EXEMPLARY POLITENESS AND CLEANLINESS OF NABI صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم
Politeness and Cleanliness
CLEAN TEETH
His head was on Hazrat Aisha’s رضي الله عنها lap and he was about to die. He was drawing his last breaths. One of the last things he wanted to do before dying was to clean his teeth with the help of Hazrat Aisha رضي الله عنها. He wanted to go to the presence of his Lord with a proper and tidy appearance
LIKE THE DEVIL
One of his friends entered the mosque. His hair and beard were intermingled. It became clear from the change of the facial expression of NABI صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم that he did not like his friend’s appearance. Getting the message, his friend went out, had a haircut, trimmed his beard, cleaned himself and returned. He sat in front of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم with an embarrassed smile. NABI صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم started to smile, too. He said,
“Is it not better like this instead of having the hair and beard intermingled like the devil?” [2]
UNLESS SHE CLEANS HER HANDS
Makkah had been conquered. Those who could not become Muslims due to their obstinacy started to become Muslims and to swear allegiance to NABI صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم one by one. One of them was Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan, who was the administrator of Makkah, the murderer of his uncle. Just as Hind was going to declare that she was going to be a Muslim, Hind’s hands attracted the attention of NABI صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم; he interrupted and stopped the oath of allegiance by saying,
“I will not accept your allegiance unless you clean your hands and trim your nails.”[3]
THREE TIMES YES
Somebody called, “O Messenger of Allah!” three times.
NABI صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم turned to him each time and said,
“Yes!”[4]
DO NOT DO IT AGAIN
When he entered the mosque, he saw a newly converted Bedouin Muslim blow his nose and threw the napkin on the ground. He cleaned the ground with his hands and said to the man softly,
“Do not do it again.”[5]
PRAYER IN THE HOUSE OF A BLIND MAN
One of his friends became almost blind. He started to find it difficult to go to the mosque. In order to perform the prayers in his house with a piece of mind, he asked the Prophet,
“O Messenger of Allah! Can you come to my house and perform a two-rak’ah prayer there?”
The next day, the Messenger of Allah prayed in the house of his blind friend together with Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه.[6]
IF YOU HAVE TO
When he sat down in the mosque toward the qiblah, he grimaced his face. There was some phlegm on the wall. It was clear that a newly converted Bedouin Muslim had done it.
He stood up quietly and cleaned the wall with his hands. Then, he turned to the congregation that was watching him in an astonished way and said,
“Do not spit against the qiblah. If you have to spit, spit on the ground under your left foot.”[7]
HE BOUGHT IT FIRST
Jabir b. Abdullah رضي الله عنه, one of his poor friends, was newly married; he had financial difficulties. Nabi صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم wanted to relieve him of his troubles but he did not want to offend him; he asked Jabir what he owned. He only had a weak camel. NABI صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم asked him to buy his camel. He paid for it when he returned to Madinah. After buying it, NABI صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم gave the camel to Jabir as a gift. A Jew who heard about it could not believe his ears and asked,
“Did he buy the came and then give it back as a present?”
NABI صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم also prayed to Allah for Jabir رضي الله عنه for a long time that night to give him happiness in the world and the hereafter.[8]
[1]Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Algül, Alemlere Rahmet Hazreti Muhammad, p.163.
[2]Abdurrahman Azzam, Peygamberimizin Örnek Ahlakı, p.50.
[3]Abdurrahman Azzam, Peygamberimizin Örnek Ahlakı, p.50.
[4]M. Yusuf Kandahlawi, Hayatu’s-Sahaba, III/l52.
[5]Afzalur Rahman, Siret Ansiklopedisi , III/192.
[6]Afzalur Rahman, Siret Ansiklopedisi, I/39.
[7]Afzalur Rahman, Siret Ansiklopedisi, III/210.
[8]İbrahim Refik, Güllerin Efendisi, p.48
