PROPHET MUHAMMAD'S ﷺ TOLERANCE

PROPHET MUHAMMAD'S ﷺ TOLERANCE

The tolerance and kindness of our Prophet Muhammad, ﷺ, was remarkable and not even his worst enemies could deny it. His life was full of incidents that represent tolerance in its clearest definition. To choose some of these incidents as examples is really difficult, however some of these examples just as a demonstration of how merciful and tolerant he was.

Allah says in the Quran about Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: “We have sent you[o Muhammad], as a mercy for all the worlds.” Quran Surah anbiya 21:107

Table of Contents
His tolerance with Non Muslims in Medina
His tolerance with the Polytheists
The incident of Al-Taif
The conquest of Makkah
Forgiving Ikrimah
Habbar ibn al-Aswad
His tolerance with the Christians
His tolerance with the Jews
References

His tolerance with Non Muslims in Medina
The best example of the tolerance shown by the Prophet to other religions may be the constitution itself, called the ‘Saheefah’ by early historians. When the Prophet migrated to Medina, his role as a mere religious leader ended; he was now the political leader of a state, governed by the precepts of Islam, which demanded that clear laws of governance be laid out to ensure harmony and stability in a society which once had been distraught by decades of war, one which must ensure the peaceful coexistence of Muslims, Jews, Christians and polytheists. Due to this, the Prophet laid down a ‘constitution’ which detailed the responsibilities of all parties which resided in Medina, their obligations towards each other, and certain restrictions which were placed on each. All parties were to obey what was mentioned therein, and any breach of its articles was regarded as an act of treachery.

The first article of the constitution was that all the inhabitants of Medina, the Muslims as well as those who had entered the pact from the Jews, Christian, and idolaters, were “one nation to the exclusion of all others.” People of other faiths were protected from harm as much as the Muslims, as is stated in another article, “To the Jews who follow us belong help and equity. He shall not be harmed nor his enemies be aided.”

The lives of the practitioners of other religions in the Muslim society were also given protective status. The Prophet said: “Whoever kills a person who has a truce with the Muslims will never smell the fragrance of Paradise.” (Saheeh Muslim) Since the upper hand was with the Muslims, the Prophet strictly warned against any maltreatment of people of other faiths. He said: “Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, or curtails their rights, or burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.” (Abu Dawud)

His tolerance with the Polytheists
The incident of Al-Taif
The Prophet, ﷺ, traveled to the city of Taif, a city located in the mountains nearby to Makkah, in order to invite them to accept Islam. The leaders of Taif, however, were rude and discourteous in their treatment of the Prophet. Not being content with their insolent attitude towards him, they even stirred up some gangs of the town to harass him.

When people of the village of Ta'if rejected him, stoned him, ejected him, and made his feet to bleed, the angel Gabriel came to him and said, "Allah has heard what your people say to you and how they reject you. He has ordered the angels of the mountains to obey whatever you tell them to do." The angel of the mountains called him, greeted him and said, "Send me to do what you wish. If you wish, I will crush them between the two mountains of Makkah." The Prophet said, "Rather, I hope that Allah will bring forth from their loins those who will worship Allah alone and not associate anything with Him.” Sahih Muslim 1795 ( Book 19, Hadith 4425)

The conquest of Makkah
When Prophet Muhammad conquered Makkah, its leaders came to him fearing that he would kill them as all conquerors do. The Prophet said to the Quraish: “O people of Quraish! What do you think I will do to you?

Hoping for a good response, they said: “You will do good. You are a noble brother, son of a noble brother.”

But instead, he said," Go! You are all free!"

He said that merciful to his worst enemies, whom he could easily eradicate from the face of the earth when he conquered Makkah, and who had hated him, rejected his call, displayed insolent arrogance towards his religion, stood and fought against him, killed his beloved Companions, deformed the dead body of his dear martyred uncle, Hamzah, and even eaten his liver with incredible wild rancor.

Forgiving Ikrimah
Ikrimah was the greatest enemy of Islam. Despite the general amnesty proclaimed by the Prophet, ﷺ, on the day of victory, Ikrimah picked a fight with the Muslims, suffered a defeat and then fled. When Ikrimah’s wife pleaded for his forgiveness, the Prophet, ﷺ, forgave.

Immediately after forgiveness, when Ikrimah appeared before the Prophet, ﷺhe said to him arrogantly that ‘if you think that because of your forgiveness I have also become a Muslim, then let it be clear that I have not become a Muslim. If you can forgive me while I remain steadfast on my own faith, then that is fine, otherwise I leave’. The Prophet, ﷺ, said, ‘You can, no doubt, remain steadfast on your faith. You are free in every way.’

Habbar ibn al-Aswad
Habir ibn al-Aswad was another vicious enemy of Muhammad and Islam. He inflicted a serious injury to Zainab, daughter of the Noble Prophet when she decided to migrate to Medina. She was pregnant when she started her migration, and the polytheists of Makkah tried to stop her from leaving. This particular man, Habbar bin al-Aswad, physically assaulted her and intentionally caused her to fall down from her camel. Her fall had caused her to miscarry her baby, and she herself, was badly hurt. Later on when he decided to come to Muhammad, ﷺ, our merciful and forgiving Prophet magnanimously forgave him.

 

His tolerance with the Christians
The Najran Delegation

In the year (631 CE), Prophet Muhammad received a delegation of sixty Christians from Najran in Medinah. They were received in the Prophet’s mosque wearing their crosses. The companions of prophet Muhammad tried to prevent them from praying in the mosque, but the prophet allowed them to pray in the mosque, and they did so facing East.

He said, "The one who kill a believer will not smell the smell of the Paradise although its smell can be smelled from a distance of forty years (i.e He will not enter the Paradise nor be close to it)." Sahih al-Bukhari 6914(Vol. 9, Book 83, Hadith 49)

The Prophet sent a message to the monks of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai:
"This is a message written by Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, far and near, we are behind them. Verily, I defend them by myself, the servants, the helpers, and my followers, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them. No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be changed from their jobs, nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil Allah's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they (Christians) are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate. No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, this is not to take place without her own wish. She is not to be prevented from going to her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation is to disobey this covenant till the Day of Judgment and the end of the world."

His tolerance with the Jews
There are lots of examples that clearly demonstrate the tolerance of our Noble Prophet, ﷺ, with the Jews. The treaty which he made with them on entering Medinah that represented the constitution of the Islamic state there.

During the life of Prophet Muhammad, the Jews in Madina had a synagogue and an educational institute, Bait-Al-Midras. The Prophet preserved the institute and gave protection to the Jews. And Prophet invited them to Embrace Islam, Sahih al-Bukhari 6944(Vol. 9, Book 85, Hadith 77)

It is reported that a funeral of a Jew passed before the Prophet ﷺ. As a sign of respect, the Prophet stood up. The Prophet was asked "Why did you stand up for a Jewish funeral?" The Prophet replied, "Is it not a human soul?" Sahih al-Bukhari 1311, 1312, 1313 (Vol. 2, Book 23, Hadith 398, 399 and 400)
Source:Reference Link

⦁ The compassion of the Prophet towards those who abused him

Prophet Muhammad started the message of Islam in Arabia at a time when human rights had no meaning, might was right and the society was entrenched in paganism. In this environment, Prophet Muhammad taught a message of justice, peace, human rights, animal rights and even environmental rights as ordained by God, the One True Creator of all that is in the universe.

God has shown us in the character of Prophet Muhammad the model of a companionate person. He treated everyone, friends and foe, man and woman, young and old, with kindness and respect.

Even when the pagan Arabs reacted to the message of the Prophet with extreme hatred he showed love and kindness.

The following examples from the life of the Prophet show us how we should react when faced with hatred.

We can see one of the most patient and tolerant aspects of the Prophet's character in the incident of an old woman who made a habit of throwing trash in the way of the Holy Prophet Muhammad whenever he passed by her house.

The story related about this incident, mentions a neighbor of the Prophet that tried her best to irritate him by throwing garbage in his way every day. One day, when he walked out of his home there was no garbage. This made the Prophet inquire about the old woman and he came to know that she was sick. The Prophet went to visit her and offer any assistance she might need. The old woman was extremely humbled and at the same time ashamed of her actions in light of the concern that the Prophet showed her.

By seeing the example of compassion of Prophet Muhammad , she became convinced that Islam must be a true religion that the Prophet was preaching.

Another incident that is reported from the life of the Prophet is when the Prophet traveled to a neighboring town of Taif.

In Taif he thought he might find people who might be respectable to the message of Almighty God. The people of Taif turned out to be as hateful as the people of Makkah. The elders of the town planned an organized campaign to ridicule the Prophet. To escalate their disapproval of the Prophet and prevent him from preaching Islam, they set a group of children and vagabonds behind him. They pestered him and threw stones at him. Tired, forsaken and wounded, he sought refuge in a nearby garden. It belonged to Atabah and Shaibah, two wealthy chiefs of Quraish.

They were both there when Prophet Muhammad entered and sat under a distant tree. The Prophet raised his face towards heaven and prayed: "O Almighty! I raise unto you, my complaint for my weakness, my helplessness, and for the ridicule to which I have been subjected. O Merciful! You are the Master of all oppressed people, You are my God! So to whom would You consign me? To the strangers who would ill-treat me, or to the enemies who have an upper hand over me? If whatever has befallen me is not because of Your wrath, then I fear not. No doubt, the field of Your security and care is wide enough for me. I seek refuge in Your light which illuminates the darkness and straightens the affairs of this world and hereafter, that Your displeasure and wrath may not descend upon me. For the sake of Your pleasure, I remain pleased and resigned to my fate. No change in this world occurs without Your Will."

Atabah and Shaibah were watching. They sent for their servant named Adaas and gave him a plate full of grapes. "Take this to that man under the tree," they ordered. So he brought the grapes to Prophet Muhammad .

As the Prophet picked the grapes he said: "Bismillahir Rahmaanir Rahim" (In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate). Adaas had never heard this before. He was impressed by it, because the Prophet was invoking mercy and compassion of Almighty in spite of all the hardship he was subjected to.

"Who are you?" Adaas asked. Muhammad replied, "I am the Prophet of God. Where do you come from?"

The servant said: "I am Adaas, a Christian. I come from Nainava."

"Nainava? You come from a place where my brother Yunus bin Mati (Jonah son of Mati) lived," the Prophet said.

Adaas was surprised to hear the name.

"What do you know of Yunus? Here no one seems to know him. Even in Nainava there were hardly ten people who knew his father's name."

The Prophet said: "Yes, I know him because just like me, he was a Prophet of Almighty God."

Adaas fell on his knees before the Prophet , kissed his hand and embraced him.

It is further reported that after the Prophet took refuge from the stone-throwing mob, Angel Jibrael came to the Prophet and asked him if he so wished Jibrael would give the command to bury the city between two mountains. Although the prophet had suffered a great deal at the hands of these people, he replied that he did not wish destruction for the people of Taif because maybe their offspring would proclaim the religion of truth. 2

The Islamic scholar Imam Ghazali (1058 - 1111 C.E.) summarizes the information he collected in the hadith regarding our Prophet's compassionate attitude to all those around him as follows:

"He was far from knowing anger and quickly showed compassion for things. He was the most loving of men toward other people. He was the most auspicious of men and did the most good to others, and the most useful and beneficial to others." 3

The Quran says that Prophet was sent as a mercy to the worlds. If we are to honor the Prophet , it will be by adopting the sublime character of our Prophet and not through the emotions of anger and hate.

 

References:

1. Abdul Wahid Hamid, (2004) Islam the Natural Way. UK: Muslim Education and Literary Services.

2. Al-Bukhari and Muslim

3. (Imam Ghazali, Ihya'u Ulumiddin, Vol. 2)
Source:Reference Link

⦁ The Sons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had three sons and four daughters. All of his children were born to Hz Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (RA) except one son (Ibrahim), who was born to Hz Maria al-Qibtiyah (RA).
In the order of birth sequence, the children of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) are as follows:
⦁ Qasim
⦁ Hz Zainab (RA)
⦁ Hz Ruqayyah (RA)
⦁ Hz Umm Kulthum (RA)
⦁ Hz Fatima (RA)
⦁ Abdullah
⦁ Ibrahim
We have already shared the biographies of the daughters of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and you can read them by clicking the respective names in the list above. In this post, we will briefly talk about the sons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

 

The Sons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Qasim ibn Muhammad

The first son of Allah’s Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), was Qasim from whom he took his kunyah Abu al-Qasim (the Father of Qasim). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) liked being called Abu al-Qasim, and his Companions would often call him by this name. [1]
Narrated Jabi (RA):
A man among us begot a boy whom he named al-Qasim. The people said, “We will not call him (i.e. the father) by that Kunyah (Abu al-Qasim) till we ask the Prophet (PBUH) about it. The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Name yourselves by my name, but do not call (yourselves) by my Kunyah.”
Qasim passed away at very young age in Mecca. He died in 605 CE, even before Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’s Prophethood.

Abdullah ibn Muhammad

After the birth of Hz Fatima (RA), Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’s second son, Abdullah was born. There is some difference as to whether he was born after his father’s Prophethood began or before.
Abdullah was also known as al-Tahir and al-Tayyib. He too passed away at a very young age in the year 615 CE.

Ibrahim ibn Muhammad

The last child of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Ibrahim, was born in 630 CE or 08 AH. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had named him after Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH). As per Arabic tradition of the time, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) appointed Umm Saif (RA) as the wet nurse of infant Ibrahim. [2]
Anas bin Malik (RA) reported that Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) said:
“A child was born this night and I named him after the name of my father Ibrahim (PBUH).”
He then sent him to Umm Saif (RA), the wife of a blacksmith who was called Abu Saif (RA).
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would often visit their house to see Ibrahim. When the Prophet (PBUH) heard that his son became seriously ill, he went to him with Abd ar-Rahman bin Auf (RA). [3]
Narrated Anas bin Malik (RA):
We went with Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) to the blacksmith Abu Saif (RA), and he was the husband of the wet-nurse of Ibrahim (the son of the Prophet). Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) took Ibrahim and kissed him and later we entered Abu Saif’s house and at that time Ibrahim was in his last breath, and the eyes of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) started shedding tears. Abd ar-Rahman bin Auf (RA) said, “O Allah’s Apostle, even you are weeping!” He said, “O Ibn Auf, this is mercy.” Then he wept more and said, “The eyes are shedding tears and the heart is grieved, and we will not say except what pleases our Lord, O Ibrahim! Indeed, we are grieved by your separation.”
Ibrahim passed away at the age of nearly 16 or 18 months in the year 632 CE. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) led the funeral prayer of his son. He was buried in al-Baqi Cemetery in Medina. [4]
Narrated Ismail (RA):
I asked Abi Aufa, “Did you see Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet (PBUH)?” He said, “Yes, but he died in his early childhood. Had there been a Prophet after Muhammad, then his son might have lived, but there is no Prophet after him.”
When Ibrahim passed away, the sun was eclipsed. The word went out saying that the solar eclipse had occurred as a result of the sadness over the death of Ibrahim. Upon hearing this, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) denied such rumors, saying: [5]
Narrated Abu Bakr (RA):
In the lifetime of the Allah’s Messenger (PBUH), the sun eclipsed and he went out dragging his clothes till he reached the Masjid. The people gathered around him and he led them and offered two rakah of prayers. When the sun (eclipse) cleared, he said, “The sun and the moon are two signs amongst the Signs of Allah; they do not eclipse because of the death of someone, and so when an eclipse occurs, pray and invoke Allah till the eclipse is over.” It so happened that a son of the Prophet (PBUH) called Ibrahim died on that day and the people were talking about that (saying that the eclipse was caused by his death).
Source:Reference Link