First published on: 10 Kind Prophetic Manners


By: Hasnaa Heikal

Muhammad is the one whose enemies have acknowledged his wonderful character.

He has almost a billion and a half followers that love him and are ready to ransom him with themselves although they have not seen him. Then, how if they saw him?!!!!

He is Muhammad -peace and mercy be upon him- whom God Has given the best manners that were strongly emphasized in Qur’an. He is Muhammad who accepted what the Honorable Qur’an calls to, accepted and abided by its orders and he followed the manners and conducts that the Qur’an calls for.

1- Truthful and Honest:

Prophet Muhammad was the most honest and truthful person of his time. Everyone was impressed by his truthfulness and honesty. His people gave him the title of Sadiq (the truthful) and Al-Amin (the faithful).

“the Prophet ascended the Safa (mountain) and started calling, “O Bani Fihr! O Bani `Adi!” addressing various tribes of Quraish till they were assembled. Those who could not come themselves, sent their messengers to see what was there. Abu Lahab (His uncle) and other people from Quraish came and the Prophet then said, “Suppose I told you that there is an (enemy) cavalry in the valley intending to attack you, would you believe me?” They said:

“Yes, for we have not found you telling anything other than the truth.”

He then said, “I am a warner to you in face of a terrific punishment.” [sunnah]

2- Generous:

The generosity of Prophet Muhammad was exemplary. He never turned down anyone who asked him for anything if he had something to give, to the point that a man once asked him to give him a garment that he was wearing, so he took it off and handed it over to him.

Musa b. Anas reported on the authority of his father: “It never happened that the Messenger was asked anything for the sake of Islam and he did not give that. There came to him a person and he gave him a large flock (of sheep and goats) and he went back to his people and said: My people, embrace Islam, for Muhammad gives so much charity as if he has no fear of want.” [Sahih Muslim]

3-Humble:

Despite his position as a leader, he has never behaved as if he was bigger or better than other people. He never made people feel small, unwanted or embarrassed. He urged his followers to live decently and kindly.

A man came to the Prophet so he spoke to him, and he started to tremble with awe. He said to him:

“Take it easy. I am not a king; I am just a man whose mother ate dried meat.” [sunnah]

He is Muhammad, who used to accompany the poor, the needy, and the widow if they would come to him asking for help.

4- Tolerant:

He forgave those who wronged him and supplicated with guidance even to those who harmed him and injured him physically.

When the Prophet opened Mecca entering it with ten thousand warriors, Allah (The One God, Creator of heavens and earth) gave him the decision concerning those who had abused and persecuted him, plotted his assassination, expelled him from his homeland, tortured his companions and killed them because of their faith. One of his companions said on their entering Mecca: “today is a day of massacre” but the Prophet corrected him and said:

“No, but today is a day of Mercy”

And he went before the defeated people whose eyes were wide with fear, whose hearts were trembling and waiting to see what the victorious conqueror would do. According to their own customs, he should have had revenge due to their betrayal, torturing early Muslims and  mutilation of those killed in battles, but he, the Prophet, said to them: “Oh Quraysh, what do you suppose I should do with you” they replied: “What is good, you are a generous brother and the son of a generous brother”

Prophet Muhammad replied:

” Go for you are free”.  

They felt as if they had been retrieved from the graves.

Such an all-inclusive pardon was the result of the mercy of the Prophet’s heart. His heart had mercy even to those enemies who had harmed him and his companions.  If not for his mercy, such a pardon could not have occurred.

5- Merciful to children:

Despite being the busiest man in his community, he had time to be friendly  with children.

Anas bin Malik narrated: “The Prophet used to mix with us to the extent that he would say to a younger brother of mine, “O Aba `Umair! What did the Nughair (a bird he had as a pet) do?” [Sahih al-Bukhari]

When was the last time any of us had consoled a child over a dead goldfish- or any pet for that matter? How about when they lose something they loved and are grieving over it? Who of us is busier than the Prophet? The often mundane activities of children may seem silly to us, but the Prophet felt they were important enough to warrant attention; so in his mercy, he consoled the child over the death of his bird.

6- Merciful to Animals:

He was the most merciful person to everything; his mercy was not restricted only to the human beings, it included all other than humans, like animals, birds and inanimates; to the extent that the cat would come to him and he would lower the pot making it easy for her to drink; he would do that many times for any cat that would come to him.

7- He Treated the Orphans Very Kindly:

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did not just love who were around him, nor did he only love those who were related to him, rather he considered the entire society. In his society, He was especially considerate of orphans and would command his followers to take special care of the orphans as they did not have parents to look after them.

Messenger of Allah said, “I will be like this in Jannah with the person who takes care of an orphan”. and he raised his forefinger and middle finger by way of illustration. [Sahih Bukhari]

8- Friendly with others:

He accepted the invitation of the slave and the free. He accepted gifts and gave better ones in return and never accepted charity.

Despite his high status and lofty position, he would accept gifts, even if it was a sheep’s foot or a drink of milk.

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said, “I shall accept the invitation even if I were invited to a meal of a sheep’s trotter, and I shall accept the gift even if it were an arm or a trotter of a sheep.” [Bukhari]

9- He was always seen smiling:

The Prophet’s playfulness was also coupled with a beautiful sense of humor. He smiled often and would make jokes with members of his community.

For example, once, an old woman came to the Prophet and made a request, “O Messenger of Allah make Dua that Allah grants me entrance into Jannah.”

He replied, O Mother, an old woman cannot enter Jannah. That woman started crying and began to leave. The Prophet said, “Say to the woman that one will not enter in a state of old age, but Allah will make all the women of Jannah young virgins.” [sunnah]

10- Patient:

The Prophet never pressured those around him to accept the religion, nor imposed conditions on them. Instead, he always used the pleasantest ways to tell them about it.

Throughout the period of his mission, Prophet Muhammad experienced all sorts of difficulty. Deniers and polytheists, from among his own people, family and relatives insulted him most terribly, even calling him a magician or a madman. Others wanted to kill him, even schemed and attempted to do so. Despite all that, the Prophet tried to teach people of all backgrounds and cultures about Islam and Qur’an, about proper morality and good behavior. He only had patience for them and prayers.

To sum up,

“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.” [quran.com/33/21]