وَ اِنَّکَ لَعَلٰی خُلُقٍ عَظِیۡمٍ ﴿۴﴾
And undoubtedly, you possess excellent manners.
(Al-Qalam 68, Verse 4)
أَنَّ يَهُودِيًّا مِنْ فُصَحَاءِ الْيَهُودِ جَاءَ إِلَى عُمَرَ فِي أَيَّامِ خِلَافَتِهِ فَقَالَ: أَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ أَخْلَاقِ رَسُولِكُمْ، فَقَالَ عُمَرُ: اطْلُبْهُ مِنْ بِلَالٍ فَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِهِ مِنِّي. ثُمَّ إِنَّ بِلَالًا دَلَّهُ عَلَى فَاطِمَةَ ثُمَّ فَاطِمَةُ دَلَّتْهُ عَلَى عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، فَلَمَّا سَأَلَ عَلِيًّا عَنْهُ قَالَ: صِفْ لِي مَتَاعَ الدُّنْيَا حَتَّى أَصِفَ لَكَ أَخْلَاقَهُ، فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ: هَذَا لَا يَتَيَسَّرُ لِي، فَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ:
عَجَزْتَ عَنْ وَصْفِ مَتَاعِ الدُّنْيَا وَقَدْ شَهِدَ اللَّهُ عَلَى قِلَّتِهِ حَيْثُ قَالَ:
قُلْ مَتاعُ الدُّنْيا قَلِيلٌ [النِّسَاءِ: 77]
فَكَيْفَ أَصِفُ أَخْلَاقَ النَّبِيِّ وَقَدْ شَهِدَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِأَنَّهُ عَظِيمٌ حَيْثُ قَالَ:
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ [الْقَلَمِ: 4]
A jew amongst the eloquent people of the jewish community came to Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – during his Caliphate and said, “Tell me about the character of your Prophet.” Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – said to him, “Ask Bilal about it, for he is more learned than me.” Then Sayyiduna Bilal – may Allah be pleased with him – referred him to Sayyidah Fatimah – may Allah be pleased with her – and she sent him to Sayyiduna ‘Ali – may Allah be pleased with him. When he asked Sayyiduna ‘Ali – may Allah be pleased with him, he replied, “Tell me the worth of the world before I tell you about his character?” He said, “It is not easy for me to assess that.” Sayyiduna ‘Ali – may Allah be pleased with him – then said to him, “You felt overwhelmed to describe the worth of the world to me while Allah Almighty has testified on its worth and stated:
قُلْ مَتٰعُ الدُّنْیَا قَلِیۡلٌ
Say you, ‘the enjoyment of the world is little.
(Al-Nisa 4, Verse 77)
Then how can I describe the character of the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – while Allah has testified that it is indeed great, and stated:
وَ اِنَّکَ لَعَلٰی خُلُقٍ عَظِیۡمٍ ﴿۴﴾
And undoubtedly, you possess excellent manners.
(Al-Qalam 68, Verse 4)
(Tafseer Kabeer)
Imam Booseeri – may Allah be pleased with him – describes his beautiful character in his world famous Qaseedah Burdah shareef as follows:
فَماَ تَطَاوَلُ اٰمَالُ الْمَدِيْحِ اِلٰى
مَافِيْهِ مِنْ كَرَمِ الْاَخْلَاقِ وَالشِّيَمٖ
Fama tataawalu aamaalil madeehi ilah
Mafeehi min karamil akhlaaqi wash shiyami
How can His admirers Praise the Holy Prophet (May Allah send peace and blessings upon him), for it is beyond the ability of man to do justice to the Sweetness and Greatness of His Character?
اَكْرِمْ بِخَلْقِ نَّبِىٍّ زَانَهٗ خُلُقٌ
بِالْحُسْنِ مُشْتَمِلٍ مبِالْبِشْرِ مُتَّسِمٖ
Akrim bekhalqi nabiyin zaanahu khuluqun
Bil husni mushtamilim bil bishri muttasimi
What a beautiful manner, Allah has made the Bodily Figure of the Holy Prophet (swallal lahu alayhi wasallam). What beauty, those pleasant smiles display that on the Sacred Face are signs of Happiness and Liveliness.
Sayyiduna Ali – may Allah be pleased with him – narrates that the final description is this, that in the first meeting everyone who met Him, had fear. But after speaking to Him for a little while, he was found saying that he will never find another Person like Him from today till Qayaamat.
كَانَ لِلْأَجَانِبِ كَالْوَالِدِ يَحُلُّ عُقَدَهُمْ وَيَكْفِي مُهِمَّهَمُ، وَبَلَغَ حُسْنُ خُلُقِهِ إِلَى أَنَّهُمْ لَمَّا كَسَرُوا سِنَّهُ، قَالَ:
«اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ قَوْمِي فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ»
The Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – was like a father even to strangers. He would solve their problems and eliminate their difficulties. His good conduct stretched to a level where when his enemies broke his tooth, he made Du’a for them (instead):
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ قَوْمِي فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Oh Allah, guide my people, for they do not know.
(Tafseer Kabeer)
What Transpired When the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – Graced Taif with His Blessed Feet
When the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – undertook the journey to propagate Islam in Taif along with his slave Sayyiduna Zaid ibn Haritha – may Allah be pleased with him. Many a wealthy people resided in Taaif. The family of ‘Amr was considered to be the chief amongst their tribes. They were three brothers:
- ‘Abdyaliyul
- Mas’ood
- Habeeb.
The Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – visited all three of them and invited them towards Islam. All three of them did not accept Islam but had a lot of insolent and indecent things to utter. They did not stop there, and went as far as, infuriating the barbaric goons of Taif to ill-treat the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him. Hence, this group of goons attacked him from all sides and began to stone the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him. His blessed feet were soaked in blood and his socks and shoes were filled with blood. Whenever the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – sat down due to excruciating pain of his wounds, these barbaric people would mercilessly grab his arms and stand him up. As he would begin to fal, they would throw a storm of stones at him, ridicule and laugh at him, clap at him and say vulgar words.
Sayyiduna Zaid Ibn Haritha – may Allah be pleased with him – would throw himself against the stone that were raining down on the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – and shielded him in this manner. He was covered in a bloodbath.
(Sharh al-Mawahib Vol. 2, p. 50, 51)
After being heavily injured bearing these wounds, he entered an orchard of grapes. It was the orchard of ‘Utabah ibn Rabee’ah, a famous infidel of Makkah. When ‘Utabah ibn Rabee’ah and his brother Shaibah ibn Rabee’ah saw the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – in this condition, then despite being disbelievers, they gave the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – shelter in their orchard. They sent a bunch of grapes for him via their Christian slave ‘Addas. The Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – took the bunch in his hand by reciting Bismillah, so then ‘Addas said in surprise, “People here do not utter this Kalimah.” The Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – asked him, “Where do you belong to?” He replied, “I belonged to the city of Nainawa.” He – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – said, “It’s the city of Sayyiduna Yunus ibn Mata – peace be upon him. Like me, he was also a Messenger of Allah.” Hearing this, Sayyiduna ‘Addas – may Allah be pleased with him – began to kiss his hands and feet and embraced Islam by reciting Kalimah without any delay.
(Sharh al-Mawahib Vol. 2, p. 54)
After this journey, Sayyidah ‘Ayesha – may Allah be pleased with her – asked the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him, “Ya RasoolAllah, was there any other difficult time you have undergone, more severe compared to the battle of Uhad?” He replied, “Yes, O ‘Ayesha. That day was even more severe than the day of Uhad to me, when I had invited one of the kings of Taif Abd Yalyul towards Islam. He rejected and disgraced the call of Islam and the people of Taif stormed me with stones. I kept on walking full of sorrow with my head down until I reached the placed called “Qarn al-Tha’alib” and only then did I get some peace. When I raised my head to look up, I saw there was a cloud shading on me. Sayyiduna Jibreel – appeared from within and informed me, “Allah Almighty is aware of the state of your nation and had appointed the angel of mountains at your service. He will obey your commands. Hence, the angel of mountains made Salam and said, “O Muhammad (may Allah be pleased with him), Allah Almighty has heard the utterance of your nation and now I have been appointed at your service. Command as you wish, and I will obey your orders. I will turn these two mountains over them, so they are crushed and perished if you allow me?” The Holy Prophet, Mercy unto the mankind – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – replied, “I hope that Allah Almighty will create such obedient servants from within their future generations who will only worship Allah and will not commit polytheism.”
(Sharh al-Mawahib Vol. 2, p. 51)
Akhlaq of RasoolAllah – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – with the One who Came to Capture him:
When the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – left the house of Sayyidatuna Umm Ma’bad – may Allah be pleased with her – a horse rider, by the name of Suraaqah Ibn Maalik Ibn Ju’shum, was seen following him riding on a speedy horse. When he came closer and attempted to attack, the horse got obstructed and he fell off the horse but since, the prize of camels was not something ordinary, he attempted a second attack in greed of the prize and this time, the legs of his horse sank up to its knees into the rocky ground. Bewildered with this miracle Suraaqah began to shiver out of fear and horror and screamed his lungs out. The heart of the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – was an ocean of mercy and affection and he felt sorry at the cries of Suraaqah and then he made Du’a and the ground let go of the horse’s legs.
Suraaqah begged him to let him go in peace and ultimately, on the Holy Prophet’s – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – command, Hazrat Sayyiduna ‘Aamir ibn Fuhairah – may Allah be pleased with him – wrote for him the confirmation of peace which Suraaqah put in his quiver and then he offered some travel goods to the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – which he refused to accept.
At last, Suraaqah returned and whoever asked him about the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – on his way back he would send them back saying, “But (Hazrat) Muhammad (may Allah send peace and blessings upon him) did not go this this way.”
(Bukhari Vol. 2, p. 593 Hadeeth No. 3906)
(Zarqaani ‘Alal Mawaahib Vol. 2, p. 143)
(Madaarij Al-Nubuwwah Vol. 2, p. 62)
Although Suraaqah had not embrace Islam yet, but the greatness of the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – and truthfulness of Islam was instilled in his heart. When the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – stayed in Je’irraanah after the conquest of Makkah and the battle of Taaif and Hunain then Suraaqah came in his court and embraced Islam with a large group of his tribe.
(Madaarij Al-Nubuwwah Vol. 2, p. 62)
Generosity of RasoolAllah:
Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah – may Allah be pleased with him – narrates that once a person appeared in front of the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – and declared, “I have been destroyed. During the day in Ramadaan, I had sexual relationship with my wife.”
The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – advised him to free a slave. However, the person replied that he did not have any slaves.
The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then advised him to keep fast continuously and he replied that he did not even have the strength to do this as well.
The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – then asked him to feed seven orphans.
He replied that he did not have the means to even do that.
At that moment, a pouch was presented to the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – filled with dates. He then asked the blessed Ashaab where the person was who had asked these questions. The person was then brought forward. The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – handed this person the pouch of dates and told him to give this as charity. When he heard this command, he replied, “Shall I give it to someone even needier than me? (I swear by Allah that between the plains of Madina Shareef, there is no one who is more needy than me).”
When the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – heard this, he smiled so broadly that again his beard became clearly visible. He then informed the person that he and his family could eat these dates.
(Sahih Bukhari, Hayaat As Sahaabah)
MUSJIDUL HAQ 
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