The Epitome of Patience and Forgiveness

Early in the morning, local train passengers were anxiously waiting to get to their designated places on time. The train was crowded and nearly half of the passengers had to stand. It became difficult for the standing passengers to maintain balance in the packed and fast moving train.  All of a sudden, a commotion caught  the attention of the passengers. The Police took 20 minutes to arrive for the investigation of the incident. Hundreds of train riders were late to their work that morning because of the turmoil that took place in one of  the cars of the train. What was the cause of the incident?  A lady had accidently stepped over a man's foot in the rush to get out of the train on her stop. The man couldn't bear the slight pain and he started cursing at the lady. Unable to withstand the harsh words of the man, the lady showed no patience either and cursed back. This kind of situation is very common in the public places nowadays; slight misunderstandings ruin the peace of the society.

            After witnessing this incident and being late for school that day for someone's lack of patience and forgiveness, I had an urge to introduce everyone to a man who forgave even his worst enemies, stayed calm in the most tense situations, and remembered the rules of humanity even in the battlefield. He is the man who made sure that he and his followers travelled on a path where they wouldn't humiliate any individual based on his or her race, religion, or gender. Astonishingly, he presented the idea of equality about 1400 years before the  declaration of human rights.  His character was such a powerful weapon that today more than twenty percent of the world's population is following the religion he brought to the world. This man is none other than the Messenger of peace, Muhammad (peace be upon him), whose morals and manners melted the hearts of the most rigid of the fighters, who conquered the territories by his faith and earned the title of "Sadiq" (the truthful) and "Amin" (the trustworthy) by his countrymen.

            The Prophet Muhammad exhibited tolerance and patience in the most difficult situations. The incident of an old lady who threw garbage on Muhammad (PBUH) whenever he passed by her house is a perfect example of his humility. Can you forgive a person who throws garbage on you when you passed by their street? Just imagining this thought brings anger to our minds. But Muhammad (PBUH) not only forgave the old lady but also inquired about the her on the day he passed by her house and wasn't thrown garbage by her. He found out that the old lady was sick. Regardless of what she had done to him, he went to see her and offered to help her. The lady was extremely impressed by Muhammad's (PBUH) compassion that she accepted Islam.

            The most precious people for parents are their children and seeing them in pain causes the parents immense grief and it's really hard to forgive the one who caused the harm. But Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) even forgave Habbar, an opponent, who had cut the girth of the camel which carried Zainab, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), when she was leaving for Medina. Habbar's action had caused Zainab to fall from the camel and thus causing her to suffer from a miscarriage. The miscarriage resulted in her death. When Habbar appeared in front of the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH), he begged for  his forgiveness. And Mohammad (PBUH) forgave him for his act.

            Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) entire life was an example for mankind. He is considered the most exalted personality for Muslims. In fact, the Muslims believe that the whole world was created for the sake of Muhammad (PBUH). There are countless examples of his forgiveness and patience, enough to write a book about his this one trait alone. The act of making cartoons humiliating the beloved Prophet of Islam is undeserving to a person who was full of love for humanity. Muslims can be wrong but, Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) and Islam's teachings are not. Maligning such a man of honor and humbleness to hurt Muslims is like punishing an innocent mother for her children's action.