Before
anything, prophet Muhammed (pbuh) was the prophet of peace, reconciliation,
compassion and mercy. Umar, a disciple of God’s Messenger, said: ‘I was not
sent to call down curses on person, but as a mercy.’ (Muslim, Birr 87)
In the
following verse extracted from the Holy Quran explains this: ‘Now hath come
into you a Messenger from amongst yourselves: it grieves him that he should
perish: ardently anxious is he over you: to the Believers is he most kind and
merciful.’ With this affection, he has ordered us Muslims to like and
sympathize with children, to caress an orphan head, to feed those who are poor,
in need or lonely, and to respect the deprived and elderly. The prophet is
reported to have said: ‘The best amongst you is the one who is gentle and
delicate to the women.’
Similarly, as
one can identify and pinpoint sicknesses by conducting medical examinations and
tests, one should also check and test their faith and the degree of belief and
faith to God by looking and reflecting upon the treatment between each other,
children and women. Also, the prophet is the one who pointed out that the woman
who locked up her cat, letting it to stave from hunger and thirst is going to
enter hell, and a sinful woman on the other hand, providing water to a staved
dog is forgiven for committing such an act, and as a result, will enter heaven.
 The prophet
(pbuh) has said: ‘Those who don’t respect the elderly and show mercy to the
young are not one of us.’ (Tirmizi, Birr 15). Such thoughtfulness required and
expected of us can also be seen through the example of the Messenger of God
insisting Muslims to avoid cutting trees during battle. The reason behind this
is because trees are useful to many and harming it is undoubtedly seen as an
abomination.
At the battle
of Uhud, the idol-worshippers fought against the Muslims of Makkah. Muslims had
a total of 70 martyrs. The Messenger of God’s compassion and love outstretched
and ranged from non-living things to living things. This includes the mountain of
Uhud. The Messenger of God was heard saying: ‘Uhud – we love Uhud, and Uhud
loves us.’ The prophet (pbuh) taught us to live in correspondence with the
environment and nature. However, at present, we see the current situation and
the end-result of the so-called ‘modern world’. The thinning of the ozone layer
and the green house effect are two blatantly clear examples of this.
Prof. Dr. Mehmet ERKAL
Tercüme:
Hatice M.
Edibe SEZGİN
Fatima SEZGİN
Uluslararası
İlahiyat Fakültesi 1. Sınıf
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ARŞİV 
