The Prophet, and Honoring Pledges

the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was the finest example in honoring promises and agreements.

in fact, his enemies acknowledged this fact even before his companions did. abu sufyaan ibn harb, before embracing islam, acknowledged this fact before heraclius, the roman emperor.

abu sufyaan could not hide the sublime morality of the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, when heraclius asked him about his attributes at the arrival of the book of the prophet, calling him to enter islam. consequently, heraclius said, "when i asked you what he (i.e. muhammad) ordered you to do, you replied that he ordered you to establish the prayer, to speak the truth, to be chaste, to keep promises and to pay back trusts." then heraclius added,

"these are the qualities of a prophet." [al-bukhaari]

the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was the finest example of honoring the pledges of his lord the almighty. he honored the first covenant that his lord the almighty took from his servants when they were still in the loins of their fathers to believe in him alone. the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, honored this covenant in the most perfect manner. he was brought up adhering to haneefiyyah (inclination to the truth), the religion of ibraaheem, may allaah exalt his mention, and never prostrated before an idol. rather, he grew up hating idols and all of the actions of the pre-islamic era.

on honoring the pledge of conveying the message of allaah the almighty, he did it in the best way and his ummah testified to that. he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “have not i conveyed the message of allaah to you?” people said, "yes." he said, "o allaah, be witness!”

[part of the hadeeth of the farewell hajj reported by al-bukhaari and muslim]

furthermore, his lord completed his religion for him and perfected his favor on him and his ummah. in this regard allaah the almighty says (what means): {this day i have perfected for you your religion and completed my favor upon you and have approved for you islam as religion.} [quran 5: 3]

his loyalty to his wives was an unprecedented example in this respect. how could he have not been so when it was mentioned in the noble quran - which was the source of his moral character - (what means): {and do not forget graciousness between you.} [quran 2:237]

the story of his loyalty to his wife khadeejah, may allaah be pleased with her, was the most wonderful story of the loyalty of a husband to his wife. it was narrated that ‘aa’ishah, may allaah be pleased with her, said, “i did not feel jealous of any of the wives of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as much as i did of khadeejah though i never saw her. the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would mention her very often and whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would cut its parts and send them to the female friends of khadeejah.

when i sometimes said to him, ‘it is as if there is no woman on earth except her,’ he would say:

‘khadeejah was such-and-such, and from her i had children.’” [al-bukhaari and muslim]

it was also narrated that ‘aa’ishah, may allaah be pleased with her, said, “once haalah bint khuwaylid, khadeejah's sister, asked for permission to see the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. on that, the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, remembered the way khadeejah used to ask for permission, and that stirred his emotion. he said: ‘o allaah, (let it be)haalah!’

so i became jealous and said, ‘what makes you remember an old woman among the old women of the quraysh with red gums (i.e., a toothless mouth) who died long ago, and in whose place allaah has given you somebody better than her?’” [al-bukhaari and muslim]

in another narration she added, “upon hearing that, the color of the face of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, changed a great deal, something that i would only witness when he was receiving revelation or observing a cloud (that may produce rain) and which (would not return to normal) after he had seen whether it was a mercy or a punishment.” [ahmad; al- albaani: saheeh (authentic)]

the loyalty of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to his wife khadeejah, may allaah be pleased with her, was neither artificial nor accidental, but was instead a great love and a truthful loyalty to the extent that he became emotional whenever her name was mentioned. it was narrated that ‘aa’ishah, may allaah be pleased with her, narrated that an old woman once visited the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and that he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, entertained her very nicely. ‘aa’ishah said, “you paid so much attention to this old lady!” the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “she would visit us during the time of khadeejah and surely, loyalty is a part of faith.” [al-haakim; al-albaani: saheeh (authentic)]

 such was the loyalty of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to his wife who had passed away ong before. he never forgot her nor her good deeds to him.

furthermore, such was the loyalty of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to all his wives.

when allaah the almighty sent down the verse in which he the almighty commands his messenger to give his wives the choice of separating from him3, the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, started with ‘aa’ishah, may allaah be pleased with her, and said: “i am going to tell you something, and i would like you not to hasten to respond until you consult your parents.”

this was a very precious type of loyalty between the husband and his wife who was young and who would not have had enough experience to know what would be beneficial to her, and he went on reciting the verse to her. however, she, who lived with him and saw his sublime morals and wonderful qualities, would not have chosen other than him, not even if it was the whole world and all of its pleasures. she declared it plainly, “o messenger of allaah, would i consult my parents concerning you? i choose allaah and his messenger and the home of the hereafter.” then she, may allaah be pleased with her, said, “but i ask you not to disclose my choice to your other wives.” the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “if any of them asks me what your decision was, i will tell her. allaah did not send me to be harsh; rather, he sent me to teach in a gentle and easy manner.” [muslim]

the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, intended to tell them of her opinion if they asked him, for what she chose was the best choice for them and he wanted all good for them. he was very loyal to them all for they showed much patience with the harsh circumstances in which they lived with him.

his loyalty to his relatives reached the peak of perfection and greatness, even though they remained non-muslims.

one of the best examples of tis is the story of his loyalty to his uncle abu taalib, who brought him up when he was young till he became mature, supported him and protected him from the bplots of the foolish ones among his people. when death approached his uncle while he was still a polytheist, the feelings of loyalty were shaken up inside him. he was very keen to save him from hellfire and kept begging him to enter islam saying: “o my uncle, say 'laa ilaaha illa allaah' (there is nothing worthy of worship except allaah), a word which i would use in your favor before allaah (in the hereafter).” but the leaders of disbelief, abu jahl and ‘abdullaah ibn abi umayyah, did not leave him until he died a disbeliever. they said, “o abu taalib, will you leave the religion of ‘abdul-muttalib?” they kept saying so until his last words were that he was upon the religion of ‘abdul-muttalib.

the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was extremely grieved and his loyalty overwhelmed him and made him say: “by allaah, i shall certainly seek forgiveness for you unless i am told not to.” then allaah the almighty revealed (what means):

• {it is not for the prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they are relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of hellfire.} [quran 9:113]

• {indeed, [o muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but allaah guides whom he wills. and he is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.} [quran 28:56] [al-bukhaari and muslim]

his loyalty extended to his relatives by suckling. he would acknowledge their favors towards him and would seize every available opportunity to express his gratitude to them. an example is what happened on the day of hunayn when the muslims captured many women and children and much wealth from the tribes of hawaazin and thaqeef and some of the banu sa‘d ibn bakr to whom haleemah as-sa‘diyyah, the suckling mother of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was related. a man called abu jarwal zuhayr ibn surad came to the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and said, “our women are your paternal and maternal aunts by suckling and if we have suckled al-haarith ibn abi shamir and an-nu‘maan ibn almunthir and he did what you did (defeated us), we would have a hope in his generosity and request him to return our properties and captives, and you are the best of those who were suckled by our women.” then he recited a long poem praising the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

this was the opportunity that the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who had the finest refined manners, had long waited for. thus, he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, stood up and said to them, "i have other people with me in this matter (as you see) and the most beloved statement to me is the true one; you may choose either the properties or the prisoners as i have delayed their distribution." the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had waited for them for more than ten days from his arrival from taa’if. so, when it became evident to them that the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was not going to return to them except one of the two, they said, "we choose our prisoners." the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, got up among the people and glorified and praised allaah as he deserves to be praised and said: "these brothers of yours have come to us in repentance, and i decide to return the captives to them.

so, whoever among you wants to (also) do this as a favor, then he can do it, and whoever of you wants to keep his share till we recompense him from the very first war booty which allaah will give us, then he can do so too." the people unanimously said, "we do that (i.e., return the captives) willingly."

the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “we do not know which of you has agreed to it and which have not, so go back and let your leaders forward us your decision." so, the people went back and discussed the matter with their leaders who returned and informed the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, that all the people had willingly given their consent to return the captives. [al-bukhaari in a brief version] such was the loyalty of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to his relatives by suckling.

he was waiting for them in order to give them back the booty they had seized from them. when they did not come and it became a lawful booty for his companions, he did his best to give them their prisoners which were the most valuable thing to them.

what great loyalty!

there were numerous examples of the loyalty of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to his suckling mother and his relatives by suckling which can be found in the books of hadeeth and seerah (biography) of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

his loyalty to his companions was also a unique example in this regard. his loyalty to them was not confined to their lifetime only, for many people can excel in that, but it lasted even after their deaths as well, which is the time when only a person of a great moral character would maintain loyalty.

he was loyal with their families, children and in paying off their debts. in this effect, the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “i am more responsible for every believer than his own self. whoever leaves behind wealth, it is for his heirs, and whoever leaves behind a debt or dependents, they are in my charge.” [muslim]

what great loyalty! what deep gratitude! that is what the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did with the ansaar after the conquest of makkah. it was a wonderful and emotional scene.

it was narrated that abu sa‘eed al-khudri, may allaah be pleased with him, said, when the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had given the quraysh and the arab tribes their gifts and allotted nothing to the ansaar, a group of ansaar felt so uneasy about it that a lot of ill-statements against the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, were spread among them to the extent that one of them said, "by allaah, the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, has met his people!” then sa‘d ibn ‘ubadah met the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and said, "o messenger of allaah, this group of ansaar are sad about the distribution of the booty that you had acquired. you have allotted shares to your own kinsmen and forwarded lots of gifts to the arab tribes, but this group has obtained nothing."

the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asked sa‘d: "sa‘d, what do you think of all that?" sa‘d replied, "o messenger of allaah, i am but a member of this group." "call out to your people and bring them forth to me into this shed." said the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

therefore, sa‘d went out and summoned them. when they were all gathered together, he informed the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, saying, “this group of ansaar has arrived to meet you in compliance with your orders." the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came to them and started by thanking allaah the almighty and praising him with what he the almighty deserves, then asked: "i have been told that you find something in your hearts against me. were you not astray and allaah guided you; poor and allaah gave you wealth; foes and allaah made you love one another?" "yes," they said, "allaah and his messenger are fine and very gracious."

then he said: "what prevents you from replying to the messenger of allaah, o tribe of the ansaar?" they said, "what should be the reply, o messenger of allaah, while to the lord and to his messenger belong all benevolence and grace." the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "but by allaah, you might have answered and answered truly, for i would have testified to its truth myself (saying): you came to us belied and rejected and we accepted you; you came to us helpless and we helped you; homeless, and we sheltered you; poor and we comforted you.

you o ansaar, do you feel sad at the trivial things of this world, wherewith i have sought to incline these people to islam in which you are already established? are you not satisfied, o group of the ansaar that the people go off with ewes and camels while you will go back with the messenger of allaah to your dwellings. by him in whose hand my life is, had there been no migration, i would have been one of the ansaar. if all the people were to go through a valley and passage, and the ansaar go through another valley and passage, i would go through the valley and passage that the ansaar went through. o allaah, have mercy on the ansaar, the children of the ansaar and the grandchildren of the ansaar."

the audience wept until their tears wet their beards and they said, "yes! we are satisfied with the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to be our lot and share."

then the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, left the gathering and the people dispersed. [ahmad; al-albaani: saheeh (authentic)]

there are many other examples of the wonderful incidents of the loyalty of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, which can be found in the books of hadeeth and seerah.

we may feel amazed and surprised when reading about such wonderful incidents, but still this may seem slight when compared to the loyalty of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in regard to his enemies; those who left no stone unturned to plot against him and his companions, may allaah be pleased with them. in spite of all their heinous actions, he never stopped fulfilling his covenants with them such that they themselves testified to that.

in fact there are many incidents that show how the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, honored his covenants with the polytheists and the jews. amongst such examples are the honoring the conditions of the treaty of al-hudaybiyah. many of the companions of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, disliked its conditions for they believed that they were unjust and harsh to the muslims. among these conditions was the following: “if anyone of the polytheists goes over to the muslims, they should send him back to them, but should anyone of the muslims return to quraysh, they should not send him back.”

it was during this time while the treaty was being written that abu jandal ibn suhayl ibn ‘amr, may allaah be pleased with him, came staggering up to the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, (pleading in desperation to be saved from the tortures of the quraysh). he was brutally chained. when suhayl saw abu jandal he got up and hit him in the face and took hold of his collar, saying, "o muhammad, the agreement between us was concluded before this man came to you." he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied "you are right". he began to pull him roughly by his collar while abu jandal shrieked at the top of his voice, "am i to be returned to the polytheists that they might entice me from my religion, o muslims!"

it was a very difficult situation; however, nothing could ever make the one who had such sublime morality, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, break his promise for he would honour his word at all costs.

he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, consoled abu jandal and said: "be patient, resign yourself to the will of allaah the almighty. allaah the almighty is going to provide for you and your helpless companions relief and a means of escape. we have concluded a treaty of peace with them and we have taken the pledge in the name of allaah. we are, therefore, under no circumstances prepared to break it.” [ahmad]

another example of honoring the covenants he had with his enemies was when the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, handed over abu baseer, who was a new muslim convert from the quraysh who had come to him. the disbelievers sent in his pursuit two men who said (to the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), "abide by the promise you gave us." so, the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, handed him over to them and they took him away. [al-bukhaari]

another incident was narrated by abu raafi‘, may allaah be pleased with him, who said, “the quraysh sent me to the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. when i saw the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, islam was cast into my heart, so i said, ‘o messenger of allaah, i swear by allaah that i shall never return to them.’ the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: ‘i do not break a covenant or imprison messengers, but return, and if you feel the same as you do right now, come back.’ so i went away, and then came to the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and accepted islam.”

[ahmad and abu daawood; al-albaani: saheeh (authentic)]

there was another wonderful and unprecedented example of honoring the covenants he had with his with his enemies that one finds hard to believe, but the fact is that it actually happened.

dear reader, contemplate the following wonderful story and then have your say. it was narrated that huthayfah ibn al-yamaan, may allaah be pleased with him, said, nothing prevented me from being present at the battle of badr except this incident. i came out with my father husayl (to participate in the battle), but we were caught by the disbelievers of quraysh. they said, “you intend to go to muhammad.” we said, “we do not intend to go to him, but we wish to go to madeenah nonethless.” so they took from us a covenant in the name of allaah that we would go to madeenah and would not fight on the side of muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. so, we came to the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and related the incident to him. he said: “go back, both of you; we will fulfill the covenant we made with them and we seek the help of allaah against them.” [muslim]

it was the quraysh that fought the call to the truth, hurt the muslims and expelled them from their homes unjustly only because they said that their lord was allaah!

it was the quryash that murdered sumayyah and yaasir and tortured bilaal and other weak people. moreoever, it hatched plots to kill the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, himself.

and on top of all this, it was a battle that would decide between truth and falsehood, and the muslims were few in number while the polytheists were numerous.

indeed, all this was true, but such was the great faithfulness and loyalty of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who said: “go back, both of you; we will fulfill the covenant we made with them and we seek the help of allaah against them.”

if you are astonished, then be astonished also at the loyalty of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to animals:

it was narrated that ‘imraan ibn husayn, may allaah be pleased with him, said, a woman of the ansaar had been taken prisoner and also al-‘adhbaa’ (the camel of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was caught. the woman was tied with ropes. the people (her captors) were resting their animals in front of their houses. she escaped one night from bondage and went to the camels. as she drew near the camels, they fretted and became angry and so she left them until she came to al-‘adhbaa’. it did not fret and fume; it was docile. she mounted its back and rode away. thus, she escaped. when they (the enemies of islam) were warned of this, they went in search of it, but it (the shecamel) evaded them. she (the woman) made a vow to allaah that if he saved her through this camel, she would offer it as a sacrifice.

as she reached madeenah, the people saw her and they said “here is al-‘adhbaa’, the she-camel of the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” she (the woman) said that she had taken a vow that if allaah would save her on its back, she would sacrifice it. the companions came to messenger of allaah's, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and mentioned that to him. thereupon he said: “subhaanallaah (exalted is allaah!), how ill she rewarded it by vowing to allaah that if he saved her on its back, she would sacrifice it! there is no fulfillment of the vow in an act of disobedience, nor in something that a person does not possess.” [muslim and ahmad]

the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was astonished by what the woman had done. she should have been loyal and grateful to this she-camel by treating it and feeding it well, not slaughtering it!

if we are astonished by the loyalty of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to animals, then how would we feel about his loyalty to inanimate objects?

it was the loyalty of the most loyal person to the trunk of a date-palm beside which he used to stand to deliver his speech; and when the pulpit was built and the prophet, sallalaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, started to use that to make his speech, the trunk started to groan in sorrow. when the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, embraced it, it calmed down, and he said: “had i not embraced it, it would have moaned til the day of resurrection.” [al-bukhaari]

allaah the almighty, the most truthful says (what means) describing him: {and indeed, you are of a great moral character.} [quran 68:4]

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3 allaah the almighty says (what means): {o prophet, say to your wives, "if you should desire the worldly life and its adornment, then come, i will provide for you and give you a gracious release. but if you should desire allaah and his messenger and the home of the hereafter - then indeed, allaah has prepared for the doers of good among you a great reward.} [quran 33: 28-29]