ESL Blogs

1. The Garbage Thrower: (a heart touching story)

2. THE HOLY PROPHET (peace be upon Him)  AND THE SOUR GRAPES

3. SACRIFICE OF THE LAMB

4. THE HUMBLE ONE

5. HELPING HAND

6. The man who wanted to sell his camel

7. TYING THE CAMEL

8. SOME CHEERFUL MOMENTS FROM THE LIFE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD

    WHO WILL BUY THIS SLAVE

    YOU ATE TOO MUCH DATES

    CAMEL'S CALF

    NO HEAVEN FOR OLD PEOPLE

    COME ALONG WITH YOUR FULL BODY

    ONE WITH TWO EARS

    DONT IGNORE ME IN PEACE TIME

    DREAMING FOR A FREE LUNCH

    EVEN IF ABO ZAR DSESN'T WANT AND LIKE IT

    WE ARE EVEN NOW

9. WEALTH AND POVERTY

10. The BEDOUIN AND THE PROPHET (S.A.W.)

11. THE PROPHET'S VISIT TO TAIF

12. IFTAR

13. The Orphan Boy

14. Mercy of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) toward others

     1. A Mercy Towards non Muslims and his Enemies. 

     2. The Prophet and the Appreciation of Women

     3. What Prophet Muhammad Said About the Environment 

     4. A Mercy for Children 

     5. Mercy toward Animals

     6. Conclusion

1. The Garbage Thrower: (a heart touching story)

She thought till late at midnight and finally decided how to take revenge from him. She could not sleep all night, because she was too eager to take revenge for the idols she worshiped. Even before the first ray of sunlight had entered her window, she was busy sweeping her house. She saved all the garbage in a basket, placed it on the roof of her house and proudly looked at it for a while, then with an impatient look on her face, she looked at the street that she lived on, and thought, "No one has ever seen him angry. Everybody will praise me when they will see him shouting at me and getting mad. They will laugh at him and make fun of him." She looked at the basket again and grinned.

Meanwhile, she heard footsteps, announcing the approach of the end of her waiting. "Finally my prey has arrived," she thought, as she saw a man dressed in clean, white clothes coming that way. She picked up the basket in her hands and threw all the garbage on him when he passed by. Much to the woman's disappointment, he did not say anything and continued on his way.

She did the same the following day thinking, "Maybe this time I will be able to annoy him." But he was too gentle to shout at a woman. She misinterpreted his attitude as fear and decided to repeat the same mischief everyday in order to keep him frightened, so that he might stop preaching the Oneness of God.

This gentleman whom the woman hated so much was Muhammad (pbuh), the last prophet of Allah Almighty. He did not want to disappoint the woman and so continued to walk down the street everyday, instead of picking an alternate route, and prayed for the woman to recognize the Truth.

One day, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did not find the woman to be on the roof of her house with the basket. This worried him, because he thought something must have happened to her for not being over there. So he knocked at the door. "Who is it?" asked a feeble voice. "Muhammad bin Abdullah," was the reply, "can I come in?" The woman feared, "I am sick, and too weak to fight or talk back, therefore Muhammad has come to take revenge for what I have been doing to him." But the permission to enter her house was in such a gentle voice that she allowed him in.

Muhammad (pbuh) entered the house and told the woman that not finding her on the roof had worried him and he thus wanted to inquire about her health. On finding out how ill she was, he gently asked if she needed any help. Hypnotized by the affectionate tone in the Holy Prophet's (pbuh) blessed voice, she forgot all fear and asked for some water. He kindly gave her some in a utensil and prayed for her health, while she quenched her thirst. This made her feel very guilty for being so cruel to him in the past and she apologized for her mean behavior. He forgave her and came to her house everyday to clean it, to feed her and to pray for her, till she was on her feet again. The kind attitude of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) inspired her into the recognition of the Truth, and his prayers were answered in the form of yet another addition into the growing number of Muslims.

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2. THE HOLY PROPHET (peace be upon Him)  AND THE SOUR GRAPES

One day a poor man brought a bunch of grapes to the holy prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) as a gift. 
The holy prophet (pbuhf) ate one, two, three and then the whole bunch of grapes by himself. He did not offer grapes to anyone present. The poor man who brought those grapes was very pleased and left. One of the companions asked, "O prophet of Allah (peace be upon Him) ! How come you ate all the grapes by yourself and did not offer to any one of us present? 

The holy Prophet (peace be upon Him) smiled and said, "I ate all the grapes by myself because the grapes were sour. If I would have offered you, you might have made funny faces and that would have hurt the feelings of that poor man. I thought to myself that it's better that I eat all of them cheerfully and please the poor man. I did not want to hurt the feelings of that poor man." 
Such were the manners of this most noble prophet of Allah. 

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3. SACRIFICE OF THE LAMB

Just as the Prophet (S.A.W.), and his companions landed from their rides, and laid the loads down, it was decided that they would sacrifice a lamb for dinner.

One of the companions volunteered: "I will sacrifice the lamb."

Another: "I will skin it."

Third: "I will cook it."

Fourth: " I will...."

The Prophet (S.A.W.): "I will gather the wood from the desert."

The group: "O Messenger of Allah, it is not becoming of you to discomfort yourself as such. You rest. We will be honored to do all this on our own."

The Prophet (S.A.W.): "I know that you are eager to do it all, but Allah isn't pleased with the slave who distinguishes between himself and his companions, and considers himself better than others."

Then he went to the desert, and gathered some wood, and brought it to the group.

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4. THE HUMBLE ONE

One day Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was going somewhere at noon and it was too hot in the desert when He (S.A.W) saw an old woman carrying her luggage on her head. Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) helped her and took the luggage from the woman and carried it for her..

Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) asked the woman that where she was going and why? She said that I am leaving this town as I have heard that a magician named Muhammad (S.A.W) is in town.

As Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was very patient and kind, He (S.A.W) didn't say a word and kept listening. The old lady kept complaining that why she was leaving the town.

In short the basic reason of her to leave the town was her misconception about Muhammad (S.A.W), who was walking beside her and she didn't knew it.

While walking with the Holy Prophet (peace be upon Him), that old women noticed that this young man have a brightness on his smiling and humble face. And she also noticed that His sweat is perfumed. She was very impressed. 

When they reached the destination, Muhammad (S.A.W) put down the bag and was about to leave when the old woman said,"O, kind person! At least tell me your name!". Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) replied,"I am the person because of whom you left the town."The old lady was amazed to listen that and said that such a kind, helping and true person can never be wrong and therefore she also accepted Islam..

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5. HELPING HAND

Once Muhammad (peace be upon him) saw a slave grinding some grain on a grinding mill driven by hand. As he ground the grains he was crying. On seeing this Prophet became anxious. He asked the slave the reason why he was weeping. The slave said, "I am sick. I cannot grind the grain. My master is very cruel and he will beat me if I cannot finish my job." At this, the Prophet stepped forward and ground the rest of the grain saying, "Always call me if you have any grain to grind. I will do it for you."

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Another time, the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw an old man walking and trembling under the weight of water which he carried in a leather jacket. The old man walked a few steps and rested a bit. Seeing this, the Prophet took the load and carried it to his place.

"By the grace of Allaah, you are gentle towards the people; if you had been stern and ill-tempered, they would have dispersed from round about you"

 [Quran, 3: 159]

1. A Mercy Towards non Muslims and his Enemies.

 The prisoners of war taken captive at the battle of Badr were amongst his bitterest enemies. Nevertheless, he sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) made sure that they were given the best of treatment. Among them was Suhayl bin 'Amr who was a fiery speaker and was denouncing the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ). 'Umar may Allaah be pleased with him one the Prophet’s closest companions, suggested that two of his lower teeth be pulled out so that he might not be so vile in his speeches. The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) replied: “Were I to do this, Allah would disfigure me on the Day of Judgement, despite the fact that I am His messenger.”

And the Prophet himself said, "Indeed, I am sent as a mercy." (Muslim)

When the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) went to Ta'if to invite its people to Islam they met him with denial and ridicule and encouraged street boys to throw stones at him until his feet bled. Even under such circumstances, when angels sought his permission to destroy the town, the Prophet refused saying. "i am sent as a mercy and not as a punishment"

His mercy was a general mercy; which included everyone, the non-believer as well as the believer. When Tufayl bin `Amr ad-Dausiy gave up hope on the guidance of his tribe he went to the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of God, the tribe of Daus has disobeyed and refused, so supplicate to God against them." The Prophet faced Makkah and raised his hands, and the people were certain that Daus would be destroyed. But the Prophet of Mercy only said, "O God, guide Daus and bring them [to Islam]." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

And when he conquered Makkah, entering it with ten thousand soldiers, God gave him the decision concerning those who had abused and persecuted him, plotted his assassination, expelled him from his homeland, killed his companions and tortured them because of their religion. One of his companions said, "Today is a day of massacre." But the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) said, "No, but today is a day of mercy."

Then he went before the defeated people whose eyes were wide with fear and whose hearts were trembling, waiting to see what the victorious conqueror would do with them. Their own practice was that of revenge and murder. But the Prophet said to them, "O Quraysh, what do you suppose I should do with you?" They replied, "What is good. You are a generous brother and the son of a generous brother." The Messenger of God replied, "Go, for you are free."

Abu Huraira reported it was said to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him): Invoke curse upon the polytheists, whereupon he said: I have not been sent as the invoker of curse, but "I have been sent as mercy."

Muslim..vol 3..no 2112

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2. The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) and the Appreciation of Women

 Fourteen centuries ago, the Messenger of God declared through divine revelation that women were equal in humanity and faith with men.

The Messenger of God confronted many cruel and unjust practices against women during his time. Some of the Arabs, considering women inferior, would bury their daughters alive but the Prophet spoke out against such evil customs. The Qur'an describes it thus:

And when one of them is informed of [the birth of] a female, his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief. He hides himself from the people because of the ill of which he has been informed. Should he keep it in humiliation or bury it in the ground? Unquestionably, evil is what they decide.

(16:58-59)

 The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) used to encourage kindness to women and girls. He said,“Whoever supports two daughters until they reach the age of puberty, he will come on the Day of Resurrection with me [like this], and he joined his fingers.” (Muslim)

 Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) emphasized kindness to mothers. Once a man came to him asking, "O Messenger of God, who is most entitled to my good companionship?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man said, "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked again, "Who is next?" The Prophet once again repeated, "Your mother." The man asked for the fourth time, "Who is next?" The Prophet then said, "Your father."

The Messenger of God used to consult women, deal with them gently, support them in all situations and give them their complete rights in a way never dreamt of before. He was also concerned with educating women. He even appointed a day for them to assemble and would come to teach them from that which God had taught him. (Muslim)

He did not make women prisoners within the house, but allowed them to go out to take care of their needs, visit their relatives and the sick. He allowed them to buy and sell in the marketplace as long as they adhered to modest conduct and proper dress. He also allowed them to attend the mosque and forbade preventing them, saying, "Do not prevent your women from [coming to] the mosques." (Ahmad and Abu Dawud)

He prohibited beating women and said, "Do not strike the female servants of God." (Abu Dawud) And he urged kindness toward them with the words, "Be advised to be good to women." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) This means good treatment, respect for her rights, concern for her feelings and avoidance of any kind of harm. And he told his companions, "The best of you is the best of you to your wives." (Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi)

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3. What Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) Said About the Environment

 The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) recognized the importance of looking after the environment. He taught that human beings were God’s agents on the earth and it is their duty to protect it. On one occasion, he said: “The world is green and beautiful, and God has appointed you his guardian over it.” (Sahih Muslim).

He encouraged believers to plant trees and regarded it a sin to destroy them without a valid reason. He said: “There is none amongst the believers who plants a tree or sows a seed and then a bird, a person or an animal eats from it, except that it is regarded as a charity [for which he can expect God’s pleasure and reward].” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

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 4. A Mercy for Children

 Allah’s Messenger sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) was particularly compassionate towards children. When he saw a child crying, he sat beside him or her and shared his or her feelings. He felt the pain of a mother for her child more than the mother herself. Once he said: “I stand in prayer and wish to prolong it. However, I hear the cry of a child and cut the prayer short for the anxiety which the mother is feeling.” [Al-Bukhaari]

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle kissed Al-Hasan bin Ali while Al-Aqra' bin Habis At-Tamim was sitting beside him. Al-Aqra said, "I have ten children and I have never kissed anyone of them," Allah's Apostle cast a look at him and said, "Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully."

Bukhari. vol 3. no 955

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5. Mercy toward Animals

Naratted by hazrat Abdullah bin jaffar that "once Prophet Muhammad went to a Muslim's garden. There was a camel. When that camel saw Prophet Muhammad, it started crying. Prophet Muhammad went close to him and put his hand over its head and said "where is his master?" an ansari Muslim came forward and said "oh Prophet! this is my camel" Then Prophet Muhammad said "Allah made you owner of this camel, dont you fear Allah regarding this poor animal. He complained me that you don't give him enough to eat and take too much work"

Sunan abi Dawood, no 2549

Masnad Ahamd, 1754

Naratted by hazrat Anas bin malik that. once Prophet Muhammad passed by a group. They had hunted a deer and it was tied to a poal. That deer said some thing to Prophet Muhammad. Then Prophet Muhammad asked the group "who is the owner of this dear?". Group replied "we are her owner". Prophet Muhammad then said "free her, she want to feed her fawns and after that she will come back to you". People asked "oh Allah's Prophet who will take guarantee of her return?" Prophet Muhammad said "i take her guarantee". They freed the deer. she went..feed her fawns and came back. when she came back they tied her again. After some time Prophet Muhammad passed by that group again and then he asked. Who is the owner of this dear. That group said "we are". Prophet Muhammad asked. "would you sell this dear to me?" . The group said "oh Allah's Prophet "it is yours". Then Prophet Muhammad freed that deer.

Tabrani, Mojam ul owsat. no 5547

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Naratted by hazrat Abdullah bin Masood "once we were with Prophet Muhammad during a journey. We passed by a tree where a sparrow had two hosts (sparrow's babies). Some muslims took those hosts. That sparrow began circling the group and was saying some thing. Prophet Muhammad then asked "who took this sparrow's hosts and hurt her?" some people said "we did this". Then Prophet Muhammad ordered them to put those hosts back. And they did exactly that.

Bahaki, Dalail e naboowah..vol 1. no 321.

The Messenger of God (blessings and peace be upon him) once said:

“Whilst a man was walking on a road, he became very thirsty. He found a well, climbed down it, drank his fill, and then came out. He then saw a dog panting hard and eating the damp earth. So he said: ‘This dog is thirsty, like I was.’ So he again went down into the well and filled his leather sock with water. Holding his sock in his mouth, he came out of the well and then gave the water to the dog. Therefore, God appreciated the man and forgave him his sins.” The Companions asked: ‘O Messenger of God! Do we get reward for being kind even to animals?’ The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) replied: ‘There is reward for showing kindness to every living thing.’”

 (Al- Bukhari and Muslim)

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6. Conclusion

The love and compassion of Allah’s Messenger sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) for all kinds of creatures was not of the kind claimed by today’s ‘humanists’ and many Muslims too. He was sincere and balanced in his love and compassion. He was more compassionate than any other person. He was a Prophet raised by Allah, the Creator and Sustained of all beings, for the guidance and happiness of conscious beings - mankind and jinn - and the harmony of existence. Therefore, he lived not for himself but for others; he is a mercy for all the worlds.

“Indeed, in this [Quran] is notification for a worshiping people. And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.” [Quran: 21:106-107]

Narrated Jarir bin 'Abdullah: Allah's Apostle said, "Allah will not be merciful to those who are not merciful to mankind." Bukhari..vol 3..no 2275

Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: "The Compassionate One has mercy on those who are merciful. If you show mercy to those who are on the earth, He Who is in the heaven will show mercy to you". Abu Dawood..vol 3..no 1533

Narrated AbuHurayrah: I heard AbulQasim (peace_be_upon_him) who spoke the truth and whose word was verified say: "Mercy is taken away only from ill fated (Caitiff)."