The life of the Holy Prophet of Islam — Page 26
palaces of Persia, and the keys of the Persian Empires were given to me. The third time I saw in the light the gates of Sana, and the keys of Yemen were given to me. (Zurqani) These were the scenes of the glory of Islam shown to the Prophet of Islam in vision, which proved to be true later on. During the time when they were digging the ditch, one of the companions of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) complained agonizing hunger, and lifted up his shirt from his belly, and showed one stone tied at the belly to relieve the pain. Seeing that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) lifted up his shirt and there were two stones tied at his belly. This was the situation of his starvation. TOLERANCE IN RELIGIOUS MATTERS The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) not only emphasized the desirability of tolerance in religious matters but set a very high standard in this respect. A deputation from the Christian tribe of Najran visited him in Medina to exchange views on religious matters. It included several Church dignitaries. The conversation was held in the mosque and it extended over several hours. At one stage the leader of the deputation asked permission to depart from the mosque and to hold their religious service at some convenient spot. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: There is no need for you to go out of the mosque, because the mosque is the place to worship one God, if you want to do so, you have every freedom of worship, and holding the services in it. (Zurqani) Though he was the greatest, yet he never liked to be preferred over others The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was not after any worldly respect or honor. He was very sensitive about the respect of others more than his own. He always tried to educate his followers on the same lines. He was the most broadminded, and liberal person, and he tried his best to infuse this spirit in his followers: It is narrated by Abu Said Al Khudri, that once it so happened that a Jew came to the Prophet and said, “O Muhammad! A man from your Ansari companions slapped me. ” The Prophet said, “Call him. ” They called him and the Prophet asked him, “Why did you slap his face?” He said, “O Allah’s Apostle! While I was passing by the Jews, I heard him saying, “By Him Who chose Moses above all the human beings. ” I said (protesting), “Even above Muhammad?” He said, ‘Yes. ’ So I became furious and slapped him. ” The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was very much disturbed to hear that and said, “Do not give me preference over other prophets. ” (Sahih Bukhari) Loved the living and honored the dead Once a funeral procession was passing in a street of Medina, when it reached near the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he stood up in respect to the funeral. Another Muslim who was watching this, drew the attention of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that the funeral was that of a Jew. When the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) heard that he replied, “Was Jew not a human being?” After that the Muslims had great respect for the funerals of the other faiths. It is mentioned in Bukhari, narrated by Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila: “Sahl bin Hunaif and Qais bin Sa‘d were sitting in the city of Al-Qadisiya. A funeral procession passed in front of them and they stood up. They were told that the funeral procession was of one of the inhabitants of the land, that is, of a non-believer, under the protection of Muslims. They said, “A funeral procession passed in front of