Prophethood Prophet of Islam (saww) 2
Worship
The Prophet (s) stated that: “The best of people are those who love to perform worship and prayer.”
Spirituality and worship are among the most important points of discussion in regards to the behaviour of the Prophet (s). There are various manifestations of worship of the Prophet (s), such as prayer and remembrance, nightly devotion and supererogatory prayers, fasting and hajj. His prayer, which he called the light of his eyes, was accompanied with the utmost attention and presence of the heart. The Messenger of Islam (s) also placed special emphasis on supererogatory prayers. Also, intense and prolonged worship along with their preparations and introductions, specific practices such as dividing prayers according to the hours of the night, remaining awake for a part of the night, recitation of the Quran and conversing with his lord were among the devotional activities reported from the Prophet’s life.
During the night, the Messenger of God (s) arose from his bed and, after making ablution and brushing his teeth and then reciting some verses of the Holy Quran, went into a corner and engaged in worship and crying. Some, who saw him in this condition, asked the Prophet (s): “You, who does not have any sins, why do you cry so much?” He answered: “Should I not be thankful to God?”
Umm Salamah reported: One night the Prophet (s) was in my home. I saw him standing in the darkness, his hands were raised up and he was shedding tears and was saying: Oh God! Do not take from me whatever blessing You have given to me, do not please my enemy, do not entrap me in adversities which you have saved me from, do not leave me on my own - even for the twinkling of an eye. I said to him: You have been exempted! He replied: No person is without need of God. Prophet Jonah (as), the moment he was left to himself, he became imprisoned in the belly of a fish.
When the month of Ramadan arrived, the Prophet (s) freed all his slaves. At the time of prayer he would tremble and whenever he prayed by himself, he would prolong his prostrations. However, whenever he led the congregational prayers of others he read them in a very normal and simple way. The Prophet (s) recommended to one of his companions, who became a leader of prayers for other Muslims: Whenever you are standing with others in prayer, after reciting the chapter al-Hamd, try to choose a short chapter to recite and do not prolong the prayer.
Imam Ali (as) in regard to the worship of the Prophet of Islam (s) said: “When he stood in prayer, due to the intensity of fear and grief and much crying, a sound came from inside him that sounded like the boiling of a pot set on fire; and this was while he was safe from the punishment of God. By these acts he wanted to increase his reverence for, and humility before, God and to be a leader and guide for others.”
Trustworthiness
Before being chosen as the Prophet (s), Muhammad (s) went on a business trip to Shām(Greater Syria) for Khadījah, whom he later married. During that trip, his ability, trustworthiness, reliability and uprightness became manifest more than before. He was so well-known as being upright that people called him “Muhammad al-Amīn” [meaning “the trustworthy Muhammad”]. People used to trust him with their property. After being chosen as the Prophet, although the tribe Quraysh had become his enemies, still they used to trust him with their property. Also, after migrating to Medina, he requested Ali (a) to stay some more days in Mecca to return the trusted property to their owners.
Simplistic Lifestyle
Despite his high position and status, the Prophet (s) did not lead a life like that of rulers; he lived a very simplistic life. Once, a person came to see the Prophet while he was sitting in a circle of his companions. He looked at those present and could not identify the Prophet from among them, thus he asked, “Which of you is the messenger of God?” The Prophet replied, “I am.” This person describes the Prophet (s) like so: “I saw him wearing simple clothing like the rest.” (Kanz al-Fawā’id, vol. 1, p. 212)
Cleanliness and Tidiness
The Prophet of Islam (s) not only gave importance to the cleanliness of his soul, but also gave a great deal of attention to the cleanliness and tidiness of his appearance. He also, by his behaviour and speech, commended cleanliness and hygiene to others. The Messenger (s) valued cleanliness much and in cleanliness of body and clothes, he was unique.
In addition to the regular ablutions, he washed himself most days and considered both to be acts of worship. He washed his hair with cedar leaf and combed it, and scented himself with musk and amber. Several times daily, especially at nights before sleeping and after awakening, he would brush his teeth with care. He also told his companions: “Never sit with yellow and unclean teeth in a gathering. Do not neglect brushing your teeth and keeping them clean.”
The Prophet’s (s) clothes were always clean.
Before and after eating, he would wash his hands and mouth and he would abstain from eating bad-smelling herbs.
A comb, scissors, mirror and toothbrush were items he would take on journeys with him.
His home was very simple and always clean.
He emphasised that rubbish should be taken out in the daytime and not remain in its place until night.
Cleanliness of his body and limbs was in harmony with cleanliness of his soul. He emphasised to his companions and followers that they keep their head, face, clothes and home clean and requested that they wash themselves, especially on Fridays, and that they use fragrance in order that they would not give off a bad odour while attending the Friday prayers.
He did not like unwashed dishes to be left and said: before sleeping at night, wash the dishes.
These points are only a small reflection of the importance this great personality gave to the issue of cleanliness and hygiene. Prophet Muhammad (s) lived a very simple life but he cared deeply about cleanliness and tidiness and recommended to others that they be clean and tidy.
Soft, Yet Firm
One of the characteristics of God’s chosen ones is that their personalities possess opposite characteristics. In other words, when God’s satisfaction lies in mercy, their encounter will be full of mercy and kindness, and when it lies in seriousness and firmness, they deal with firmness and boldness.
The holy Prophet (s) was soft, moderate and forgiving in his personal issues and whatever was related to himself; cases of his great and historical forgiveness were keys of his great achievements; but in fundamental and general issues where it was the realm of law, he would show resolution and firmness and he would not overlook the situation. After conquering Mecca and the Quraysh, he overlooked all the harms that the Quraysh had inflicted on him during the past twenty years and forgave it all immediately. He also accepted the repentance of the assassin of Hamzah, his uncle.
Yet, during that same conquest of Mecca, when one of the noblewomen had committed usurpation and such was established, he carried out the law regarding her.
His conduct towards his family
He was very cordial in his family. He would not treat his family harshly and that was in contrary to the social norm of his time. He strongly advised men to treat their wives kindly and stated: “All people have positive and negative qualities. Men should not consider only negative qualities of their wives and leave them; because whenever a negative quality of hers bothers him another quality of hers would please him. He was extremely kind to his children and grandchildren. He used to sit them on his lap or his shoulders and kiss them. One day, he kissed one of his grandchildren (Imam Hassan ibn Ali al-Mujtabā (a)) in the presence of a nobleman. That man said: “I have two sons and I have never kissed them.” The holy Prophet (s) stated: “Whoever does not show mercy [on others] would not deserve [Allah’s] mercy.”
Pillars of Wisdom
The Prophet (s) stated:
’The most faithful people are those who have better manners within their families and express more love to them; and I express love to my family more than you do!’
’Respect your children and treat and interact with them in a good manner.’
With Slaves
During the Age of Ignorance, slavery was very common and slaves didn not have any individual or social rights. The religion of Islam set numerous laws in an effort to revive the rights of slaves, doing everything possible to set the stage for their ultimate freedom. The Prophet (s) was extremely kind to slaves. During his lifetime, he would buy and set free slaves in the way of Allah under various pretexts and would encourage others to do so as well. He would tell the people, “These are your brothers, feed them the same food you yourselves consume, and cover them with the same clothing you use to cover yourselves.” He considered the slave trade as the worst occupation and would say, “The worst of people in Allah’s eyes are those who sell people.”
Reference
To know more about the League of the Virtuous (Hilf al-Fuḍūl) see the book of The Life of Muhammad - the Prophet(s)/ chapter 4 by Akhtar Rizvi. You can find the book at
http://www.al-islam.org/lifeprophet/
Fighting against oppression
He always supported the oppressed and struggled against oppressors. There are many examples in history that he made efforts to administer justice. In the [pre-Islamic] Age of Ignorance, he made a covenant with a group who suffered from oppression to protect the oppressed and fight against oppressors. This covenant was called “Hilf al-Fuḍūl”. Later, he sometimes remembered that covenant and said: “I would not agree for that covenant to be broken and even now I am ready to participate in such a covenant again.”
His Hate for Idleness and Wasting Time
He would say:
“O Allah! I seek refuge in you from indisposition and not being lively, from feebleness and laziness, and disability and abjection.” (Al-Jāmi‘ al-Saghīr, vol. 1, p. 58)
He would encourage the Muslims to work and would say:
“Worship is seventy parts and the best of those is earning a halal living.” (al-Kāfī, vol. 5, p. 78)
Organization and Doing Things in a Proper Manner
When he did something, he liked to do it impeccably and appropriately, to the extent that when his loyal companion, Sa‘d ibn Ma‘ādh, passed away and was placed in the grave, and he saw that they had not properly constructed it, he personally moved its stones and bricks around and solidified it and went on to say:
“I know it will not be long before all of this is ruined, but whenever a believer does something, Allah likes it that he does it in a proper and appropriate form.”
His Mission
His mission was the perfection of man. He describes the goal of his mission as: “I was chosen to complete moral virtues.” The religion which Muhammad (s) introduced to people is a comprehensive program for living which includes both aspects of human’s life, i.e. his material and spiritual aspects. In other words, a Muslim is the one who is prosperous both in this world and the Hereafter. Therefore, a collection of individual and social guidelines can be found in the Qur’an, teaching human beings the true way of life and ultimately achieving prosperity. He spent his lifetime on teaching humanity and prepared the grounds for the development and perfection of human beings and ethics by establishing Islamic government. Imam Ali (a) introduced his cousin (the holy Prophet (s)) to people with very beautiful attributes:
“[He is] an itinerant healing doctor.
Summary
The Prophetic mission of the holy Prophet (s) was to bring all aspects of human life to perfection and his activities were too comprehensive to be mentioned here. However, some of his most important measures which were recorded by historians during 23 years of his Prophetic mission are as follows:
- Reviving monotheism and fighting idol-worshipping
- Establishing an Islamic government based on monotheism
- Accomplishment of the divine mission and delivering the word of God (the Qur’an) to people and striving for upholding its laws
- Promoting the value of reason and knowledge and fighting with ignorance and superstitions
- Creating Islamic culture and civilization
- Explaining and disseminating Divine teachings and training faithful and virtuous people
- Spreading and establishing moral virtues
- Promoting the position and status of women and strengthening the family foundation
- Establishing equity and brotherhood and introducing faith and piety as the only factors of superiority among human beings
- Fighting against racial and ethnic discrimination
We will discuss more about the mission of the holy Prophet (s) in future units.