CHAPTER 4: SINNERS – PART 3
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would not stop a punishment when it became obligatory, not even by the intercession of the most beloved person to him:
‘Aa’ishah reported:
“The Quraysh were upset by the case of the woman from Makhzoom who had committed theft, and the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had ordered for her hand to be cut off. They said: ‘Who will speak to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, regarding her?’ They said: ‘Who is bold enough except for Usaamah ibn Zayd (the son of Zayd ibn Haarithah, the Prophet’s adopted son and freed slave), the beloved of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.’ So Usaamah spoke to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, regarding her. The face of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, changed colour, and he said: ‘Are you interceding regarding one of the legal ‘Hadd’ punishments of Allah?’ Usaamah said to him, ‘Ask Allah to forgive me, O Messenger of Allah!’ That evening, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, stood up and gave a speech and praised Allah as He deserves to be praised, then said: ‘The nations before you were only ruined because if a noble person committed theft, they would leave him alone, but if a weak person among them committed theft, they used to implement the Hadd punishment on him. By Allah, if Faatimah the daughter of Muhammad stole, I would have cut her
hand off.’”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (4304) and Muslim (1688).)
Then he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered for the woman’s hand to be cut off. She repented well after that and married. She used to come to me, and I would mention her needs to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” In another narration, she said: “Have I repented, O Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam?” The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: “You are free from your sin today like the day you were born.”(Reported by Ahmad (6619) on the authority of ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr.)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to gently teach a person who sinned out of ignorance and would not be harsh with him:
Mu’aawiyah ibn Al-Hakam Al-Sulami (a Companion) said: “While I was praying with the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, a man from the congregation sneezed. I said: ‘May Allah have mercy upon you!’ The people started looking at me. I said: ‘Woe to me! Why are you all looking at me?’ They hit their hands on their thighs (to tell me not to speak). When I realised they were trying to quiet me down, I stayed silent. When the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, finished the prayer; may my mother and father be sacrificed for him! I have never seen a better teacher before or after him; he neither reproached me, nor hit me, nor cursed me. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Normal speech is not suitable for the prayer. It is only for glorifying Allah, and for reciting Quran.’”(Reported by Muslim (537).)
An-Nawawi said: “This narration shows the great manners of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, which Allah testified to in the Quran, and his gentleness with an ignorant person, and with his nation in general.”(The explanation of An-Nawawi on the book of Muslim (20/5).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would often say when admonishing: ‘What is wrong with some people’, without mentioning their names:
‘Aa’ishah said: “Bareerah (a slave woman) came to ask me for help in buying her freedom. I said: ‘If you want I will give your owners the price, and the Walaa’ (the right to inherit the slave and ascribe him to the one who freed him) will be for me.’ Her owners told her: ‘If you want you can free her and the Walaa’ will stay with us.’ When the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came I mentioned that to him, so he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Buy her and free her, for the Walaa’ is only for the one who frees the slave.’ Then the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, stood on his pulpit and said: ‘Why do some people make conditions that are not in the Book of Allah? Whoever stipulates a condition that is not in the Book of Allah [i.e. in accordance to the Book of Allah], then it is invalid, even if he sets one hundred conditions.’”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (456) and Muslim (1504).)
‘Aa’ishah reported: “If the news of a person reached the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he would not say: ‘What is wrong with so-and-so, by name. Rather he would say: ‘What is wrong with some people?’”(Reported by Abu Dawood (4788).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would sometimes punish a sinner by not praying over him, so others would not commit such a sin:
Zayd ibn Khaalid Al-Juhani (a Companion) said: “A man from the Companions of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, died on the day of Khaybar, so they mentioned that to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Pray over your companion.’ People’s faces changed due to that (because he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would not pray over him). He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Your companion
has taken from the spoils.’ So we looked through his things and we found beads from the beads of the Jews that were not worth two Dirhams.”(Reported by Abu Dawood (2710), An-Nasa’i (1959), Ibn Maajah (2848) and Muslim (2582).)
Abu Qatadah (a Companion) said: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would ask about a funeral if he was called to it. If they spoke well about the person, he would pray over him. If not, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would say to the family: ‘Take care of it’, and he would not pray over him.”(Reported by Ahmad (22049).)
Ibn Hibbaan (a scholar) said: “The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, left praying over these people so that his nation would not commit these deeds, not because praying over such a sinner is impermissible.”(Reported by Ibn Hibbaan (64/5).)
The love and compassion of Allah’s Messenger, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, for the sinful people of his nation was not of the kind claimed by today’s ‘humanists’. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was sincere and balanced in his love and compassion, as he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was a Prophet raised by Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of all beings, for the guidance and happiness of conscious beings.
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, taught the importance of being sincere towards Allah, trusting in Him and believing in the attributes of Allah, which state that He is All-Compassionate and All-Merciful. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, taught his nation that every individual is responsible for his or her own salvation and that everyone, male or female, can directly approach Allah without any intermediary of a Prophet, saint or priest. The entire concept of someone dying for our sins is inimical
to the Islamic worldview or understanding of the natures of man and Allah. The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, beckoned us to respond to Allah’s message and receive His grace and salvation through faith, good works and leading a responsible moral and ethical life.
By Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid
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