Allah (Glorified is He) says:
We did not send you but as a mercy to the worlds Surah Al-Anbiya: 107.
The seal of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), used to call the people of Mecca to Islam and was compassionate with them, but those who did not believe harmed him.
So the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him), left to Taif to face and call the people there to Islam, but they did not accept his call. In fact they harmed him to the extent that his feet were affected
(blood poured from them).
On his return to Mecca, Allah sent him the Angel of the mountains, who wanted to collapse the two mountains that surrounded Mecca on the people
(i.e. make the mountains fall on the people for them to perish under their rocks)
In such situations, a person tends to want to gain victory over his enemies, or to take revenge against those who had harmed him. But the mercy of the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him), who was sent as a mercy to the worlds, wanted to reply differently to their harm. The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him), said,
related by Al-Bukhari
The seal of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), was so merciful that he would make the prayer shorter if he heard a baby crying, being merciful to the baby’s mother
related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
In fact, him (peace be upon him) being sent was a mercy to mankind. This mercy can be seen in the following:
A man saw the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) kiss a child, so he became surprised and said, ‘Do you kiss your children?’ Consequently, the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) said, ‘What do you own if Allah has removed mercy from your heart related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And when his grandchild died, the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) cried. One of the Companions asked him about this, so the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) said,
It is mercy which Allah placed in the hearts of His slaves. Truly, Allah shows mercy to those of His slaves who are merciful related by Al-Buhari and Muslim.
The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) adorned his victory with mercy and forgiveness
The actions of the Messenger after the liberation of Mecca indicate that he was a Prophet that was sent by Allah, and not a triumphant ruler. This is because he showed mercy and compassion to the people in Mecca although he was in a position of power at that time; he adorned his victory and gain with mercy and forgiveness
Washington Irving.
An American author
When the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) started to spread the call in public, and when the weak were the first ones who believed in it, the rich and powerful said, “Leave them (the weak) and we will believe in you.” But the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) totally refused to do this. The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) used to also pay attention to the needs of the weak and servants, who were mocked and greatly oppressed, and who were not given their rights.
The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) said,
Who is not merciful (to others) will not be shown mercy related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
And The seal of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), said with regards to the servants,
They are your brothers, and Allah placed them under your control. Anyone who has a servant under his control should feed him with what he (the master) eats, clothe him with clothes similar to what he (the master) wears, and not burden him with any work which is too much for him. But if he tells him to do such work, he (the master) should help him (the servant) related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) also said,
Allah will show mercy to those who are merciful to others. Be merciful to those on the earth for the One in the heavens to be merciful to you related by Abu Dawood and At-Tirmidhi.
For this reason, the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) said,
If a servant of yours comes with food, let him sit with you (to eat) or give him some of the food; for he is the one who heated it and prepared it
(i.e., cooked it, smelt it when it was cooking, and took time to prepare it)
related by Ibn Majah.
Similarly, with orphans and widows, he used to encourage the people to look after the many needs of the orphan. The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) said,
I and the one who is a guardian to an orphan will be like these two in paradise’ and he pointed to his index and middle fingers related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The seal of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), made caring for the needs of widows and the poor like the one who struggles in Allah’s cause, and the one who fasts during the day and prays supererogatory prayers at night. The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) considered the presence of the weak in the nation as well as helping them and showing them compassion one of the reasons for gaining victory over the enemies and for gaining sustenance, in general. The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) said,
I want you to look for the weak, for truly you gain victory and sustenance due to the weak among you related by Abu Dawood and At-Tirmidhi.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) encouraged the people to look after girls and to be good with them. The prophet (peace be upon him) said,
Whoever looks after girls and is good to them, it will be a veil for them from the hell-fire related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Similarly, the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) stressed the rights of the wife in his final speeches as the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) said,
Indeed, I order you to be good to women, for they are your dependents (like the captives) over whom you have no power other than that [i.e. you can only be good to them] except if they come with manifest fahishah (adulterous behavior)> related by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.
The seal of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), was an amazing example of kindness in his dealings with his household. Even when one of his wifes, Safiyah, wanted to mount a camel, he knelt on his knee with the other knee raised for her (may Allah be pleased with her) to place her leg on it in order to mount the camel.
Moreover, when his daughter Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) came to visit, the seal of the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to take her hand, kiss her, and lead her to sit on the same spot he was just sitting.
When Mecca was liberated, whose inhabitants used to harm the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) and torture whoever believed in him to the extent that he and his Companions were forced to immigrate from the city, the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) said,
This day is the day of mercy related by Al-Bukhari.
He issued a general amnesty for all those in the city.
The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) used to order the people to be good even to the enemy, and speak gently with them and deal with them nicely. During the battle with the enemy, the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) prohibited his Companions from abusing them, or from cutting down their trees or demolishing their churches.
The Islamic legislation orders military struggle to push the slaves from the city, to free them from the worship of the creation, to overpower them and to make them taste the punishment. But the military struggle is a form of mercy as only the ones who fought against the Muslims received such treatment. After that, the other people in the city were left free, and anyone who wanted to believe was allowed to believe, but anyone who wanted otherwise was left to do what he wanted.
Islam spread due to the easy ways and truthfulness of the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him)
It has become very clear that the sword was not the means by which Islam spread throughout the world. In fact, this spread was due to the easy ways of the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) along with his particularness and truthfulness in fulfilling promises and agreements
Mahatma Ghandi
A prominent politician and spiritual leader of India.
His mercy did not involve only humans, but it reached animals as well! This is because the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) prohibited killing any animal as a past-time and for fun, in fact, he told us to be kind to animals even when slaughtering them. The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) told the one who had laid the sheep down to slaughter it and was sharpening his knife, Do you want to kill it twice?! Sharpen your knife before you lay it down to slaughter it related by Al-Hakim
The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) also mentioned to his Companions how a woman entered the hell-fire because of a cat
as the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) said,
A woman entered the hell-fire because of a cat. She tied it up and did not give it food or let it free to eat from the insects on the ground related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
On the other hand, a man was forgiven his sins because of a dog. The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) said,
A man was walking on a journey and he became very thirsty. So he went down a well he saw, drank from it, and then climbed out of it. Suddenly, a dog appeared in front of him and it was licking the dust as it was so thirsty, Therefore, he said to himself, ‘I was just as thirsty as this dog is now,’ and he [climbed into the well again,] filled his shoe with water, held it in his mouth, climbed out of the well, and gave it to the dog. As a result, Allah appreciated this deed and thus forgave him [his sins].” The Companions asked, “Oh Messenger of Allah, is there a reward because of [feeding or giving water to] animals?” The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) replied, “There is a reward because of [feeding and giving water to] every living being related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) is the good example which Allah sent to us out of His mercy to us
It is possible for me to say, without any doubt, that there is not even one new Muslim that does not have good feelings towards Our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) due to his loving character, helpfulness, guidance and inspirational direction. He is the good example which Allah sent out of His mercy to and love for us in order for us to follow it
Dr M. J. Durany
An English priest
Groups that are compassionate with animals have become common in this day and age. But what do you think of the fact that the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him), 1400 years before these people, set an example of showing mercy and compassion with animals and advised his followers to show them mercy too.
Some of his (peace be upon him) most beautiful qualities include being just and merciful
The Prophet used to call to the religion of one God and he was compassionate and merciful when he called others, even with his enemies. He had two qualities that are among the most beautiful qualities which a person can have: being just and merciful
An orientalist
Bertley Heller
When The seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) became tired from standing, he used to lean against a trunk of a tree next to where he used to give sermons; if he gave a sermon, he used to lean against it.
After that, a pulpit was made for him, so he turned towards the pulpit and left the tree trunk. Consequently, the trunk started to groan out of sorrow for the Prophet [leaving him], to the extent that the Companions heard a sound from it that sounded like the lowing of a bull. Therefore, the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) came down from the pulpit and embraced it until it became quiet. Then the seal of the Prophets (peace be upon him) turned towards his Companions and said,
Mention three proofs other than what have been mentioned that illustrate the mercy of the seal of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Do you think that having beautiful manners is enough to hold and win the hearts of the people? Explain your answer referring to the seal of the Prophets’ biography.
1. Be merciful with creation just like he used to be. Fill your heart with mercy, and be careful not to be cold-hearted.
2. Do not be arrogant, rough or domineering.
3. Make loving and serving people an aim in your life, and be sincere to Allah concerning this.
4. Learn and tell people about this merciful religion, and learn about the merciful Prophet.
5. Spread mercy [the religion] among the creation, as Allah has sent [him as] mercy to the world.
6. Love the merciful Messenger of Allah and send many prayers and blessings of peace on him.
The honesty of Proph...
