As we enter the blessed Islamic month in which our beloved prophet ﷺ was born, it is essential that we take this time to reflect on his life ﷺ and connect with his journey ﷺ. The more that we connect with the journey of Rasulullah ﷺ, the more that we will love him and the more that we will yearn to be in his presence ﷺ. Living a life in which Rasulullah is our guide is a life that is pleasing to Allah ﷻ. It is a life that will be serene and gain us the mercy of our Lord. We can only truly love our prophet ﷺ if we know him.
Through studying the life of Rasulullah ﷺ, we come to learn one of his most beautiful attributes is mercy. Allah ﷻ states that “We have not sent you [Oh Muhammad] except as a mercy to mankind.” (21:107) Rasulullah ﷻ was merciful to everyone and anyone he interacted with; young, old, rich, poor, their background did not matter. When we live a life of mercy in which we are merciful to those around us, Allah ﷻ will shower us with His mercy, and we know that the one who is encompassed by the mercy of Allah, nothing can harm them.
Our beloved prophet would stop his every move and give his undivided attention to children that would speak with him. He ﷺ would help with chores around the house to make it easy for his family. He ﷺ would kneel on the ground for Safiya (RA) to stand on him so she can get on her camel. One-time Rasulullah’s wife sent over a plate of food to his home when he was with Aisha (RA), so Aisha naturally became jealous so much so that she lost control of her emotions. She whacked the arm of the servant so that the food fell to the ground. Rasulullah could’ve easily become angry, but he simply began picking up the broken pieces. He was so gentle with everyone he encountered ﷺ. This was a man ﷺ that had some of his own family members ridicule and defame him, but he ﷺ only responded with compassion and humility.
What we can take from these experiences in Rasulullah’s life ﷺ is that mercy and humility is the solution for the very internal diseases we face. When we learn to humble ourselves, we will learn that no matter what we do in this life we can never control the actions of others, the only thing we can control is how we respond. If we choose to respond with mercy and humility, we have an opportunity to invite others to what our beautiful faith teaches us simply through our actions.
By Sh. Hassan Natour
