Week 10
April 21, 2005
Dr. Sefik Hikmet Toprak
IDSA at UTD
Topic: The Rose of Hearts
Summary: Commemorating The Anniversary of
Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday, peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him. A
Selection of His Personal and Prophetic Qualities.
1. Physical
Description:
Transmitted
from Ali [son-in-law of the Prophet], may God be pleased with him, who, when
asked to describe the Prophet, peace be upon him, would say: He was not too
tall nor too short. He was medium sized. His hair was not short and curly, nor
was it lank, but in between. His face was not narrow, nor was it fully round,
but there was a roundness to it. His skin was white. His eyes were black. He
had long eyelashes. He was big-boned and had wide shoulders. He had no body
hair except in the middle of his chest. He had thick hands and feet. When he
walked, he walked inclined, as if descending a slope. When he looked at
someone, he looked at them in full face.
Between
his shoulders was the seal of prophecy, the sign that he was the last of the
prophets. He was the most generous-hearted of men, the most truthful of them in
speech, the most mild-tempered of them, and the noblest of them in lineage.
Whoever saw him unexpectedly was in awe of him. And whoever associated with him
familiarly, loved him. Anyone who would describe him would say, I never saw,
before him or after him, the like of him. Peace be upon him.
Anas says
that God's Messenger was the most handsome of people.
Jabir ibn
Samura remarks: "Once during a full moon, we were sitting in the mosque.
God's Messenger came in. I looked first at the shining moon, and then at his
face. I swear by God that his face was brighter than the moon." [Suyuti,
Al-Khasa'is al-Kubra', 1:123; Hindi, Kanz al-'Ummal, 7:168]
2. The
Beloved of Hearts:
'Urwa met
Prophet Muhammad in Hudaybiya and returned to the Quraysh and said: "I
have visited Chosroes, Caesar, and the Negus. None of their subjects are so
devoted to their rulers as his Companions are to Muhammad. I advise you not to
struggle with him." [Bukhari, 3:180; Ibn Hanbal, 4:324; Tabari, 3:75]
3.
Steadfastness:
"If
you were even to put the sun in my right hand, and the moon in the left, I will
never give up preaching my cause." [Ibn Hisham, Sira, 2:285]
God's
Messenger took Zayd ibn Haritha with him and went to Ta'if. But the people of
this city also treated him harshly. The children lined up on either side of the
road and threw stones at him. As he was wearing no armor, by the time he had
left the town and found a tree under which to rest, he was bleeding profusely.
He held up his hands and supplicated:
O God,
unto You I complain of my frailty, lack of resources and significance before
those people. O Most Merciful of the merciful, You are the Lord of the
oppressed and are my Lord. To whom do You abandon me? To that stranger who
looks askance and grimaces at me? Or to that enemy to whom You have given
mastery over me? If Your indignation is not directed at me, I have no worry.
But Your grace is much greater for me to wish for. I seek refuge in the light
of Your Countenance, which illumines all darkness and by which the affairs of
this life and the Hereafter have been rightly ordered, lest Your wrath alight
upon me, or Your indignation descend upon me. I expect Your forgiveness until
You are pleased. There is no resource or power but in You.
After
saying this, he noticed that a tray had been placed before him. Addas, a
Christian slave from
'A'isha
reported that sometimes was no food was cooked for four successive days in
their house. [Bukhari, Riqaq, 17; Muslim, Zuhd, 28]
One day,
he told Gabriel: "It has been several days since someone has lit a fire to
cook food in the house of Muhammad's family. An angel appeared and asked:
"O Messenger of God, God greets you and asks if you would like to be a
Prophet-king or a Prophet-slave?" He turned to Gabriel, who recommended
humility. The Prophet raised his voice and replied: "I wish to be a Prophet-slave,
who entreats God in hunger one day and thanks Him in satisfaction the
next." [Ibn Hanbal, 2:231; Al-Hindi, 7:191; Haythami, Majma' al-Zawa'id,
9:18–19]
4.
Forgiveness:
After the
Battle of Uhud God’s Messenger Prayed: "O God, forgive my people, for they
do not know." [Muslim, Jihad, 101; Bukhari, Anbiya', 54]
Ikrima was
one of the staunchest enemies of Islam and the Messenger, and an active
participant in all plots to defeat him. He fled to
Ikrima was
deeply affected by such nobility, and requested him to ask God's pardon for his
sins. When the Messenger did so, Ikrima felt exhilarated and promised to spend
for the sake of Islam double what he had spent fighting it. [Hakim, Mustadrak,
3:241–3; Ibn Hajar, Al-Isaba, 2:496]
God's
Messenger welcomed Khalid with a compliment: "I was wondering how a sensible
man like Khalid could remain an unbeliever. I had a strong conviction that you
would one day accept Islam." [Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya, 4:273] He comforted
'Amr ibn al-'As, who asked him to pray for God's forgiveness of him, and said:
"Don't you know that those who accept Islam are cleansed of all their
previous sins?" [Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya, 4:271]
God's
Messenger says that "all children of Adam make mistakes and err, and the
best of those who make faults and err are the repentant." [Tirmidhi,
"Qiyama," 49; Ibn Maja, "Zuhd," 30]
5. Love
and fear of God, Devotion To Him:
"The
most meritorious of the words spoken by me and the Prophets before me is:
'There is no god but God, He is One, having no partners.'" [Imam Malik,
Muwatta, Hajj, 246; Hindi, Kanz al-'Ummal, 5:73.]
"Perfect
goodness or virtue is to worship God as if you were seeing Him, and while you
see Him not, yet truly He sees you." [Bukhari, Iman, 47; Muslim, Iman,
5:7]
His wife
'A'isha gives the following account of his last moments: I was with him during
his last moments. Whenever he became ill, he would ask me to pray for him and,
expecting my prayer to be accepted through the blessing of his auspicious hand,
I held his hand and prayed. During his last illness, I wanted to do the same
and pray, when he suddenly withdrew his hand and said: "To Rafiq
al-A'la." [Bukhari, Maghazi, 78; Muslim, Salam, 50,51; Abu Dawud, Tib, 19]
'A'isha
narrated that one night he asked her permission to get up and pray. He prayed
until daybreak and shed tears. He frequently recited the following verses: In
the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, and in the alternation of day and
night, are signs for those of understanding. Those that remember God standing,
sitting, and lying down, and meditate upon the creation of the Heavens and the
Earth. "Our Lord, You have not created this in vain. Glory be to You.
Protect us from the punishment of the Fire. Our Lord, those whom You will admit
to the Fire You have abased; for wrongdoers there are no helpers. Our Lord, we
have heard a caller calling to faith: 'Believe in your Lord!' So we believed.
Therefore, Our Lord, forgive our sins and erase our evil deeds. Take our souls
in death in the company of the righteous. Our Lord, grant us what You promised
to us through Your Messengers, and do not abase us on the Day of Resurrection.
You never break the promise." [3:190–94]
'A'isha
reports: I woke up one night and could not see God's Messenger beside me. As I
just got up from bed, my hand touched his feet. I noticed that he was prostrating,
praying: "O God, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath, and in
Your forgiveness from Your punishment; I also seek refuge in Yourself from You.
I cannot praise You as You praise Yourself."
In an
authentic Tradition, God's Messenger says: God will shade seven (groups) of
people under His shade on the Day when there will be no shade except His: the
just ruler; young people who have grown up in worship of God, may He be
glorified; those people who are greatly attached to mosques; two persons who
love each other for God's sake, meet and then leave each other because of this
love; men who refuse the invitations of beautiful women of rank, saying:
"I fear God"; those who spend in the way of God so secretly that when
they give charity to the one on his left, the one on the right does not see it;
and those whose eyes fill with tears when they mention God in seclusion.
6.
Austerity:
Once
'Umar, upon seeing him, said: "O Messenger of God, kings sleep in soft,
feather beds, while you lie on a rough mat. You are the Messenger of God and
thereby deserve an easy life more than anyone else." God's Messenger
answered: "Don't you agree that the luxuries of the world should be theirs
and those of the Hereafter ours?" [Bukhari, Tafsir, 287; Muslim, Talaq, 31]
7.
Humbleness:
God's
Messenger used to eat with slaves and servants. Once a woman saw him eating and
remarked: "He's eating as if he were a slave." God's Messenger
responded: "Could there be a better slave than me? I am a slave of
God." [Haythami, 9:21]
When a man
seeing him for the first time began trembling out of fear, because he found the
Prophet's appearance so awe-inspiring, the Messenger calmed him: "Brother,
don't be afraid. I am a man, like you, whose mother used to eat dry
bread." [Ibn Maja, "At'ýma," 30; Haythami, 9:20]
An insane
woman pulled him by the hand and said: "Come with me and do my
housework." He complied with her request. [Qadi 'Iyad, al-Shifa', 1:131,
133]
'A'isha
reported that the Messenger patched his clothes, repaired his shoes, and helped
his wives with the housework. [Tirmidhi, Shama'il, 78; Ibn Hanbal, 6:256]
8. Concise
Speech with Depth of Meanings:
"I am
Muhammad, an unlettered Prophet. No Prophet will come after me. I have been
distinguished with conciseness of speech and comprehensiveness of
meaning," [Hindi, Kanz al-'Ummal, 11:412] and "O people, I have been
honored with conciseness of speech and giving the final judgment in all
matters." [Hindi, Kanz al-'Ummal, 11:425]
Imam
Tirmidhi relates from Ibn 'Abbas, the Scholar of the Umma, that God's Messenger
said to him: O young man, let me teach you a few principles: Observe the rights
of God so that God will protect you. Observe His rights so that you always will
find Him with you. When you ask something, ask it from God. When you seek help,
seek it from God. Know that if everyone joined together to help you, they could
only do that which God already preordained for you. If everyone joined together
to hurt you, they could only do that which God already preordained for you. The
Pen of Destiny has been lifted, and everything has been ordained.
Ibn Hanbal
related from Mu'adh ibn Jabal: God's Messenger said: "Fear God wherever
you are. Do good immediately after a sinful act to erase it, and always be
well-mannered in your relationship with people."
Bukhari,
Muslim, and Abu Dawud relate from 'Umar that God's Messenger said:
"Actions are judged according to intentions. One is rewarded for whatever
one intends to do."
Bukhari
records that God's Messenger said: "The Muslim is one from whose tongue
and hand Muslims are safe. The Emigrant is one who emigrates from what God
forbids."
God's
Messenger says: "Being a good Muslim causes people to abandon that which
is of no use to them."
Both
Bukhari and Muslim relate that God's Messenger said: "Patience is shown at
the moment of misfortune."
Bukhari
relates that God's Messenger said: "God says: 'I have prepared for My
righteous servants such things of which they have never seen, heard, or
imagined.'"
In a
hadith related by Bukhari and Muslim, God's Messenger says: "
Bukhari
and Muslim relate that God's Messenger said: "Believers are not bitten
twice from the same hole."
Recorded
by Bukhari and Muslim: "Human beings are like ores containing silver or
gold. Those who are promising and in leading positions in unbelief are better
than others (in virtue) when they accept Islam and acquire a good understanding
of it."
In another
hadith, God's Messenger said: "Surely God grants the wrongdoer, the
oppressor, a reprieve. But once He seizes him, He utterly destroys him."
Then he recited: “Such is the chastisement of your Lord when He chastises
communities in the midst of their wrong: grievous, indeed, and severe is His
chastisement.” [11:102]
The
Messenger declares: "When you do something, God likes you to do it
perfectly." [Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-'Ummal, 3:907]
The
Messenger, who once said: "Whoever takes counsel, does not regret it in
the end," [Maythami, Majma' al-Zawa'id, 2:280]
9.
Compassion:
He
declared: "The most perfect believers are the best in character, and the
best of you are the kindest to their families." [Abu Dawud,
"Sunna," 15; Tirmidhi, "Rada'," 11]
In a
hadith narrated by Muslim, Anas bin Malik, honored as the Messenger's servant
for ten continuous years, says: "I've never seen a man who was more
compassionate to his family members than Muhammad." [Muslim,
"Fada'il," 63]
He carried
his grandsons Hasan and Husayn on his back. Despite his unique status, he did
this without hesitation to herald the honor that they would attain later. One
time when they were on his back, 'Umar came into the Prophet's house and,
seeing them, exclaimed: "What a beautiful mount you have!" The Messenger
added immediately: "What beautiful riders they are!" [Hindi, Kanz
al-'Ummal, 13:650]
He loved
his granddaughter Umama as much as he loved Hasan and Husayn. He often went out
with her on his shoulders, and even placed her on his back while praying. When
he prostrated, he put her down; when he had finished, he placed her on his back
again. [Bukhari, "Adab," 18; Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, 8:39]
When one
of his Companions died, he asked those at the funeral if the deceased had left
any debts. On learning that he had, the Prophet mentioned the above verse and
announced that the creditors should come to him for repayment. [Muslim,
"Fara'iz," 14; Bukhari, "Istiqraz," 11]
When he
conquered Makka without bloodshed in the twenty-first year of his Prophethood,
he asked the Makkan unbelievers: "How do you expect me to treat you?"
They responded unanimously: "You are a noble one, the son of a noble
one." He then told them his decision: "You may leave, for no reproach
this day shall be on you. May God forgive you. He is the Most Compassionate of
the Compassionate." [Ibn Hisham, Sira, 4:55; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, 4:344]
“I am
Muhammad, and Ahmad (praised one), and Muqaffi (the Last Prophet); I am Hashir
(the final Prophet in whose presence the dead will be resurrected); the Prophet
of repentance (the Prophet for whom the door of repentance will always remain
open), and the Prophet of mercy.”
Once, he
said: "Pity those on Earth so that those in the Heavens will pity
you."
A member
of the Banu Muqarrin clan once beat his maidservant. She informed the
Messenger, who sent for the master. He said: "You have beaten her without
any justifiable right. Free her." [Muslim, "Ayman," 31, 33; Ibn
Hanbal, 3:447]
We hear
from him: "A prostitute was guided to truth by God and ultimately went to
While in
Mina, some of his Companions attacked a snake in order to kill it. However, it
managed to escape. Watching this from afar, the Messenger remarked: "It
was saved from your evil, as you were from its evil."
Ibn 'Abbas
reported that when the Messenger saw a man sharpening his knife directly before
the sheep to be slaughtered, he asked: "Do you want to kill it many
times?"
'Abd Allah
ibn Ja'far narrates: "The Messenger went to a garden in Madina with a few
Companions. A very scrawny camel was in a corner. Seeing the Messenger, it
began to cry. The Messenger went to it and, after staying beside it for a while,
severely warned the owner to feed it properly."
Zayd ibn
San'an narrates: Before I embraced Islam, the Messenger borrowed some money
from me. I went to him to collect my debt before its due time, and insulted
him: "O you children of 'Abd al-Muttalib, you are very reluctant to pay
your debts!" 'Umar became very angry with me and shouted: "O enemy of
God! Were it not for the treaty between us and the Jewish community, I would
cut off your head! Speak to the Messenger politely!" However, the
Messenger smiled at me and, turning to 'Umar, said: "Pay him, and add 20
gallons to it, because you frightened him."
'Umar
relates the rest of the story: We went together. On the way, Zayd said
unexpectedly: "'Umar, you were angry with me. But I find in him all the features
of the Last Prophet recorded in the Torah, the Old Testament. It contains this
verse: His mildness surpasses his anger. The severity of impudence to him
increases him only in mildness and forbearance. To test his forbearance, I
provoked him deliberately. Now I am convinced that he is the Prophet whose
coming the Torah predicted. So, I believe and bear witness that he is the Last
Prophet." [Suyuti, al-Khasa'is, 1:26; Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba, 1:566]
Once his
congregation complained about Mu'adh ibn Jabal, saying he prolonged the night
prayer. The Prophet's love for Mu'adh did not stop him asking three times if he
was a trouble-maker. [Muslim, "Salat," 179; Nasa'i,
"Iftitah," 71; Bukhari, "Adab," 74]
10. No discrimination:
"No
Arab is superior to a non-Arab, and no white person is superior to a black
person"; [Ibn Hanbal, 5:441] Superiority is by righteousness and devotion
to God alone (49:13); and: "Even if a black Abyssinian Muslim were to rule
over Muslims, he should be obeyed." [Muslim, 'Imara," 37]
During his
caliphate, 'Umar paid Usama (the son of Zayd, emancipated slave of Prophet Muhammad)
a higher salary than his own son, 'Abd Allah. When his son asked why, 'Umar
replied: "My son, I do so because I know the Messenger loved Usama's
father more than me, and Usama more than you." [Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, 4:70;
Ibn Hajar, 1:564]
11.
Generosity:
The
Messenger was, in the words of Anas, "the most comely and generous
person."
Once, a
bedouin came and asked the Messenger for something. The Messenger complied with
his request. The bedouin continued to ask, and the Messenger continued to give
until he had nothing left. When the bedouin asked again, he promised that he
would give it to him when he had it. Angered by such rudeness, 'Umar said to
the Messenger: "You were asked and you gave. Again you were asked and you
gave, until you were asked once more and you promised!" 'Umar meant that
the Messenger should not make things so difficult for himself. The Messenger
did not approve of 'Umar's words. 'Abd Allah ibn Hudafa al-Sahmi stood up and
said: "O Messenger, give without fear that the Owner of the Seat of Honor
will make you poor!' Pleased with such words, the Messenger declared: "I
was commanded to do so!"
God’s
Messenger said: "The generous are near to God,
12.
Truthfulness:
“Promise
me six things and I will promise you
“Abandon
what arouses your suspicions and follow what is certain. Truthfulness gives
satisfaction; lying causes suspicion.” [Tirmidhi, Qiyamah, 60; Ibn Hanbal,
1:200]
“Seek
truthfulness even if it might bring you to ruin.” [Hindi, Kanz al-'Ummal, 3:344]
“Always be
truthful, for truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to
13.
Trustworthiness:
A
Companion remembered: "Before his Prophethood, we made an appointment to
meet somewhere. It was, however, 3 days after the appointed time when I
remembered it. When I hastened to the appointed place, I found the future
Prophet waiting for me. He was neither angry nor offended. His only reaction
was to say: 'O young man, you have given me some trouble. I have been waiting
here for you for 3 days.'" [Abu Dawud, Adab, 82]
He warned
his people against lying, breaking their word, and breaching their trust. All
of these were condemned as "signs of hypocrisy." [Abu Dawud, Adab,
80; Ibn Hanbal, 3:447] He was so meticulous in this matter that when he saw a
woman call her child, saying: "Come on, I'll give you something," he
asked her if she was telling the truth. She replied that she would give him a
date, to which God's Messenger responded: "If you don't give him
something, you are a liar."
His
concern in this matter extended even to animals. Once, annoyed at seeing a
Companion trying to deceive his horse, he said: "Stop deceiving animals.
Instead, be trustworthy with them." [Bukhari, Iman, 24; Muslim, Iman, 107]
Another time, while returning from a military campaign, a few Companions took
some baby birds from a nest to pet them. The mother bird returned after a short
while and, finding her babies gone, began to fly around in distress. When God's
Messenger was informed, he was so upset that he ordered the babies returned
immediately. Such an order was meant to show that representatives of
trustworthiness should harm no living creatures. [Abu Davud, Jihad, 112, Adab,
164; Ibn Hanbal, 1:404]
According
to God's Messenger, breaching a trust is a sign of the end of time: "When
a trust is breached, expect the end of time." When his Companions asked
how a trust would be breached, he answered: "If a job or post is assigned
to the unqualified, expect the end of time." [Bukhari, 'Ilm, 2; Ibn
Hanbal, 3,361]
Trustworthiness
is so essential an aspect of belief that God's Messenger once declared:
"One who is not trustworthy is not a believer," [Ibn Hanbal, 3:135]
and described a believer as one whom the people trust with their blood and property.
[Tirmidhi, Iman, 12; Ibn Ma'ja, Fitan, 2]
14.
Knowledge of the Unseen, the Past and the Future:
Abu Sufyan
accepted Islam during the conquest of Makka, but belief had not yet been
established firmly in his heart. While God's Messenger was circumambulating the
Ka'ba, it occurred to him: "I wonder what would happen if I formed a new
army to confront this man once more." No sooner had he thought this than
God's Messenger approached him and said: "If you do, God will defeat you
again." [Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidaya, 4:348; Bayhaqi, Dala'il al-Nubuwwa, 5:102]
Bukhari
and Abu Dawud quote Habbab ibn Arat, who said: "During the days of trouble
and torture in Makka, I went to God's Messenger while he was sitting in the
shade of the Ka'ba. I was still a slave then, and the Makkans tortured me
severely. Unable to endure it any longer, I asked him to pray to God for help
and salvation. But he faced me and said: "By God, previous communities
endured much more than this. Some people were forced to lie in ditches and then
sawed in half. This did not make them forsake their faith. They were skinned
alive, but never became weak against the enemy. God will perfect this religion,
but you are impatient. A day will come when a woman will travel alone by
herself from San'a to Hadramut fearing nothing but wild beasts. However, you
show impatience." Habbab concluded: "By God, what God's Messenger
predicted that day has all come true. I have personally witnessed it all."
[Bukhari, Manaqib, 22; Abu Dawud, Jihad, 97]
During his
last illness, God's Messenger called his daughter Fatima to his bedside. He
whispered something to her, and she burst into tears. He called her again and
whispered something else to her. This time she displayed great joy. 'A'isha saw
this and asked
One day on
the pulpit God's Messenger took his grandson Hasan into his arms and declared:
"This son of mine is a noble one. It is hoped that God will reconcile
through him two large hosts of Muslims." [Bukhari, Sulh, 9; Ibn Hanbal,
5:49] About 35 years after this prediction, Hasan renounced the caliphate in
favor of Mu'awiya, thus demonstrating the truthfulness of his noble
grandfather.
One day
the Messenger put his hand on 'Abd Allah ibn Busr's head and said: "This
boy will live 100 years, and those warts on his face will disappear." [Haythami,
Al-Majma' al-Zawa'id, 9:404–5] 'Abd Allah lived, as predicted by God's
Messenger, for 100 years and died without any warts on his face.
15.
Predictions on Scientific Developments:
"God
did not send down an illness for which He did not send a cure." [Bukhari,
Tib, 1]
"There
is a cure for every illness." [Abu Dawud, Tib, 10; Muslim, Salam, 69]
"The
blessings of food lie in washing hands before and after eating." [Abu
Dawud, At'ima, 11; Tirmidhi, At'ýma, 39; Ibn Hanbal, 5:441]
"If
it didn't burden upon community excessively, I would command them to clean
their teeth with miswak [a tooth stick] before each of the five daily
prayers." [Bukhari, Jumu'a, 8; Muslim, Tahara, 42; Abu Dawud, Tahara, 25;
Tirmidhi, Tahara, 18; Nasa'i, Tahara, 6; Ibn Ma'ja, Tahara, 7; Ibn Hanbal, 1:80]
16.
Christians and Jews of His Time:
God's
Messenger sent the following letter to the Negus, king of
The Negus
received the letter, and, kissing it, put it to his head as a sign of respect.
After reading the letter, the Negus accepted Islam without hesitation and
dictated to his secretary the following answer: “To Muhammad, God's Messenger,
from the Negus. I bear witness that you are the Messenger of God. If you
command me to come to you, I will do it, but I am not in a position to make my
subjects Muslim. O God's Messenger, I testify that what you say is all true.” [Ibn
Kathir, Al-Bidaya, 3:104-105]
'Abd Allah
ibn Salam, the renowned Jewish scholar of Madina, believed in him at first
sight, saying: "There can be no lie in this face. One with such a face can
only be a Messenger of God." [Ibn Hisham, Sira, 163–4]
17. Further