Sharing in the Difficulties of Others
The Most Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was a religious leader who shared in the life of the people in every way. He never considered himself to be separate from his community and it was never the case that his friends and followers lived in difficulty while he lived in comfort. Rather, he was in the front line of all events and shared in their happiness and sorrow and he exerted himself with regard to difficulties. Reference will be made to a number of examples of his custom of sharing in the difficulties of others:
1. The Commander of the Faithful, ‘Alī, peace be upon him, has said, "When digging the ditch (known as khandaq) I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) when Fāṭimah (the Prophet's daughter and ‘Alī's wife, may peace be upon them all) came and brought some bread. The Messenger of God asked, 'What is this?'
Fāṭimah (peace be upon her) replied, 'I made a loaf of bread for asan and usayn (the two sons of ‘Alī and Fāṭimah, may peace be upon them all) and I have brought some of it for you.'
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said, 'After three days of being hungry, this is the first thing your father will eat.'"[1]
2. A number of Arab tribes set out for Madīnah in order to overthrow the newly instituted government of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), who had become aware of the enemies' plans, gathered his companions and consulted with them concerning how to defend themselves and oppose the enemies.
Salmān al-Farsī suggested that they dig a trench on the outskirts of Madīnah to prevent the enemy from entering the city. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) endorsed this idea.
The Most Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) appointed groups of Migrants [Muhājirīn] and Helpers [Anṣār] to dig a ditch every twenty to thirty steps apart. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) himself took a pick and started digging where the Migrants stood and the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) would take the loose dirt out of the ditch. They continued until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) began sweating and grew tired from working so hard. At that point he said, "There is no comfort other than the comfort of the Afterlife. O God, forgive the Migrants and the Helpers."
Jābir ibn 'Abdullāh has said, "When we were digging the ditch, we came upon a hard spot. We said, 'O Messenger of God, we have arrived at a hard spot. What should we do?' He said, 'Pour a little bit of water on it.' Then, when he was so hungry that he had tied a rock to his stomach, he took his pick and said God's name three times and then struck. He shattered those rocks to the point that they became like gravel."[2]
3. During the last days of his life while lying on his death bed, the Messenger of God, (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) told Bilāl to summon the Muslims. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) went to the mosque, ascended the pulpit and asked them, "My companions, what kind of prophet was I to you? Did I not take part in jihād with you? Were my teeth not broken (in battle)? Was my face not covered with dirt? Did blood not flow over my face to the point where it covered my beard? Did I not tie a rock to my stomach out of hunger?"
His companions replied, "Yes, O Messenger of God. Verily, you were patient and you forbade evil. May God reward you with the best reward."
He replied, "May God reward you with an outstanding reward as well."[3]
Generosity
Generosity is the tangible manifestation of human self-sacrifice. It is a sacred attribute that is held in high esteem and considered to be of great value by all nations. The Noble Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), the source of human virtues, possessed this attribute in its highest form. He (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) has said,
"I am the one who has been disciplined by God, and ‘Alī has been disciplined by me. My Lord has commanded me to be generous and do good and He has forbidden me from being stingy and from oppressing others. There is nothing that God hates more than stinginess and being ill-tempered."[4]
Similarly, after returning from the Battle of unayn, the Bedouins formed a circle around the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in order to get their share of the war booty. As the crowd gathered, someone snatched the Prophet's cloak. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) stood up and said,
"Give me back my cloak. What, are you afraid of (me behaving with) stinginess? If I had as much gold as these thorny shrubs here, I would have divided it amongst you. You will not find me to be stingy."[5]
Included here are a few examples of the Prophet's generosity:
1. One day, a group of under clothed people came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and asked him for clothes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), who could never turn down a request, went home to gather clothes but found nothing other than a curtain that belonged to his daughter Fāṭimah (peace be upon her) and which had been placed over some goods. The Messenger of God asked her, "O Fāṭimah, would you like to be protected from the fire of Hell by means of this curtain?"
She (peace be upon her) replied, "Yes."
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) tore that curtain into pieces and gave it to the poor to wear.[6]
2. One day the Most Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) went to the market with only eight dirhams. On the way, he saw a female slave crying. He asked her why she was crying. She replied, "My master sent me with two dirhams to buy something for him, but I have lost those two dirhams." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) gave her two dirhams from his money and continued towards the market with only six dirhams. There he bought a shirt four dirhams and then headed for home.
On his way, he saw an emaciated, old man crying, sitting unclothed, saying, "Whoever clothes me, may God clothe him with heavenly clothing."
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), upon seeing this, clothed him with the shirt he had bought and once again headed for the market. There he bought a shirt for two dirhams. On his way home, once again, he saw the same female slave. She was sitting and crying. He (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) asked, "What happened?"
She replied, "I bought that which I was supposed to buy, but I am afraid I will be punished for being late."
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) told her, "Show me the way to your house." He followed her until they arrived at the house of one of the Helpers. The men were absent and only the women were at home. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) greeted them from behind the door saying, "As-salāmu 'alaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh (may peace, mercy and blessings be upon you)." The women recognized the Prophet’s voice(peace and blessings be upon him and his family) but did not reply to him until he said so three times. At that point they said, "wa 'alaykumus-salām wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh, may our parents be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of God." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) asked them, "Did you not hear my voice?" They said, "Yes, we did, but we wanted you to greet us and our children with peace (salām) many times."
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said, "Your female slave is late and she is afraid of your punishment. For my sake, do not punish her."
They said, all together, "We have accepted your intercession, forgiven her punishment and, due to your blessed footsteps, we have freed her."
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) turned back and said, "I have never seen eight dirhams more blessed than these. They have turned fear into safety, freed a slave and clothed two unclothed people."[7]
3. A woman told her son to go to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and greet him and ask him for some cloth so that she may make it into a shirt. He went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and said what his mother had told him to say. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said, "I have no cloth (to give you) at present…" The boy said, "My mother said for you to give me your cloak so that she can make a shirt out of it." The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said, "Allow me to go to my chamber." When he went to his chamber, he took off his cloak and then gave it to the child. The child gave it to his mother.[8]
