Divine Correction
Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a human who would use His own reason in matters, for which He had not received a revelation. Sometimes, He would not be correct and a revelation would come down to correct it. Later, we are going to cite many situations and verses as evidence and clear explanation of this point. However, here we focus on a special situation that is at the core of what we want to clarify; verses (1-11) from Chapter 80 (surah Abasa) place blame on Muhammad (peace be upon him) for His behavior toward one of the poor blind Muslims and indicates the correct alternate behavior. Muhammad was calling some leaders from the Quraysh to Islam, explaining it to them as He felt they would accept Islam. While doing so, a poor blind Muslim, Ibn Umm Maktum, came to Him, beseeching Him for something urgent and saying, “O Allah’s Messenger, guide me. “Then, the Prophet (peace be upon him) turned His face away and faced the other men instead, and therefore, Allah revealed this surah.
In this incident, Muhammad (peace be upon him) had a human ambition to guide some leaders of the disbelievers to Islam. He apparently thought if they turned to Islam, it would be to the best advantage of the da’wah. This could be a sufficient justification, at the human level, for those who advocate a particular call in general. Moreover, the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) motivation becomes more apparent when we know that His enemies used to ask Him bluntly:
“Which of (our) two parties is best in position and best in association?” (Maryam 19: 73)
This was a clear indication of the fact that the majority of His followers were among the weak and poor people.
In fact, His wish to attract some great leaders to believe in Allah and accept Islam is something completely natural to desire. However, this revelation came down to emphasize other important concepts, i.e., that there is no difference between the rich and the poor, the high and the low, the sighted and the blind, or the ruler and the ruled. Allah says,
“The Prophet frowned and turned away because there came to Him the blind man, (interrupting). But what would make you perceive, (0 Muhammad), that perhaps he might be purified, or be reminded and the remembrance would benefit him? As for he who thinks himself without need, to him you give attention; and not upon you (is any blame) if he will not be purified. But as for he who came to you striving (for knowledge) while he fears (Allah), from him you are distracted. No! Indeed, these verses are a reminder.”(Abasa 80: 1-11)
After these verses were revealed, whenever Muhammad (peace be upon him) saw Ibn Umm Maktum, he used to give him a very warm welcome and pay special attention to him.
The Prophet’s Humanity in Judging Disputes:
Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to judge between people who would turn to him to settle their disputes. In spite of the fact that Muhammad was supported by divine revelation, He, as a human being, would practice many roles including judging between people.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was committed to judging between people according to Allah’s book, the Qur’an. However, people vary in their ability to put their claims before the judge in terms of expressing themselves and defending their rights. Here, in the area of judicial matters, the Prophet’s human nature is clearly noticeable.
Narrated by Umm Salama, “Once Allah’s Messenger said, ‘You people present your cases to me and some of you may be more eloquent and persuasive in presenting their argument. So, if I give someone’s right to another (wrongly) because of the latter’s (tricky) presentation of the case, I am really giving him a piece of fire; so he should not take it’.”
One of the narrations of the above-mentioned story explains that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said this when he heard two opponents’ voices outside his house. Obviously, the Prophet meant to teach people and appeal to their consciences and internal restraints. Consequently, they would protect the rights of each other and refrain from making justice a means to infringe on others’ rights. Despite of the degree of accuracy and clear statements, which a legal system can obtain, it is still easy to commit fraud and make use of its imperfections. However, when the conscience is aroused and internal restraint exercised, many forms of fraud and trickiness intended to claim others’ rights disappear. Thus, when the two opponents heard Muhammad’s remarks, they were deeply influenced by them. The Prophet’s wife, Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her) says,
“Upon hearing what the Prophet said, the two men shed tears and said to each other ‘my right is yours. Then, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘As long as you have behaved like this, share it, seek the truth and then draw lots and forgive each other’.”
His Humanity in Handling Worldly Affairs
Muhammad (peace be on him) lived in Makkah where there were no farms or palms, then He migrated to Medina, which was known for palms. When He arrived there, He saw the people doing the inoculation of date palms, so He gave them a decision based on His own experience. His companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) followed Him and then this situation arose. Talha ibn Ubaidillah reported,
“I and Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) happened to pass by people near the date-palm trees. He, the Prophet, said,
‘What are these people doing?’
They said, ‘They are grafting,’ (to combine the male with the female (tree) and thus they yield more fruit).
Thereupon, Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, ‘It is of no use: The people were informed about it and they abandoned this practice. Allah’s Messenger was (later on) informed (that the yield had dwindled), whereupon He said, ‘If there is any use of it, then they should do it, for it was just a personal opinion of mine, and do not go after my personal opinion; but when I say to you anything on behalf of Allah, then do accept it, for I do not attribute lies to Allah, the Exalted and Glorious”.
In fact, Muhammad (peace be upon him) was not sent to people to show them how to plant and how to manage their worldly affairs. Instead, these matters are left to them to act accordingly with their experience and their human knowledge, provided that they would not commit unlawful acts or fail to meet any obligations prescribed by Allah, Exalted is He. Thus, whatever the Prophet decided on in terms of pure worldly affairs—for which there was no revelation—was a matter of human ijtihad (based on human reason and personal judgment). Consequently, people are required to deal with these worldly decisions on this basis and to apply human criteria in deciding what is proper and what is not.
His Humanity in his Dealings with People
The prophet (peace be upon him) used to indulge and interact with people in worldly dealings. Although He had impeccable manners, He was still a human being who admitted this to His people. If He unintentionally happened to cause harm to anyone, Allah would reward this person in the life to come.
His companion, Abu Huraira, reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) invoked his Lord, Exalted is He, to forgive those He may have harmed.
He said, “O Allah make the harm I may have caused to anybody, a good deed of alms-giving, prayer or act of worship by which You may get him close to You on the Day of Judgment.”
Aisha reported, “Two persons visited Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and both of them talked about a thing, of which I was not aware, that annoyed Him and he invoked a curse upon both of them and hurled malediction; and when they went out, I talked to Allah’s Messenger and He said, ‘Don’t you know that I have made condition with my Lord saying thus, ‘O Allah, I am a human being and that for a Muslim upon whom I invoke curse or hurl malediction make it a source of purity and reward.”
In fact, while speaking about Himself, Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught His companions how to be considerate of others’ rights and warned them against the gravity of committing an injustice or causing any harm. Nevertheless, He stressed that if one has committed an injustice towards another or caused him any harm, he must remove it.
If Muhammad (peace be upon him) has been granted such privilege unlike other humans, we too have to seek other means to free ourselves from the consequences of ill-treatment or injustice against others; we may offer excuses, beg their pardon or be more benevolent to them.
