April 20, 2013

The Character of Muhammad (SAW)


Everyone knows the very famous story of when Rasulullah (S.A.W) was walking in the dessert at noon, it was very hot and he saw a woman carrying her luggage on her head. He went and took the luggage from her and carried it until they reached her destination. This woman did not know that it was Rasulullah (S.A.W) who was helping her. As they walked, Rasulullah (S.A.W) asked her why she was leaving town and she answered that she heard of a magician named Muhammad was in town. The whole way she kept on saying immoral things about the prophet (S.A.W), but Rasulullah (S.A.W) was very patient and kind, therefore he did not say anything and he listened quietly. When they finally reached their destination Rasulullah (S.A.W) put down her bag, and when he was just about to leave, the woman said to him, “Oh kind person! At least tell me your name!” Rasulullah (S.A.W) replied, “I am the person because of whom you left town.” The woman was amazed to hear this, and she felt bad that such a kind, helpful and true person had been wronged so she accepted Islam

There are many more incidents just like this; like the woman who used to throw garbage on Rasulullah (S.A.W) whenever he would pass by. Then when one day she failed to do so and Rasulullah (S.A.W) knocked on her door to see if she was ok, she feared that he had come to take revenge. When she found out that he only came to see that she is well she became so surprised and impressed by Rasulullah (S.A.W)’s behaviour that she accepted Islam.

See, Rasulullah (S.A.W), he did not preach to these women and immediately start telling them about Islam. He didn’t knock on the old lady’s door and say “hey since you’re not throwing garbage right now, maybe you wanna hear a little about tawheed.”No. He approached them with kindness and treated them in the best manner. They watched for themselves and seeing this amazing character in the prophet made them realize on their own that this man must be the messenger and this religion he has brought must be the truth.

Spreading Islam through words is very important, but we have to remember that our actions count a lot more. Most of us here go to public school, or not just in school but when we’re anywhere in the public people are watching us. They know we’re Muslims, so everything we do, in their eyes, thats what Islam is. We represent Islam. So if we show respect, kindness, be helpful and display the best manners in public, then the people who this behaviour will see that this is from Islam, a religion that teaches good morals. When we are at home, or at the masjid in a gathering, we are all equal, no Muslim is better than another. But, when we go in the outside world we are not the same as everyone else. When people see Muslims, they should see something different, something exceptional; Rasulullah (S.A.W)’s character was very great and uncommon. If people look at us and they do see these good morals and character this could be a means of da’wat to them and their coming closer to Islam. However, if we don’t show proper behaviour, and we act disrespectfully, speak rudely, show absolutely no manners and violent behaviours. Then people will obviously hate our religion and run away from it. Then when we do try to call people to Islam they will only have negative thoughts about. When we look all over the media we see so many misconceptions about Islam. We get offended and defensive but reality is that most of these misconceptions are because of our own actions. The people examine our actions and it won’t make any difference to them what we say with our mouths. Even in the time of the prophet (S.A.W) sometimes disbelievers would come to the prophet just to see what kind of character he had. After Abdullah bin Salaam accepted Islam, he tried to convince his Jewish friend, Zaid bin Sa’nah, to accept Islam. Zaid bin Sa’nah insisted on his faith and refused to turn to Islam.  One day Abdullah bin Salaam entered masjid nabawi and he saw Zaid bin Sa’nah sitting there and he became really happy. When he asked why he accepted Islam, Zaid bin Sa’nah replied saying that he read about the attributes of the prophet (s.a.w) in the torah, and that for several days he’d been watching the prophet and he found all the attributes in the prophet (s.a.w) except one which was forbearance. Once he found this attribute in him as well, he fell in love with Islam and Rasulullah (s.a.w) and gave shahadah. So even back in the days, people from other religions would come and observe the Prophet (s.a.w)’s behaviour and they would be impressed by his incomparable character and they would automatically fall in love with Islam.

Today, we are surrounded by kuffar everywhere and they’re watching us. Anything we do defines our religion. Let’s ask ourselves, When people look at us what do they think? What would they say if we asked what they think Islam is? We are responsible for making sure that the message of Islam reaches everyone and best way is through our actions, so we must fix ourselves first. Actions speak louder than words. May Allah keep us steadfast on the straight path and use us in spreading his deen and bringing others to the right path. Ameen. 

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