91. Be brave and start from now! (cont.)

Once 'Umar bin al-Khattab came to the Prophet who was at that time angry with his wives, due to their demanding of more allowance. 'Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – said, "O Messenger of Allah! If you recall us when we were men of the Quraysh, we always controlled our women. If any of our women were to ask for more allowance, we would have jumped up and grabbed her neck! But when we came to Madinah we found the women controlling their men, so our women began to learn these tricks from their women!" Thereupon the Prophet smiled. 'Umar continued to speak and the Prophet continued to smile. We read in various Ahadith that often the Prophet would smile till his molar teeth would show. He was indeed an extremely kind and friendly companion. If we were to train ourselves to embrace such skills, we would surely taste the sweetness of life. A thought... A child is like soft clay that we shape according to our treatment of it. With children (12) With slaves and servants The Prophet was an expert on how to win hearts using appropriate techniques. When the Prophet's uncle passed away, the Quraysh began to harm him severely. He therefore left for Ta'if in order to seek the support and assistance of the tribe of Thaqif, as well as to seek their protection against the Quraysh. He was hoping that they would accept the message that he brought to them from Allah. He thus went out to them on his own. He entered Ta'if and proceeded to meet three men who were the leaders and the noblest men of Thaqif. They were three brothers; 'Abd Yalayl bin 'Amr, and his brothers Mas'ud and Habib, all sons of 'Amr bin 'Umayr. The Prophet sat with them and called them to Allah. He asked them to help him and support the cause of Islam, and to stand by him against those who oppose him from his own people. However, their response was a disgraceful one. One of them said, "I would tear off the covering of the Ka'bah if Allah really has sent you!" Another said, "Did Allah not find anyone else to send?" The third person sardonically responded, "By Allah, I would never respond to you! If you really are the Messenger of Allah as you claim, then you are too dangerous to be responded to, and if you are lying about Allah, then I should never speak to you!" The Prophet then stood up to leave after feeling disillusioned by the nobility of Thaqif. He also feared that the Quraysh would find out that Thaqif had rejected him, and subsequently increase their torture. Thus he said to them, "Whatever you do, please keep this meeting a secret." But they did not. Instead, they incited the foolish people and the slaves against him, until they began to follow him to curse and abuse him. The people chased the Prophet into the fields of 'Utbah bin Rabi'ah and Shaybah bin Rabi'ah whilst the two were present. The mob then dispersed and the Prophet sat under the shade of grape vines. The two sons of Rabi'ah witnessed his ordeal at the hands of the mob and felt pity for him, so they called a Christian servant they had by the name of 'Addas and said to him, "Take a bunch of these grapes, place it in this plate and then deliver it to that man and ask him to eat them." 'Addas did as he was told. He came to the Prophet , placed the plate in front of him and said, "Please eat." The Messenger of Allah stretched his hand forth to eat and said, "In the name of Allah..." 'Addas said, "By Allah, no one says this phrase in these cities." The Prophet said, "From which city are you, O 'Addas, and what is your religion?" He replied, "I am a Christian. I come from Nineveh." With slaves and servants The Prophet said, "You belong to the city of the righteous Jonah, son of Matta." He said, "What do you know about Jonah the son of Matta?" The Prophet replied, "He is my brother. He was a Prophet and so am I." Thereupon 'Addas paid homage to Allah's Messenger by kissing his head, hands and feet, as the two sons of Rabi'a watched. One of them said to the other, "He has corrupted this servant of yours." When 'Addas returned to his master, he was noticeably affected by the Prophet and his words. His master said to him, "Woe be to you, O 'Addas! Why did you kiss this man's head, hands and feet?!" He replied, "Dear master! There is none on this earth better than him.