With adversaries

The Prophet \would always be just with the disbelievers

and even be ready to sacrifice his life in order to call them to

Islam and rectify their affairs. He would bear their evils with patience

and try to overlook their harms. Why would he not do so

when Allah has said: “We have sent you as a mercy...” To whom?

To the believers only? No; rather, “To the world.”

Think about the Jews who would insult him and instigate

trouble, whilst he would continue to be gentle with them. ‘A’ishah

– may Allah be pleased with her – said, “The Jews once passed

by the Prophet’s house and said: ‘as-Saam ‘alaykum’ (i.e. death

be upon you), and the Prophet \replied: ‘And upon you, too!’’

‘A’ishah couldn’t bear it, so when she heard it, she responded,

‘And death be upon you, too, and Allah’s curse and anger!”

The Prophet said, “Take it easy, O ‘A’ishah! You should be

gentle. You shouldn’t curse or be harsh.”

She said, “Didn’t you hear what they said?”

He said, “Didn’t you hear what I said? I prayed against them

and that prayer will be accepted, whereas their prayer against me

will not be accepted.”

Yes, for there is no need to respond to insult with another

insult. Allah has said, “Speak to people with kind words...”

On another occasion, the Quraysh decided to send Husayn

bin al-Mundhir al-Khuza’i – the father of the Prophet’s companion,

‘Imran bin Husayn – to discuss with the Prophet \and to

persuade him to stop his mission.

‘Imran’s father visited the Prophet \as he was sitting with

his companions and said the usual words of complaint which

the Quraysh would say to him, “You have disunited us, split our

ranks...”, as the Prophet \calmly listened until he finished.

The Prophet \then said to him politely, “Have you finished,

O Abu ‘Imran?”

“Yes”, he replied.

The Prophet \said, “Then answer my questions.”

“Ok, I am listening”, he said.

The Prophet \said, “O Abu ‘Imran, how many gods do you

worship?”

He replied, “Seven. Six on the earth and one in the heavens!”

The Prophet said, ‘Which of them do you love and fear?’

He said, “The one in the heavens.”

The Prophet \said in all politeness, “O Husayn, if you were

to accept Islam, I would teach you two words you could greatly

benefit from.”

Husayn accepted Islam on the spot and said, “O Messenger

of Allah, teach me the two words you promised you would teach

me.”

The Prophet \said, “O Allah, inspire me with guidance and

protect me from my own evil.”

How wonderful was the way in which the Prophet \dealt

with people! And how beautifully his character had a positive

impact on them! This kind of attitude goes a long way in bringing

non-Muslims closer to Islam.

This, by Allah, is the real joy of life, to feel that you worship

Allah by every little thing you do, even the manners with which

you deal with others. How often is it that people are turned

away from Islam due to the bad treatment they receive at the

hand of some Muslims; one oppresses his employee, another deceives

his customer and another annoys his neighbor? Let us

make a fresh start with them.

                                        Enlightenment...

The best preacher is the one who preaches with his actions

before his words.