Exemplary Conduct

angry, scolded the Jew and was on the point of beating him up. But the Prophet just kept smiling. All he said to the Jew was: “There are still three days left for me to fulfil my promise.” Then he addressed ‘Umar. “Zayd and I deserved better treatment from you,” he said. “You should have told me to be better at paying my debts and him to be better at demanding them. So take him with you, ‘Umar, and pay him his due; give him 20 sa’ahs (about forty kilos) of dates extra because you have alarmed him with your threats.” The most remarkable thing about this episode is that the Prophet could still behave with such forbearance and humility even after being established as head of the Muslim state of Madinah. So successful was the Prophet’s life that, during his lifetime, he became the ruler of the whole of Arabia right up to Palestine. As God’s messenger, whatever he said was accepted as law. His people revered him as no other man has ever been revered. When ‘Urwah ibn Mas’ud was sent to him as an envoy of the Quraysh (A.H. 6), he was amazed to see that the Muslims would not let any water used by the Prophet for ablution fall on the ground but would catch it in their hands, and rub it on their bodies. Such was their veneration for him. Anas ibn Malik, the Prophet’s close companion, says that despite their great love for the Prophet, out of respect, they could not look him full in the face. According to Mughirah, if any of the Prophet’s companions had to call on him, they would first tap on the door with their fingernails. One night, when the moon was