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Allah, Himself testifies to the magnitude of the Prophet's character in the chapter "The Pen" verse 4: 'Indeed, you are upon a mighty morality."
Although our beloved Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, was chosen by Allah, the Most High, to be the His greatest prophet he remained a very humble person. He never disdained to visit the sick, attend funerals, ride a donkey, nor did he looked down upon using a rein woven from palm fiber or sitting upon a saddle of palm leaves at the Battle of Krayzah. He would accept invitations, even the invitation of those we called slaves, such was his manner that he would never refer to them as "slaves" but rather as being "youths" and so placate their heart.
He never hesitated to accept the invitation of the poor; even when they served bread and old fat he neither refused nor offended them.
Unlike emperors, kings and leaders, our beloved Prophet disliked it if any one stood up when he entered.
When he entered his house he would divide his time into three portions, one portion for Allah, another for his family, and the other for himself, yet from his own portion he would give half of his time to his close companions who would visit him and ask questions, convey messages or requests from others. He taught his close companions things that were beneficial for his entire nation and told them to convey whatsoever he taught them, and encouraged them to ask on behalf of those less able to present their question, and never withheld a reply. He told his companions that whosoever informs a king of the need of another unable to express his need, Allah, the Most High, will keep that person steadfast on the Day of Judgement. He never wasted time listening to gossip, but as a matter of etiquette he would join in the conversation of his companions, no matter if they were speaking about religious or worldly affairs.
Lady Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, said that he never hit anyone except in Jihad. Neither did he hit women.
He respected and honored those who were respected and honored in their nation. He warned them of the punishment of Allah, mediated between people, praised and encouraged good deeds. He explained the harmful effects of bad things, removed and prevented them.
He followed the middle course in all matters and never neglected to guide his followers. He was always truthful, and when he spoke to anyone that person felt the most honored. When he was asked for something, he never refused, and when he had nothing to give he would speak with kind words to the asker. He never refused to answer the question of a traveler and would say: "When you see someone in need, help them."
One day a needy person went to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and asked for something. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, did not have anything to give him at that time, so he told him to go and purchase whatever he needed and charge it to him. Omar heard the conversation and reminded him that he had already given away everything he possessed and told him that Allah had not made him responsible for that which was beyond his means. Without hesitation, an Ansar spoke up saying: "O Messenger of Allah, spend whatever you will, do not fear any decrease from the Lord of the Throne", whereupon the Prophet smiled and said: "Allah, the Most High, has commanded me to do this."
One day Rubayyi, the daughter of Muawwidh took the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, some fresh dates and small cucumbers. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, had just been given some jewelry so he gave her either a handful of jewelry or gold.
When someone joined him for any reason he would remain seated until that person left. His endearing disposition was not just for a few, but for everyone, he was like a father to them.
He never thought it to be beneath him to mend his clothes nor help with the daily chores, and was always kind to children and would ask Allah to bless them. It was not his custom to concern himself in idle conversation nor yet to interrupt when someone was speaking. His gatherings were full of knowledge, modesty, patience and honesty. He neither degraded nor disgraced anyone. If someone had sinned, it was not made public. Little ones were loved, the needy given preference whilst strangers and travelers were cared for.
Those in his household loved him dearly, not once did he rebuke them for not having done a certain thing, nor did he ever ask why someone had done such a thing. He never used obscene language, nor did he shout and talk in the bazaars. It was not his way to avenge a bad deed with a similar deed, rather, he would forgive it and it would not be mentioned thereafter. He never sought the faults in anyone.
Everyone received their rights, whether they were Muslims or non-Muslims. Even the unbelievers of Mecca testified to his honesty.
He was never short-tempered, nor did he humiliate anyone. He always greatly appreciated the blessings of Allah no matter whether they were small or great. He did not criticize his food, nor over-praise it. He never became angered over any materialistic matter. When someone exceeded the limits in religious matters or against the truth, he became angry in a way that no one could endure, and turn away. He either forgave the offender or paid no attention to him. When he was happy, it was as if he almost closed his eyes, as for his laugh, it was for the most part a smile in which his blessed front teeth glittered like shining white hailstones.
When he gestured towards something he would do so with his hand rather than by just pointing with one finger. The scholars say that this was yet another act of his humility as he would raise one finger as reference to Allah. When he was surprised by something he would turn his hand. He often spoke and used his hands. Sometimes he would hit the palm of his right hand with the underside of his left thumb.
As for his modesty, he was more bashful than a virgin behind her veil. Lady Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, said that neither did she see his private parts nor he hers.
There was a time when the companions went to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, complaining of their severe pangs of hunger and showed him the stones they had strapped against their stomach to stop it from swelling whereupon the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, showed them the two stones strapped to his.
There was also the time when the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and seven of his companions had nothing to eat except leaves. As a result their mouths became very ulcerated.
When a young Jewish boy was taken seriously ill, he went to visit him and through his kindness towards him the boy embraced Islam before he died and saved from the fires of Hell. He even visited the hypocrite Abdullah, the son of Ubay, who had for a long time gone out of his way to try to ridicule the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him.
There is a beautiful Prophetic Quotation (Ahadith) that tells the story of a Jewish rabbi. After the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, migrated to Medina some of the sincere and knowledgeable Jews embraced Islam. Zayd, the son of Sanah was a knowledgeable Jew, he had studied his Scriptures well that described the time of the next prophet's appearance together with his characteristics and so he had awaited the coming of a new prophet.
When the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, arrived in Medina he was able to recognize all but two of the prophesied fine characteristic in the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and up until that time remained unsure as to his prophethood. The signs were that his gentleness would overcome his anger and that the more foolish a person acted towards him, the more patient he would become.
One day as he was with the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, a Bedouin came to him in a distressed state telling him that his tribe had embraced Islam, and that he had told them that if they became Muslims they would never again go hungry.
Now that drought had stricken his land and food was in very short supply he told the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, he feared they would leave Islam on account of his promise and so he had come to ask the Prophet for his help. Rather than rebuking the man for giving such an unprecedented promise, the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, turned to a companion who informed him that there was nothing left to give. Zayd had been listening intently to the conversation and told the Prophet that he knew of a date palm grove from which he could purchase in advance, dates, that could be harvested when ripe and that the Prophet could repay him later. In the meantime he gave the Bedouin some gold to buy food for his tribe to tide them over until the date harvest, with the instruction to deal fairly with it.
Some time later, after the dates had been harvested and given to the Bedouin, Zayd went to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him. The Prophet had just returned for attending the funeral of one of his companions and was sitting near a well when Zayd went up to him, tugged at the hem of his robe and chided him for not having repaid his debt and accused all of Abdul Muttalib's children as being poor payers. Omar happened to be present and jumped to the Prophet's defense saying: "O enemy of Allah, what are you mumbling. I swear by Allah, that if I did not fear I would have your head severed!" The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, looked up and smiled at Omar and told him: "Omar, this person and I are in need of something more. He should have told me to take care to fulfill his rights, and should have advised in a better manner when putting forward his claim. Go, take him and fulfill his rights, and because he was scolded give him in its place twenty extra measurements of dates as his right.
Omar and Zayd went together and as Zayd received his rights he asked: "What is the reason for the excess amount of dates?" Omar replied: "The Messenger of Allah has commanded me to give it to you." Then Zayd asked Omar if he knew who he was and Omar replied that he did not, so he replied: "I am Zayd, the son of Sanah" whereupon Omar asked: "The learned man of the Jews?" whereupon Zayd told him he was the very same. Then Omar asked him what had caused him to behave in such a bad manner towards the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him. He replied: "Two signs from the signs of the Prophethood were left which I was not able to examine. The first was the gentleness of the Prophet that overrides his anger. The second was that the more foolishly a person acts towards him the more tolerant he becomes. Now I have examined both, therefore I make you a witness to my acceptance of Islam and give half my wealth to the nation of Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him.
Omar and Zayd returned to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and Zayd embraced Islam. Later on he became a martyr.
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