adminRIGHTS OF THE MOTHER
One of his friends complained the Prophet about his mother. He said,
"She had a bad temper and bad manners."The Prophet answered,
"She was not bad when she carried you inside her for nine months."His friend was not satisfied. He said,
"O Messenger of Allah! She really has bad habits."
"She did not have bad habits when she suckled you for two years." The man insisted again but the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"She did not have bad habits when she was unable to sleep because of you."His friend could not bear it any longer and said,
"I remunerated for them." The Prophet asked,
“What did you do?” He said,
“I made her perform hajj by carrying her on my back.”Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) smiled ironically and said,
“You did not even remunerate for one of the labor pains.”[1]
ABU BAKR CONFIRMED ME
Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar had an argument. When the Messenger of Allah saw that Hazrat Abu Bakr was sad, he intervened. He addressed his friends,
“Allah sent me to you as a Prophet. You said I was a liar but Abu Bakr confirmed me. You treated me as an enemy but he protected me with his body and property. Do not touch my friend for the sake of those days.”
After that day, everybody tried not to break the heart of Hazrat Abu Bakr.[2]
FIRST GIVE THE HERD TO ITS OWNER
There was a battle against Jews in Khaybar. A black person who was working as a shepherd there decided to become a Muslim. He went over to Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and told him about it. However, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) did not accept his wish first; he said to the shepherd,
"First, you need to give the herd to its owner. The fact that you want to be a Muslim and join the battle with us will not eliminate the responsibility of the things entrusted to you."
The shepherd did as he was told. He returned the herd to its owner and then acted in accordance with the obligations of his new religion.[3]
KHADIJA’S FRIEND
Hazrat Khadija was his first wife, who lived together with him for twenty-five years of his thirty-eight year marriage life and who was the mother of his six children out of seven children.
He mentioned his love for Hazrat Khadija from the time she died until the time he died using every means.
It was when he was married to Hazrat Aisha. An old woman visited their house. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) recognized her. However, he asked her name. The woman said,
“Jassama (Ugly thing)”. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) corrected her,
“No! You are not Jassama; you are Hassana (Beautiful thing).”He also said other nice things to the old woman; it attracted Hazrat Aisha’s attention. After the old woman left, Hazrat Aisha could not help asking,
“O Messenger of Allah! You complimented that woman a lot!”
Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) answered with tears in his eyes,
“She was a friend of Khadija's. She often visited us when I was married to her.”[4]
HE SENT THE PRESENT TO KHADIJA’S FRIEND
Hazrat Khadija had died many years ago. She had been buried in Makkah. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) had migrated to Madinah. A friend of Khadija’s was among the ones that migrated to Madinah. According to what Anas bin Malik, his servant, narrates, when something was given him as a present, he usually sent the present to that woman. He said,
"She was Khadija's friend. She loved Khadija a lot."
Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) never forgot Hazrat Khadija, his first wife.[5]
KHADIJA’S SISTER
The voice of Hala, Hazrat Khadija’s sister, resembled Khadija’s voice a lot. One day, a woman’s voice asked for permission to enter his presence. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), who heard the voice, was astonished and prayed silently,
“O Allah! I hope this woman, who has asked for permission, is Hala!”
Indeed, she was Hala, a reminiscence of Khadija.[6]
KHADIJA’S NECKLACE
One of the captives captured during the Battle of Badr was Abu’l As, that is, the son-in-law of the Prophet (pbuh), his daughter Zaynab’s husband. Hazrat Zeynep sent Hazrat Khadija’s necklace, which she had given her when she got married, as a ransom for her husband.
When Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) saw the necklace of Khadija, who had died years ago, among the ransoms sent from Makkah, he started to cry and said to his friends,
"If you agree I want to return this necklace to Zaynab and release Abu’l As."His friends became aware of the sensitivity of the situation and said,
"Yes, of course, O Messenger of Allah! As you wish.”
Thus, the necklace of Khadija remained with Zaynab.[7]
BETTER THAN KHADIJA
Since Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) always mentioned Khadija, once Hazrat Aisha could not help saying,
“O Messenger of Allah! Did Allah not give you someone younger, better and more beautiful than Khadija?”
Whom she meant was herself. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) answered her at the risk of offending his wife of that time due to his loyalty to his first wife as follows:
“No! I swear by Allah that He did not give me one better than her. She confirmed my prophethood when everybody denied it. She confirmed me when everybody called me a liar. She gave me all of her possessions when nobody gave me anything. She gave birth to six children.”
Hazrat Aisha regretted what she said and kept silent.[8]
SIXTY YEARS LATER
More than sixty years had passed. He found out that among the captives of the Hunayn Battle were his foster sister and her relatives. He summoned them, asked about their health, gave them presents and released them. When his friends found out about it, they felt disturbed to keep the relatives of Allah’s Messenger’s foster sister as captives. They freed all captives without receiving any ransom. [9]
TO MY FRIENDS
A delegate of Ethiopians came to Madinah. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) served them and met their needs himself. His friends became disturbed about it. They said,
"O Messenger of Allah! Let us serve them."However, he did not accept their offer. He pointed to the Ethiopians and reminded them of an event that had taken place years ago saying,
“They helped my friends who migrated to Ethiopia. Now I want to pay off my debt and I take pleasure serving them.”[10]
YOUR BLOOD IS MY BLOOD
When Makkans did not listen to him without any prejudice, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) started to convey the message of Islam to the tribes around Makkah. He tried to call them for years. Almost none of them gave him a positive answer. Then, he met people from Madinah. They promised each other in a place near Makkah called Aqaba. About seventy Muslims from Madinah promised him to protect him just as they protected their wives and children even if the whole world were against them. However, one of them asked the Prophet (pbuh),
“O Messenger of Allah! Will you not return to your relatives and your hometown if you become successful in the future?”
He answered confidently,
“Your blood is my blood; your cemetery is my cemetery; I am from you and you are from me.”
And it happened as he said. One day, the whole Arabian Peninsula along with Makkah accepted his sovereignty. However, he returned to Madinah after each expedition as he had promised. Madinah became his house and hometown until he died. He died in Madinah and was buried there. He is still in Madinah.[11]
LOYALTY TO THE AGREEMENT
The Treaty of Hudaybiya had just been signed. Abu Jandal, who had become a Muslim secretly, knew that the Muslims were around Makkah and ran away. He took refuge in Muslims. However, one of the articles of the agreement made it necessary to return the Makkans who took refuge in Muslims. Makkan delegates wanted that article to be applied. The Muslims were very sorry but they had promised. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) addressed Abu Jandal,
"O Abu Jandal! Be patient. We cannot break our promise. Allah will soon show you a way."
They returned Abu Jandal to Makkah.[12]
KEEPING THE PROMISE
Two Muslims who wanted to migrate to Madinah to Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) secretly were captured by Makkans. Then, they were persuaded to swear that they would not use arms against Makkans and they were released. They completed their migration after that. They reached Madinah and joined the Muslims just before the Battle of Badr. The enemy army had three times more soldiers than the Islamic army and there was a need for warriors. Nevertheless, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) did not allow them to break their promise. He showed those two people who were on the expedition the direction of Madinah, which they had left behind and said,
“Return to Madinah; we will let you keep your promise in any case. We need the help of Allah only.”[13]
TWOFOLD REWARDS
Asma b. Umays, who had migrated to Ethiopia and then to Madinah, argued with another Muslim who had migrated to Madinah only. Both of them claimed to be superior in terms of the reward of migration. In the end, they asked the Prophet. He said,
"Those who migrated to Ethopia migrated twice. Those who migrated to Madinah only migrated once."[14]
LOYALTY EVEN TO THE ENEMY
Abu Rafi, who was sent as an envoy from Makkah to the Prophet, became a Muslim in a few days because he was influenced by what he had seen. He wanted to abandon being the envoy of Makkans and wanted to live in Madinah. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) did not accept it saying,
“I will not violate the agreement. I will not retain the envoy, either. If you still have the same idea when you return to Makkah, you can come back and we will regard you as one of our brothers.”
Abu Rafi returned to Makkah. Then, he migrated to Madinah and settled there as a Muslim.[15]
TO THE SAME GRAVE
He was burying seventy-two of his friends, who had been martyred in Uhud. He stood near the dead bodies of Amr b. Jamuh and Abdullah b. Amr. He was lost in thought and said,
“Put them in the same grave because they loved each other very much in the world.”[16]
LOYALTY TO THE PEOPLE OF MADINAH
It was a few days before his death… He was ill… He went up to the pulpit in the mosque with great difficulty. He addressed the people who migrated to Madinah and whose population exceeded the native people of Madinah as follows:
“Treat the natives of Madinah well because other people are increasing in number but they are not. They were my shelter. Return their favors by favors; forgive them when they do bad deeds.”[17]
THE MAID OF THE MOSQUE
There was an old black woman who cleaned the mosque in Madinah. She was a quiet, poor Muslim. When Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) could not see her for a few days, she asked, "Where is she?" His friends told him that she had died and that they had buried her quietly. He got offended and said,
"Why did you not inform me?"
He went to her grave and led her janazah prayer again.[18]
SHE WAS MY MOTHER AFTER MY OWN MOTHER
When his grandfather died when he was eight, his care was undertaken by his uncle Abu Talib. His wife Asad and his daughter Fatima did their best so as not to make Muhammad feel that he was an orphan. After his prophethood, his uncle and then his aunt died. He became very sad when he heard that her aunt had died. He said,
"Today, my beloved mother died."
He gave his shirt to be used as a shroud for her. He led her janazah prayer by uttering seventy takbirs. He lay in the grave for a while before her. When his friends asked him the reason why he was so interested in her funeral, he said,
"She was my mother after my own mother."[19]
IF I WERE CALLED, I WOULD GO
He was young then. The oppression and unfair treatment in Arabia along with Makkah made some conscientious people to take action. A group of people who had humane sensitivity gathered in a house together with Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). They signed a treaty called “Hilf al-Fudul”. They decided not to allow any person whether a Makkan or a guest to be treated unfairly just because they were weak or alone.
About forty years passed. He was a head of state and a prophet. One day, he remembered the treaty he signed when he was young and said,
"I took part in the signing of such a treaty in the house of Abdullah b. Judan that I would not change it for the most valuable goods of Arabs. If I were called due to the articles of that treaty today, I would go.”[20]
HE BECAME A MARTYR ON HIS LAP
Sa’d b. Muadh was one of the first Muslims of Madinah; he was together with the Prophet in his hard times. He received a deadly wound in a battle against Jews. After being in the death agony for days, he was about to die. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) was at his bedside. The wound of Sa’d cut open and blood started to spout. They moved to hug each other. The blood that spouted made the Prophet’s face, beard and clothes red. While his friends tried to separate them so that the Prophet would not be covered in blood, they clamped together. Both of them started to cry. Sa'd died in the lap of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).[21]
ZAYD IS MY ADOPTED CHILD
It was before the prophethood. Zayd b. Haritha, his slave, was found by his father and uncles, who had been looking for him for years. They came to Makkah and asked Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) to sell him to them. He answered by smiling,
"Ask him. If he wants to go, he will be free; I will not charge any money."
However, Zayd b. Haritha chose to stay with Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).
Everybody, including his relatives, was astonished. Upon this gesture, Hazrat Muhammad held him by his hand and took him to the Kaaba, the center of Makkah; he made an announcement there:
"This is Zayd b. Haritha, my slave. From now on, he is free and is my adopted child!"
From then on, he was called Zayd b. Muhammad.[22]
____________________________________________
[1]İbrahim Refik, Güllerin Efendisi, p.32.
[2]M. Yusuf Kandahlawi, Hayatu's-Sahaba, I/6l.
[3]Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Algül, Alemlere Rahmet Hazrat Muhammad, p.l33.
[4]M. Yusuf Kandahlawi, ibid, III/336.
[5]Qadi Iyad, Shifa ash-Sharif, p.126.
[6]Ed: Prof. Dr. i. Lütfi Çakan, Hazreti Peygamber ve Aile Hayatı, p.77.
[7]Afzalur Rahman, Siret Ansiklopedisi, II/225.
[8]Ed: Prof. Dr. İ. Lütfi Çakan, ibid, p.76.
[9]Abdurrahman Azzam, Peygamberimizin Örnek Ahlakı, p.37.
[10]Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Algül, ibid, p. 139; Qadi Iyad, ibid, p.127.
[11]M. Yusuf Kandahlawi, ibid, I/112,303.
[12]Afzalur Rahman, ibid, I/76.
[13]Afzalur Rahman, ibid, I/76.
[14]Afzalur Rahman, ibid, I/46.
[15]Afzalur Rahman, ibid, I/76.
[16]Abdurrahman Azzam, ibid, p.39.
[17]Abdurrahman Azzam, ibid, p.39.
[18]İbrahim Refik, ibid. p.65.
[19]İbrahim Refik, ibid, p.47.
[20]İbrahim Refik, ibid, p.47.
[21]M. Yusuf Kandahlawi, ibid, III/8.
[22]Afzalur Rahman, ibid, I/45
