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  Fifty of the moral characteristics and habits of Hadrat Muhammad (Sallallahu Ta’ala ‘alayhi wa Sallam) have been listed below: 1- The knowledge, religiosity, culture, understanding, wisdom, certainty, intelligence, generosity, modesty, mildness, compassion, patience, zeal, patriotism, loyalty, trust, bravery, majesty, eloquence, courage, beauty, fear of Allah, chastity, kindness, pity, shame, and piety of Muhammad (Sallallahu Ta’ala ‘alayhi wa Sallam) were much greater than that found in other prophets. He used to pardon both his friends and enemies who hurt him. He would never scold them. In the battle of Uhud, he prayed for those disbelievers who caused his blessed cheek to bleed and broke his blessed teeth, saying: "O! My Allah! Forgive them for they are ignorant." 2- He was very compassionate. He used to water animals by holding up a bucket of water; he used to wait until they had enough. He used to wipe the face and eyes of the horse he rode. 3- Whenever he was called, he used to respond by saying "lebbeik" (sir!). He never used to stretch his legs among others. He used to sit on his knees. When he saw somebody walking while he was riding on an animal, he used to give him a ride. 4- He never considered himself superior to any one. While traveling they wanted to cook some lamb. One of them offered to sacrifice a sheep. Another one offered to skin it. And one of them offered to cook it. Rasulullah (‘Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) said he would gather some firewood. They told him: "O Rasulullah! Please, be seated. We shall do that." He responded to them by saying: "Yes! I know you are ready to do everything. But I do not like sitting separated from those working. Allahu ta’ala does not like the one sitting apart from his friends." He stood up and went off to gather firewood. 5- When he went to his Companions (radi-Allahu ta’ala anhum ejmaeen) he never used to sit in the front line. He used to sit wherever he saw an empty seat. While he was out walking with a cane in his hand, those who saw him stood up. He said to them: "Do not stand up for me as you do for others to show respect. I’m a man like you. I eat food like everybody else. I sit down when I get tired." 6- Mostly, he used to sit on his knees. He was also seen sitting down with his knees up while embracing them with his arms. He never used to distinguish himself from his servants when getting food, clothes or something else. He used to help his servants with their work. He was never seen swearing at or beating on anybody. Anas bin Malik, who continuously served him, said: "I was in the service of Rasulullah for ten years. He served me more than I served him. He has never been angry with me. He never treated me harshly." 7- He used to repair the rips in his own clothes, milk his own sheep and feed his own animals. He used to take home the things that he bought from the bazar by himself. During journeys, he used to feed his animals and sometimes he used to groom them, too. Sometimes, these things used to be done by him only; at other times he used to help his servants with these chores. 8- When he was called by someone else’s servant, in accordance with the customs of Medina, he used to walk with that servant hand in hand. 9- He used to visit patients and attended their funerals. To make them happy, he also used to visit the patients who were disbelievers and hypocrites. 10- After he had conducted the morning prayer in the mosque, facing his Sahabas, he used to say: "Is there any brother who is sick? If so, let’s pay him a visit." Then, he used to ask: "Did anybody die? If so, let’s go to help them." Then, he used to say: "Did any of you have a dream? Let’s listen to him and interpret it." If somebody died, he used to help wash and shroud the corpse, conduct the funeral prayer and go to the cemetery. 11- Whomever of his Sahabas he did not see for three days, he used to ask about. If that person went out on a journey he used to pray for him, or if he were in town he used to visit him. 12- He always initiated greeting the man he met on his way. 13- He used to ride on camels, mules, donkeys, and sometimes he used to make someone sit behind him. 14- He used to serve his visitors and his Companions and declared: "The dearest one in a society is the one who always serves others." 15- Nobody saw him laughing loudly. He used to smile slightly. Sometimes his blessed front teeth were seen while he was laughing. 16- He was always seen worried and thoughtful. He used to talk very little. He used to begin a speech by smiling. 17- He never used to say anything useless or unnecessary. In case of necessity, he used to speak briefly and clearly. Sometimes, he used to repeat his word three times so as to be understood very well. 18- He used to joke with foreigners, the people he knew previously, children, old women and the women who were "mahrem" (those he could never marry). But, no situation ever caused him to forget Allahu ta’ala, even for a moment. 19- Nobody was able to look at his face directly because of his majesty. If someone looked at his blessed face, they would begin to sweat. In reaction, he used to say: "Do not straighten yourself! I am not a king. I am not cruel. I am the son of a woman who ate dried meat." Then having lost his fear, the man would explain his problem. 20- He had no guards or janitors. Everybody could easily come to him and reveal their problems. 21- He was a very bashful person. He used to feel embarrassed looking into the face of a person he was talking to. 22- He never exposed someone’s fault to his face. He never complained about or backbit anybody. Whenever he did not like somebody’s words or behavior he used to say: "I wonder why some people behave like that." 23- Even though he was the beloved, the messenger and the favorite of Allahu ta’ala, he would say: "Among you I am the person who has understood Allahu ta’ala the best and fear Him the most. If you had seen what I saw, you would laugh less and cry more." Whenever he saw a cloud in the sky, he would say: "O! My Allah! Do not kill us with your wrath; do not destroy us with your torment; grant us good health." While he was beginning his prayers, a kind of sound, like the sighing of a child would be heard from his chest. This also happened while he was reading the Qur’an al-karim. 24- His heart was amazingly powerful and brave. In the Hunain War, most of the Muslim soldiers had gone to seize the war booty. Consequently, he was left with only a few soldiers. At that moment, the disbelievers attacked suddenly. Rasulullah (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) resisted and routed them. This happened several times. He never retreated. 25- In the third chapter, at the end of the second section of the Mawahib-i Ladunniyya, it was stated that Abdullah Ibni ‘Umar said that he had never seen a more powerful wrestler than Fakhri Kainat. Ibni Ishaq stated that a shepherd among the disbelievers called Rugane was a great wrestler. He came across with Rasulullah at the outskirts of the city. "O Rugane Why don’t you become Muslim?" Rasulullah declared. Rugane asked him if there was any proof to show his being a Prophet. Rasulullah declared, "We will wrestle. If you are beaten, will you have iman?" He said, "Yes, I will have iman." At the very beginning, Rugane was beaten, he was perplexed. He said, "This should not be the case, let us try it once again." Thus, he was beaten three times. At the beginning of the third chapter of Shawahid-un Nubuwwa, it was stated: "I had no intention to have iman. I never thought that I would be beaten." He said, "Now, I am perplexed to learn that you are more powerful than me and I respect this very much." He gifted half of his herd to Rasulullah and he left. While Rasulallah was going with the flock towards Mecca, Rugane ran after him and said, - "O Muhammad! If the people of Mecca asked you where you found this herd, how would you answer?" - "I would say that Rugane gave them as a gift," he said. - "If they asked you why he gave them as gift?" - "I would say, I wrestled with him. I had beaten him. He appreciated my strength and he gave it as a gift." - "Please don’t say that. My fame and honor will disappear. You had better say, My words pleased him and he gave them as a gift." - "I promised my Rabb not to say any lie," he said. - "Then I will take the heard back," he said. - "It is up to you! One thousand herds could be sacrificed for the sake of my Rabb." Rugane fell in love with Rasulallah’s iman and honesty. He immediately became a Muslim by saying Kalima-i Shahadat. There was another wrestler called Aswad-il Jumahi. When he stood on the skin of an ox, ten strong men could not move the skin after pulling it from different directions, and the skin would tear into pieces but he would remain standing. He also said he would have iman if Rasulullah beats him. He was beaten but did not have iman. 26- He was very generous. He gave away hundreds of camels, sheep, and he never left anything for himself. Innumerable hardhearted disbelievers were converted to Islam after seeing his generosity. 27- When someone wanted something from him, he never said, "I do not have it." He would give it, if he had it. If not, he remained silent. 28- Even though Allahu ta’ala had declared to him: "I shall give you whatever you want," he never wanted worldly fortune. Never did he eat bread made of sifted wheat flour. He always ate bread made of unsifted barley flour. He never ate enough food to be full. He ate bread without anything, or with dates, fruit, vinegar, soup, or bread dipped into olive oil. He also ate chicken, rabbit, camel, gazelle, fish, dried salted meat and cheese. He liked the leg side of meat. He bit into the meat while holding it with his hands. [It is permissible to eat meat with a knife.] He usually ate dates and drank milk. His family spent times at home without cooking any food or baking any bread for two or three months. During this time they would only eat dates. It was also witnessed that he would eat nothing for two or three days. When he died, it was found out that his iron armored jacket had been pawned to a Jew for 30 (thirty) kilos of wheat. 29- Nobody ever heard from him the words: "I do not like this food." He ate the food he liked and did not eat the food he did not like. 30- He ate once a day, either in the morning or in the evening. When he came home, he used to ask: "Is there anything to eat?" If there were nothing, he fasted. He ate his meals on the floor without a table, table cloth, tray or anything like them. While eating he sat on his knees, without leaning on anything. He began eating after reciting. ‘Basmala’ (in the name of Allah). He ate with his right hand. 31- Sometimes, he put aside enough dates and barley for his nine wives and few servants to last them for a year. He also gave alms to the poor from these dates and barley. 32- Among foods, he liked mutton, broth, pumpkins, sweet things, honey, dates, milk, cream, melons, grapes and cucumbers. He also liked cold water. 33- He used to drink water slowly, starting with Allah’s name (Basmala), stopping with three pauses in between, and in the end he used to say "Alhamdulillah" (all praise to Allah) and then pray. 34- As the other Prophets did, he never accepted any goods of zakat (charity) or any alms, but he accepted presents. He usually gave something in return for the presents. 35- He wore everything that was divinely sanctioned. He covered himself with seamless garments made of thick material similar to a wrapper (ihram). He wrapped himself with a large cloth and also wore a shirt and robe. These were woven from cotton, wool and animal hair. He usually wore white garments, but sometimes green ones. He rarely wore things that had been sewn. On Fridays, on religious holidays (Iyd), in the time of war, and when foreign missions came, he wore precious shirts and robes. The color of his garments was mostly white. His clothes were long enough to cover his blessed wrists and shanks. In his book entitled Shamail-i Sharifa, Imam-i Tirmuzi (rahima-hullahu ta’ala) says: "Rasulullah liked to wear a Qamis, that is, a kind of shirt. The sleeves of his shirts were long enough to cover his wrists. There were no buttons on the collars or on the wristbands of his shirts. His shoes were made of animal skins and they had one leather collar and two qoobals on them. A "qoobal" is a strap sewn on the leather collar and on the front tip of the shoe from both ends. It passes between two toes. Local customs are followed in wearing clothes and shoes. Deviating from local customs causes notoriety. It is necessary to avoid notoriety. When he entered Mecca, he was wearing a black turban on his head." 36- He usually wrapped his head with a black muslin, but mostly with a white one, and allowed its one end to come one span down his back. His turban was neither long nor short. Its length was nearly three meters. He used to wrap his turban without a skullcap. Sometimes he wore a white skullcap without a turban. 37- Having adapted himself to the customs in Arabia, he allowed his hair to grow half way down his ears, but he did not let it grow any longer. He rubbed a kind of oil on his hair. Even while traveling, he carried a bottle of oil for that purpose. When he rubbed oil on his hair, he used to put on the muslin first, and then wear his head-covering over it. Sometimes when his hair was long, he plaited it, letting the plaits dangle from the sides. On the day he conquered Mecca, he had two braids of hair. 38- He used to rub musk or other perfumes on his face, head and hands, and was often scented with aloe wood and the spirits of camphor. 39- His bed was made of leather and full of date filler. Once, he was given a bed that was full of wool, he did not accept it and said: "O! Aisha! I swear by Allah that if I wanted, Allahu ta’ala would make gold and silver piles available for me in every place." He Sometimes slept on a mat, on wood, in a bed, on felt woven from wool, or out on the dry soil. Ibni Abidin (rahima-hullahu ta’ala) says: "Those things that used to be done continuously by Rasulullah and by his four Khalifates are called "Sunnat." It is makruh to leave "Sunnat-i Huda." To leave "Sunnat-i Zaida" is not makruh." In his book, entitled Hadiqa, Abdulgani Nabulusi (49) (rahimahullahu ta’ala) says: "If Rasulullah (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) was not offended by those people who left the things done by him with the intention of worshipping, then those kinds of worships are called ‘Sunnat-i Huda.’ The things which were always done by Rasulullah with the intention of worshipping are called ‘Sunnat-i muakkada.’ The things done by Rasulullah habitually are called ‘Sunnat-i zaida’ or ‘Mustahab.’ Beginning from the right side when doing good works, and using the right hand for them, the things done or used by Rasulullah in building, eating, drinking, sitting, getting up, going to bed, while wearing clothes, while using tools and so on are mustahab. It is not a cause for perdition or punishment to follow the ‘habitual bidats,’ such as using a sieve for flour and spoons, which appeared later. That is, doing the habitual bidats and not to follow the sunnat-i zaida (mustahab) is not sinful for a Muslim." Thus, it is understood that it is permissible to eat at the table; to use forks or spoons; to sleep on a bedstead, to use a radio, television, or tape-recorder in a conference during the moral and science lessons in school; to use every means of transportation; and to make use of scientific productions, such as calculators and glasses. This is so because these are customary bidats. Those things that appeared later are called "bidat." Of course, it is sinful to use customary bidats and the newly discovered things for evil purposes. A very vast amount of information relevant to this subject of using a radio, loudspeaker, or tape recorder in mosques for performing prayers, in calling the adhan, in preaching and khutbas is given in the books Endless Bliss and Islam Ahlaki. Performing bidat in acts of worship, that is, to make a slight change in the Prophet’s way of worshipping is a mortal sin. It is an act of worship for the government and the army to fight against their enemies. Therefore, surely it is not bidat to use every kind of scientific production in war. On the contrary, it is a great blessing. We, Muslims, have been ordered to use every kind of useful scientific products in war. It is necessary to make useful things which will be helpful in worshipping Allahu ta’ala. But, of course, those new products which facilitate committing sinful acts are bidat. For example, it is necessary to go up to the top of the minaret to recite the adhan (Muslim call to prayer). This is because it was ordered to be recited in a high place. Therefore, it is also bidat to recite the adhan with a loudspeaker. Permission was not given to recite it with an instrument. Furthermore, it was ordered to be recited by a man. In order to inform the people of their prayer times or the times of any ibadat (worship), it has been forbidden in Islam to use any musical instruments, such as sounding a trumpet or ringing a bell. 40- He never used to let his beard grow longer than a handful. He used to cut the hair longer than a handful with scissors. [It is sunnat to let the beard grow as long as a handful. It is wajib for a Muslim to grow a beard when he is living in a place where they customarily have beards. Cutting the hair longer than a handful is sunnat (a custom of the Prophet). Keeping the beard shorter than a handful is bidat. If the beard is shorter than a handful, then, it is wajib to lengthen it as long as a handful. It is makruh to shave. But if you have an excuse, shaving is not makruh.] 41- He used to tinge his eyes with stibium three times every night. 42- He used to have a comb, mirror, a box for stibium, miswak (natural toothbrush), scissors, sewing needle and thread in his house. He used to take them with him when traveling. 43- He preferred beginning from the right side and using his right hand. He only used his left hand to wash after a stool. 44- As far as possible, he did his jobs using odd numbers. 45- After the night prayer, he slept until midnight, then, he worshipped until the morning prayer. He would sleep on his right side and put his right hand under his right cheek and then recite some chapters of the Qur’an before falling asleep. 46- He assumed "tefe’ul." In other words, he considered a good omen whatever he saw first or suddenly. Nothing was unlucky for him. 47- When he was sorrowful he would grasp his beard and think upon the matter. 48- When he had trouble, he preferred performing salat at once. The enjoyment and pleasure of prayer caused him to lose any sense of sorrow. 49- He never listened to a person backbiting, that is, the one speaking slanderously about an absent person. 50- While he was walking along the street, if he felt it necessary to look around, he would turn his whole body and not just his head. WARNING: All of the above-mentioned things done by the Prophet
of Allahu ta’ala (Sall Allahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa Sallim) have been classified into
three groups by Islamic scholars (rahima humullahu ta’ala). The first group
contains the things that are necessary for every Muslim to do. These are
called "sunnat." The things that were peculiar to the Prophet only (Sallallahu
Ta’ala ‘alayhi wa Sallam) make up the second group. Others are not permitted
to do these. These are called Hasais. The third group consists of those
things which depend on customs. Every Muslim must do these by adapting
himself to the customs of the place he is living in. If a Muslim does not
follow these customs, fitna (discord and trouble) may possibly arise. Awakening
fitna is haram (prohibited).
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