A teacher is someone who helps, his/her students gain knowledge. An impact of a good teacher will leave an everlasting impression on anybody’s life. Almost every student regards their teacher as a role model in some point of their life. A good teacher should possess a great amount of knowledge and qualities such as kindness, flexibility, leadership, personality, a calm demeanor, dedication, a good sense of humor etc. and most of all patience. And Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was someone who possessed all those qualities and much more. People approached him with ease. Every individual who lived in that period, regardless of their age or gender were able to gain knowledge and wisdom through the teachings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ by approaching and clearing their doubts directly from him. We are blessed by Allah to have our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the world’s best teacher to follow throughout our life. Let us now focus on some of the attributes of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Kindness
Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was always kind to others even before he was made the last Prophet of the mankind by Allah Subhanahu wa ta’aala. Following are some proof for his gentleness towards his followers.
Mu’awiyah ibn Al-Hakam (May Allah be pleased with him) said: “By Allah I have never seen a better teacher or better teaching before or since; he (the Prophet ﷺ) did not rebuke me, hit me or revile me.” (Sahih Muslim : 537)
And in another narration he (May Allah Be Pleased with him) said: “And I have never seen any teacher gentler than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” (Abu Dawud : 931)
And from the following verse Allah himself mentions about the kindness of Prophet. “So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him].” (Surah Al-Imran, 3:159)
Leadership
If you ask any human resources expert they will tell you that being able to lead even a small group of people is not an easy task. And if we were to study the life of Rasoolullah ﷺ from the moment he began the mission, the task that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent him into this world with, he was faced by a very great challenge. Many people envy for leadership but most make bad leaders. They think that leadership means being bossy & demanding, but Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ leadership was an exception. So what made him such a great Leader? The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ always remained a humble servant, he stood with people, not above them, teaching helping and guiding them. He also sought the counsel of his followers listening to their advice and applying it. He dedicated his life to his people and their holistic betterment and lead by example and you will be able to see this in the following hadith.
Abu Huraira Radhiallahu’ Anhu reported: The Prophet Muhammad said, “Verily, the leader is only a shield behind whom they fight and he protects them. If he commands the fear of Allah the Exalted and justice, then he will have a reward. If he commands something else, then it will be against him.” (Sahih Muslim :1841)
And from the following verse Allah himself mentions about the leadership of Prophet 'The Prophet has more authority over the believers than that which they have over their selves'. (Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:6)
Dedication
The messenger of Allah once said that 'My ummah will never be struck with a greater calamity than me passing away from this world.” Our beloved messenger of Allah dedicated his whole life to the Muslim ummah.
Abu Huraira Radhiallahu’ Anhu reported: The Prophet said, “There is for every apostle a prayer which is granted, but every prophet showed haste in his prayer. I have, however, reserved my prayer for the intercession of my Ummah on the Day of Resurrection, and it would be granted, if Allah so willed, in case of everyone amongst my Ummah provided he dies without associating anything with Allah.” (Sahih Muslim : 1/389)
This Hadith clearly shows us the dedication of the Messenger of Allah. Even when he was in his deathbed he didn’t ask dua for himself but rather kept repeating 'ya umatti ya ummati' asking dua for his ummah.
Patience
When in the beginning when Prophet started to preach Islam, he faced many difficulties and continued to face them long after, but he remained patience with the help of Allah.
And from the following verse Allah mentions about the patience of Prophet. Allah said to Prophet “We know that your breast is constricted by what they say.” (Surah Al-Hij, 15:97) “So be patient in the face of what they say and glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the sun and before it sets.” (Surah Qaf, 50:39)
Despite of the oppression and maltreatment he was receiving, the Prophet always practiced patience.
Knowledge
Umar Rali-Allahu tha’ala Anhu narrates: Rasool talked about everything from the beginning of creation till the Day of Judgment and even after the Day of Judgment. He talked about everything. This is the knowledge of Rasool, this is the ‘Ilm’ of rasool.
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger as saying: (When) the time would draw close to the Last Hour, knowledge would be snatched away, turmoil would be rampant, miserliness would be put (in the hearts of the people) and there would be much bloodshed. They said: What is al-harj? There upon he said: It is bloodshed. (Sahih Muslim : 157d)
Conclusion
There are countless numbers of examples for the numerous attributes prophet Muhammad possessed as a teacher. His teaching was such that the whole Arab peninsula changed due to his teaching in just over the 23 years of his prophet hood.
Jabir Ibn Abdullah reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, Allah did not send me to be harsh or obstinate, rather he sent me to teach and to put at ease.” (Sahih Muslim:1478)
No one can be a better teacher than Prophet Muhammad.
Bibliography
Daily Hadith Online. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://abuaminaelias.com/dailyhadithonline/tag/leadership-imamah/
Daily Hadith Online. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://abuaminaelias.com/dailyhadithonline/2019/07/14/believers-if-patient-dua/
Hameed, H. (n.d.). Retrieved from 22 Hadith on the virtues of acquiring knowledge: https://medium.com/@hasan.hameed/virtues-of-acquiring-knowledge-in-the-light-of-hadeeth-f319b106f1e3
Musnad Aḥmad : 12596. (n.d.).
Sahih Muslim : 1/389. (n.d.).
Sahih Muslim : 537. (n.d.).
Sahih Muslim :1841. (n.d.).
Sahih Muslim:1478. (n.d.).
Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:6. (n.d.).
Surah Al-Hij, 15:97. (n.d.).
Surah Al-Imran, 3:159. (n.d.).
Surah Qaf, 50:39. (n.d.).