The life of the Holy Prophet of Islam — Page 17
brought to the court of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the daughter of Hatim came before the Prophet, she addressed him in the following words: “Messenger of Allah, my father is dead; my brother, my only relation, fled away into the mountains on the approach of the Muslims. I count on your generosity for my deliverance. My father was an illustrious man, the prince of his tribe, a man who ransomed prisoners, protected the honor of women, fed the poor, consoled the afflicted. ” The Prophet replied, “Your father had the virtues of a true Muslim. ” Then, addressing the Muslims around him, he said, “The daughter of Hatim is free. Her father was a generous, kind and compassionate person. Allah loves the kindhearted people. ” At this Afshana addressed to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, “The generosity of my father was not limited to any individual or any group of people rather that was for all without discrimination of any people or tribe. So your mercy should also not be limited to me only. I cannot leave my people as prisoners, and enjoy liberty. ” At this the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made an open announcement for the people of Tay that they were all free along with the daughter of Hatim. Not only that, he ordered a troop of army to make arrangement for the safe journey of Afshana and her people to go back to their town, named Joshiah. In a procession Afshana was taken to her home. When this procession reached near Joshiah, the people of the town were surprised to see it, because the only news they had was about their awful defeat from the Muslims. In such situation they could not even think about a procession and jubilation of the people. Adi, the son of Hatim, was also surprised, because he knew well the situation of war that they were defeated and he had run from the field, even leaving his sister there in the hands of the Muslims as prisoner. When he got near to the procession, he saw that his sister was among the people. She came down from the camel, and addressed her brother, “Shame on you, you are coward, you ran from the battle and left me there in the hands of the enemy; but Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is generous and so merciful that he not only forgave us but also arranged for our journey to reach our home safely. ” When Adi heard about the generosity, kindness, and mercy of the Prophet of Islam, he was really shaken and touched by the gratitude of the Prophet. He hastened to the city of Medina, where he was kindly received by the Prophet. He professed Islam and returned to his people and persuaded them to abandon idolatry. They all submitted and became devoted Muslims. This is how the Prophet of Islam won the hearts of the people, not by sword, rather through mercy and forgiveness. MERCY FOR THE ANIMALS Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was very kindhearted and merciful. He not only preached to the people to show kindness to each other but also to all living souls. He always treated animals with great care and love. He forbade the practice of cutting tails and manes of horses, of branding animals at any soft spot, and of keeping horses saddled unnecessarily. If he saw any animal over-loaded or ill-fed he would call the owner and say, Fear Allah in your treatment of animals. (Abu Dawud) Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Verily, there is heavenly reward for every act of kindness done to a living animal. ” The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also used to command mercy for all animals such as that they were fed well, watered well, not forced to carry too heavy a burden, and not tortured or maimed for one’s enjoyment. At one occasion the Prophet observed a donkey being branded on the face. He inquired the reason for this and was told that the Romans had recourse to this practice for the purpose of identifying highbred animals. The Prophet said: As the face is a very sensitive part of the body,