Dāiyah
Mercy
Throughout the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) he demonstrated great examples of mercy, examples that we can learn from, and examples that would definitely make this world a better place if acted upon.
One such act of the Prophet’s mercy was when he emerged victorious after the conquest of Makkah. The Prophet set out to the city of Makkah with a force of 10,000 men, and took the city with relative ease. At the time of victory, the city was in the hands of the pagans, the very same pagans who had just broke the treaty they had, which led to the Muslim conquest. On top of this, these were the same pagans who had forced the Muslims out of the city of Makkah, for years they had mistreated and oppressed the Muslims, which eventually led to their exodus from the city.
So with all of this, the pagans were very nervous of what would happen to them at the hands of the Muslims, they were expecting the Prophet to take full revenge against them, but instead, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did the following:
'O people of Quraysh! What do you think I will do with you?' One of them, Suhayl ibn Amr, who had fought against the Prophet, replied on behalf of the Makkans: 'We think (you will treat us) well, noble brother, son of a noble brother.' A radiant smile flashed across the face of the beloved Prophet of God and, in a spirit of magnanimity and tolerance, he said: "I shall speak to you as Yusuf [Joseph] spoke unto his brothers: 'There is no reproach against you today; God will forgive. He is the most Merciful and the most Compassionate.' " (Quran,12:92) And he added: 'No more responsibility burdens you today. 'Idhhabuu... wa antum at-tulaqaa - Go, for you are free.' (Ibn Ishaque)
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) practiced the greatest act of mercy during this incident, he allowed the pagans to go free telling them not to worry, and that he forgives them for what they have done! The Prophet was in full control of the city, if he wanted to, he could have killed all the pagans, these were the people he was in war against, yet as we see, he forgives them and pardons all of them. What better act of mercy can you get? Indeed this is an example for all of us to
Another great example of the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) mercy was his encounter with Wahshi ibn Harb, his uncle’s killer:
"After the Battle of Uhud, I continued to live in Makkah for quite a long time until the Muslims conquered Makkah. I then ran away to Ta'if, but soon Islam reached that area as well. I heard that however grave the crime of a person might be, [Muhammad] forgave him. I, therefore, reached [Muhammad] with Shahadatayn on my lips. Muhammad saw me and said "Are you the same Wahshy, the Ethiopian?" I replied in the affirmative. Thereupon he said: "How did you kill Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib?" I gave an account of the matter. Muhammad was moved and said: "I should not see your face until you are resurrected, because the heart-rending calamity fell upon my uncle at your hands". (Ibn Ishaque)
So the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) sat down with his uncle’s killer and even asked him how he killed his uncle, and after this the Prophet didn’t do anything, he just told Wahshi to leave his presence and that he never wants to see him again because of the pain.
In conclusion, these two acts demonstrate the great mercy of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and indeed, he was a Prophet of mercy!
And Allah Knows Best!
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