His Gentleness
Gentleness is part of leniency. Prophet Muhammad’s wife, Aisha, reacted angrily after being insulted, however he advised her to be calm and gentle.
God likes gentleness in all affairs, he said.
Show gentleness. For when gentleness is in something, it beautifies it, and when it is taken out it makes it deficient.[6]
At this time, when we are being criticized and denigrated on an almost daily basis, as were the early Muslims, we must react with leniency, be kind and gentle and extract ourselves from arguments with as much grace and ease as possible.
While we are practicing being lenient with those who deride us, we must not forget to be lenient with ourselves and with those in our families and communities.
Nowadays, it is not uncommon to hear people censured and condemned for behavior that would have been tolerated by Prophet Muhammad. We frequently hear the word haram bandied about, when kindness and forgiveness would have more effect.
When dispensing punishment, Prophet Muhammad was very cautious. He preferred to be forgiving.
At one time, a man who was guilty of a sin came to the Prophet begging to be punished but Prophet Muhammad kept silent and did not respond to his requests until after the afternoon prayer. When the man began again, Prophet Muhammad asked if he had prayed, the man responded ‘yes’ and was told that God had already forgiven him.
Leniency was a common thread in Prophet Muhammad’s dealings with people.
A man was guilty of having sexual intercourse with his wife during the daylight hours of Ramadan. He confessed this sin to Prophet Muhammad who replied that he should set a slave free to expiate his sin.
When the man replied that he could not do that he was told to fast for two months. The man replied that he was not strong enough to do that and Prophet Muhammad easily gave him the alternative of feeding 60 poor people.
The man responded that he did not have the means with which to feed so many. Rather than showing any anger or dismay Prophet Muhammad kept quiet.
Sometime later, Prophet Muhammad was given a basket of dates and he immediately called the sinful man to him offering him the dates and telling him to distribute them among the poor.
“Oh Messenger of God”, the man is reported to have said, “there is no one poorer than I am.”
It is said that Prophet Muhammad smiled widely and told the man to distribute the dates amongst his family.[7]
Prophet Muhammad pronounced judgment on a range of issues and he always did so with leniency and compassion.
He encouraged arbitration, amicable solutions and mutual understanding. He resolved disputes in ways that would not disfigure the social cohesion of the community. And he was always merciful and encouraged others to follow his example by impressing upon them God’s love for the merciful.
Those who do not show mercy to others will not feel God’s mercy upon themselves.[8]
Prophet Muhammad’s leniency was an essential part of his excellent character. And in this brave new world where harshness and fault finding drive people away from God, we can all benefit from emulating this sublime character trait.
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lenient
[2] Saheeh Bukhari
[3] Saheeh Muslim
[4] Hadith in Saheeh Bukhari
[5] Saheeh Muslim
[6] Abu Dawood
[7] Saheeh Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim.
[8] Saheeh Bukhari
(From Discovering Islam archive)
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