THIRD REMINDER. Saturday. PROPHET MUHAMMAD SALLALLAHU ALAIYHI WASSALLAM, A MERCY TO ALL THAT EXISTS continues. BismilLaahir Rahmaanir Raheem*. Let's continue from the second reminder. MERCY WITH THE POOR AND CAPTIVES. He established the believers’ responsibility towards the weak of their societies. “Feed the hungry, visit the sick and free the captive.” (Bukhari.) MERCY WITH THE SICK; Abu Hurairah (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Whenever a Muslim visits a sick brother (Muslim) or merely goes to meet his brother, then Allah says: ‘You are holy; your walking is holy; you have arranged your abode in Jannat.’” (Tirmidhi.) MERCY WITH THE SERVANTS; Anas said: “I served the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for ten years and he never said to me, ‘Shame!’ or ‘Why you do such and such?’ or ‘Why did you not do such and such.’” “A person who has a female slave in charge and takes steps to give her a sound education and trains her in arts and culture, and then frees her and marries her, he will be doubly rewarded.” (Sahih Bukhari, Kitab al-Nikah). MERCY FOR THE OUTCASTS AND LOWER CLASSES The Prophet gave a speech during the days of Tashreeq in Hajj and said, “O people know that your Lord is One and your father is one. Let it be known that there is no virtue of an Arab over a non-Arab, or for a black over white, or white over black, except by piety and righteousness.” He then recited: “O people we have created you from a single male and a single female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other. Verily the most noble of you before Allah is the most righteous. Certainly Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Reported by Ahmad after Jabir). MERCY FOR THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL; The Prophet taught respect for the dignity and privacy of others. “O ye who believe! Let not a folk deride a folk who may be better than they (are), let not women (deride) women who may be better than they are; neither defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. Bad is the name of lewdness after faith. And whoso turneth not in repentance, such are evil-doers.” “O ye who believe! Shun much suspicion; for lo! some suspicion is a crime. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Ye abhor that (so abhor the other)! And keep your duty (to Allah). Lo! Allah is Relenting, Merciful” THE SEVERITY OF PUNISHMENT; If some one wants to look impartially at what is called the severity of punishment in the Islamic law, they need to compare the statistics of theft, rubbery and murder in Mecca and New York City. The punishment of a few deviant members of the society will deter many from deviation which is ultimately good for those with such tendencies and the society at large. This is a form of mercy towards those who would otherwise become their innocent victims. MERCY FOR HIS UMMAH (NATION); The Prophet taught the brotherhood and mutual support, both with his words and in his conduct. “The Prophet is closer to the believers than they are to their own selves.” [Sûrah al-Ahzâb: 6] He said, “Believers are to one another like a building whose parts support one other.” He then interlaced his fingers. (Bukhari, Muslim). MERCY WITH THE NON-MUSLIMS; Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported that when Allah’s messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked to invoke a curse on the polytheists he replied, “I was not sent as one given to cursing; I was sent only as a mercy.” (Muslim). “If someone entrusts a person with his life and then that person killed him then I am clear of the killer even if the victim is a disbeliever” (Nisa’i) “He who harms a non Muslim harms me, and he who harms me harms Allah.” (At Tabarani) The Prophet stated in his contract with the Christians of Najran, “No man from among them may be held accountable for the violations of another of his fellows.” (Abu Yusuf in Alkharaj) MERCY WITH THE ANIMALS; The Prophet (peace be upon him) truly was a mercy not only to all humanity, but even to animals, to beasts and birds. He said: “There is a reward for all the good that you do for anything possessing a living heart.” (Sahîh al-Bukhârî ) He also mentioned to us the story of a prostitute who gave water to a thirsty dog and who was forgiven by Allah and admitted into Paradise. On the other hand, the Prophet (peace be upon him) informed us that another woman entered Hell because she imprisoned a cat without feeding it or letting it out to eat until it starved to death. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a sparrow in her nest lamenting the loss of her chicks which had been stolen by someone, he said: “Who has caused her to grieve over her chicks? May Allah curse the one who caused her to grieve over her chicks.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “No sparrow is killed without cause except that it complains to Allah about it on the Day of Judgment.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade the killing of any animal for mere sport. “Verily Allah has prescribed proficiency in all things. Thus, if you kill, kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters.” (Muslim). MERCY FOR THE WHOLE ENVIRONMENT INCLUDING THE INANIMATE THINGS “Uhud is a mountain that loves us and we love it” said the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), after their defeat at the hands of the pagans by ‘Uhud. (Bukhari & Muslim) MERCY FOR ALL; Those who count on mercy from their Lord must be merciful. “Allah will not show mercy to him who does not show mercy to others,” Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam said (Bukhari, Muslim). Do you see now how he was merciful not only for mankind, but for all creation? All what you've read in the three Reminders are only summary and each point has volumes of books written about this greatest Prophet and Messenger for mankind sallallahu alaihi wasallam. May Allah bless him and grant him and his family and companions jannatul firdaus. Aameen.