verify this in the absence of later confirmation by the Prophet or by Ḥalīmah?
The reports that can be considered reliable point to a particular quality that we can consider to be the key to the Prophet’s personality: the pursuit of right. When we examine Muhammad’s personal history, we find this quality is consistent in his character, both before and after prophethood. This quality was even enhanced by the Divine message he delivered to mankind. As mentioned in Chapter 1, Muhammad was twenty years old when he took part in forging the noble ‘al-Fuḍūl’ alliance, which committed the Quraysh clans to stand united in support of anyone who was subjected to injustice in Makkah, whether this person belonged to Makkah or was a visitor. This was a bright moment in his pre-Islamic life, and one that he mentioned with fondness after prophethood. He was settled in Madinah when he said that he would not exchange his participation in that alliance for anything in the world; he stated that he would even honour it under Islam, should anyone appeal to him for help under its terms. The fact that this alliance was concluded in pre-Islamic days by idolatrous people did not detract from the fact that it was a noble alliance that aimed to give everyone their rights. This declaration by the Prophet confirms a sense of honour and integrity that can only be nurtured by a man who pursues what is right and stands up for it.
Throughout his life, Muhammad consciously maintained a very high standard of integrity. He would not knowingly tell a lie. In many societies, people do not look with abhorrence at telling lies. Of course, no one openly says that lying is something to be proud of, but people often advise a relative or a friend to lie in order to get out of a tricky situation. In the Arabian society of pre-Islamic days, lying was not a matter of great concern. Today, many societies expect a person to tell the truth in formal situations: for example, a witness who gives a false testimony in court is prosecuted. However, in small matters of daily life people do not give a second thought about telling a lie when it serves their purpose. They even admit to the lie and do not expect to be censured; others often laugh or express approval. Muhammad, however, was widely known among his people for speaking the truth in all situations. The testimonies to this are numerous, coming from friend and foe alike.
In the fifth year of Muhammad’s prophethood he advised a large number of his Companions to immigrate to Abyssinia. Fearing the consequences of such immigration, the Quraysh sent a delegation to Negus, the ruler of Abyssinia, requesting their extradition. The delegation tried hard to get Negus to order such extradition without questioning the immigrants. Negus, however, was a fair man. Therefore, he called the immigrants to his court and asked them about their religion. Their spokesman, Jaʿfar, described their conditions before Islam. He then went on to say: “Then God sent us a Messenger whom we have always known to be a man of truth and honesty.”1
Those who opposed the Prophet in Makkah had no hesitation in stating that he was a man of truth. When Muhammad received God’s order to advocate Islam in public, he stood on the hill of al-Ṣafā in the centre of Makkah and called on all clans to come over to him. When they had gathered, he said to them:
“If I were to tell you that armed horsemen are beyond this valley heading towards Makkah to attack you, would you believe me?”
“You are trustworthy, and we have never known you to tell lies,” they answered.
“Well, then,” he said, “I am sent to you to warn you against grievous suffering.”2
Shaykh Abu al-Hasan Ali al-Hasani Nadwi says that the Arabs’ first answer in Makkah was evidence of their realistic and practical approach. They were responding to a man whom they had known to be honest and truthful and to always give sincere advice. He was standing on top of a hill where he could see what was beyond. In their position, they could not see anything beyond what was in their valley. They had no reason not to believe him, whatever he said. This was a natural opening, which secured a testimony: in other words, it established Muhammad’s credentials, which were well known to his audience.3
An example of testimony from his adversaries occurred at the time when the Prophet and his Companions went to Makkah for their compensatory ʿUmrah (mini-pilgrimage). As noted in Chapter 2, according to the peace agreement signed a year earlier between the Prophet and the unbelievers in Makkah, the Prophet and his Companions were to be allowed entry in Makkah and a stay of three days, but they were to have no armament other than swords in their sheaths. As the Muslims were about to start their journey from Madinah, the Prophet ordered that sufficient armament should be carried with them, so that they would be ready in case the Quraysh were bent on mounting a treacherous attack. When the Muslims were drawing near to Makkah, its people were informed by their advance party that the Muslims carried their armament with them. The Quraysh immediately sent Mikraz ibn Ḥafs with a few of its dignitaries to determine his intentions. Mikraz said to him:
“Muhammad, you were never known to be treacherous, neither when you were young nor in your old age. Are you intending to get into the holy city where your own people live carrying arms, when you had promised that your party will carry only the ordinary arms of travellers: swords in sheaths?”
The Prophet answered: “I am not bringing arms into the city.”
Mikraz said: “This is a man who is a model of honesty and sincerity.”4
It was enough for the Quraysh delegation that Muhammad said he would not be bringing in the arms. They immediately returned to their people to reassure them that he would honour the agreement. Those people had been fighting him for nearly two decades, accusing him of every evil. Yet, they had no hesitation to accept his word as describing his true intention.
The pursuit of right requires the seeker to ensure that any trust afforded to them is well-placed. Muhammad was trusted throughout his life, and no one ever accused him of being unworthy of trust. On the contrary, long before Islam, the people of Makkah gave him the nickname al-Amīn (which means “trustworthy”). We see, for instance, that he was only in his early twenties when Khadījah, a wealthy widow, entrusted him to manage her own trade with a caravan travelling to Syria. She would not have given him such an important task unless she was certain that her trust would not be misplaced. She had an informed opinion of him, as she had tried him in the local bazaars. It was Muhammad’s integrity and honesty in all situations that made Khadījah propose to him that they should get married. She had refused many earlier suitors, feeling that they were after her wealth. In Muhammad’s case, she was the suitor because she recognized that he was a man of trust.
We have already mentioned that the Quraysh plotted to assassinate him in order to prevent his immigration. They moved with speed to carry out their plan. However, Muhammad had been given deposits for safekeeping. These deposits did not belong to Muslims in Makkah, as almost all Makkan Muslims had already immigrated to Madinah. Rather, the deposits belonged to unbelievers who were in the enemy camp. Despite the hostility of the people of Makkah to Muhammad and his message, they had no doubt whatsoever of his integrity and honesty. Anyone who had something precious would entrust it to Muhammad for safekeeping, certain that they would find it safe whenever they wanted it. As an aside, I find it amazing in this situation that they did not realise that a person of such honesty and integrity would not lie to God.
It stands to reason that this practice of keeping valuables with Muhammad did not begin after he became a Prophet and a Messenger of God, but would have started much earlier. People continued to recognize his honesty after he started to receive and advocate God’s message: if anything, they felt that he was even more reliable and trustworthy. Muhammad gave ʿAlī, his cousin, the task of returning people’s deposits. By returning people’s valuables after escaping an assassination attempt and after being chased out of the city, he confirmed that their trust in him was well placed. To him, it was inconceivable that he would change his practice, despite all the problems his
