Allah, The Almighty, combined in His Prophet, Muhammad, , qualities of beauty and human perfection. His pure soul shone with great characteristics and noble deeds. His biography has impressed the far and the near, and his greatness has overwhelmed both his enemies and his friends. The noble Companion, Hassaan ibn Thaabit, may Allah be pleased with him, perfectly summarized this in these few lines of poetry:
I have never laid my eyes on a man like you.
No woman has ever given birth to someone as perfect as you. You have been created so flawless - as if you yourself have chosen how you should be.
The virtues of mercy and compassion were aspects of the perfect character of the Prophet, . Little wonder that he was all that since Allah, The Almighty, sent him to be a mercy for the worlds and granted him a merciful heart which pitied the weak and felt for the needy as well as the entire creation. Mercy became his innate characteristic, to the extent that he was merciful to the young and the old, the far and the near, the believers and the disbelievers. Hence, he attained the mercy of Allah because Allah shows mercy to the merciful.
The mercy of the Prophet, , appeared in many forms and situations. The following are some examples.
His Mercy to Children
The Prophet, , was always kind and lenient towards children - he was like a father to them all. He would kiss them, hug them, and play with them. He would chew a date then put it in the mouth of a newborn baby, like he did with ‘Abdullaah ibn Az-Zubayr when he was born.
A Bedouin came to the Prophet, , and saw him kiss Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. The Bedouin was amazed and said, "Do you kiss your children? We do not do that." The Prophet, , replied: "It is out of my hands if Allah has removed mercy from your heart."
It happened that the Prophet, , performed one Salah (prayer) while he was carrying Umaamah, his granddaughter. When he prostrated, he put her on the ground and when he stood up, he carried her.
Also, during the congregational Salah (prayer), the Prophet, , would hasten to finish the Salah as soon as he would hear a baby cry. In a Hadeeth on the authority of Qataadah, may Allah be pleased with him, the Prophet, , said: "I stand up to perform (congregational) Salah intending to prolong it – but as soon as I hear a baby cry, I hasten to finish it so that I would not trouble its mother."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
He would carry babies and endure their mischief. In a Hadeeth on the authority of the Mother of the Believers, ‘Aa'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that: "A baby was brought to the Prophet and he urinated on his clothes. The Prophet simply requested water and poured it over the urine." [Al-Bukhari]
He would be grieved at the death of a child and mourned like all other humans, but with full contentment and surrender to the decree of Allah, and with patience and hope for a reward from Him. When his grandson died, the Prophet, , had tearful eyes. Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubaadah, may Allah be pleased with him, asked the Prophet, , about this, he replied: "This is mercy that Allah places in the hearts of His slaves. Indeed, Allah has mercy upon those who show mercy to others."
His Mercy to Women
Knowing that fragility and tenderness were the nature of women, the Prophet, , encouraged taking care of girls and being kind to them, saying: "Whoever is in charge of these daughters and treats them generously, then they will act as a shield for him from the Hellfire."He sharply stressed the rights of wives and commanded men to look after theirs by saying: "Be good to your wives - they are like captives with you and you do not possess anything from them except this - unless they commit open immorality."
The Prophet, , set shining examples in being kind to his wives. To help his wife, Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, to mount a camel, the Prophet, , would sit beside his camel and let her step on his knees. Whenever his daughter Faatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, would come to him, he would kiss her hand and seat her in his place.
His Mercy to the Weak in General
The Prophet, , cared for the weak and the servants as they were the most likely to suffer injustice. The Prophet, , said with regard to servants: "Your servants are your brothers and Allah has put them under your command. So, whoever has a brother under his command should feed him of what he eats and dress him of what he wears. Do not ask them to do things beyond their capacity and if you do so, then help them."Also, another form of his mercy to servants was apparent in his saying: "When a servant brings food to his master, the master should allow his servant to join him, or at least give him some of the food to eat, for he is the one who has suffered the heat of the fire and steam while cooking it.” [Ibn Maajah and Muslim]
The Prophet, , was kind to the orphans and widows, too. He encouraged people to foster orphans, saying: "I and the one who fosters an orphan will be in Paradise as close as these are,”while gesturing by drawing his index finger and middle finger close together. He compared the guardian of widows and unprivileged persons to a Mujaahid who fights in the cause of Allah, and to a person who performs prayers all night and fasts all day. He also considered that the presence of unprivileged persons in the Ummah (Muslim nation) and compassion towards them are reasons for earning support from Allah to gain victory over their enemies: The Prophet, , said: "Seek for me weak persons, for you gain victory and are provided means of sustenance through your weak ones."
His Mercy to Animals
The mercy of the Prophet, , even encompassed animals. He encouraged people to be kind to animals and not to burden them beyond their capacity. Imaam Muslim narrated that the Prophet, , said: "Indeed Allah has enjoined goodness to everything, so when you kill, kill in a good way and when you slaughter, slaughter in a good way. Every one of you should thus sharpen his knife and let the slaughtered animal die comfortably."One day, the Prophet, , entered an orchard which belonged to a man from the Ansaar (helpers). There was a camel in the orchard, and as soon as the camel saw the Prophet, , tears began to flow from its eyes. The Prophet, , stroked it across its body until it was pacified. Thereupon, the Prophet, , asked to whom the camel belonged. A young man from the Ansaar replied saying that it belonged to him.The Prophet, , said:"Do you not fear Allah with regard to that animal that Allah has placed in your possession? It complained that you starve it and exhaust it." [Abu Daawood]
His Mercy with Inanimate Objects
Not only did the mercy of the Prophet, , encompass living beings, it also extended to inanimate objects. The books of prophetic biography mention an amazing incident that indicates how merciful and compassionate the Prophet, , was with inanimate objects. The incident is known as that of ‘the whimpering tree trunk’: When the Prophet, , would stand to give a Khutbah (sermon), he would get tired, so he would lean against a tree trunk. Later on, a pulpit was erected for him to lean against. The tree trunk whimpered, yearning for the Prophet, , such that the Companions heard a sound like that of a she-camel coming out of it. The Prophet, , rushed to it and embraced it. It then became quiet. He turned his face to his Companions and said: "Had I not embraced it, it would have continued to whimper until the Day of Resurrection." [Ahmad]
His Mercy Towards Enemies in Times of War and Peace
Despite the fact that the Prophet, , and his Companions suffered different forms of harm at the hands of the disbelievers during the Makkan era, the Prophet, , gave an ideal example in dealing with one’s enemies.
The story of the noble Companion, Thumaamah ibn Uthaal, may Allah be pleased with him, and how he embraced Islam clearly illustrates this fact. After the Muslims captured him and brought him before the Prophet, , they fastened him to one of the pillars of the mosque for three days. This was a chance for him to closely watch the Muslim community. Ultimately, faith entered his heart - the Prophet came and ordered his release. He went to a nearby orchard of palm trees, took a bath, re-entered the mosque and said, "I testify that none is worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. O Muhammad! By Allah, no face on earth was more hateful to me than your face, but now it has become the most beloved face to me. By Allah, there was no religion more hateful to me than your religion, but now it has become the most beloved religion to me. By Allah, there was no town more hateful to me than your town, but now it has become the most beloved town to me." Soon after, Thumaamah was practically a new man; he went to Quraysh and threatened to cut their trade routes. He became a shield that defended Islam and the Muslims.
The Prophet, , also showed his mercy in that great occasion - the day of the Conquest of Makkah, when Allah The Almighty made him rule. The Prophet, , announced clearly in public: "This is the day of mercy," and granted amnesty to the Qurayshis who had spared no effort in harming the Muslims. Thus, the Prophet, , responded to their evil with goodness and to their harm with kindness.
The life of the Prophet, , was complete mercy: He was a mercy, his Sharee‘ah is a mercy, his biography is a mercy and his Sunnah is a mercy. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.} [Quran 21:107]