Praise be to Allah.

The Prophet’s interactions with his companions were in accordance with what Allah enjoined upon him, as He, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:159].

This verse urged the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to do three things when interacting with his companions:

Firstly:

To be compassionate and lenient towards them, and to overlook their mistakes.

This is how the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was with his companions.

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful”

[at-Tawbah 9:128].

One example of his compassion was that he would be kind to them and would be patient in teaching them or in bearing the roughness and harshness of some of those who were accustomed to behaving in such ways.

It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: I was walking with the Messenger of Allah (sa) (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and he was wearing a Najraani cloak with a thick border. A Bedouin came up to him and grabbed him roughly by his cloak, and I could see the marks left on the neck of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) by the border of his cloak, because of the rough manner in which he grabbed him. Then he said: O Muhammad! Order that I be given some of the wealth of Allah that is with you! The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) turned to him and smiled, then he ordered that he be given something.

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6088) and Muslim (1057).

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that a Bedouin urinated in the mosque, and the people leapt up to sort him out, but the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to them: “Let him be, and throw a bucket of water over his urine, for you have been sent to make things easy, and you have not been sent to make things difficult.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6128).

It was narrated that Mu‘aawiyah ibn al-Hakam as-Sulami said: Whilst I was praying with the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), a man among the people sneezed and I said: Yarhamuk Allah (may Allah have mercy on you). The people glared at me and I said: May my mother be bereft of me! Why are you staring at me? They started striking their hands on their thighs, and when I realized that they were telling me to be quiet, (I felt angry) but I kept quiet. When the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had prayed – may my father and mother be sacrificed for him; by Allah I have never seen a better teacher or better teachings before or since; he did not rebuke me, hit me or revile me – he said: “This prayer is not the right place for any of the people’s speech, rather it is tasbeeh, takbeer and recitation of Qur’an…” Narrated by Muslim (537).

Another example of his compassion towards them was that he would often smile at them.

It was narrated that Jareer ibn ‘Abdillah said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) never refused me permission to enter since I became Muslim, and he never looked at me without a smile. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6089) and Muslim (2475).

It was narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn al-Haarith ibn Jaz’ said: I never saw anyone who smiled more than the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (3641); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan at-Tirmidhi.

He never expressed anger or toughness except when required in order to please Allah, may He be exalted, and to protect the religious commitment of his companions.

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was never given the choice between two things but he would choose the easier of them, so long as it was not a sin. If it was a sin, then it would be the further of the two from him. By Allah, he never sought vengeance for his own sake, unless the sacred limits of Allah were transgressed, in which case he would seek vengeance for the sake of Allah. Narrated by Muslim (6786).

Secondly:

He used to pray for forgiveness for his companions, and for anyone who angered him or upset him.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “O Allah, Muhammad is only human, and he gets angry as any human being gets angry. I am making a covenant with You that You will never break. I am only human, so any believer whom I harm, revile or flog, make it an expiation and a means by which he will draw close to You on the Day of Resurrection.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6361) and Muslim (2601).

Thirdly:

He would not make a decision on his own regarding any matter that required referring to people of experience and wisdom. He used to consult his companions and involve them in the decision-making, in obedience to the words of Allah, may He be exalted (interpretation of the meaning):

“…and consult them in the matter”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:159].

Ibn Katheer said:

Hence the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to consult his companions concerning matters when they arose, out of kindness towards them, so that they would be more motivated to do what they had decided upon. For example, he consulted them on the day of Badr about going after the caravan, and they said: O Messenger of Allah, if you were to ask us to cross the sea, we would cross it with you; if you were to take us to Bark al-Ghumaad, we would go there with you. We will not say to you as the people of Moosaa said to him: “So go, you and your Lord, and fight. Indeed, we are remaining right here”. Rather we say: Go, for we are with you, in front of you, on your right and on your left, fighting alongside you.

He also consulted them as to where they should halt, and al-Mundhir ibn ‘Amr suggested moving forward. And he consulted them at Uhud as to whether he should stay in Madinah or go out to confront the enemy, and the majority of them suggested that he should go out to confront them, so he did that.

On the day of al-Khandaq he consulted them about making a peace deal with the Ahzaab (confederates) in return for one-third of the harvest of Madinah in that year, but the two Sa‘ds – Sa‘d ibn Mu‘aadh and Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubaadah – rejected the idea, so he did not do that.

On the day of al-Hudaybiyah, he consulted them about attacking the mushrikeen (polytheists), and Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq said to him: We have not come to fight anyone; rather we have come to do ‘umrah, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) accepted his view.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said during the incident of the slander (al-ifk): “Advise me, O Muslims, about people who speak ill of about my family and make accusations about them, for by Allah I know nothing bad about my family, and they speak ill of a man of whom, by Allah, I know nothing but good.” And ‘Ali and Usaamah suggested that he should divorce ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her).

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to consult them with regard to war and other matters.

End quote from Tafseer Ibn Katheer (2/149),