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Aspects of Mercy for Human Beings in the Character of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Before the Divine Call
the evening of the second day of ramadan 1427h, nine o'clock sharp, the doorbell rang. i received the two guests and warmly welcomed them.
after a while, having done with the usual courtesies, and having fulfilled my duty to my guests, father stephano picked up the debate from where we left it last night:
-on the basis of what we said yesterday, i take it that i there are aspects of mercy for human beings in muhammad's character before the divine call, and that i can use them in my study as an introduction to his later merciful and humane aspects after the divine revelation?
yes, i said, and they are well documented in the reliable sources of the prophet's sirah.
could you give me some examples that come to your mind now?
sure. do you know what muhammad's people used to call him throughout the period that preceded his divine call?
what?
the very people who knew him well and among whom he was born and brought up used to call him "muhammad the trusted one".([1]) would you say that such a man, so called by the community of people who knew him intimately, could be the same rough, cruel and blood-thirsty man western sources present him to be?
reason says no. such a man could only be pious, merciful, kind and compassionate. i think a man given such titles of honour by his own people would not as much as commit a single sin, not a single offense or wrong doing in the whole length of his life. for had he done so, his people would have clung to this single blemish to his person, which would have stuck in their minds and blotted out the kind of sanctity and respect they had for him.
that's exactly it, i said. according to all reliable accounts of his sirah,([2]) muhammad (pbuh) was not guilty of any sin or wrong doing, not even of a single frivolous act that we know of.([3])
([1]) ibn hisham, al-sirah al-nabawiah, cit., p. 186. the british orientalist william muir says in the life of muhammad: "from very early on in life, the muslim prophet muhammad was by common consent called al-amin ("the faithful"[sic]) by the people of his town for his good behaviour and noble morals." (w. muir, the life of mahomet, london: kessinger publishing, 2004, p. 28.)
[the "faithful" is al-mu'men, not al-amin/al-ameen. the latter term is more aptly rendered into english as "the trusted one"- trans.]
([2]) in the same book, muir says: "it is quite in keeping with the character of mahomet (before the prophetic call) that he should have shrunk from the coarse and licentious practices of his youthful friends. endowed with a refined mind and a delicate taste, reserved and meditative, he lived much within himself and the ponderings of his heart supplied occupation for the leisure hours spent by men of a lower stamp in rude sports and riotous living. the fair character and honourable bearing of the unobtrusive youth won, if not the approbation, at least the respect, of his fellow citizens; and he received the title, by common consent, of al amin, "the faithful." he goes on to say: "muhammad in any case is much greater than to be described in full. he who does not know him well cannot appreciate his merits. the expert on the other hand ponders his glorious history, that history that put muhammad in the forefront of prophets and world thinkers."
([3]) in his al-sirah al-nabawiah, the learned authority abu al-hassan al-nadawi sums up the prophet's chief character traits before the divine call as reported in the true accounts of the sirah: "the prophet (pbuh) grew up sheltered by divine providence, away from jahilite filth and abominable habits of behaviour. he was the most magnanimous of his people, the most ethical and moral, the most modest, the most truthful in what he said and did, and by far the most trusted. he was so distant from coarseness and bawdiness that went about in his time that his people called him the trusted one. god had made him infallible and had safeguarded him from involvement in the shameful jahilite improprieties that were not befitting him. he maintained good relations with kith and kin, honoured his guests, shouldered what weighed other people down, offered great help in the cause of goodness and piety. he ate from his own hard work and contented himself with very little." (damascus: dar ibn kuthair, 2004, p. 170.)
