Islam - Peaceful Religion — Page 5
In the same way, when once he was asked to pray that a curse befalls the Dossan tribe, he prayed instead: ‘O Allah! Guide the tribe of Dossan. ’ So this was the anxiety in him for kindness and for humanity. He never said that he was going to compel them into belief by use of the sword but in fact refrained from any malediction or uttering any curse that an evil befalls his enemy. ‘The pagans of Makkah exiled the Holy Prophet (sa) from Makkah and gave him no respite in Madinah but whenever he met them, the Holy Prophet (sa) dealt with gracious kindness towards them. After the migration of the Holy Prophet (sa) to Madinah, the people of Makkah had to suffer a severe drought so much so that they had to live on dead meat and bones. Then in utter helplessness, Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Makkans, had to approach the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and said: “O Muhammad! You command treating one’s own relatives well. Your people are dying. Pray to your God in our favour (that this famine passes away) and it begins to rain lest your people perish. ” To bring Abu Sufyan down to earth, the Holy Prophet (sa) remarked that you are very brave and courageous that despite the transgression by the Makkans, you demand a prayer on their behalf. But the Holy Prophet (sa) did not refuse to pray because he was mercy personified and he could have never wished that his people should perish. Then the people observed that his hands went up in prayers immediately and the Holy Prophet’s prayers for an end to the famine and the heavens to open up was duly accepted. It rained so much that the days of ease and abundance returned for the Quraish of Makkah. But, at the same time, their denial and opposition grew rapidly. ’ (Bukhari: Kitabul Tafseer Sura Al-Rum lidukhan ) Now after this who can say that he gave a teaching of extremism and terrorism. P AGE 5 Islam Ð A Religion of Peace ‘He who abandons kindness abandons religion. The Holy Qur’an teaches that whosoever kills a person without justi- fiable cause will be as if he has killed the whole world. In the same way, I say that if someone is not kind unto his brother, it is like he has been unkind to the whole world. ’