Exemplary Compassion of the Holy Prophet

Summary of Friday Sermon

delivered by the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

March 2^nd, 2007

Huzur continued with the subject of the attribute of compassion and kindness of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) in his Friday Sermon.

The Prophet whom Allah has called the compassionate and the merciful had extremely tender feelings for his own as well as the outsiders and would feel overwhelming kindness at the most trivial of things.

When ones followers are as ardently devoted to one as the Prophets were to him, small matters are usually overlooked, yet the Prophet would be ever mindful and anxious not to cause any one any distress at any time.

Elucidating the subject Huzur cited several Ahadith. Once a Companion stepped over the Prophet’s foot with his hard leather boot, which caused the Prophet pain and he quickly removed the leather boot with a slight strike of his whip. The Companion spent that night in utter remorse over causing pain to the Prophet. Next morning some people came looking for him and took him to the Prophet, who said ‘yesterday you nearly crushed my foot with your boot, however, I struck you with my whip to remove you, take these 80 ewes in return of that [hurt].’

The Bedouin of Arabia were unrefined people and once a Bedouin pulled hard at the Prophet’s mantle (cloak) which had hard edging and this grazed his blessed neck. On top of this the Bedouin demanded that he is given some of the provisions that ‘Allah had bestowed the Prophet’.  When the Prophet asked whether the Bedouin’s earlier act should be retaliated, he replied no, explaining that the Prophet did not respond to bad with bad. The Bedouin was then given the provisions as he had asked.

The Prophet was extremely mindful of the natural disasters that had obliterated the earlier people and would be acutely aware lest calamity befell due to any slip-up of his people. Therefore, each time there was wind or rain he would engage in prayer and would ask the Muslims to pray as well. He would enjoin not to condemn the wind per se for it was a source of mercy that carried both calamity and mercy; he enjoined to seek its good and to seek protection from its harm. Huzur related two specific prayers the Prophet would say upon sighting inclement weather.

A poor woman who lived at the out skirts of Medina fell ill. The Prophet would always ask after her and advised that in case she died she should not be buried until he had said her funeral prayer. When the poor woman passed away her funeral was brought to Medina late at night and the Prophet was found to be asleep at the time. Not wishing to disturb him the people said her funeral prayer and buried her. Next morning the Prophet asked after her and was told of what had happened. The Prophet asked to be taken to her grave where he said her funeral prayer with four takbeers and advised that in future he should always be informed and that his prayer was a source of mercy for the deceased.

The Prophet once related that a man who saw a tree branch in the pathway thought of removing it lest it caused difficulty to any believer. The man was granted Paradise on this act of his.  He also told of a man who was parched with thirst and saw a well. He went down the well and quenched his thirst. When he came up he saw a panting thirsty dog, so he down the well again, filled up his sock with water for the dog and brought it up. The Companions asked the Prophets if there was a reward in kindness to the living creatures. To which the Prophet replied that Allah indeed forgave the man’s past sins.
Once the Prophet kissed his grandson Hassan and a man remarked that he had ten children but he had never kissed them to which the Prophet replied, ‘one who is not merciful is also not shown mercy to [by God].’ Huzur explained that expression of love for children should be out of compassion and that this attracts Allah’s compassion.

Once a man related his earlier deeds to the Prophet, including taking his young daughter to a well and throwing her it and walking off to the sounds of ‘O my dad, O’ my dad’, this brought tears to the eyes of the Prophet. The assembled people censured the man that he had saddened the Prophet but the Prophet asked the people to remain silent and said the man was seeking his advice over something very significant. So he asked the man to repeat his episode, which he did. Tears kept streaming down the Prophets blessed face and he told the man that Allah forgives deeds done in ignorance and that he should make a fresh start. Huzur explained that the significance of the matter was that the man had come to find out if he stood a chance after committing grievous acts as he had. Huzur related the Prophet’s advice to treat women with good will and the Hadith that says, ‘Woman has been created from a rib and the most crooked part of the rib is the uppermost. If you try to straighten it you will break it and if you leave it alone it will remain crooked. So treat women kindly.’

Huzur explained that women should be handled/engaged/employed in the manner that they are created. Huzur said welfare of families depended on overlooking slight issues relating to women otherwise not only is the household peace destroyed, one also loses Allah’s mercy.

Citing verse 37 of Surah Al Nisa (4:37) Huzur said that one should turn to Allah with thankfulness and seek a measure of His Rahimiyyat, or else one would be a transgressor if one creates ones worldly idols. Huzur referred to verse 49 of Surah Al Nisa (4:49) and reminded that shirk (associating partners with Allah)  is the only sin that Allah will not forgive and that by partaking a measure of Divine Rahimiyyat one is inclined to avoid any overt or covert shirk.  Further elaborating this point with an Hadith Huzur said it is most unfortunate that some Muslims are involved in covert shirk by idolising the graves of earlier saints as well as by going to pseudo holy men and mendicants.

Huzur cautioned that there seems to be a great trend towards the false beliefs of sorcery and such like. Ahmadis should absorb the spirit of Rahimiyyat and avoid these things and wage a Jihad against them.

Concluding, Huzur related a few incidents from the life of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) who, in following the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) demonstrated extraordinary compassion and kindness to people.

Huzur prayed that may we follow the blessed model of our master the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and the living example that his true and ardent devotee, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) set forth for us. May we be enabled to follow these and continue to have compassion for Allah’s creation so that we are the recipient of Allah’s compassion.

Next Huzur informed of a most tragic martyrdom of a Pakistan Ahmadi in the town of Mandi Bhaudin yesterday. The deceased had come in the fold of Ahmadiyyat a few years ago and had been resolutely steadfast against mounting opposition from the local community. A wretched off duty police man gunned him down and once he had passed away slashed his neck and arm with a cleaver. The deceased is survived by a widow and three young daughters. Huzur informed that his funeral took place in Rabwah today. Huzur prayed for the elevated status of the soul of the deceased and that may Allah be the Helper and Protector of his family. Huzur announced that he would lead his funeral prayer in absentia after Jummah.