Muhammad: The Ideal Character
MUHAMMAD The Ideal Character
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the enemy forces deluged the Prophet with arrows,
but his devoted followers made a ring around him
and took the brunt of the arrows on their own
bodies.
Such devotion and veneration would make any
man vain. They would engender a feeling of distinct
superiority. But in the case of the Prophet, they did
not have the slightest effect. His conduct was as
unassuming as ever. Nor could biting criticism or
provocation make him lose his balance. Anas tells of
how a rustic approached the Prophet and pulled his
mantle so hard that it left its mark on his neck. He
asked the Prophet to give him two camel loads of
merchandise, jibing that the goods belonged neither
to him nor to his father. The Prophet replied that
the rightful owner was God, and that he—the
Prophet—was only His servant. He asked the rustic
if he felt no fear at having behaved with such
temerity. The rustic said he did not, knowing full
well that the Prophet never returned evil for evil. At
this the Prophet smiled and had one of his camels
loaded with barley and another with dates, and
then gave them both to the rustic.
