MUHAMMAD'S MODESTY

In society, each person has a window (status) through which he or she looks out to see others and be seen. If the window is built higher than their real stature, people try to make themselves appear taller through vanity and assumed airs. If the window is set lower than their real stature, they must bow in humility in order to look out, see and be seen. Humility is the measure of one's greatness, just as vanity or conceit is the measure of low character.

The Messenger had a stature so high that it could be said to touch the "roof of Heavens". Therefore, he had no need to be seen. However, he lowered himself to stay in the world for a while so that people might find the way to God. Since he is the greatest in humanity, he is the greatest in modesty. This follows the well-knowing adage: "The greater one is, the more modest one is."

He never regarded himself as greater than anybody else. Only his radiant face and attractive person distinguished him from his companions. He lived and dressed like the poorest people and sat and ate with them, just as he did with slaves and servants. Once a woman saw him eating and remarked: "He eats like a slave." The Messenger replied: "Could there be a better slave than me? I am a slave of God."

When he and Abu Bakr reached Quba while emigrating to Madina, some Madinese who did not know how the prophet looked like tried to kiss Abu Bakr's hands. The only external sign distinguishing one man from the other was that Abu Bakr seemed older than the Messenger.

While the Muslims were building their mosque in Madina, the Prophet carried two sun-dried bricks; everyone else carried one. While digging the trench to defend Madina, the companions bound a stone around their stomachs to quell their hunger; the Messenger bound two. Another time, an insane woman pulled him by the hand and said: "Come with me and do my housework." He complied with her request. 'Aisha reported that the Messenger patched his own clothes, repaired his shoes, and helped his wives with the housework.

Although his modesty elevated him to the highest rank, he regarded himself as an ordinary servant of God: "No one enters Paradise because of his or her deeds." When asked if this was true for him as well, he replied that he could enter Paradise only through the mercy of God.

Humility is the most important aspect of the Messenger's servanthood. Ali describes the Messenger as:

He was the most generous person in giving, and the mildest and the foremost in patience and perseverance. He was the most truthful in speech, the most amiable and congenial in companionship, and the noblest of them in family. Whoever sees him first is stricken by awe, but whoever knows him closely is deeply attracted to him. Whoever attempts to describe him says: "I have never seen the like of him."