The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 570
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 570 sentiments of non-Muslims. As such, on one occasion, a young Jewish man of Madīnah fell ill. When the Holy Prophet sa was informed of this, he went to visit him. Upon finding his state to be weak, the Holy Prophet sa preached the message of Islām to him. He became influenced by the preaching of the Holy Prophet sa but since his father was still alive and standing nearby, he looked towards him as if to seek approval. The father said, “My son! (If you are satisfied then undoubtedly) accept the message of Abūl-Qasim. ” 1 The boy recited the Kalimah and became a Muslim. The Holy Prophet sa became overjoyed and said, “Gratitude is due to God who has delivered a soul from the fire of hell. ” 2 When the land of Syria was conquered and the Christian population that lived there came under the Islāmic State, one day it so happened that two Companions of the Holy Prophet sa , Sahl bin Ḥunaif ra and Qais bin Sa‘d ra were sitting somewhere in the city of Qādsiyyah when a Christian funeral procession happened to pass by. Upon witnessing this, both Companions stood up in reverence. Another Muslim who had not remained in the company of the Holy Prophet sa and was unaware of the moral qualities taught by Islām, became very amazed and addressed Sahl ra and Qais ra in astonishment saying, “This is the funeral procession of a Dhimmī. ” They responded “Indeed! We are aware, but the practice of the Holy Prophet sa was that he would stand up even for the funeral procession of a non-Muslim, and he would say, ‘Do they not possess a soul created by God?’” 3 Reverence for the Religious Leaders of Other Nations At the heart of international contention, the sentiment which is primarily at work is that one nation does not respect the religious leaders of the other. Except for their own religious saints, they declare all others to be false, impostors and mischief makers in the earth. In this regard, Islām presents the teaching that God is not the God of a specific nation or country, rather, he is the God of the entire world. Hence, just as He has created means for the physical life of this world, which are not specific to one nation, so too, for the spiritual life of the world, His eternal Mercy has treated everyone equally. Allāh the Exalted states: 1 An appellation of the Holy Prophet sa 2 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Janā’iz, Bābun Idhā Aslamaṣ-Ṣa biyyu Fa-Māta. . . . . , Ḥadīth No. 1356 3 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Janā’iz, Bābu Man Qāma Li-Janāzatil-Yahūdī, Ḥadīth No. 1312