Allah says in the Holy Quran:
Indeed you (O Muhammad) are of a great moral character. (68:4)
And:
For you in the Messenger of Allah is the finest example to follow… (33:21)
Below are a few stories that illustrate our beloved Prophet Muhammad’s beautiful character.
1. Concerned for Us:
There has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; full of concern for you, to the believers kind and compassionate. (9:128)
A’ishah narrates:
“Once, when I saw the Prophet in a good mood, I said to him:
“O Messenger of Allah! Supplicate to Allah for me!”
So, he said:
O Allah! Forgive ‘A’ishah her past sins and her future sins, the sins which she has hidden and the sins which have been made apparent.
So I began smiling, to the point that my head fell into the lap of the Messenger of Allah out of joy.
The Messenger of Allah said to me:
Does my supplication make you happy?
I replied: “And how can your supplication not make me happy?”
He then said:
By Allah, it is the supplication that I make for my Ummah in every prayer. (Al Bazzaar, Hasan)
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
I wish I could meet my brothers.
The Prophet’s companions said:
“Are we not your brothers?”
The Prophet said:
You are my companions, but my brothers are those who have faith in me although they never saw me. (Musnad Aḥmad)
2. Merciful:
We have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as a mercy to all the worlds. (21:107)
“Pray to God against the idolators,” it was said to the Prophet, “and curse them.”
“I have only been sent as a mercy, and have not been sent to curse,” was the Prophet’s reply. (Muslim)
When the Prophet Muhammad went to the city of Taif to tell them about Islam and the oneness of God, the people stoned him to the point that he was bleeding. The Angel Gabriel came to him and asked:
“Shall I bring together these two mountains and destroy the people of Taif who are living in between?”
The Prophet did not agree to this and made a prayer for the people of Taif, saying:
O my Lord! Please give right guidance to these people! I ask for a Muslim progeny from their lineage. (Bukhari, Muslim)
3. Compassionate:
One day, when the Prophet Muhammad was sitting in Madinah, members of a miserable tribe came. They had no shoes. Their skin was stuck to their bones because of hunger. The Prophet became very sad upon seeing their condition and his color changed. He had Bilal give the call to prayer and gathered his companions. From his companions, he took up a collection for the tribe, generously helping them. (Muslim and Ahmad)
Once the Prophet saw a camel which was just skin and bones. He said to the owner of that camel:
Fear Allah for these speechless animals! Do not let them stay hungry! (Abu Dawud)
After the Battle of Badr, prisoners of war were brought. Among them was al-Abbas. He did not have a shirt on, so the Prophet looked for a shirt for him. It turned out that a shirt of Abd Allah ibn Ubayy was the right size, so the Prophet gave it to al-Abbas to wear and compensated Abdullah with his own shirt. (Bukhari)
4. Patient:
Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you… (3:159)
Anas bin Malik narrates: Once I was walking with God’s Apostle and he was wearing a cloak with a thick border. A Bedouin followed him and pulled his cloak so violently that I noticed the side of the shoulder of God’s Apostle affected by the border of the cloak because of that violent pull.
The Bedouin said:
“O Muhammad! Give me some of God’s wealth which is with you.”
God’s Apostle turned and looked at him, and smiling, he ordered that he be given something. (Bukhari)
Anas ibn Malik reports:
“God’s messenger was sitting in the mosque with some of his companions when a Bedouin urinated inside the mosque. The Prophet’s companions said:
‘What is going on?’
‘What are you doing?’
The Prophet Muhammad said to them:
Do not interrupt him.
He subsequently called the man and said to him:
These mosques are not the place where one can throw any dirt, urine or stools. They are meant for reciting the Quran, glorifying God and prayer.’ He then called for a bucket of water and he poured it over the urine. (Bukhari, Muslim)
5. Honest:
The Prophet had promised Jabir bin Abdullah that he would give him some gifts from the stock of articles coming from Bahrain, but before fulfilling his promise he died. When the stock from Bahrain arrived, it was announced in public that anyone the Prophet might have promised from this stock and anyone who had lent something to the Prophet should come and take away his due. (Bukhari)
(Even on his deathbed, the Prophet was concerned about his responsibilities to others and took precautions to make sure that his responsibilities were fulfilled.)
6. Simple and Spiritual:
Umar ibn Al-Khattab narrated:
“I entered the Messenger’s house and found him sitting on a mat. He had a leather pillow stuffed with fibers. He had a pot of water by his feet, and there were some clothes hung on the wall. His sides had marks due to the mat he lay on. I wept when I saw this and the Messenger asked:
Why do you weep?
I said:
“O Messenger of God, Khosrou and Caesar enjoy the best of this world, and you are suffering in poverty!”
He said:
Aren’t you pleased that they enjoy this world, and we will enjoy the Hereafter? (Bukhari)
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