Respect

Now we know that Muhammad the Messenger loved children,

how he let them play around him as he prayed,

and never scolded them.

Well, he also treated other people in the same gentle way.

He loved the gentle nature of women,

mothers caring for their children,

and said that being in the company of women

was one of his three favourite things.

But in Makkah when he lived there,

the people had a much rougher way of dealing with other people.

Strength was seen as much more important in a man.

That way you could get what you wanted

by telling other people what to do,

and if they wouldn't do it you could bully them

and hurt them until they did.

And so people fought all the time,

and the strong bullied the weak,

and men bullied their wives,

and adults bullied children,

and people thought that was OK,

just the way that things had to be.

But Muhammad was different

and never bullied anyone.

The Messenger was never known to hit a child for any reason,

nor did he ever hit a woman at any time.

At a time when it was common for men to be bullies at home,

he told men they should be kind to their wives.

And at a time when fighting and the taking of revenge was common,

he told his followers to be tolerant and forgiving.

He used to say that God loves forgiveness and tolerance.

He was a model of gentleness and kindness.

He often used to say that God is Gentle

and loves gentleness in everything.

And those around him loved him

because of the gentleness of his nature,

which could even be seen in the way he treated

animals and birds.

He didn't get angry,

didn't call people spiteful names,

and when asked to curse some enemies

said that he was sent to forgive people,

not to curse them.

And he showed that living such a life

was a better way than getting angry all the time.

Everyone looked on the Messenger and saw

that he was the most laughing and smiling of men.

And this man who didn't want to fight but to forgive,

who didn't want to hit but to be gentle,

eventually became the ruler of all the tribes in Arabia.

Yet he still lived as a poor man

and gave away what little money he had left at the end of each day.

He patched his own clothes and sandals,

and when anyone greeted him, he replied

"At you service"