the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had the most remarkable, magnanimous manners
and sublime traits. he was the most generous and righteous of all people. his lord the almighty
testified to this fact and this is more than sufficient as a reference. allaah the almighty has
honored and praised the beauty of the morals of his prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam,
saying (what means): {and indeed, you are of a great moral character.} [quran 68:4]
• his servant, anas ibn maalik, may allaah be pleased with him, said, “the prophet, sallallaahu
‘alayhi wa sallam, had the best moral character of all of the people.” [al-bukhaari and muslim]
• his wife, safiyyah bint huyayy, may allaah be pleased with her, said, “i have never seen one
with better morals than the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” [ibn hajar and
at-tabaraani]
• his wife ‘aa’ishah, may allaah be pleased with her, said when she was asked about the morals
of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, “his character was the quran.” [ahmad and
muslim]
these precious words of ‘aa’ishah, may allaah be pleased with her, indicate that his character
embodied everything that was contained in the noble quran and he adhered firmly to all that it
enjoined and avoided all that it prohibited. whatever the quran regarded as good and praised
was part of his character, and whatever it regarded as bad and prohibited, he would avoid.
in this connection, ibn katheer, may allaah have mercy upon him, said in his tafseer (quranic
exegesis), “this means that he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would act according to the
commands and prohibitions of the quran. his nature and character were patterned according to
the quran. so, whatever the quran commanded, he did, and whatever it forbade, he avoided;
and this was along with what allaah endowed him with of the great qualities of bashfulness,
generosity, bravery, forgiveness, forbearance, and every other beautiful quality.” [tafseer al-
quran al-‘atheem]
• in addition to this are the noble qualities and refined manners of the prophet, sallallaahu
‘alayhi wa sallam, which were mentioned in the books of the people of the book before they
were distorted. it was narrated on the authority of ‘ataa’, may allaah have mercy upon him, that
he said, “i asked ‘abdullah ibn ‘amr about the attributes of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa
sallam, that were stated in the torah. he said, ‘yes, by allaah, he is described in the torah in
some of the same terms as he is described in the quran (what means): {indeed, we have sent
you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner} [quran 48:8] – and as a saviour
to the unlettered; you are my slave and my messenger; your name is al-mutawakkil (one who
places all his trust in allaah the almighty); he is neither harsh nor aggressive, nor a noise
maker in the market-places; he does not repay evil with evil; rather, he overlooks and forgives;
allaah the exalted will not take him (in death) until he has straightened a crooked nation
through him so that they will say that there is no deity worthy of worship except allaah, and
(until he) has opened blind eyes, deaf ears, and hard hearts.’” [al-bukhaari]
allaah the almighty, the most truthful, says (what means) describing him: {and indeed, you
are of a great moral character.} [quran 68:4]
let us, therefore, delve into the loftiest values of the attributes of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi
wa sallam, so that we can benefit and learn from them.
Muhammed (peace be upon him) – a brief description
You may be a christian protestant, catholic, jew, an atheist or an agnostic; or you may belong to any of many different religious denominations existing in today's world. You might even be a communist or believe in man's democracy as the rule on earth.
Whoever you are and whatever ideological or political beliefs, social habits you may hold, there is no doubt - You must know this Man - Muhammad (peace be upon him).
He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set foot on this Earth. He preached a religion, founded a state, built a nation, laid down a moral code, initiated numerous social and political reforms, established a powerful and dynamic society to practice and represent his teachings and completely revolutionized the worlds of human thought and behavior for all times to come.
"His Name is Muhammad" (peace be upon him).
He was born in Arabia in the year 570 c.e. (common era), started his mission of preaching the religion of truth, Islam (submission to one God at the age of forty and departed from this world at the age of sixty-three.
During this short period of 23 years of his Prophethood, he changed the complete Arabian peninsula from paganism and idolatry to worship of one God, from tribal quarrels and wars to national solidarity and cohesion, from drunkenness and debauchery to sobriety and piety, from lawlessness and anarchy to disciplined living, from utter bankruptcy to the highest standards of moral excellence. Human history has never known such a complete transformation of a people or a place before or since - and imagine all these unbelievable wonders in just over two decades.
The world has had its share of great personalities. But these were one sided figures who distinguished themselves in but one or two field, such as religious thought or military leadership. The lives and teachings of these great personalities of the world are shrouded in the mist of time. There is so much speculation about the time and place their birth, the mode and style of their life, the nature and detail of their teachings and the degree and measure of their success or failure that is impossible for humanity to reconstruct accurately the lives and teachings of these men.
Not so this man. Muhammad (peace be upon him) accomplished so much in such diverse fields of human thought and behavior in the fullest blaze of human history. Every detail of his private life and public utterances has been accurately documented and faithfully preserved to our day. The authenticity of the records so preserved are vouched for not only by the faithful followers but even by his prejudiced critics.
Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a religious teacher, a social reformer, a moral guide, an administrative colossus, a faithful friend, a wonderful companion, a devoted husband, a loving father - all in one. no other man in history ever excelled or equaled him in any of these different aspects of life - but it was only for the selfless personality of Muhammad (peace be upon him) to achieve such incredible perfection.
Muhammad (peace be upon him) was nothing more or less than a human being. But he was a man with a noble mission, which was to unite humanity on the worship of one and only one god and to teach them the way to honest and upright living based on the commands of god. he always described himself as, 'a servant and messenger of god' and so indeed every action of his proclaimed to be.
Today after a lapse of fourteen centuries, the life and teachings of Muhammad (peace be upon him) have survived without the slightest loss, alteration or interpolation. They offer the same undying hope for treating mankind's many ills, which they did when he was alive. This is not a claim of Mohammed's (peace be upon him) followers, but the inescapable conclusion forced upon by a critical and unbiased history.
The least you can do as a thinking and concerned human being is to stop for a moment and ask your self: could these statements sounding so extraordinary and revolutionary really be true? and supposing they really are true and you did not know this man Muhammad (peace be upon him) or hear about him, isn't it time you responded to this tremendous challenge and put in some effort to know him?
