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Description: The forgiveness of the Prophet
towards non-Muslims, even those who sought to kill him and opposed his
mission throughout his life.
Part
1:
The Prophet Muhammad, may God
praise him, was described as a “Mercy for all the Worlds”, as God said in
the Quran:
“We have sent you as a mercy for all the worlds.”
The recipients of this quality
were not limited to just the Muslim nation, but it also extended to
non-Muslims, some of who spent all their effort trying to harm the Prophet
and his mission. This mercy
and forgiveness is clearly demonstrated in the fact that the Prophet, may
God praise him, never took revenge on anyone for personal reasons and
always forgave even his staunch enemies. Aishah said that the Prophet never took revenge on his
own behalf on anyone. She also
said that he never returned evil for evil, but he would forgive and
pardon. This will, God
willing, become clear after a deep analysis of the following accounts of
his life.
In the earlier portion of his
mission, the Prophet traveled to the city of Taif, a city located in the
mountains nearby to Mecca, 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. This riff-raff
followed the Prophet shouting at and abusing him, and throwing stones at
him, until he was compelled to take refuge in an orchard. Thus the Prophet had to endure even
more obstacles in Taif than he had had to face in Mecca. These ruffians, stationed either
side of the path, threw stones at him until his feet were injured and
smeared with blood. These
oppressions so grievously dejected the Prophet and plunged him into in such
a state of depression that a prayer, citing his helplessness and pitiable
condition and seeking the aid of God, spontaneously came from his lips:
“O God, to You I complain of my weakness, lack of resources
and humiliation before these people.
You are the Most Merciful, the Lord of the weak and my Master. To whom will You consign me? To one estranged, bearing ill will,
or an enemy given power over me?
If You do not assign me any worth, I care not, for Your favor is
abundant upon me. I seek
refuge in the light of Your countenance by which all darkness is dispelled
and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Thy anger
should descend upon me or Your displeasure light upon me. I need only Your pleasure and
satisfaction for only You enable me to do good and evade the evil. There is no power and no might but
You.”
The Lord then sent the angel of
mountains, seeking the permission of the Prophet to join together the two
hills and crush the city of Taif, between which it was located. Out of his great tolerance and
mercy, the Messenger of God replied,
“No! For, I
hope that God will bring forth from their loins people who will worship God
alone, associating nothing with Him.” (Saheeh Muslim)
His mercy and compassion was so
great that on more than one occasion, God, Himself, reprimanded him for
it. One of the greatest
opponents of Islam and a personal enemy, was Abdullah bin Ubayy, the leader
of the hypocrites of Medina.
Outwardly proclaiming Islam, he surreptitiously inflicted great harm
to the Muslims and the mission of the Prophet. Knowing his state of affairs, the Prophet Muhammad still
offered the funeral prayer for him and prayed to God for his forgiveness. The Quran mentions this incident in
these words:
“And never (O Muhammad) pray for one of them who dies, nor
stand by his grave. Lo! They disbelieve in God and His
Messenger, and they died while they were evil doers.”
Abdullah bin Ubayy worked all his
life against Muhammad and Islam and left no stone unturned so as to bring
him into disrepute and try to defeat his mission. He withdrew his three hundered supporters in the battle
of Uhud and thus almost broke the backbone of the Muslims at one
stroke. He engaged in
intrigues and acts of hostility against the Prophet of Islam and the
Muslims. It was he who tried
to bring shame to the Prophet by inciting his allies to falsely accuse the
Prophet’s wife, Aishah, of adultery in order to discredit him and his
message.
Next: The Forgiveness of Muhammad Shown
to Non-Muslims (part 2 of 2)
Source: www.IslamReligion.com
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