Seerah

He never left anyone without pleasing him. It has been recorded that a Bedouin once came to ask him for something. He gave it to him then said, "Have I done good to you?" The Bedouin said, "No, you have not, nor have you done anything nice for me." The Muslims there were very angry with that man, and they stood up [to warn him], but the Prophet asked them to stay away, then he stood up and entered inside his home and called the man to him, giving him some more. Then he asked him again, "Have I now done something good for you?" The Bedouin said, "Yes, may Allah reward you goodness that encompasses your family and tribe." The Prophet said to him, "[Because of] what you said earlier, inside the hearts of my companions there is something resulting from that; so, if you like, go back to them and tell them what you have just told me so that what is in their heart against you will go away." The Bedouin assented.

Later on, the Prophet came and said, "This Bedouin said what he said, so we gave him an increase till he is pleased. Is not that so?" The Bedouin said, "Yes; may Allah reward you goodness that encompasses your family." Then the Prophet said to his companions, "My example and that of this man is one whose she-camel fled away from him, so people pursued her, causing her to be more rebellious, so her owner called upon them to leave him and his she-camel alone, since he was more kind to her than them. He went to her, took her back and mounted on her. Had I left you alone to deal with this Bedouin on account of what he had said, he would have been dead by now."

If anyone misbehaved towards him, he used to respond to him in a beautiful way. Al-!Al"' ibn al-Hadrami is quoted as having asked the Prophet saying, "I have a family whose members, when I am good to them, they reward me with evil, and when I maintain good ties with them, they sever their ties from me." The Messenger of Allah, reciting a Qur'anic verse, said, e Repel (evil) with that which is fairer and behold, he between whom and thee there is enmity shall be as if he were a loyal friend. 161

Notes:

161. The Holy Qur'an, (41): 34.

Adopted from the book : "The Prophet Muhammad; a Mercy to the World" by : "Ayatullah Muhammad Sadiq al-Shirazi"