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.