THE VIRTUES OF
THE FAMILY OF THE PROPHET (S.A.W.)

The family members of the Prophet were the
true friends and well wishers of the people who felt strong grief when they saw
people in any kind of distress or suffering. They worked hard to restore the rights
of the deprived and gave all their belongings to the needy.
They were
always ready to face hardships in order to save others. Sometimes, they would
even give to the needy the food or clothing which they themselves urgently
needed. There are many of such happenings that took place in the life of our
religious leaders.
For instance,
once Imam Ali's (A.S.) children were sick. Their mother, daughter of the
Prophet, vowed to fast three days on the recovery of her children, in
thanksgiving to Allah.
Imam Ali
(A.S.) and the children all joined Lady Fatema (S.A.)
in thanksgiving. All of them fasted. It was sunset and they had only a few
barley loaves of bread for their breakfast. As they were about to eat their
food, someone knocked at their door, saying I am a poor man. Please give me
some food. The food, which the whole family had, was very little. They gave it
all to the poor man.
Again on next
day, when the family wanted to break their fast an orphan began knocking at the
door asking for food. The same thing happened on the third day also with a
stranger. Each time they gave their food to the needy and they, themselves,
remained hungry continuing their fast.
Muslim
commentators say, The next day, the Holy Prophet
(S.A.W) came to the family with these verses of the Holy Qur'an:
"Surely the righteous shall drink of a cup the admixture of which is
camphor, a fountain from which the servants of Allah shall drink; they make it
to flow a (goodly) flowing forth. They fulfil vows
and fear a day the evil of which shall be spreading far and wide. And they give
food out of love for Allah to the poor and the orphan and the Active: We only
feed you for Allah's sake. We desire from you neither reward nor thanks: Surely
we fear from our Allah a stern, distressful day. Therefore, Allah will guard
them from the evil of that day and cause them to meet with ease and happiness; And reward them because they were patient, with garden and
silk." (Holy Qur'an, 76:5-12)
Wealth and Poverty
It was a usual
meeting. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) was in his place and his companions gathered
around him to hear the words of wisdom and guidance. Suddenly a poor man in
rags appeared, saluted the assembly:
"Salamun Alaikum" (Peace be
on you)
And finding a
vacant place comfortably sat down.
The Prophet
(S.A.W.) had taught them that all Muslims were brothers and in an assembly one
should sit wherever one finds a place, regardless of any status. Now, it so
happened that this poor man was seated next to a very rich man. The rich man
felt very disturbed and tried to collect the edges of his dress around himself,
so that the poor man didn't touch them. The Prophet (S.A.W.) observed this and
addressing the rich man he (S.A.W.) said:
" Perhaps you are afraid that his poverty would affect
you?"
" No, O Messenger of Allah," he said.
"Then
perhaps you were apprehensive about some of your wealth flying away to
him?"
" No, O Messenger of Allah."
"Or you
feared that your clothes would become dirty if he touched them?"
" No, O Messenger of Allah."
" Then why did you draw yourself and your clothes away from
him?"
The rich man
said:
"I admit
that was the most undesirable thing to do. It was an error and I confess my
guilt. Now to make amends for it I will give away half of my wealth to this
Muslim brother so that I may be forgiven."
Just as he
said this, the poor man rose and said,
" O Prophet of Allah, I do not accept this offer."
People present
were taken by surprise, they thought that the poor man was a fool, but then he
explained:
" O Prophet of Allah, I refuse to accept this offer because I
fear that I might then become arrogant and ill-treat my Muslim brothers the way
he did to me."
The BEDOUIN AND
THE PROPHET (S.A.W.)
The Bedouin
entered Madina, and went directly to the Masjid, so that he may get some money or gold from the
Prophet (S.A.W.). When he arrived, he saw the Prophet (S.A.W.) sitting among
his companions. He asked his need. The Prophet (S.A.W.) gave his something. He
was not content, and moreover he used harsh and inappropriate language against
the Prophet (S.A.W.). The companions became very angry, and were ready to hurt
him. But the Prophet (S.A.W.) prevented them from haste.
The Prophet
(S.A.W.) took the Bedouin to his home, and gave him some more. The Bedouin saw
that the residence of the Prophet (S.A.W.) wasn't like those of the heads of
governments, and there is no luxury in his home.
The Bedouin
became content with the share, and thanked the Prophet (S.A.W.). At this time,
the Prophet (S.A.W.) asked him: "You said a harsh word yesterday, which
caused anger in my companions. I fear that they will hurt you. Would you be
willing to show your appreciation in front of them, so that their anger be resolved, and they don't hurt you?" The Bedouin
said: "Sure."
The next day,
the Bedouin came to the Masjid. The Prophet (S.A.W.)
addressed his companions: "This man says, he is content with his share, is
it true?" The Bedouin said: "That is true." Then he repeated the
appreciation that he had shared with Prophet (S.A.W.). The companions smiled.
The Prophet
(S.A.W.) addressed the group: "The parable of me and these types of
individuals is like that of the man whose camel was running away from him. With
the [thought] they could help the owner, people were
running after the camel. The camel was frightened and ran faster. The owner
called on the people, please leave my camel alone, I
know better how to calm it. When the people stopped chasing the camel, the
owner followed it calmly, with a fistful of grass. Then without the need for
running, yelling, he showed the grass to it.
THE PROPHET (S.A.W.) AND
EDUCATION
The mosque of Medina was not only a place
of worship. The believers assembled here to learn. When the Holy Prophet
(S.A.W.) was present they heard his words of wisdom, his elucidation on the
verses of the Holy Qur'an and benefited from his
counsel. And when he (S.A.W.) was not present, other faithful companions taught
what they had heard from the Prophet of Allah.
Once
the Prophet (S.A.W.) entered the Mosque before the prayer time. He found two groups in
the Mosque. One group was busy with its own act of worship,
some were reading the Qur'an while the others were
supplicating. The other group was in a corner busy learning. They learnt how to
read and write and discussed the teachings of Islam and their application to their
daily lives.
Looking at both, the
Prophet (S.A.W.) said:
"They are both
engaged in useful pursuits. But I am a teacher. I shall join the group
assembled to learn."
And
so he (S.A.W.) sat with the group of students.
THE GIFT
Whenever they
reaped their first harvest, they brought early, fresh fruits to the Prophet
(S.A.W.), peace be upon him. Then he would distribute them among those who sat
around him. This morning, a poor man brought one fruit from his small farm and
gave it to the Prophet (S.A.W.).
He accepted
the gift, tasted it and then went on eating it alone while the companions
watched. One of those present meekly said: O Prophet of Allah, you have over
looked the right of those who watch while you eat?
The Prophet
(S.A.W.) smiled and waited till the man who had brought the fruit had gone. He
said:
I tasted the
fruit and it was not yet ripe. Had I allowed you to have some of it, someone
would have definitely shown his distaste, thus disappointing the poor man who
had brought the gift. Rather than make him feel better, my palate accepted the
bitterness.