The Seal of Prophets - His Personality and Character — Page 17
The Seal of Prophets 17 became swollen because of his standing the most part of the night in prayer. They had never seen him committing a sin and believed him to be the most innocent man on earth. They asked him: “Sinless as you are, why, O Prophet of God, you seek forgiveness from Allah?” He replied: “Should I not be grateful to my God for all the favours bestowed upon me?” At another occasion when the same question about forgiveness and man’s piety was being discussed, the Holy Prophet sa told his companions that no human on earth would be forgiven because of good deeds. It is only Allah’s Grace, which ultimately delivers humans from the bondage of sin and grants them admission into heaven. This made them wonder and one of them asked: “0 Prophet of God, will you not be forgiven for your piety and good deeds?” He said: “No, not even me. I will be forgiven only by the Grace of God. Everything belongs to Him, nothing is ours. Whatever He has granted us, we use it and employ it to the best of our knowledge and abilities. Even a man with acts of piety, having spent all his life doing good deeds, will not be forgiven because of his actions. Those noble opportunities were given to him by God. ” His humility knew no bounds. When sitting among his followers, ordinarily clothed, eating the same food as they did, he did not occupy a very special place. Many a time, people were mistaken as to who was the Holy Founder sa of Islam. Abu Bakr ra , who later became the First Caliph of Islam, was older than he and perhaps had a longer beard, I don’t know, but something in him led some strangers to address him as the Prophet of God. In a respectful attitude he would then tum to the Holy Prophet sa and lead them to him. Once Umar ra , who later became the Second Caliph of Islam,