The way of Muhammad

(Taken from "The Way of Muhammad", by Shaykh Abdal Qadir as-Sufi)

His name means the Praise Worthy.

Muhammad was forebearing, honest, just and chaste. His hand never touched the hand of a woman over whom he did not have rights.  He was the most generous of men. Neither a dinar nor a dirham was left him in the evening.  If anything remained and there was no one to give it to, night having fallen suddenly, he would not retire to his apartment until he was able to give this excess to whoever needed it.  He was never asked for anything but that he gave it to the one who asked. He would prefer the seeker to himself and his family, and so often his store of grain for the year was used up before the end of the year.  He patched his sandals and clothing, did household chores, and ate with his woman folk.  He was shy and would not stare into people's faces.  He answered the invitation of the slaves and the free born, and he accepted presents even if they consisted of merely a draught of milk, while because of hunger he would at times tie two stones around his stomach.

He ate what was at hand, did not refrain from any permitted food.  He did not eat reclining.  He attended feasts, visited the sick, attended funerals, and walked among his enemies without a guard.   He was the humblest of men, the most silent without being insolent, and the most eloquent without being lengthy.  He was always joyful and never awed by the affairs of this world.

He rode a horse, a male camel, a mule, a donkey; he walked barefoot and bareheaded at different times.  He loved perfumes and disliked foul smells.  He sat and ate with the poor. He tyrannized nobody and accepted the excuse of the one who begged his pardon. 

He joked but he only spoke the truth.  He laughed but did not burst out laughing.  He did not eat better food or wear better clothes than his servants.

The conduct of this perfect ruler was untaught.  He could neither read nor write, he grew up with shepherds in an ignorant desert land, and was an orphan without father or mother.  He refused to curse his enemy saying, "I was sent to forgive not to curse." When asked to wish evil to anyone he blessed them instead. 

If there was a bed, he slept on it. If not, he reclined on the earth.  He was always the first to extend a greeting.  In a handshake he was never the first one to release his hand.  He preferred his guests over himself and would offer the cushion on which he reclined until it was accepted.

He called his companions by their surnames so as to show honour to them, and the children as to soften their hearts.  One did not argue in his presence.  He only spoke the truth. He was the most smiling and laughing of men in the presence of his companions, admiring what they said and mingling with them. 

He never found fault with his food. If he was pleased with it, he ate it and if he disliked it, he left it.  If he disliked it, he did not make it hateful to someone else.  He ate what was in front of him on the plate, within his reach, eating with three fingers.  He wiped the dish clean with his fingers saying, "The last morsel is very blessed." 

One of his companion said about him, "Of all men, he was the most generous, the most open hearted, the most truthful, the most fulfilling of promise, then gentlest of temper, and the noblest towards his family. Whoever saw him unexpectedly was awed by him, and whoever was his intimate loved him."

He was sent to complete the noble qualities of character. 

O Lord, bless the Chosen one with your perfect prayer of blessing. Your prayer is that which grants success in his business as befits his lofty worth. Then bless his noble family and glorious Companions and those who have followed them.