Prophet Muhammad ﷺ - The Best Model

Aisha Husain

This article will outline and evaluate how our beloved Rasulullah ﷺ was an ideal man who had the ideal characteristics in every role he undertook. Rasulullah ﷺ portrayed the perfect nature in everything he did but this article will focus on 3 key roles: leader, teacher, and husband. This article will consider how Rasulullah ﷺ maintained these roles in such an idealistic way through his characteristics which are an everlasting guide and an example for mankind. Our mother Aisha (RA) narrated that Rasulullah ﷺ used to say, ‘O Allah as you have made my form beautiful so make my character beautiful’.

Leader

Firstly, it is important to understand what it means to be a leader. John Adair has explained that they lead from the front and lead by example. They must eschew arrogance, exude humility, be truthful, be prepared to share any hardship with followers, and provide both vision and dedication to achieving a task at hand like a captain on a ship, commander in chief of Army Forces, or the CEO of a company etc. Due to possessing these great leadership capabilities, Rasulullah ﷺ observed a personification of morality, honesty, truthfulness, understanding of others, and enlightening effective command which is why we are directed by the Creator of universe to pursue His “Uswa Hasanah” (the Best Examples) in every walk of life. Some of Rasulullah’s ﷺ amazing qualities which revolutionized lives of millions, and still are as valuable as they were 1400 years ago will be considered below.

Awareness and far-sightedness of matters

Rasulullah ﷺ had an unparalleled foresight and could take decisions that at first looked unfeasible but proved to be fruitful in the future. For example, when He ﷺ decided to offer Umrah (minor pilgrimage) at the Holy K’aba in Makkah, in the sixth year after migration, He set out from Madinah with 1400 companions. But Muslims were held back from practicing Umrah by the Quraish. Thereupon, Muslims were forced to enter on a pact containing stipulations favouring only the non-believers. This was called The Truce of Al-Hudaibiyya. Initially, Muslims were not happy with this treaty, and regarded it entirely a one sided one. But with the passage of time, they realised its larger repercussions which benefited them. There were two main advantages that were achieved: first the number of new entrants to Islam increased many folds when those who were returned to Quraish escaped from their masters, lived as outlaws and attacked on Makkahns` trade caravans. And because of that, Quraish allowed Madinahns to keep the escapees with them, which lead to entry of individuals into the religion of peace without any fear of retribution. Secondly, Muslims were less powerful at that point than the Quraish, so it would not be wise to go to jihad at that time, so Prophet ﷺ entered into a peace pact, and took some time to increase in number and resources. Finally, when treaty was broken by the nonbelievers, Muslims had a crucial victory in the conquest of Makkah. It shows the Prophet’s ﷺ realistic thinking and great vision, which paved the way towards the final coup of Muslims over non-believers.

Influential power

The Apostle ﷺ of the Almighty Lord was an epitome of this leadership attribute, which is the reason why He ﷺ transformed the miserable lives of the Arabs and gave them purpose in their lives. Spreading of Islam throughout the world has also been made possible by his meaningful and effective Sunnah that is why his name is taken and referred to in almost every matter not only by Muslim addressers, but also by the followers of other religions. Michael Hart in “The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in the History”, New York, 1978, p. 33, says: “My choice of Muhammad ﷺ to lead the list of world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in the history who was supremely successful on both the secular and religious level. It is probable that the relative influence of Islam has been larger than the 10 combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. It is this unparalleled combination of the secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad ﷺ to be considered to be the most influential single figure in human history.” This shows the level of influence Rasulullah ﷺ has on people.

Familiarity and consideration

The Holy Prophet ﷺ used to remain within proximity of his followers and was fully aware of their conditions being familiar and near to them. He had enough empathy to know their sufferings and always used to be a part of them. Allah سبحانه وتعالى also refers to this leadership in the sacred Holy Qur’an: “There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.” [Surah Al-Tawbah 9:128] The above-mentioned Ayah clearly refers to Rasulullah’s ﷺ sense of close acquaintances with his people, which proved to be vital for getting their admiration and belief in him. By knowing his followers in person and building close relationships with them, he would appoint the best man for every task, who would readily accept the challenge in the way of Allah and his Prophet ﷺ.

Motivating Sahaba at all times

When leading Sahaba into jihad Rasulullah ﷺ said; ‘who has left his home for fighting in my cause believing in me and testifying my Messengers, his protector is Allah who will either give him entrance to paradise or return him triumphant home’, this would energise and motivate the Sahaba to fight in the path of Allah and instil zeal and passion into them. This was always the stance of our beloved Rasulullah ﷺ.

Teacher

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says: Certainly, did Allah confer [great] favour upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error.” [Surah Al-Imran 3:164] One of Rasulullah’s ﷺ main roles was to teach Sahaba regarding the different issues of shariah to the extent that they were able to understand it properly, practise and propagate to others. Some of the characteristics of how he conveyed this are discussed below.

Courage and Determination

The people threatened Rasulullah ﷺ to leave His preaching about Islam, he remained resolute and never backed down from his religious and moral endeavour. When migrating from Makkah to Madinah, the disbelievers gave Rasulullah ﷺ a very tough time. But the Holy Prophet ﷺ never lost courage or determination - even in the hardest situation he always trusted Allah. When the migration took place, in a version by Abu Bakr (RA) he said: ‘We emigrated while the Makkahns were still in pursuit of us, none caught up with us except Suraqah bin Malik on a horse, I said ‘o Messenger of Allah one has caught up with us. Beloved Prophet ﷺ responded: “Don’t grieve verily Allah is with us” [Surah Al-Tawbah 9.40].

Trusted by society

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says: “And warn your tribe of near kindred” [Surah Al-Shu’ara 26.214] Imam Al-Bhukhari reported part of this story on authority of Ibn Abbas (RA): When Rasulullah ﷺ ascended mount Safa and started to call the tribes and said, ‘if I were to tell you there were some horsemen in the valley planning to raid you, would you believe me, they said yes we have only witnessed the truth from you, ﷺ I am a warner to you before a severe torment’. [Sahih Bukhari] This demonstrates how Rasulullah ﷺ character was such that the people trusted him and found his words to be true. The highly respected Sahaba gave many testimonies regarding the quality of teaching of Rasulullah ﷺ and how he was an excellent teacher: 11 It is narrated from Jabir ibn Abdullah (RA) that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah did not send me to make things hard for people in the hope that they would make mistakes, rather He sent me to teach (as a teacher) and make things easy” [Sahih Muslim 1478] Mu’awiyah ibn Al-Hakam (RA) said: “By Allah I have never seen a better teacher or better teaching before or since; he (the Prophet ﷺ ( did not rebuke me, hit me or revile me” [Sahih Muslim 537] In another narration he (RA) said: “And I have never seen any teacher gentler than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ“ [Sunan Abu Dawud 931].

Husband

Our beloved Rasulullah ﷺ had the ability to prioritise all roles perfectly and was able to give everything the right amount of time to fulfil it properly. Scholars have written Rasulullah ﷺ divided his time into 3 parts when at home. 1) One part for ibadah 2) One part for discharging his social obligations to his family 3) One part for giving rest to his own self.

Love and care towards the family

Beloved Rasulullah ﷺ would not enter his own house without salaam and make it a point not to enter suddenly to ensure the peace is not disturbed as he cared for the people and the situation of the family so much. Imam Al- Aswad (RA) narrated: I asked Aisha (RA) what did holy Prophet ﷺ do while he was among his family she replied: he used to assist the family members in housekeeping, he did not take the attitude of a conspicuous and dignified figure but took part in domestic jobs for instance he would milk the goats and cobble his shoes. In another narration beloved Aisha (RA) said: He used to sit among us talking and laughing in such a way that we would not feel that he was a resolute Prophet but if some religious issue cropped up or it was time for Salaah then he appeared to be a different man altogether. This again shows the love and care the Holy Prophet ﷺ had towards his family as even though he was a very busy and respected person inside the house he would show care and compassion as an ideal person would, being able to give everyone their rights. Also, it depicts the humility of our beloved Prophet ﷺ as he did not think anything was beneath him, he had no arrogance even though Allah سبحانه وتعالى gave him such a high place. His cheerful nature is also shown from the Hadith in which he gives Aisha a nickname — ‘Ayesh: ‘‘Aisha (RA) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said to her: O ‘Ayesh! This is Gabriel here, conveying his greetings of peace to you. She replied: May the peace and mercy of Allah be upon him too” [Sahih Muslim 2447] Aisha (RA) narrated another Hadith: “I went with the Prophet ﷺ on one of his journeys, whilst I was still a slim and slender young girl. He instructed the others to go on without us, and they went on ahead. Then, he said to me: Come, let’s race. I raced with him and won the race. Then he never mentioned it again, and I had even forgotten about it, until one day I was accompanying him on another one of his journeys. By now, I was older and had become heavier. As before, he instructed his Companions to go ahead without us, and they went on ahead. Then he said to me: Come, let’s race. And this time he won the race. He laughed and said: This is to make up (for my last defeat).” [Sunan Ibn Majah 2010]' These Hadiths further show the love, care, and attention Rasulullah ﷺ would show towards his wives and how he could fulfil all his roles perfectly.

Just and fair between his wives

Regardless of how much he loved ‘Aisha (RA), the Prophet ﷺ never refrained from correcting her, as we can see from the Hadith in which Umm Salamah (RA) sent a meal she had prepared, and when ‘Aisha (RA) came and flipped over the dish containing the food, the Prophet ﷺ made her give one of her own dishes in compensation for Umm Sal amah’s dish, which she had broken. This incident is narrated in Sahih Bukhari 5252. The stance of justice and equality that the Prophet ﷺ took here is worth contemplating.

Regarding having more than 1 wife

The Prophet ﷺ gave the severest warning for a person who had more than one wife and did not treat them equally, for he said: ‘He who had two wives and was inclined towards one of them, (ignoring) the other one, will be (raised on the Day of Judgment) with one half of his body missing.’ [Sunan Ibn Majah 2000] Imam Al-Ghazali writes in his book Ihya Ulum alDeen: ‘If a man has more than one wife, it is obligatory on him to be just with them, without being inclined towards any one of them. If he travels and seeks the company of one of his wives during this journey, he should draw lots for which one of his wives should accompany him, as the Prophet ﷺ used to do. Moreover, if it so happens that a wife misses her right to a night with him, then the husband should make up for it by spending an extra night with her, and this compensation is obligatory for him. As Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in the glorified Holy Qur’an: ‘You will never be able to deal perfectly justly between your wives even if it is your ardent desire, so do not incline too much toward one of them [by giving her more time and provision] so as to leave the other hanging [neither divorced nor truly married]. And if you do right, and fear Allah, then Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ [Surah Al-Nisa 4: 129].

Devotion for his wives

Aisha (RA) narrated: Whenever the Prophet ﷺ slaughtered a sheep, he would send some portions to Khadijah’s friends, saying: Send this to Khadijah’s friends. When I asked him about it one day, he said: Indeed, I was nourished by her love. [Sahih Muslim 6231] ‘Aisha (RA) narrated another Hadith: “An old woman came to the Prophet ﷺ while he was with me. He asked her: Who are you? She replied, I am Jassamah Maziniyah. He said to her: In fact, you are Hassanah Maziniyah. How are you, how have you been doing? How did you fare after we left? She replied: Very well; may my mother and father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah! When she left, I said: You welcomed that old woman with such warmth? He replied: She used to visit us during Khadijah’s time, and it was certainly a beautiful era of faith.” [Al-Hakim, Al-Mustadrak, Hadith no. 41, 1/61] Juwayriyah (RA) was always eager to learn about Islam. She was pious and loved Allah. She would keep herself absorbed in worship. In addition, her father was like her in his religiosity, and it was because of his influence and the way he accepted Islam, that his entire tribe also accepted Islam. In fact, the love of Islam and piety was not something limited only to our Mother Juwayriyah (RA), but it was common to all the other Mothers of the Believers too. All the wives were eager to learn more about their religion, to attain piety and closeness to Allah. All this was not because they had a lot of free time and did not have anything else to do, but because they had been taught at the hands of the Prophet ﷺ himself. In conclusion this article has made a feeble attempt to outline and discuss the characteristics that make our beloved Rasulullah ﷺ an ideal for society. Without doubt this article does not have the capability to do this topic justice or discuss it fully. It is only hoped that the points discussed share a light of what made Rasulullah ﷺ the ideal for society.

Aisha Husain

Alimiyyah Graduate, Lawyer,

Student of Shaykh Faizulhaq Abdulaziz حفظه الله