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The following is an excerpt from the book
entitled "The Message of Mohammad", by Athar Husain.
Among other things, it talks about some of the personal
characteristics of the prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him),
the final messenger of Allah (God). It has been edited
slightly in order to reduce it's length. Care has been taken
not to change the content inshallah. The topics include:
Appearance
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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).
Dress
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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".
Mode of living
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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).
His manners and
disposition
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"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).
Children
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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)
Daily routine
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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).
Trust in Allah (swt)
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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.
Justice
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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)
Equality
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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."
Love for the poor
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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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