The Prophet's modesty

Praise be to Allah and peace be upon His Messenger. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone who has no partner and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger.

Of the good manners to which the Shari`ah exhorted and urged is modesty. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allâh likes not any arrogant boaster." [Surat Luqman: 18].

Allah (Exalted be He) says: "And lower your wings for the believers (be courteous to the fellow-believers)." [Surat Al Hijr: 88].

Modesty is lowering the wing and showing leniency in dealing, and its doer is praised if a person does it for the sake of Allah (may He be Exalted).

Sheikh Al Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah bestow mercy on his soul) said: "If a person shows modesty so that Allah would raise his degrees, he is not modest because he does so with the intention of highness which contradicts modesty."[1].

Imam Muslim reported in his Sahih on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "And one who displays humbleness towards another seeking the pleasure of Allah, Allah exalts him in ranks." [2].

Sheikh `Abdur-Rahman As-Sa`dy said: The meaning of "and one who displays humbleness for the sake of Allah" is stressing that the intention should be dedicated for the sake of Allah because many people may show modesty to rich people to benefit from them, or show modesty to gain their goals, or may display modesty for show-off and hypocrisy. All these purposes are corrupt. Nothing benefits a person except modesty if it is done for the sake of Allah to draw nearer to Him and ask for His Reward, and for His Benevolence to people; so the perfect benevolence and its spirit is to dedicate modesty to Allah.[3] [4].

Our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the leader of modest people. Imam Muslim reported in his Sahih from the Hadith of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that a woman had a partial derangement in her mind, so she said: O Messenger of Allah, I want something from you. He said: O Mother of so and so, see on which side of the road you would like (to stand and talk)so that I may do the needful for you. He stood aside with her on the roadside until she got what she needed."[5].

It was reported in Sahih Al Bukhari from the Hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "Any of the female slaves of Medina could take hold of the hand of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and take him wherever she wished." [6].

Al Baghawy reported in Sharh As-Sunnah from the Hadith of `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "I eat as a slave eats, and I sit as a slave sits."[7].

Al Baghawy reported in Sharh As-Sunnah from the Hadith of `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him)said: O `A'ishah, if I will, the mountains of gold shall walk with me. An angel came verily to me whose waist [8] is as wide as the Ka`bah and said: Your Lord greets you and says: If you will, you shall be a Prophet but an ordinary man, and if you will, you shall become a Prophet and a king. I looked at Gabriel (Peace be upon him) who pointed at me to lower myself. So, I said: A Prophet but an ordinary person [9].

When `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked

Did the Prophet (peace be upon him) use to help in housework? She said: Yes. He used to mend his own shoes, sew his garment, and work at home as a person helps in housework[10].

He used to say: "O Allah, cause me to live among the poor and to die among them, and on the day of resurrection, gather me among the group of the poor." [11].

When a man came to him and said: O the best of creatures, he said: that was Abraham (Peace be upon him)[12].

Al Bukhari and Muslim reported in their books of authentic Hadiths on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "If I were to stay in prison for such a long time as Joseph did, I would have accepted the offer (of freedom without insisting on having my guiltlessness declared)."[13].

This shows his modesty because the Prophet (peace be upon him) was inflicted as a person has never been afflicted.

It was narrated in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from the Hadith of Abu Burdah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: `A'isha brought out to us a garment and a waistcloth and said:"The Prophet (peace be upon him) died while wearing these two."[14].

Modesty is one of the qualities of Allah's Prophets. Al Bukhari reported in his Sahih from the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Allah did not send any prophet but shepherded sheep." His Companions asked him:"Did you do the same?"He said: "Yes, I used to shepherd the sheep of the people of Makkah for some Qirats."[15].

The Prophet (peace be upon him) exhorted his nation to modesty and lowering the wing. Imam Muslim reported in his Sahih from the Hadith of `Iyad Al Mujasha`y (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Allah has revealed to me that you should humble yourselves to one another until a person should not hold himself above another One should neither hold himself above another nor transgress against another."[16]

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "We have found generosity in piety, richness in certainty, and honor in modesty."

`A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "You neglect the best acts of worship which is modesty."

Of the benefits of modesty:

1- It is an access to Paradise.

2- Allah raises the status of a modest in peoples' hearts, makes his mention good, and raises his rank in the Hereafter.

3- Good modesty should be by humbling oneself to the believers, but as for others, showing modesty to them is part of humiliation.

4- Modesty is a proof to good manners and kind treatment.

5- Modesty is one of the qualities of Prophets and Messengers[17].

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds [i.e., people]. And peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions.

---

[1] Al Fatawa Al Kubra (6/279).

[2] No. 2588.

[3] Bahjat Qulub Al Abrar Wa Qurrat `Uyun Al Akhbar (p. 92).

[4] Sincerity is the way of salvation of our brother Sheikh `Abdul-Hady Wahby, p. 66 - 67.

[5] No. 2326.

[6] No. 6072.

[7] (13/248) Al Albany graded it as good in As-Silsilah As-Sahihah No. 544.

[8] Al Hujzah: The position of the belt around the waistand it is given to Izar [waistcloth] because it is tied around the waist. An-Nihayah Fi Gharib Al Hadith of Ibn Al Athir (1/344).

[9] (13/348) No. 3683 and its verifiers said: It is an authentic Hadith.

[10] Sharh As-Sunnah of Al Baghawy (13/242) No. 3675 and its verifiers said: Its chain of narration is authentic.

[11] Sunan At-Tirmidhy 2352, and Al Albany graded it as good in Sahih Sunan At-Tirmidhy (2/275) No. 1917.

[12] Sahih Muslim No. 2369.

[13] No. 3372 and Sahih Muslim No. 151.

[14] No. 5818 and Sahih Muslim 2080.

[15] No. 2262.

[16] No. 2865.

[17] Nadrat An-Na`im fi Makarim Akhlaq Ar-Rasul Al Karim (peace be upon him) (4/1268).