Page 51 - MY GREAT LOVE FOR JESUS LED ME TO TROUTH

Among those to whom he also granted amnesty was Hind, daughter of Utbah and wife
of Abu Sufyaan, the noted Quraysh leader, even though she mutilated some of the
Prophet's dead companions in the aftermath of the Battle of Uhud and was one of those
who had long incited the pagans to fight the Prophet and his companions. (At-
Tabaree, History of Nations and Kings, vol. 2, p. 70) He also granted pardon to a number
of others including Zaynab, daughter of Al-Haarith, the Jewish woman who tried to kill
him by giving him a lamb she had already poisoned (Al-Bukhaaree, 3198); the Jews of
Banu Al-Mustaliq tribe who had allied with the tribes who attacked Madeenah; the Jews
of Khaybar whose lives he spared despite the fact that they strived hard to destroy Islam
and the Muslims (Ibn Katheer, The Prophet's Biography, vol. 3, p. 376); those who were
made to fight against him in the Battle of Badr against their will; the thirty men who
attacked him and his men while the terms of Hudaybiyah truce were being committed to
writing and the Hawaazin captives who were in their thousands. (Ibn Hishaam,
(Biography of the Messenger of God, vol. 1, p. 628 and vol. 5, p. 162)
These and many other examples of the clemency the Prophet showed toward those who
showed hostility to him prove beyond any shadow of doubt that he was indeed sent as a
mercy to all mankind, for he never avenged himself but chose to forgive and forget, in
response to Allah's statement, "…those who restrain their rage, pardon other
people; and Allah loves the doers of good." (3/134) and "Good deeds and evil
deeds are not equal. Repel evil with good, and he who is your enemy will
become your dearest friend. But no one will be granted such goodness except
those who exercise patience and self-restraint, and no one is granted it save
those who are truly fortunate." (41/34-35)
He once said to Uqbah ibn 'Aamir, "Shall I inform you about the best of all manners in
this world and in the hereafter? To maintain a good relationship with those who sever
ties with you, to give to those who deprive you, and to forgive those who wrong you."
(Al-Haakim, 4161) He also said, "…Allah only increases a person in worth for forgiving
others, and no person is humble but that Allah raises his status." (Ahmad, 7185)
When he was asked to pray to Allah to inflict punishment on his enemies who pelted him
with stones until he fell on his side, causing a gash in his face, wounding his lower lip
and breaking one of his incisors so much so that blood was streaming down his face, he
simply prayed, "O Lord, forgive my people, for they do not know." (Ibn Hibbaan, 949) He
never showed anger over any personal matters. He would show it only for the sake of
Allah. He once said, "A strong man is not one who is good at wrestling, but one who