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Singular Capacity
This singular capacity for mercy is traced all along the Prophet’s life. To grasp a glimpse of its expansiveness, you must envision him warning people on Mount As-Safa, going from one house to another in Mina, following people in marketplaces, assemblies, and gatherings, calling out: “O people! Say, ‘There is no god but Allah’ and you will succeed.”
You must see him (pbuh) rejected:
Our hearts are within coverings from that to which you invite us, and in our ears is deafness, and between us and you is a barrier, so work (on your way). Indeed, we are working (on our way)
(Qur’an 41: 5)
You must see him (pbuh) belied and slandered:
Perish you all day! Is it for this you have gathered us?”; “O you upon whom the Qur’an has been sent down, indeed you are mad
(Qur’an 15: 6)
This is a sorcerer, a liar
(Qur’an 38: 4)
You must see him (pbuh) mocked: “Who among you will go and bring the dung, blood, and entrails of the slaughtered camels of the family of so-and-so, and then wait until he (Muhammad) prostrates and put that in between his shoulders?”
You must see him (pbuh) defied:
O Allah! If this is indeed the truth (revealed) from You, rain down upon us stones from the sky or bring us a painful torment
(Qur’an 8: 32)
Or you (O Muhammad) cause the heaven to fall upon us in fragments, as you have claimed, or you bring Allah and the angels before (us) face to face
(Qur’an 17: 92)
You must see him (pbuh) persecuted: “Uqbah bin Abu Mu‘ait came and seized the Messenger of Allah Almighty by the shoulder, twisted his garment around his neck, and severely throttled him with it.”
You must see him (pbuh) tempted: “If you are only seeking wealth with the matter with which you came, we will make a collection for you from our wealth until you become the richest among us. If you are seeking a high rank, we will make you our master and will decide no matter without you. If you are seeking dominion, we will make you a king over us.”
You must see him (pbuh) besieged and boycotted: “O people of Makkah! Are we to eat food and wear clothes while Banu Hashim are perishing, neither buying nor selling? By Allah, I shall never rest until this unjust severing parchment is torn.”
You must see him (pbuh) endangered: “Aim at him and hit him with your swords; with the strike of one man, thus kill him.”
You must see him (pbuh) expelled: “O Allah (bear witness), you (Makkah) are the most beloved land to Allah, and you are the most beloved land to me. Had your Mushrikin people not driven me out of you, I would not have left you.”
You must see him (pbuh) pursued: “If he had entered therein (the cave), a spider web would not be across its mouth!”
You must see him (pbuh) ferociously fought. All the while he (pbuh) quietly endured, silently suffered, and patiently waited, showing unprecedented fortitude in conveying the Message of his Lord: “By Allah, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand on condition that I abandon this cause, I will never abandon it until Allah makes it prevail or I perish therein.”
And, after all, you must hear him (pbuh) forgiving them: “I say to you as Yusuf (Joseph) said to his brothers, ‘No blame will there be upon you today.’ Go, you are the free ones.”
His caring eyes were always on those coming tomorrow: “I hope that Allah brings forth from their loins those (children) who will worship Allah alone and associate nothing with Him.”
No wonder he is the Prophet of Mercy (pbuh).
