Speaking Tree | January 03, 2015

As the news of the Prophet Muhammad’s arrival in Madinah spread throughout the city, people climbed rooftops and scaled tall palm trees to have a glimpse of him from afar. Spontaneously they sang to the beloved Prophet: Tala’al-Badru ‘alayna/ min thaniyyatil-Wada’/ wajaba al-shukru ‘alayna/ ma da’alillahi da’ — O the White Moon rose over us/ From the Valley of Wada’/ And we owe it to show gratefulness/ Where the call is to Allah.

Ayyuha al-mab’uthufina/ ji’ta bi-al-amri al-muta’/Ji’tasharrafta al-Madinah/ Marhabanyakhayra da’ — O you who were raised amongst us/ Coming with a word to be obeyed/ You have brought to this city nobleness/ Welcome! best caller to God’s way.

In Madinah, the Prophet was welcomed by the Ansars, who treated the immigrants as their brothers and sisters, and even shared their homes and possessions with them. In Madinah, the Prophet founded the mosque, which is today known as the Mosque of the Prophet. He himself helped to build it. It became the centre of his activities, from which he would preach the message of Islam, sitting for hours on end in order to have the revelations written down and memorised by his companions.

The Prophet’s kindness and merciful nature was unparalleled. Often, when he passed by a group of children, he would say, “Children are flowers of God,” and pass his hand affectionately over their heads and sometimes even join in their innocent games. He had high regard for parents and specially honoured them. Those, he believed, who served their parents well, were deserving of Paradise. A man once asked the Prophet, “Who rightfully deserves the best treatment from me?”

“Your mother,” said the Prophet. Then, only after repeated questioning, did he say, “Your father.” The Prophet gave great importance to family ties, good relations with neighbours and visiting the sick. He said that a visit to a sick person was like a visit to Allah. The Prophet’s life was marked by simple living and sublime character, prayer and devotion, compassion and humility. After his death, people used to ask the Prophet’s wife, Aishah, how he lived at home. “Like an ordinary man,” she would answer. “He would sweep the house, stitch his own clothes, mend his own sandals, water the camels, milk the goats, help the servants at their work, and eat his meal with them; and he would go to fetch what we needed from the market.”