Means of Reconciliation with People Who Have Caused Us Harm (3/4)

• The trunk of a palm tree moaned when the Prophet (Peace be upon him) left it

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) used to pray with a tree stump in front of him, and the mosque was thatched with palm leaves. He used to deliver his speeches on the side of that tree trunk, until one of his Companions suggested that they make something for him on which to stand on Fridays so that he could see the people or so that the people could see him, and for the people to hear his speech. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) agreed, so they made three steps and the Prophet (Peace be upon him) rose as he used to rise. When he did so, the tree stump leaned towards him. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) then said, “Be calm, if you wish I will plant you in Paradise and the righteous people will eat from you, or if you wish I can return you as green as you were," The tree slump preferred the Hereafter to this world. When the Prophet (Peace be upon him) died, it was given to Ubayy who kept it until it was eaten by woodworms.'[1]

• A tree greeted the Prophet (peace be upon him]

Ya’la ibn Murrah Ath-Thaqafi said, "As we were traveling with the Prophet (Peace be upon him), we stopped to rest and the Prophet (Peace be upon him)  slept. A tree then came, splitting the soil until it sheltered him then returned to its place. When he woke up I told him what happened, and he said, ‘That was a tree that sought leave from its Lord, the Exalted, to greet me so He granted it leave to do so.'" [2]

• Rocks and trees prostrated themselves to the Prophet (Peace be upon him)  

Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him) was reported to have said, "Abu Talib traveled to Syria accompanied by the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and some elders from the Quraysh, when they approached the monk, they dismounted and unpacked their belongings. The monk came to meet them, although he would never come out to meet them in their previous travels, and he held the Prophet (Peace be upon him) by his hand and said. This is the master of the worlds, this is the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds, this will be sent by Allah a mercy to the worlds.' Some of the elders of the Quraysh asked him, 'How do you know that?' He replied, 'As you approached from Al-Aqabah, there was not a single tree or rock that did not collapse in prostration, and those never prostrate except before a prophet.'" [3]

Before the time of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), greetings and respect were commonly demonstrated by prostration.

• A tree testified to his prophethood

It was reported that 'Abdullah ibn "Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said, "We were traveling with the Prophet (Peace be upon him) when a Bedouin approached us. When he came near, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) asked him, ‘Where are you going?’ The man replied, 'To my family.' So he asked, 'Do you not wish for something good?' The man said, 'And what may that be?' He said, 'That you testify that there is no god hut only Allah with no partner, and that Muhammad is his slave and messenger.' So the man asked, 'Do you have someone to vouch for that?’ The Prophet (Peace be upon him) replied, 'This tree' and he summoned the tree that was on the edge of the valley. The tree came hurriedly, splitting the soil as it moved. When it came in front of him, he asked it to testify three times. When the tree had testified that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had spoken the truth, it then returned to its original spot and the Bedouin returned to his folks saying. If they follow me I will bring them to you. Otherwise, I will return to you and join you.'"[4]

• Pebbles praised Allah in the hands of the Prophet (Peace be upon him)  

Pebbles were heard praising Almighty Allah in the hands of the Prophet {peace be upon him) and in the hands of Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them all) when he passed these pebbles to them, Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) was reported to have said, "I was sitting in a circle with the Prophet (Peace be upon him) , and he had some pebbles in his hand. The pebbles praised Allah in his hand, and among us were Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and ‘Uthman. Everyone in the circle could hear the pebbles praising Allah. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) then passed them to Abu Bakr, and when they praised Allah in his hand it was heard by everyone in the circle. Then he passed them to ‘Umar and everyone heard them praising Allah in his hand. Then he passed them to 'Uthman, and everyone in the circle heard them praise Allah in his hand as well. Then he passed them to us but they did not praise Allah in any of our hands."' [5]

• Food praised Allah in the hands of the Prophet (Peace be upon him)

‘Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) was reported to have said, "We used to consider omens to be a blessing, and you consider them to be a source of fear. We were traveling with the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and we ran short of water. He said, 'Find me any remaining water.' So they brought a vessel with a little water in it. He immersed his hand to the water and said, 'Hail the blessed purifier, and the blessing is from Allah.' I then saw water springing from between the fingers of the Prophet (Peace be upon him). We also used to hear the food praise Allah while being eaten." [6]

• Animals would behave politely and not disturb the Prophet (Peace be upon him)  

‘A'ishah was reported to have said, "The family of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had a beast that used to play and act violently, pacing hack and forth only while the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was away. Whenever it felt the Prophet (Peace be upon him) approaching, it would sit still and silent as long as he was at home, lest he be disturbed."[7]

(Continued)