The Prophet in the Quran

similar in his mental state. Man is totally cut to size after this experience. The certainty of the unfathomable grandeur of the Almighty divests one of all feelings of one’s own greatness. The feeling of smallness as compared to the greatness of God so dominated the Prophet that, despite being a great man, he was unable to think of himself as being in any way extraordinary. The deep realization of God the Almighty rids one of all feelings of personal grandeur. One regards oneself only as His servant, and nothing more. The Prophet’s sentiments were marked by absolute perfection. No less perfect was his willingness to serve his Creator. Concern about the Hereafter We learn from a tradition that once when the Prophet of Islam was at home with his wife Umm Salmah, he sent her maidservant on an errand of some urgency. She took some time to come back. So Umm Salmah went to the window and saw that the maid was watching some children playing a game in the street. When she eventually came back, signs of anger appeared on the Prophet’s face. At that time the Prophet had a miswak (a small twig used as a toothbrush) in his hand. “If it wasn’t for the fear of retribution on the Day of Judgement, I would have hit you with this miswak,” said the Prophet to the maid. (Al-Adab al-Mufrad, Hadith No. 184) The Prophet of Islam warned the people of the chastisement of Doomsday. This incident shows that this warning was not just meant for others. He too always went in fear of it. He wanted people to live in this world in such a way that the fear of God’s chastisement should be embedded in their hearts. The same applied to the Prophet himself. The impending Doomsday was a matter of grave concern to everyone including himself. His prophethood did not in any sense exempt him from accountability in the life Hereafter. (That is, he did not feel that he was above accountability.) Respect for Human Beings In ancient Madinah some Jewish tribes were settled alongside the Muslims. One day the Prophet of Islam was visiting a part of Madinah, where there was a funeral procession passing by. The Prophet was seated at that time, but on seeing the funeral procession, he stood up in deference to the deceased. Some companions who were with the Prophet at the time, said: “O Prophet, it was the funeral of a Jew.” On hearing this, the Prophet replied: “Was he not a human being?” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 1312) We may judge from the Prophet’s behaviour on this occasion what kind of feelings he had in his heart for other human beings. He considered everyone as a human being. Everyone appeared to him worthy of respect, to whatever nation or community he might belong. Everyone was equally a creature of God. Everyone served to remind him of God as a perfect Creator. That is why his heart was filled with feelings of love and respect for all human beings. Hatred was totally against his nature.