The Prophet's Loyalty

When his foster sister, whose name was Shaym"', came to visit him once, he spread his outer mantle for her and seated her on it. Then he said to her, "If you wish, you can stay with me surrounded with honours and love, or I may provide you with rations and you may return to your people." She chose to return to her folks; therefore, he gave her some money and she returned very pleased.

He was sitting once when a woman came and got close to him. He stood up for her, spread his own outer mantle for her, so she sat on it. His companions asked each other who that woman was. They said that she was the woman who nursed him."

It has been narrated that he was once sitting when his foster father came, so he put his own outer mantle for him to sit on. Then his foster mother came, so he seated her on it too. Then his foster brother came, so the Messenger of Allah seated him in front of him.

Out of to his kindness and loyalty, he used to send some money and clothes to Thawbiyya - bondmaid of AbY Lahab - the woman who nursed him when he was a baby. When she died, he asked, "Who from among her relatives is still alive?" He intended to send something to her relatives, but he was told that she had no relatives among the living.

He quite often remembered Khadijah 165 after she had died, slaughter a she-camel then send the meat as presents to her friends out of his devotion to her. Khadijah had said to him once, "O Messenger of Allah! Good news! By Allah, Allah shall never expose you to shame; for you always visit your relatives, are generous to your guest, and you offer solace during calamities."

Whenever he entered a gathering, he would sit in the nearest available space, and he used to sit on the floor and eat on the ground. As he did, he would say, "I am a slave [of Allah]; I eat as slaves do, and I sit as a slave sits."

A woman with a sharp tongue once saw him sitting at a mountain's foot, so she said to him, "O Muhammad! By Allah! You eat as slaves eat and you sit as a slave sits." The Messenger of Allah said, "Is there a more dedicated slave [of Allah] than I am?"

Notes:

165. Lady Khadijah peace be upon her was the Prophet's most beloved and loyal wife.

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