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Spirit of Islam Issue 35 November 2015
The Prophet lived
among others
as an equal. No
bitter criticism or
provocation would
make him lose his
composure.
PROPHET MUHAMMAD—PART II
Humility and Forbearance
T
HE Prophet was a man like other men. Joyous things would
please him while sad things would sadden him. Realisation of
the fact that he was first and foremost God’s servant, however,
prevented him from placing more importance on his own feelings than
upon the will of God.
Towards the end of the Prophet’s life Mariah Qibtiyah, his wife, bore
him a beautiful and vivacious son. The Prophet named him Ibrahim,
after his most illustrious ancestor. It was Abu Rafi who broke the good
news to the Prophet. He was so overjoyed that he presented Abu
Rafi with a gift. He used to take the child in his lap and play with him
fondly. According to Arab custom, Ibrahim
was given to a wet nurse, Umm Burdah bint
al-Mundhir ibn Zayd Ansari. She was the wife
of a blacksmith, and her small house was
usually full of smoke. Still, the Prophet used
to go to the blacksmith’s house to visit his
son, putting up with the smoke that used to
fill his eyes and nostrils. Ibrahim, was just one
and half years old when, in the tenth year
after the
Hijrah
(January 632 AD), he died. The
Prophet wept on the death of his only son, as
any father would; in this respect the Prophet appears like any other
human being. His happiness and his grief were that of a normal father.
But with all that, he fixed his heart firmly on the will of God. Even in his
grief, these were the words he uttered:
'
God knows, Ibrahim, how we sorrow at your parting. The eye
weeps and the heart grieves, but we will say nothing that may
displease the Lord.
'
It so happened that the death of Ibrahim coincided with a solar eclipse.
From ancient times people had believed that solar and lunar eclipses
were caused by the death of some important person. The people of
Madinah began attributing the eclipse to the death of the Prophet’s
son. This caused the Prophet immense displeasure, for it suggested
this predictable astronomical event was caused out of respect for his
infant son. He collected the people and addressed them as follows: