Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) knew that he had to employ the best methods and most appropriate instruments and that he had to give his entire time in order to achieve success in his mission. He had to find ways and seek opportunities to convey the message of Allah to humanity. This is why he seized every opportunity he got and searched for other means to reach people, because the message of Islam or the only way to attain eternal salvation in the Hereafter, had to be transmitted to humanity without losing any time.
Anas b. Rafi’, a resident of Medina, came to Mecca together with a group of young people. They wanted to sign an agreement with the tribe of Quraish against the Medinan tribe of Hazraj. When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) heard of their visit to Mecca, he came to them. He sat next to them and asked:
“Would you like me to tell you something better than the reason why you are here?”
When they asked what it was, the Prophet (pbuh) talked to them about Islam saying:
“I am the Messenger of Allah. Allah has sent me to His servants. I invite them to Allah. I tell them to worship Him, not to attribute partners to Him. Regarding such, Allah has sent a book to me.” Then he recited some verses from the Qur’an.
The Prophet (pbuh) wanted to show these young people, who had gone to the city for worldly reasons, the path to eternal salvation. He spoke of Islam to everyone in Mecca, but a few people accepted his invitation. Thus, he would run to those new faces visiting Mecca hoping that some of them might open their heart to the Truth, and what he had hoped became a reality. A young man named Iyas b. Muadh said:
“Dear friends! By Allah this is better than what we are here for.” However, he was silenced by his friends’ insults and oppressive words. When they returned to Medina, the battle of Buas arose. Soon Iyas b. Muadh passed away. Those who were waiting at his death bed witnessed that he was incessantly busy with the recitation and remembrance of Allah. Nobody had doubts that he passed away as believer; because Iyas (r.a.) accepted Islam when he had heard about it from the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). (Hakim, III, 199; Ibn Hanbal, V, 427)
The Prophet’s hope had not been in vain and one person had attained eternal salvation. “Ibn Abbas reported:
“Once a man named Dimad b. Sa’laba from the tribe of Azd Shanu’a came to Mecca to perform minor pilgrimage. He was man who aspired to be a doctor and tried to improve his knowledge. He used to cure people who were under the influence of a charm or spell. When he heard the Meccan polytheists say that Muhammad (pbuh) was under a spell, he thought:
“If 1 were to come across this man, Allah might cure him at my hand.” He left the polytheists and began to look for the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), but he was unable to find him on the first day. On the following day he met him and said:
“O Muhammad, I can protect (one) who is under the influence of a charm, and Allah cures the one whom He so desires at my hand. Do you desire (this)?” Upon this the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Praise is due to Allah, we praise Him, and seek His help and forgiveness. We take refuge in Him from the evil of our selves. He whom Allah guides aright there is none who can lead him astray, and he whom He has led astray there is none who can guide him, and I bear testimony to the fact that there is no god but Allah, He is One, having no partner with Him, and I bear testimony to the fact that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.” After this he (Dimad) like what he heard and said:
“I have never heard such nice words. Repeat them to me.” After the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) repeated his words thrice, Dimad said:
“By Allah, I have heard the words of soothsayers and the words of magicians, and the words of poets, but I have never heard such words as yours, and they reach the depth of the ocean (of eloquence); bring forth your hand so that I should take oath of fealty to you and Islam.” So he took an oath of allegiance to him and converted to Islam. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Is it (this allegiance of yours) on behalf of your people too.” He said:
“Yes, it is on behalf of my people too.”
Allah’s Messenger asked again:
“Is it for you and on behalf of your tribe, too?”
He replied:
“Yes, it is for me and on behalf of my tribe, too.” (Muslim, Jumu’a, 46; Ibn Hanbal, I, 302; Ibn Sa’d, IV, 241)
Right after our beloved Prophet (pbuh) convinced Dimad al-Azdi (r.a.) to convert to Islam, he took his allegiance on behalf of his tribe. Consequently, he appointed Dimad as a teacher to his tribe.
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) was mocked and stoned in Taif where he had gone to look for potential new converts and opportunities. When he was on his way back to Mecca, he sat under a tree to rest. He was wounded and in pain. Just then a slave named Addas came by him and he forgot all his pains. He began to tell Addas about Islam. Addas said:
“O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about Yunus b. Matta.” When the Prophet (pbuh) told him about everything that had been revealed to him about the Prophet Yunus (A.S.) by Allah the Almighty, Addas converted to Islam saying:
“I bear testimony that you are Allah’s servant and Messenger.” Then he kissed Prophet’s head, hands, and feet. (Ibn Hisham, II, 30; Yaqubi, II, 36)
Addas (r.a.) was Allah’s Messenger’s (pbuh) only gain from the city of Taif, where some of his relatives were also residing. He became very happy by Addas’s conversion. Maybe he was thinking that the conversion of one slave was worth all his pain and effort.
Later, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) thought to migrate to Medina and spread Islam there. He set off on another difficult and dangerous journey. Even though idol worshippers mobilized all their means to kill him and despite many other dangers he never gave up doing his mission. He talked about Islam to everyone he met. Sa’d b. Dalil[1] narrated from his father:
“Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) and Abu Bakr (r.a.) stopped by during their migration to Medina. At that time, one of Abu Bakr’s daughters was with us for fostering. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) wanted to go to Medina by the shortest rout. We told him:
“This is the road of Gair in the passage of Raquba. There live there two thieves named Muhanan from the tribe of Aslam. Let us go and take care of them.” The Prophet (pbuh) told us:
“Take me to them.” So we set off our journey. When we passed Raquba and arrived the foot of a hill, one of the thieves said to his friend:
“This man is from Yemen.”[2] Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) called them and talked to them about Islam and asked them to accept Islam. They then converted to Islam. He asked them their names and they replied:
“We are Muhanan (two despised people).” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“On the contrary, you are Mukraman (two honored people).” Then he asked them to go to Medina as forerunners. (Ibn Hanbal, IV, 74)
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) was not concerned about conveying his message even during the times when his enemies wanted to kill him. He delivered the message of Islam even if his listeners considered themselves despicable and worthless. Thus, he praised those two thieves and brought them into the Muslim community.
Conveying the message of Islam was the only reason why Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) conducted his battles. Even during his battles he tried to inform people about Islam. For example, during the siege of Haibar a Jewish man asked for mercy and took refuge in the Muslim army. After he gave very valuable information about the enemy, he asked:
“O Abu al-Qasim! You will protect me and you will not shed my blood, will you?” Allah’s Messenger told him:
“You are safe and under our protection.” Jewish man asked:
“Forgive my wife who is in the castle of Nizar” He (Allah’s Messenger) replied:
“I forgive your wife, too.” And then he invited him to Islam. The Jewish man requested a few days in which to think and finally converted to Islam. (Waqidi, II, 647-48)
Since the object of a battle was to invite people to Islam and deliver its message to others, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) acted with the hope of saving people in eternity even during battle time.
Our beloved Prophet (pbuh) seized every opportunity to teach significant matters to his Companions and to place the beauty of Islam into their hearts. Umar b. Khattab (r.a.) narrates:
“Some Sabi (i.e. war prisoners, children and woman only) were brought before the Prophet. A woman amongst them had milk in her breasts to feed and whenever she found a child amongst the captives, she took it to her chest and nursed it. The Prophet asked us,
“Do you think that this lady can throw her son in the fire?” We replied,
“No, if she has the power to not throw it (in the fire).” The Prophet then said,
“Allah is more merciful to His servants than this lady to her son.” (Bukhari, Adab, 18; Muslim, Tawba, 22)
Another day Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) saw Abu Huraira (r.a.) planting a tree and asked:
“O Abu Huraira! What are you planting?” He replied:
“I am planting a tree for myself.” Then The Prophet (pbuh) told him:
“Would you like me to tell you of a better tree than this?” Abu Huraira replied affirmatively and excitedly began to wait for Prophet’s answer. Then the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“Say: subhanallahi wa-al-hamdu lillahi wala ilaha illalahu akbar (Glory and all praises be to Allah. And there is no god but Allah the Greatest). For each one of these words a tree will be planted for you in Paradise.” (Ibn Majah, Adab, 56)
Thus, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) taught his Companion Abu Huraira (r.a.) another virtuous deed in addition to planting trees. When he was teaching that deed, he used the action of his Companion to make abstract issues more easily understandable. Here the Prophet (pbuh) also pointed out that one can earn spiritual rewards in his afterlife through the remembrance of Allah and he taught one of the most virtuous formulas of that remembrance.
[1] This Companion became known by the name Dalil (sign or indicator) for he showed the Messenger of Allah a shortcut to Medina and guided him on the rout of Raquba.
[2] What he meant was that the Prophet was from Mecca, because at that time Mecca was in the region of Timhama which was within the borders of Yemen. This is why the Ka’ba was also called “al-Ka’bah al-Yemaniyya. (Ibn Athir, al-Nihaya, V, 300)