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

No man can say this." They said, "This is just poetry, O Abu al-Walid! Just poetry!" He said, "By Allah, no one is more knowledgeable than me With adversaries concerning poetry! There is no one more knowledgeable about Rajaz (poetical rhyme) and poems than me! Or even the poetry of the Jinn! By Allah, what he says is not similar to any poetry!" 'Utbah continued to discuss the Prophet with them. Although, 'Utbah did not accept Islam, there is no doubt that his soul did incline towards it. Contemplate how the Prophet's noble manners and his technique of listening to 'Utbah attentively affected him, even though he was a sworn enemy of Islam. On another occasion, the Quraysh decided to send Husayn bin al-Mundhir al-Khuza'i – the father of the Prophet's companion, 'Imran bin Husayn – to discuss with the Prophet and to persuade him to stop his mission. 'Imran's father visited the Prophet as he was sitting with his companions and said the usual words of complaint which the Quraysh would say to him, "You have disunited us, split our ranks...", as the Prophet calmly listened until he finished. The Prophet then said to him politely, "Have you finished, O Abu 'Imran?" "Yes", he replied. The Prophet said, "Then answer my questions." "Ok, I am listening", he said. The Prophet said, "O Abu 'Imran, how many gods do you worship?" He replied, "Seven. Six on the earth and one in the heavens!" The Prophet said, 'Which of them do you love and fear?' With adversaries He said, "The one in the heavens." The Prophet said in all politeness, "O Husayn, if you were to accept Islam, I would teach you two words you could greatly benefit from." Husayn accepted Islam on the spot and said, "O Messenger of Allah, teach me the two words you promised you would teach me." The Prophet said, "O Allah, inspire me with guidance and protect me from my own evil." How wonderful was the way in which the Prophet dealt with people! And how beautifully his character had a positive impact on them! This kind of attitude goes a long way in bringing non-Muslims closer to Islam. A young man once travelled to Germany for studies and took up residence in a flat. There was a young German man living in the flat opposite him.They didn't have any connection with each other except that they were neighbours. Once, the German neighbour travelled unexpectedly. A paperboy would deliver a newspaper everyday and leave it at his doorstep. The young man noticed the newspapers piling up and asked one of the other neighbours to find out if the neighbour had travelled. He picked all the newspapers up and placed them in a secure place. He would collect a new newspaper everyday and add it to the collection. When his neighbour returned after a couple of months, he greeted him and gave him all the newspapers. He said, "I thought that perhaps you were following a news story or participating in a competition and I didn't want you to miss out on it." With adversaries The neighbour was surprised at this and said, "Would you like to be paid for your services?" He said, "No. Our religion orders us to be good to our neighbours and since you are my neighbour, I must benevolent you." The person continued to be gracious to his neighbour until he finally embraced Islam. This, by Allah, is the real joy of life, to feel that you worship Allah by every little thing you do, even the manners with which you deal with others. How often is it that people are turned away from Islam due to the bad treatment they receive at the hand of some Muslims; one oppresses his employee, another deceives his customer and another annoys his neighbour? Let us make a fresh start with them. Enlightenment... The best preacher is the one who preaches with his actions before his words. With adversaries (14) With animals When good interpersonal skills become one's habit, they become his second nature and an integral part of his personality. Such a person is always found to be easygoing, light-hearted, gentle, forbearing and sensitive with all, including animals and non-living things. Once, when the Prophet was on a journey with his companions, he stopped over to answer the call of nature. Meanwhile, some of his companions noticed a redstart bird with two chicks. He took the chicks away. The bird came and began to circle around them flapping its wings.When the Prophet came and saw the scene, he turned to his companions and said, "Who distressed the bird by taking its chicks from it? Return the chicks to the bird!" On a different occasion, the Prophet noticed a burnt ants' nest. "Who burnt the nest?" he demanded.