Prophet's Temperment

The Holy Founder of Islam (peace be upon him) was 63 at the time of his death. He was raised as Prophet at the age of 40. He devoted the whole of his life to the service of God. Born an orphan without any riches, he died a king leaving no wealth behind. He never ate a full meal all his life nor wore a rich garment. His house was a mud hut, his court room was the mosque and his throne was its dusty floor. His bed was made of straw, his own arm, his pillow. For months there was no smoke in the chimney of his house. There was nothing to cook. The family lived on dates or goat's milk or would go hungry. His wives had no maidservants, no silk, no jewellery. Their raiment was as simple as their resources were scanty. The Prophet kept no gold or silver with him. He gave away to the poor all that he received. There was nothing in the house when he died except a small quantity of barley.
He marched on Mecca with 10,000 believers. Mecca had treated him cruelly. The city was at his mercy. It begged for mercy. He granted it readily. For, so had God willed, though he knew well that some of his companions had suffered terribly at the hands of Meccans. Bilal the African was one of them. He had been treated with utmost cruelty. The Prophet wisely gave him the duty of calling Meccans to the flag of peace.



A few days before his death, the Prophet said to the companions, "If I have wronged anyone, let him have his revenge.” All were in tears. One man came forward. He said the Prophet had hit him once; he had passed by him and dug his elbow in his side. The Prophet bared his back and asked him to hurt him as he had been hurt. The companions were taken aback. The man bent and kissed the Prophet's bare back. All were surprised. The man wanted to have this last pleasure since the Prophet was not to be among them very long.



Others on the Prophet

Even the enemies of the Prophet spoke highly of his virtues. When Heraclius the Christian Emperor of the Byzantines received the Prophet's letter, he asked if an Arab caravan was in town. Abu Sufiyan, a Meccan chief, happened to be there. He was called to the court. The Emperor put some questions to him. At the end of the questioning Heraclius said. Heraclius said at the end:
"I first asked you about his family. You said he belonged to a noble family. Prophets always come of noble families. I then asked if any one before him had made a similar claim. You said no. I put this question because I thought if someone had done so he was merely following his example. I asked you if he had ever lied before. You said he did not. It was clear to me that a man who would not lie to men would never lie about God. I asked you if any of his forefathers was a ruler. You said, `No'. I then understood that his claim was not made to recover an old kingdom. I next asked if his followers were powerful and rich or poor and humble. You said they were mostly poor and humble. So are generally the followers of prophets. I then asked if their numbers were increasing or decreasing. You said that they were increasing. The followers of prophets are always on increase. I asked you if he had every played false. You said, `No.' And this is the way of good men. It seems to me that he is a true prophet. I was half expecting that he would appear in our time but had no idea that he would be an Arab. If what you have told is true, then his kingdom will extend over these lands."



Quran And Bible

The stories in the Qur'an often contain few details and tend to concentrate more on the moral or spiritual significance of the story. Some Muslims may turn to the Bible to give a fuller picture of the person concerned. However there are guidelines set out in the way Muslims are to understand the Bible, the primary one being that the Qur'an is always more authoritative than the Bible. Therefore, anything in the Bible that agrees with the Qur`an is accepted, and anything in the Bible that disagrees with the Qur`an is rejected.

newGeneration