Description of the
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
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:
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)
Abdul Ghani
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