Allaah Says (what means): "By the grace of Allaah, you are gentle
towards the people; if you had been stern and ill-tempered, they would
have dispersed from round about you" [Quran, 3: 159]About himself the
prophet said: "Allaah has sent me as an apostle so that I may
demonstrate perfection of character, refinement of manners and
loftiness of deportment." [Maalik and Ahmad] By nature he was gentle
and kind hearted, always inclined to be gracious and to overlook the
faults of others. Politeness and courtesy, compassion and tenderness,
simplicity and humility, sympathy and sincerity were some of the
keynotes of his character. In the cause of right and justice he could
be resolute and severe but more often than not, his severity was
tempered with generosity. He had charming manners which won him the
affection of his followers and secured their devotion. Though virtual
king of Arabia and an apostle of Allaah, he never assumed an air of
superiority. Not that he had to conceal any such vein by practice and
artifice: with fear of Allaah, sincere humility was ingrained in his
heart. He used to say: "I am a Prophet of Allaah but I do not know
what will be my end." [Al-Bukhaari]In one of his sermons calculated to
instill the fear of Allaah and the day of reckoning in the hearts of
men, he said: "O people of Quraysh be prepared for the hereafter, I
cannot save you from the punishment of Allaah; O Bani Abd Manaaf, I
cannot save you from Allaah; O Abbaas, son of Abdul-Mutalib, I cannot
protect you either; O Faatimah, daughter of Muhammad, even you I
cannot save." [Al-Bukhaari & Muslim]He used to pray: "O Allaah! I am
but a man. If I hurt any one in any manner, then forgive me and do not
punish me." [Ahmad]He always received people with courtesy and showed
respect to older people and stated: "To honor an old man is to show
glorification to Allaah." He would not deny courtesy even to wicked
persons. It is stated that a person came to his house and asked
permission for admission. The prophet remarked that he was not a good
person but might be admitted. When he came in and while he remained in
the house, he was shown full courtesy. When he left 'Aa'ishah said:
"You did not think well of this man, but you treated him so well." The
prophet replied: "He is a bad person in the sight of Allaah who does
not behave courteously and people shun his company because of his bad
manners." [Al-Bukhaari] He was always the first to greet another and
would not withdraw his hand from a handshake till the other man
withdrew his. If one wanted to say something in his ears, he would not
turn away till one had finished as reported in the books of Abu
Daawood and At-Tirmithi . He did not like people to get up for him and
used to say: "Let him, who likes people to stand up in his honor, he
should seek a place in hell." [Abu Daawood]. He would himself,
however, stand up when any dignitary came to him. He had stood up to
receive the wet nurse who had reared him in infancy and had spread his
own sheet for her. His foster brother was given similar treatment. He
avoided sitting at a prominent place in a gathering, so much so that
people coming in had difficulty in spotting him and had to ask which
one was the Prophet . Quite frequently uncouth bedouins accosted him
in their own gruff and impolite manner but he never took offence. [Abu
Daawood]He used to visit the poorest of ailing persons and exhorted
all Muslims to do likewise [Al-Bukhaari]. He would sit with the
humblest of persons saying that righteousness alone was the criterion
of one's superiority over another. He invariably invited people be
they slaves, servants or the poorest believers, to partake with him of
his scanty meals. [At-Tirmithi] Whenever he visited a person he would
first greet him and then take his permission to enter the house. He
advised the people to follow this etiquette and not to get annoyed if
anyone declined to give permission, for it was quite likely the person
concerned was busy otherwise and did not mean any disrespect. There
was no type of household work too low or too undignified for him .
'Aa'ishah has stated: "He always joined in household work and would at
times mend his clothes, repair his shoes and sweep the floor. He would
milk, tether, and feed his animals and do the household shopping." [Al-
Bukhaari] He would not hesitate to do the menial work of others,
particularly of orphans and widows [An-Nasaa'ee, Ad-Daarami]. Once
when there was no male member in the house of the companion Khabaab
Ibn Al-Arat who had gone to the battlefield, he used to go to his
house daily and milk his cattle for the inhabitants [Ibn Saad].