The life of the Holy Prophet of Islam — Page 25
always listened to everybody with patience, and if a person treated him with disrespect, he never attempted any retaliation. Sometimes people stopped him in the way and engaged him in conversation, explaining their needs and preferring their requests to him. He always stood patiently and let them go on and proceeded only after they were done. On occasion people while shaking hands with him kept holding his hand for some time and, though he found this inconvenient and waist of time, but he never withdrew his hand. People used to visit him freely to discuss their problems and difficulties to seek help from him. He always entertained the people with love and affection. If he was able to help them, he never declined to do so. Sometimes he was bothered with unfairly pressed requests but he went on complying with them as far as he could. On one occasion a devout Muslim asked him several times for money and each time he complied with his request but in the end he said, “It is best for a man to put his trust in God and to avoid making requests. ” MUTUAL COOPERATION The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) laid great stress upon mutual co-operation. He not only educated his followers on these lines but he also was the leading figure in this field. People sometimes came and stayed near the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), devoting their time to the service of Islam in various ways. He always counseled their relatives to assume the responsibility of providing for their modest requirements. It is reported by Anas that during the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) two brothers accepted Islam and one of them stayed on with the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while the other continued with his normal occupation. The latter, later on, complained to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that his brother was spending his time in idleness. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: God provides for you also on account of your brother and it behooves you therefore to make provision for him and leave him free to serve the Faith. (Tirmidhi) Prophet collected firewood Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) never ever liked to relax while his other colleagues were busy in work. During the course of a journey, when the Prophet’s party arrived at their camping place, his Companions immediately involved themselves with their respective tasks in setting up camp for the night. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “You have allotted no task to me. I shall go and collect the wood for cooking. ” His Companions protested and said; “O Messenger of Allah, why should you occupy yourself in that way when all of us are here to do whatever may be necessary?” He said: “No, No. It is my duty to do my share of whatever may have to be done,” and he collected firewood from the jungle for cooking the food. (Zurqani) Starving but still the strongest He was always at the vanguard even in the most difficult situation, and he worked shoulder to shoulder with his companions. It is mentioned in Hadith that during the battle of ditch, when the digging was going on, the Muslims came across a rock, which was hard to break. When it was reported to the Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he came and taking a pickaxe in his hands gave a heavy blow to the rock. A spark appeared and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) chanted, “Allahu Akbar. ” He struck the rock again, another spark appeared, and again he said, “Allahu Akbar. ” Third time he struck the rock, the rock tore into peaces and a spark appeared, and he chanted third time, “Allahu Akbar. ” When the Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked the reason for chanting “Allahu Akbar,” he answered: In the first spark I saw the Syrian palaces of the Roman Empire, and the keys of the Roman Empires were given to me. The second time I saw the illuminated