The Prophet and
his Family
The Prophet: A Simple Man
Despite his position as leader, The Prophet Muhammad never behaved as if he was greater or better than other people. He never made people feel small, unwanted or embarrassed. He urged his followers to behave kindly and humbly, releasing slaves whenever they could and giving in charity, especially to the very poor, orphans and prisoners, without any thought of reward.
The Prophet himself was never greedy. He ate very little and only simple foods. He preferred never to fill his stomach. Sometimes, for days on end, he would eat nothing but raw food. He slept on a very simple mattress on the floor and had almost nothing in the way of home comforts or decorations. One day Hafsah, his wife, tried to make him more comfortable at night by folding his reed mat double—without telling him—to make it softer for him. That night he slept peacefully, but he overslept and missed the pre-dawn prayers. He was so distressed when he got up that he never slept like that again.
Simple living and contentment were the key teachings in the Prophet’s life: “When you see a person who has been given more money and beauty than you, look then to those who have been given less.” In so doing, you will thank God for His blessings, rather than feel deprived.
People used to ask his wife, ‘A’ishah, the daughter of his first and most loyal Companion Abu Bakr, 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 meals with them; and he would go to fetch what we needed from the market.” He seldom had more than one set of clothes, which he washed himself.
He was a home-loving, peace-loving human being. “When you enter a house, ask God to bless it,” he would say. He greeted others with the phrase: As-salamu alaykum—which means: “May peace be upon you”—for peace is the most wonderful thing on earth.
The Prophet’s Appearance
The Prophet Muhammad , a fair man with a rosy tinge, was of above average height. He was well built and had broad shoulders and a flat stomach. He used to walk briskly and with a firm step.
The Prophet’s companions described him as a handsome person with a prominent forehead, large black eyes with well set teeth and a pleasant smile. He had slightly curly hair and a thick beard.
His companions said that he had a bright friendly face that looked like the full moon. He did not laugh loudly; his laugh was more like a smile that would show his shiny teeth. His cheerfulness and open personality had their effect on everyone.
When the Prophet emigrated from Makkah to Madinah, he passed by the tent of Umm Ma‘bad. She witnessed some of his miracles, then swore fealty to him in Islam before he departed. This is her description of the Prophet:
“I saw a man who is handsome, of glowing countenance, and of good proportions, with neither a large stomach nor a small head. He is smart of appearance, with balanced features, deep black eyes, and long eyelashes. His voice is not coarse. He has a long neck, a full rounded beard, and thick eyebrows that meet each other. When he is silent, he is stately and composed, and when he speaks, his appearance is impressive.
“He is the most beautiful and striking man from a distance and the best and most beautiful from close up. He is well spoken, clear in what he says, saying neither too much nor too little, his words flowing forth like a perfect string of pearls.”
The Prophet’s Family
The Prophet had a large family. He had many wives, each with a separate household. In those days, when men were often killed in battle, the women who were left behind had to be looked after. So taking several wives was like taking helpless refugees into one’s home. They were treated kindly and generously. Muslim men were encouraged to look after the widows of friends who had died in battle, give them separate homes, and treat all wives equally in every respect.
The Prophet’s wives shared his pious way of life. They made great personal sacrifices, bearing patiently with all kinds of hardship in the path of God. So they became known as the mothers of the faithful. All the Prophet’s sons died in infancy. But four daughters borne by Khadijah grew to adulthood, married and bore children. They were Fatimah, Umm Kulthum, Ruqayyah and Zaynab.
Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were married to Uthman bin Affan (one after the death of the other). Zaynab was married to Abu al-As. Fatima, the youngest was married to Ali ibn Abi Talib. All his daughters accepted Islam. Ali and Uthman were among the earliest Muslims but Zaynab’s husband Abu al-As did not accept Islam before the Hijrah. He had a lot of respect for the Prophet Muhammad but he felt that people would say that he had accepted Islam at the instance of his wife. Abu al-As was taken prisoner at the Battle of Badr and ransomed.
He slept on a very simple mattress on the floor and had almost nothing in the way of home comforts or decorations.
He became a Muslim much later and migrated to Madinah. Here he was re-married to Zaynab whom he had divorced following a promise to the Prophet Muhammad after Badr.
The marriages of Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum had previously been performed with two sons of Abu Lahab Utba and Utayba. Before these marriages were consummated, the Prophet had started to invite people to Islam. Then both the sons of Abu Lahab divorced their wives.
Mothers of the Believers
All the wives of The Prophet Muhammad are considered to be an excellent example and role model for the Ummah, exemplifying true faith and sincerity. They are still remembered for their piety, simple lifestyle, purity of heart and devotion to worship. They were generous and kind hearted, spending almost every precious thing they possessed in the cause of Allah and hoping for a greater reward from Allah alone. They all were a great source of solace and support to the Prophet Muhammad and underwent many hardships along with the Prophet without any complaint.
Lives of the two wives of the Prophet, namely Khadijah and Aisha were notable for their contribution to Islam.
Khadija
Khadija was the first wife of The Prophet Muhammad and the first person to accept Islam. At the time of her marriage to Muhammad , she was a widow and one of the wealthiest traders in Makkah. She employed the Prophet as her business agent, then, impressed by his honesty and refined personality, she proposed marriage to him.
She was a source of constant support to the Prophet Muhammad
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, comforting him when he was deeply shaken by the first visit from the angel Jibril. Khadija’s wealth was also a great source of support to Islam. Having endured the hardships of the social boycott of the believers, she was given the glad tidings of a palace of jewels in paradise. She was the only wife of the Prophet whose children reached adulthood. The Prophet used to remember her fondly many years after she had passed away.
‘A’isha Siddiqa
Aisha was the youngest wife of The Prophet Muhammad and the daughter of his closest companion, Abu Bakr Siddiq. She was a deeply pious woman who underwent many hardships along with her husband. ‘A’isha narrates that they did not ever have their fill of barley bread for three consecutive days till the day he died.
She was a very intelligent person with an extraordinary memory. She had the opportunity to be very close to the Prophet and would ask him many questions to clarify her understanding of Islam. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad , even senior companions of the Prophet like Umar would come to her for her opinion on difficult issues. She also held regular classes and gave lectures on Islam.
Once some hypocrites spread rumours about her chastity. God then sent revelations recorded in the Quran confirming her innocence.
The Hadith
The Hadith, meaning a ‘statement’ or ‘report’, is used as an Islamic term for the records kept of the sayings and doings of the Prophet Muhammad .
The Hadith provides the second fundamental source of Islam, giving us a full account of the life of the Prophet, and serving as a commentary of the Quran.
The Quran principally deals with basics. It is the Hadith which gives the details and necessary explanations of the Quranic injunctions. For instance, the Quran says: “Establish the service of worship.” But it does not specify how the worship has to be performed. Not even the timings and rak‘a (units of prayers) are clearly mentioned. We need the traditions to have full information on this.
Even after knowing the details, it may not be possible to follow the divine injunctions contained in the Quran. For not everything can be properly understood by words alone. Therefore, the Prophet demonstrated before the faithful how prayer was to be performed. He said to the believers: “Look at me, see how I worship, and follow me.”
The Quran repeatedly reminds us of the importance of the Hadith, enjoining us to strictly follow the Prophet:
“...Obey God and obey the Messenger...” (Al-Nisa, 4:59)
It is as if, the Quran is the text, and the Hadith the commentary; the Quran being the theory and the Hadith being the practice. Thus the Quran and Hadith cannot be separated from one another. They are complementary to each other. Both are equally essential for the establishment of religion.
During the life of the Prophet there were no regular compilations of the traditions, for they were not generally recorded in writing. However, they were orally transmitted, with great accuracy of detail, thanks to the Arab’s exceptionally retentive memories. Later they were compiled into books by various collectors of Hadith.
Tazkiya
Since spiritual development is to do with the mind, spiritual progress is just another name for intellectual progress or intellectual development, which is the main target of man. The process of spiritual or intellectual development in fact begins with the de-conditioning of the conditioned mind or the purification of the mind—Tazkiya, as mentioned in the Quran. The more one de-conditions the mind, the more one will gain in spiritual or intellectual development. Spiritual or Intellectual progress is just not possible without taking such a step.
Spirituality, in its awakening of the mind, provides the best formula for tazkiya—the purification, or de-conditioning, that leads to our personality development. It is a great strength at all times. Spirituality, in effect, is a promoter of all good and a killer of all evils. Everyone may be born spiritual, that is, one may be spiritual by nature, but, after birth, one lives in a society, which, with its multiple influences, conditions or shapes man’s personality in such a way that it is flawed by negative feelings. These negative feelings can be of anger, revenge, jealousy, hatred and rivalry. Due to these negative influences, we develop a negative personality. We, therefore, have to consciously activate our minds and de-condition or purify them so as to develop our personality on positive lines, as only a positive personality will gain entry into paradise.
To attain the state of tazkiya, a man has to re-engineer his mind. Man must become disciplined and not allow his personality to develop under the influence of external incentives. He should, by his own decisions, construct his personality on the basis of higher principles. Only then will he be of a divine character. He has to shake and jolt and remould his personality to abide by the plan of his Creator. He has to turn himself into the kind of person who is shaped not by society, but by spirituality and is thus able to live a God-oriented or Rabbani life.
According to a Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad said that the highest form of worship was to pray as if you were seeing God. We learn from this Hadith the true sign of a superior form of worship. The true sign for man is to sense the presence of God during worship, and feel that he has come close to God. That is when he can experience the refreshing, cooling effect of God’s love and blessings for man. It is this feeling of closeness to God which is the highest form of spiritual experience.
The Sajdah is the highest form of meditation. Sajdah is a form of unification of soul and body. Sajdah is the meeting point between God and man.
Sajdah is the sign of submission or surrender, for it is only in a state of submission or surrender that we can meet God Almighty. Sajdah is the final position of submission for acquiring a place very close to God.
Prayers of the Prophet
O God, I beg You for guidance, piety, purity and freedom from want.
O God, forgive me, have mercy on me, bless me with safety and tranquility, and give provision to me.
O God, You have full control over our hearts. Turn our hearts towards Your obedience.
God is sufficient for us. He is the best guardian. An excellent master and excellent helper.
O God, I seek Your protection and refuge from the mischief of the things I have done and from the mischief of the things I have not done.
O God, I seek Your protection from Your blessings being snatched away from me.
O God, I ask for your refuge from the trial and torment of fire.
O God, protect me from the forbidden by granting me permissible things. Make me independent of any other by Your grace.
O God, I seek Your protection from enmity, hypocrisy and bad behaviour.
O God, I seek Your refuge from useless knowledge and a heart without fear.
O God, set right my world which has provisions for my life.
O God, make my body healthy, make my hearing healthy and make my eyesight healthy. There is no deity but You.
O God, keep me alive so long as life is better for me, but take my life if death is better for me.
O God, set right my hereafter where I have to return.
O God, it is Your mercy I am seeking. So let me not give in to myself for the span of an eye’s wink. Make good all my affairs. There is no deity but You.
O God, I beg You to make me do good things, shun reprehensible things, and love the helpless.
Sayings of the Prophet
If someone shows no compassion to people,
God will show no compassion to him.
Muslim
If you shake hands with each other,
dislike will disappear,
and if you give gifts to each other,
malice will disappear.
Muwatta
Earning an honest living is a duty next in
importance to the principal duty of iman.
Baihaqi
Give the worker his wages
before his sweat dries.
Ibn Majah
Allah does not have mercy on
one who is not merciful to others.
Bukhari and Muslim
Every man is a mirror to his brother.
Muslim
If Allah wants to do good to somebody,
He afflicts him with trials.
Bukhari
No one of you should judge between
two persons when he is angry.
Muslim
He who does not thank people
does not thank Allah.
Tirmidhi
He is not a believer who has a square meal
while his neighbour starves.
Ibn Majah
Learn that success goes with patience.
Ahmad
God grants to peace what He does not grant to violence.
Muslim
Save yourselves from envy.
For envy eats up virtue as fire eats up wood.
Abu Dawud
A true believer believes in
the essential goodness of others.
Ahmad
God loves His self-respecting servants who, while poor, avoid begging from others.
Ibn Majah
