Prophetic Leadership Series: Spiritual and Emotional Intelligence

Iman (faith) is in two halves: half is patience (‘𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒓’) and half is gratitude (‘𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒌𝒓’). Therefore Allah (The Exalted) has mentioned patience and gratitude alongside one another:

 “…..𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍.” (Qur’an 14:5; 31:31; 34:19; 42:33).

— Saheeh International 

One of the marvellous qualities of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was his unbounded patience.

Allah (The Exalted) was with Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as He is always with those who patiently persevere:

 “𝑶 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅, 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓. 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅, 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕.” (Qur’an, 2:153)

— Saheeh International https://quran.com/2/153

The Qur’anic word used for patience is ‘𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒓’ and there is no English equivalent for it.

The Idea of Sabr

We can convey the idea of sabr only by phrases such as endurance against afflictions, patience with delay, perseverance against hardships, steadfastness in the face of setbacks, courage against hostilities, self-restraint against provocations, will power against temptations, and equanimity or calmness of mind as regards fortunes and misfortunes.

 As a leader, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) showed amazing patience and perseverance in his social engagement with the masses. He showed an amazing quality of maintaining focus towards the purpose of his governance in society, which was for people to uphold social justice.

This issue of patience and perseverance is so essential, so much so, that Allah (The Exalted) advised our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) at least 19 times in the Holy Quran to maintain 𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒓, as an example:

“𝑺𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕, [𝑶 𝑴𝒖𝒉̣𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒅], 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 – 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 – 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 [𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅] 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒚. [𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔] 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 [𝒂𝒏𝒚] 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆?” (Qur’an 46:35)

 — Saheeh International https://quran.com/46/35

This demonstrates how important this quality was in the political leadership and Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as it was with the Prophets (peace be upon all of them) before him.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝 (𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦) 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was a perfect model to his followers. His life was the shining example of a man of extraordinary endurance. He was always very patient in hardships and suffering. He was never discouraged by adverse circumstances nor did he permit any personal desire to overcome him.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born an orphan, he never felt and enjoyed the love of a father. At the age of six, he lost his mother. It was a tremendous shock to him. Then he remained under his grandfather’s supervision who passed away when he was only eight years old. (Al-Mubarakpuri 1979)

Later he was taken care of by his uncle Abu Talib. This is just a glimpse of his painful childhood. It was a very hard time for him but he always behaved in a very patient and tolerant manner.

Throughout his life, he had to encounter a succession of bitter experiences. After marriage he had to bear the loss of several children one after the other and then his beloved and devoted wife Khadijah, (may Allah be pleased with her), died. Some of the wives, he married after Khadijah’s death, also died during his lifetime and towards the latter part of his life he had to bear the loss of his son Ibrahim. During his life, he lost all his children except his most beloved daughter Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her), who died six months after his death. (Al-Mubarakpuri 1979)

Despite all these calamities, none of them affected him in the least degree because of his immense patience and submission to the will of Allah. His sorrows were never expressed in public and he always met everybody with humble devotion and treated all alike with gracious benevolence.

During the early days of his preaching, the people of Makkah had approached him through his uncle Abu Talib and made very tempting offers to him, such as the leadership of the City of Makkah, the most beautiful girl in marriage, and wealth of immense proportions.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) spurned all these offers and said:

“𝑰 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝑶 𝑼𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 (𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑰𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒎), 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒉 𝒐𝒓 𝑰 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕.”

 Narrated by Ibn Ishaaq in al-Maghaazi (1/154).

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝’𝐬 (𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦) 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐟

When Allah (The Exalted) appointed him His last Prophet, he was faced with the most brutal persecution and hostility from his own people in Makkah. Despite these immense challenges and harsh experiences, he remains steadfast and they perfected his faith in God, making him all the more strongly committed to his God-given mission.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) needed to reach out and seek support beyond the city of Makkah. He (peace be upon him) wanted to spread the message to the people of Taif, in hopes that they would believe and accept the message of Islam. He trekked from Makkah to Taif to invite the people to the belief in One God.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) met with the chiefs of the major tribe in Taif, Thaqeef tribe. He (peace be upon him) told them about Islam, worshipping only one God, and leaving idol worshipping. They rejected his message and insulted him. Not only did they refuse to listen to his message, but they unleashed the children of their tribe to throw stones at him and drive him out of their town. With people jeering at him as his ankles bled, he ran out, finding shelter in an empty orchard.

Alone, bleeding, and rejected, he (peace be upon him) rests on a rock and prays to Allah (The Exalted). He (peace be upon him) is so compassionate and merciful, he does not ask Allah (The Exalted) to punish the people of Taif or to execute revenge against them.

 The famous supplication which is found in the book, The Sealed Nectar:

 “𝑶 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉! 𝑻𝒐 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝑰 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌, 𝑶 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆! 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆: 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒚𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆, 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔? 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕.” (Al-Mubarakpuri 1979)

When Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) sat on the rock, raising his hands to Allah, the two owners of the orchard saw him and so they sent their slave with a bunch of grapes to give to the Prophet (peace be upon him).

The slave’s name was Addas and he was a young Christian man. When Addas gave the Prophet the grapes, he heard the Prophet say, “In the name of Allah,” before he ate. Addas was surprised and curious because he never heard anyone say such words before. The Prophet asked Addas where he was from and Addas answered that he was from Nineveh.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The land of Jonah the Just, son of Matta.”

The young man was bewildered that this man, Muhammad, knew of Prophet Jonah. After informing the Prophet that he was a Christian, Addas then asked the Prophet who he was and how he had such knowledge.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Jonah is my brother. He was a prophet and I am a prophet.”

Addas was amazed; he knew that this man indeed had to be a prophet. Addas kissed the Prophet’s head and hands and he immediately accepted Islam. So, the Prophet’s mission to Taif was not unfruitful. One man, Addas, had wholeheartedly embraced Islam after meeting and speaking with the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Following this incident and the beautiful supplication, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Zayd continued their journey back home. Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) came to him at a place before Makkah called Qarn Al-Manazil and told him that if he wished, Allah (The Exalted) could order an angel to collapse the two mountains surrounding the people of Taif and crush them.

How did Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) react to those who had insulted him and threw stones at him? He (peace be upon him) opted for mercy not violence towards them. He was not overcome with rage or hate. Instead of seeking revenge against the people of Taif, he said to Angel Jibreel, “I rather hope that Allah will raise from among their descendants, people who will worship Allah the One, and will not ascribe partners to Him.”

The lesson we can take from this incident is to never belittle any effort or act of goodness. Persevere and do your part. Work sincerely and do what you know is right, regardless of what the outcome may be, and sooner or later, the results will come.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝’𝐬 (𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦) 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬

The Prophet was always considerate and understanding, even toward those who were ignorant and arrogant towards him. Indeed his gentleness and patience with them earned their love and respect, as Allah (The Exalted) says in the Qur’an:

“𝑺𝒐 𝒃𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉, [𝑶 𝑴𝒖𝒉̣𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒅], 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒆 [𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉] 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑺𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉. 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅, 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 [𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒎].” (Qur’an, 3:159)

— Saheeh International https://quran.com/3/159

An incident at the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah demonstrates his patience and kindness towards those who were ignorant. Abu Hurairah reports:

“𝑨 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, ‘𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕’.” (Al-Bukhari, 6025)

One remembers the time when he and his companion Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), were almost overcome by their pursuers in the Cave of Thawr. When Abu Bakr in dismay told the Prophet (peace be upon him) that they were only two persons against the enemy, he told him with unflinching faith in the Almighty not to grieve, as God was with them. (Hameed 2019)

Allah (The Exalted) in the Qur’an admonishes the Muslims:

 “𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 [𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕 𝑴𝒖𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒅] – 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒂𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒐𝒖𝒕 [𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒌𝒂𝒉] 𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒘𝒐, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 [𝒊.𝒆., 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕 𝑴𝒖𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒅] 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏, “𝑫𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆; 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒔.” 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔 [𝒊.𝒆., 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒔] 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉 – 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑾𝒊𝒔𝒆.” (Qur’an, 9:40)

— Saheeh International https://quran.com/9/40

During his last illness, when he was in extreme agony he made a slight groan upon which his daughter, Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) said that she could not bear to see him in this state as he never expressed any distress. Thereupon he said to her, 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, Your father will suffer no pain after this day. Meaning that all his troubles were confined to this world and from the moment that he was released from this life and entered the presence of his maker he would be subject to no further pain.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

Unfaltering loyalty to Allah’s (The Exalted) cause is the virtue of prophets. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a brilliant example of a leader who perseveres and was committed to his divinely appointed mission. So it is no wonder that he stood firm against all opposition and finally succeeded in winning over the hearts and minds of his followers.

For those who practice ‘𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒓’ in Islam, there is always the unfailing promise and prospect of a never-ending world of intense happiness.

Allah knows best.

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬

Al-Azami, N. (2019). Muhammad ﷺ: 11 leadership Qualities that Changed the World. Swansea, UK, Claritas Books

Al-Bukhari, M.I. (2000). Sahih al-bukhari: Riyad: Dar al-Salam li al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi`.

Al-Mubarakpuri, S. (1979). The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet. Jeddah: Darussalam.

At-Tirmidhi, M. (2003). The characteristics of Prophet Muhammad. (B. Shalaby, Trans). Egypt: Dar Al-Manarah. (Original work published in 883).

Al-Nawawi. (1996). Sharhi Shih Muslim. Cairo-Egypt: Dar al-Tawfiqiyah li-al-Turath.

Al-Qurtubi, A. A. M. (2003). Al-Jami’li Ahkam al-Qur’an. Reviewed by Hisham Samir

Ibn Kathir, A. F. I. (1999). Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Azim (2nd ed.). Reviewed by Sami Ibn Muhammad Salamah. Dar al-Taibati. Riyad-Saudi Arabia: Maktabat al-Riyad al-Hadithah

Hameed, S. (2019). Prophet Muhammad’s Inexhaustible Patience, AboutIslam.net, 8 December 2019

Qur’an, (1997). (Saheeh International, Trans.). Jeddah: Abdul-Qasim Publishing House

Prof Sattar Bawany

Professor Sattar Bawany is the CEO of Disruptive Leadership Institute (DLI), C-Suite Master Executive Coach, Author of Leadership in Disruptive Times (2020) and Professor of Practice for Disruptive Leadership at IPE Management School, Paris.

www.disruptiveleadership.institute/