Islam and Peace
The Spiritual Goal of Islam
~ 67 ~
This incident shows that the Prophet was looking at
the matter by separating two different aspects of the
Jew, that is, his being non-Muslim, and his being a
human being. At that moment he overlooked his
non-Muslim identity and saw him simply as a
human being.
It is only a man who, in the words of the Qur’an has
acquired a sublime character who can show such
respect for every human being. It is only one whose
spiritual progress has elevated his mental level who
can do honour to one of another creed.
On another occasion the Prophet of Islam was in the
Masjid al-Nabavi in Medina, the second most
sacred mosque in Islam, when a Bedouin, that is, a
desert Arab, entered the mosque and urinated
inside it. It was obviously a very provocative
matter. But the Prophet was not at all provoked.
After the nomad had urinated, the Prophet simply
asked his companions to bring a bucket of water
and wash the place clean
(Fathul Bari, 1/386).
This is a clear example of the kind of behaviour one
may expect of a man with a peaceful soul. The
Prophet’s keeping cool at such obvious provocation
