Bestowed
Mercy

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

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

Tufail bin ‘Amr Ad-Dawsi t and his companions came
to the Prophet r
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 r
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 r
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 r,
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 r always met the harm and
ignorance of his people with gracious patience. He r
never repaid evil with evil; rather, he r used to pardon and
forgive.

Children Who Worship Allah Alone

The Prophet r
decided to walk with his Call out of Makkah to At-Ta’if, about sixty miles away
from Makkah. He r
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 r sought refuge in it did
they turn away from him. There he r sat under the shade of
a grapevine, leaning himself against a wall. When he r
was calm, he r
lifted his noble hands towards heaven and supplicated, but not against his
people and their cruelty; rather, he r 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 r then came out of the orchard
and set out on the way back to Makkah, sad and unconscious of anything around
him. Suddenly he r
realized that he r
was in Qarn Ath-Tha‘alib.

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