Bestowed Mercy

It was with mercy and compassion that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sent, and it was with mercy and compassion that he ﷺ treated his opponents and companions alike.

It was said to him, “O Messenger of Allah, supplicate against the Mushrikin1.” He ﷺ replied, “I am not sent as a curser. I am sent as a mercy.”2 He ﷺ used to call people, saying, “O people, truly, I am a bestowed mercy.”3

Tufail bin ‘Amr Ad-Dawsi ؓ and his companions came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “O Messenger of Allah, the tribe of Daws has disobeyed and refused. Supplicate Allah against it.” This made people say, “Daws is ruined.” But he ﷺ said, “O Allah, guide the people of Daws and bring them (i.e. bring their hearts to Islam).”4

On the Day of Uhud when his people fought him and wounded his face, he ﷺ could still be heard saying while wiping blood off his face, “O Allah, forgive my people, for they know not.”5

The Quraish continuously slandered the Prophet ﷺ, even distorting his name. Instead of calling him “Muhammad,” literally the praised one, they called him by its antithesis, “Mudhammam” – the dispraised. His sole reaction was to say to his Companions, “Do you not wonder at how Allah averts from me the abuse and cursing of Quraish? They abuse (someone called) Mudhammam and curse Mudhammam, while I am Muhammad.”6

The Prophet ﷺ always met the harm and ignorance of his people with gracious patience. He ﷺ never repaid evil with evil; rather, he ﷺ used to pardon and forgive.

Children Who Worship Allah Alone

The Prophet ﷺ decided to walk with his Call out of Makkah to At-Ta’if, about sixty miles away from Makkah. He ﷺ traveled afoot, back and forth, hoping that the people of this town would be receptive to his Message, which had been rejected by most of the Makkans for more than a decade.

Regretfully, the people of At-Ta’if proved just as cruel and intolerant as his own people. Not only did they scorn his Message of God’s Oneness and order him to leave their town, but also stirred up their knaves and slaves against him. They chased him while he was departing, cursing and yelling at him until all the people of At-Ta’if crowded about him in two rows, hurling stones and insults at him, pelting his heels so harshly that his shoes were dyed with blood.

They kept chasing him until they drove him to an orchard, three miles away from At-Ta’if. Only when he ﷺ sought refuge in it did they turn away from him. There he ﷺ sat under the shade of a grapevine, leaning himself against a wall. When he ﷺ was calm, he ﷺ lifted his noble hands towards heaven and supplicated, but not against his people and their cruelty; rather, he ﷺ complained to Allah of his own weakness and helplessness, saying:

O Allah, to You do I complain of my weakness, my helplessness, and disregard of people towards me. O Most Merciful of the merciful, You are the Lord of the oppressed, and You are my Lord. To whom do You entrust me? Is it to a stranger who would frown on me? Or is it to an enemy to whom You have given mastery over me?

If You are not angry with me, then I do not care. But Your Protection is the more all-embracing for me.

I seek refuge in the Light of Your Face whereby all darkness has shone and the affairs of worldly life and the hereafter have been set right, lest You should send down upon me Your Anger or Your Wrath should befall me. Yours Alone is the right to blame until You are Content, and there is neither power nor might except with You.7

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then came out of the orchard and set out on the way back to Makkah, sad and unconscious of anything around him. Suddenly he ﷺ realized that he ﷺ was in Qarn Ath-Tha‘alib.

The Prophet ﷺ said, “There, I lifted my head and behold! A cloud was casting its shade on me. I looked and behold! In it was Jibril (Gabriel u8). He called me saying, ‘Allah has heard your people’s words to you and the answer they gave you. He has sent to you the Angel (in charge) of the Mountains so that you may order him whatever you wish with regard to them.’ The Angel of the Mountains called me, greeted me, and then said, ‘O Muhammad! That (i.e. referring to Jibril’s statement). What you want. I will, if you want, cause Al-Akhshabain (two mountains in Makkah) to fall down on them.’”

The Prophet of Mercy ﷺ said, “No. I hope that Allah brings forth from their loins those (children) who will worship Allah Alone and associate nothing with Him.”9

1 Plural of Mushrik: One who associates others with Allah in His Divinity or worship.

2 Narrated by Abu Hurairah: Sahih Muslim, Book of Al-Birr Waslah Waladab, Hadith no. 4704.

3 Narrated by Dhakwan: Sunnan Ad-Darimy, Book of Al-Muqadimah (Beginning), Hadith no. 15.

4 Narrated by Abu Hurairah: Sahih Al-Bukhary, Book of Al-Jihad wa As-Siyar (Striving and Marching Onwards), Hadith no. 2720; similar versions of the Hadith are also reported by Al-Bukhary (4041, 5918), Muslim (4586), and Ahmad (7014, 9408, 10122).

5 Narrated by ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud: Sahih Al-Bukhary, Book of Ahadith Al-Anbiya’ (Narratives of the Prophets), Hadith no. 3218; similar versions of the Hadith are also reported by Al-Bukhary (6417), Muslim (3347), Ibn Majah (4015), and Ahmad (3429, 3851, 3898, 3986, 4103, 4136).

6 Narrated by Abu Hurairah: Sahih Al-Bukhary, Book of Al-Manaqib, Hadith no. 3269; similar versions of the Hadith are also reported by An-Nasa’y (3384) and Ahmad (7029, 8469).

7 Details of the journey to At-Ta’if: Safi-ur-Rahman Mubarakpuri, Ar-Rahiq Al-Makhtum, Third Phase (Calling unto Islam outside Makkah): The Messenger ﷺ in At-Ta’if; Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah An-Nabawiyyah, The Prophet ﷺ Seeking the Support of Thakif – The Prophet ﷺ Pouring Forth His Complaint to His Lord, vol. 2.

8 Peace be upon him.

9 Narrated by Lady ‘Aishah: Sahih Al-Bukhary, Book of Bid’ Al-Khalq (Beginning of Creation), Hadith no. 2992; a similar version of the Hadith is also reported by Muslim (3352).