spotting him and had to ask which was the Prophet
(pbuh). Quite frequently uncouth bedouins accosted him in
their own gruff and impolite manner but he never took
offence. (Abu Dawud Kitabul Atama).
He used to visit the poorest of ailing
persons and exhorted all muslims to do likewise (Bukhari,
Sahih Bukhari, Chapter "Attendance on ailing
persons"). He would sit with the humblest of persons
saying that righteousness alone was the criterion of one's
superiority over another. He invariably invited people be
they slaves, servants or the poorest believers, to partake
with him of his scanty meals (Tirmizi, Sunan Tirmizi).
Whenever he visited a person he would
first greet him and then take his permission to enter the
house. He advised the people to follow this etiquette and
not to get annoyed if anyone declined to give permission,
for it was quite likely the person concerned was busy
otherwise and did not mean any disrespect (Ibid).
There was no type of household work too
low or too undignified for him. Aiysha (ra) has stated,
"He always joined in household
work and would at times mend his clothes, repair his
shoes and sweep the floor. He would milk, tether, and
feed his animals and do the household shopping."
(Qazi Iyaz: Shifa; Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, Chapter:
Kitabul Adab)
He would not hesitate to do the menial
work of others, particularly of orphans and widows (Nasi,
Darmi). Once when there was no male member in the house of
the companion Kabab Bin Arat who had gone to the
battlefield, he used to go to his house daily and milk his
cattle for the inhabitants (Ibn Saad Vol. 6, p 213).
He was especially fond of children and
used to get into the spirit of childish games in their
company. He would have fun with the children who had come
back from Abyssinia and tried to speak in Abyssinian with
them. It was his practice to give lifts on his camel to
children when he returned from journeys (Bukhari, Sahih
Bukhari, Vol. 2 pg.886). He would pick up children in his
arms, play with them, and kiss them. A companion,
recalling his childhood, said,
"In my childhood I used to fell
dates by throwing stones at palm trees. Somebody took me
to the Prophet (pbuh) who advised me to pick up the
dates lying on the ground but not to fell them with
stones. He then patted me and blessed me." (Abu
Dawud)
On the authority of Ali, Tirmizi has
recorded that the Prophet (pbuh) had carefully apportioned
his time according to the demands on him for
-
offering worship to Allah
-
public affairs, and
-
personal matters.
After the early morning prayers he would
remain sitting in the mosque reciting praises of Allah
till the sun rose and more people collected. He would then
preach to them. After the sermons were over, he would talk
genially with the people, enquire about their welfare and
even exchange jokes with them. Taxes and revenues were
also disrtibuted at this time (Muslim, Sahih Muslim
Tirmizi, Sunan Tirmizi). He would then offer chaste
prayers and go home and get busy with household work
(Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmizi). He would again return to the
mosque for the mid-day and afternoon prayers, listen to
the problems of the people and give solace and guidance to
them. After the afternoon prayers, he would visit each of
his wives and, after the evening prayers, his wives would
collect at one place and he would have his dinner (Muslim,
Sahih Muslim). After the night prayers, he would recite
some suras of the Quran and before going to bed would
pray:
"O Allah, I die and live with
thy name on my lips."
On getting up he would say,
"All praise to Allah Who has
given me life after death and towards Whom is the
return."
He used to brush his teeth five times a
day, before each of the daily prayers. After midnight, he
used to get up for the tahajjud prayers which he never
missed even once in his life (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari). He
was not fastidious about his bed: sometimes he slept on
his cot, sometimes on a skin or ordinary matress, and
sometimes on the ground (Zarqani).
On friday he used to give sermons after
the weekly "Jumma" prayers. He was not annoyed
if anyone interrupted him during the sermons for anything.
It is stated that once, while he was delivering his
sermon, a bedouin approached him and said, "O
messenger of Allah, I am a traveler and am ignorant of my
religion." The prophet (pbuh) got down from the
pulpit, explained the salient features of Islam to him and
then resumed the sermon (Tirmizi, Sunan Tirmizi).
On another occasion his grandson Husain,
still a child, came tumbling to him while he was
delivering a sermon. He descended and took him in his lap
and then continued the sermon (Ibid).
Muhammad (pbuh) preached to the people
to trust in Allah (swt). His whole life was a sublime
example of the precept. In the loneliness of Makkah, in
the midst of persecution and danger, in adversity and
tribulations, and in the thick of enemies in the battles
of Uhud and Hunain, complete faith and trust in Allah
(swt) appears as the dominant feature in his life. However
great the danger that confronted him, he never lost hope
and never allowed himself to be unduly agitated. Abu Talib
knew the feelings of the Quraish when the Prophet (pbuh)
started his mission. He also knew the lengths to which the
Quraish could go, and requested the Prophet (pbuh) to
abandon his mission, but the latter calmly replied,
"Dear uncle, do not go by my
loneliness. Truth will not go unsupported for long. The
whole of Arabia and beyond will one day espouse its
cause." (Ibn Hisham, Sirat-ur-Rasul.)
When the attitude of the Quraish became
more threatening, Abu Talib again begged his nephew to
renounce his mission but the Prophet's (pbuh) reply was:
"O my uncle, if they placed
the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, to
force me to renounce my work, verily I would not desist
thereform until Allah made manifest His cause, or I
perished in the attempt." (Ibid)
To another well-wisher, he said,
"Allah will not leave me
forelorn."
A dejected and oppressed disciple was
comforted with the words:
"By Allah, the day is near
when this faith will reach its pinnacle and none will
have to fear anyone except Allah." (Bukhari,
Sahih Bukhari)
It was the same trust in Allah (swt)
which emboldened the prophet (pbuh) to say his prayers
openly in the haram in the teeth of opposition. The
Quraish were once collected there and were conspiring to
put an end to his life when he next entered the haram. His
young daughter Fatima, who happened to overhear their talk
rushed weeping to her father and told him of the designs
of the Quraish. He consoled her, did his ablutions and
went to the Kaaba to say prayers. There was only
consternation among the Quraish when they saw him (Ahmed,
Musnad, Vol. 1, pg. 368).
Then leaving his house for Madinah he
asked Ali (ra) to sleep on his bed and told him,
"Do not worry, no one will be
able to do you any harm" (Tabari, Ibn Hisham)
Even though the enemies had surrounded
the house, he left the house reciting the Quranic verse:
"We have set a
barricade before them and a barricade behind them and
(thus) have covered them so that they see not" (translation
of Qur'an
36:9)
Abu Bakr was frightened when pursuers
came close to the cavern in which he and Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) were hiding during their flight, but the Prophet
(pbuh) heartened him,
"Grieve not. Allah is with
us."
A guard was kept at the Prophet's house
in Madinah because of the danger that surrounded him but
he had it withdrawn when the Quranic verse was revealed:
"Allah will protect
you from the people" (translation of Qur'an
5:67).
A man was caught waiting in ambush to
assault the Prophet (pbuh) but he was directed to be
released with the words,
"Even if this man wanted to
kill me, he could not." (Ahmed, Musnad, Vol.3
pg. 471)
A Jewess from Khaibar had put poison in
the Prophet's (pbuh) food. He spat it out after taking a
morsel but a disciple who had his fill died the next day.
The Jewess was brought before the prophet (pbuh) who
questioned her:
"Why did you do this?"
"To kill you," was her defiant reply. She was
told, "Allah would not have allowed you to do
it." (Muslim, Sahih Muslim.)
In the battle of Uhud when the rear
guard action of the Makkan army had disorganized the
Muslim army and had turned the tables, the Prophet (pbuh)
stood as firm as a rock even though he had suffered
personal injuries. When Abu Sufiyan taunted the Muslims
and shouted "Victory to hubal!" (hubal was one
of their idols), the Prophet (pbuh) asked Umar (ra) to
shout back, "Allah is our protector and friend. You
have no protector and friend. Allah is Great,
Magnificent." (Ibn Hisham, Sirat-Ur-Rasul).
Again in the battle of Hunain, when the
unexpected assault of the army had swept the Muslim force
off its feet and a defeat seemed imminent, the Prophet
(pbuh) did not yield ground. With trust in Allah (swt) he
showed such courage that the Muslim army rallied behind
him to win a signal victory.
The Prophet (pbuh) asked people to be
just and kind. As the supreme judge and arbiter, as the
leader of men, as generalissimo of a rising power, as a
reformer and apostle, he had always to deal with men and
their affairs. He had often to deal with mutually inimical
and warring tribes when showing justice to one carried the
danger of antagonizing the other, and yet he never
deviated from the path of justice. In administering
justice, he made no distinction between believers and
nonbelievers, friends and foes, high and low. From
numerous instances reported in the traditions, a few are
given below.
Sakhar, a chief of a tribe, had helped
Muhammad (pbuh) greatly in the seige of Taif, for which he
was naturally obliged to him. Soon after, two charges were
brought against Sakhar: one by Mughira of illegal
confinement of his (Mughira's) aunt and the other by Banu
Salim of forcible occupation of his spring by Sakhar. In
both cases, he decided against Sakhar and made him undo
the wrong. (Abu Dawud, Sunan Dawud, pg.80)
Abdullah Bin Sahal, a companion, was
deputed to collect rent from Jews of Khaibar. His cousin
Mahisa accompanied him but, on reaching Khaibar, they had
separated. Abdullah was waylaid and done to death. Mahisa
reported this tragedy to the Prophet (pbuh) but as there
were no eye-witnesses to identify the guilty, he did not
say anything to the Jews and paid the blood-money out of
the state revenues (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari Nasai).
A woman of the Makhzoom family with good
connections was found guilty of theft. For the prestige of
the Quraish, some prominent people including Asama Bin
Zaid interceded to save her from punishment. The Prophet
(pbuh) refused to condone the crime and expressed
displeasure saying,
"Many a community ruined
itself in the past as they only punished the poor and
ignored the offences of the exalted. By Allah, if
Muhammad's (My) daughter Fatima would have committed
theft, her hand would have been severed." (Bukhari,
Sahh Bukhari, Chapter "Alhadood")
The Jews, in spite of their hostility to
the Prophet (pbuh), were so impressed by his impartiallity
and sense of justice that they used to bring their cases
to him, and he decided them according to Jewish law. (Abu
Dawud, Sunan Dawud)
Once, while he was distributing the
spoils of war, people flocked around him and one man
almost fell upon him. He pushed the men with a stick
causing a slight abrasion. He was so sorry about this that
he told the man that he could have his revenge, but the
man said, "O messenger of Allah, I forgive you."
(Abu Dawud, Kitablu Diyat).
In his fatal illness, the Prophet (pbuh)
proclaimed in a concourse assembled at his house that if
he owed anything to anyone the person concerned could
claim it; if he had ever hurt anyone's person, honor or
property, he could have his price while he was yet in this
world. A hush fell on the crowd. One man came forward to
claim a few dirhams which were paid at once. (Ibn Hisham,
Sirat-ur-Rasul)
Muhammad (pbuh) asked people to shun
notions of racial, family or any other form of superiority
based on mundane things and said that righteousness alone
was the criterion of one's superiority over another. It
has already been shown how he mixed with everyone on equal
terms, how he ate with slaves, servants and the poorest on
the same sheet (a practice that is still followed in
Arabia), how he refused all privileges and worked like any
ordinary laborer. Two instances may, however, be quoted
here:
Once the Prophet (pbuh) visited Saad Bin
Abadah. While returning Saad sent his son Quais with him.
The Prophet (pbuh) asked Quais to mount his camel with
him. Quais hesitated out of respect but the Prophet (pbuh)
insisted: "Either mount the camel or go
back." Quais decided to go back. (Abu Dawud,
Kitabul Adab)
On another occasion he was traveling on
his camel over hilly terrain with a disciple, Uqba Bin
Aamir. After going some distance, he asked Uqba to ride
the camel, but Uqba thought this would be showing
disrespect to the Prophet (pbuh). But the Prophet (pbuh)
insisted and he had to comply. The Prophet (pbuh) himself
walked on foot as he did not want to put too much load on
the animal. (Nasai pg. 803)
The prisioners of war of Badr included
Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet (pbuh). Some people were
prepared to forgo their shares and remit the Prophet's
(pbuh) ransom but he declined saying that he could make no
distinctions. (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari, Chapter
"Ransoms")
During a halt on a journey, the
companions apportioned work among themselves for preparing
food. The Prophet (pbuh) took upon himself the task of
collecting firewood. His companions pleaded that they
would do it and that he need not take the trouble, but he
replied,
"It is true, but I do not
like to attribute any distinction to myself. Allah does
not like the man who considers himself superior to his
companions." (Zarqani, Vol 4 pg. 306)
The Prophet (pbuh) not only preached to
the people to show kindness to each other but also to all
living souls. He forbade the practice of cutting tails and
manes of horses, of branding animals at any soft spot, and
of keeping horses saddled unnecessarily (Muslim, Sahih
Muslim). If he saw any animal over-loaded or ill-fed he
would pull up the owner and say,
"Fear Allah in your treatment
of animals." (Abu Dawud, Kitab Jihad).
A companion came to him with the young
ones of a bird in his sheet and said that the mother bird
had hovered over them all along. He was directed to
replace her offspring in the same bush (Mishkat, Abu
Dawud)
During a journey, somebody picked up
some birds eggs. The bird's painful note and fluttering
attracted the attention of the Prophet (pbuh), who asked
the man to replace the eggs (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari).
As his army marched towards Makkah to
conquer it, they passed a female dog with puppies. The
Prophet (pbuh) not only gave orders that they should not
be disturbed, but posted a man to see that this was done.
He stated,
"Verily, there is heavenly
reward for every act of kindness done to a living
animal."
The Prophet (pbuh) enjoined upon Muslims
to treat the poor kindly and to help them with alms,
zakat, and in other ways. He said:
"He is not a perfect muslim
who eats his fill and lets his neighbor go hungry."
He asked,
"Do you love your Creator?
Then love your fellow beings first."
Monopoly is unlawful in Islam and he
preached that
"It is diffucult for a man
laden with riches to climb the steep path that leads to
bliss."
He did not prohibit or discourage the
aquisition of wealth but insisted that it be lawfully
aquired by honest means and that a portion of it would go
to the poor. He advised his followers
"To give the laborer his
wages before his perspiration dried up."
He did not encourage beggary either and
stated that
"Allah is gracious to him who
earns his living by his own labor, and that if a man
begs to increase his property, Allah will diminish it
and whoever has food for the day, it is prohibited for
him to beg."
To his wife he said,
"O Aysha, love the poor and
let them come to you and Allah will draw you near to
Himself." (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari)
One or two instances of the Prophet's
(pbuh) concern for the poor may be given here. A Madinan,
Ibad Bin Sharjil, was once starving. He entered an orchard
and picked some fruit. The owner of the orchard gave him a
sound beating and stripped off his clothes. The poor man
appealed to the Prophet (pbuh) who remonstrated the owner
thus:
"This man was ignorant, you
should have dispelled his ignorance; he was hungry, you
should have fed him."
His clothes were restored to the Madinan
and, in addition, some grain was given to him (Abu Dawud,
Kitabul Jihad).
A debtor, Jabir Bin Abdullah, was being
harassed by his creditor as he could not clear his debt
owing to the failure of his date crop. The Prophet (pbuh)
went with Jabir to the house of the creditor and pleaded
with him to give Jabir some more time but the creditor was
not prepared to oblige. The Prophet (pbuh) then went to
the oasis and having seen for himself that the crop was
really poor, he again approached the creditor with no
better result. He then rested for some time and approached
the creditor for a third time but the latter was adamant.
The Prophet (pbuh) went again to the orchard and asked
Jabir to pluck the dates. As Allah would have it, the
collection not only sufficed to clear the dues but left
something to spare (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari).
His love for the poor was so deep that
he used to pray:
"O Allah, keep me poor in my
life and at my death and raise me at resurrection among
those who are poor." (Nasai, Chapter: Pardon)
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