Compassion to Enemies

Imam Dr. Omar Suleiman is a scholar, speaker, activist and writer based in the United States and is the founder and president of the think-tank, Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research.
The goals of peace and compassion are paramount in the Islamic sacred text of the Quran (Qurʾān), which states that God (Allāh) guides to “the ways of peace” (Chapter 5, verse 16) and affirms that Prophet Muhammadﷺ was sent only as a “mercy to the worlds” (Chapter 21, verse 107). True to his role, the Prophetﷺ was always eager to encourage compassion over conflict and stipulated the need for mercy over revenge.
Clemency to the captives
When Prophet Muhammadﷺ began to spread the message of Islam from the year 610, the early Muslims faced brutal opposition from the Quraysh, the pagan ruling elite in Mecca (Makkah). After suffering thirteen long years of persecution, a divine revelation finally came to the Prophetﷺ, directing the fledgling community to defend themselves.
Ever authentic to his noble character, Prophet Muhammadﷺ chose to act with clemency even when he had been wronged.
The first and most significant of the battles between the Muslims and their enemies was the Battle of Badr, named after the valley where it took place. Even though the Prophet’sﷺ army was far fewer in number, they gained a decisive victory over the pagan Quraysh, taking many captives.
Despite the history of torture and abuse that the minority Muslim community had suffered, the Prophetﷺ did not seek retribution, but preferred to show his enemy captives leniency. He told the Muslims to treat the captives well, and to feed them the same food that they ate themselves.
The Prophet’sﷺ eagerness to show compassion also translated into his readiness to free the captives. He told them that even if they did not have the financial means to ransom themselves, they could teach ten illiterate people to read, which he would accept as alternative ransom. Ever authentic to his noble character, Prophet Muhammadﷺ chose to act with clemency, even when he had been wronged.
Despite enduring years of persecution from the city’s pagan elite, the Prophetﷺ led his victorious army in a peaceful conquest of Mecca.
The merciful conquest of Mecca
Even in this role reversal of power and authority, the Prophetﷺ showed an astonishing willingness to forgive his enemies.
After having endured ridicule, persecution and exile at the hands of the Meccan ruling tribe, the Muslims built a new community and home in the city of Medina (Madīnah). Years later, the Prophetﷺ returned to Mecca with an army of 10,000 soldiers, one of the largest armies Arabia had ever seen.
Even in this role reversal of power and authority, the Prophetﷺ showed an astonishing willingness to forgive his enemies. Despite returning to a city where he had been humiliated, where his family and friends killed, and where he and his followers had been driven out of their homes, he had no desire to see a cycle of revenge and bloodshed prevail. The Prophetﷺ used the power of mercy to reinforce and reframe authority, showing great strength through his great compassion.
Prophet Muhammadﷺ went even further to secure stability and harmony, by honoring his former enemies as allies in an extraordinarily wise move that brought them into the fold of the very community they had previously been attacking. Instead of mentioning their previous acts, the Prophetﷺ assured them there was no blame on them on this day of mercy.
The Prophetﷺ set a crucial example to the Muslims: that there is far greater value in forgiveness than in revenge. And that the remedy for injustice and the cycle of abuse is moving the community forward, as one whole, together.
Justice for others
Prophet Muhammadﷺ was so committed to seeking justice for others that he did not allow his own grievances to stand in the way.
While the Prophetﷺ always leaned towards mercy, he never dismissed the rightful claims of those who had been wronged.
A man from outside of Mecca once came to him complaining that his money had been taken away by the tyrannical pagan leader, Abu Jahl (Abū Jahl), not knowing that Abu Jahl was the Prophet’sﷺ bitterest enemy.
Prophet Muhammadﷺ was so committed to seeking justice for others that he did not allow his own grievances to stand in the way. The Prophetﷺ had suffered constant abuse from Abu Jahl, and had lost family and followers to him, and yet instead of denying the man who had sought his help, the Prophetﷺ went to the house of Abu Jahl, knocked on his door, and told him to pay the foreigner his due.
In doing so, the Prophetﷺ encouraged his own enemy to show compassion and justice to a man he barely knew, even though that same compassion and justice had not been shown to him. Such was the clemency of the Prophetﷺ, that even while he was being oppressed, he encouraged a just act from his own enemy.
The day at Taif when the Prophetﷺ was relentlessly abused and pelted with rocks was described as the most difficult day of his life.
The trial at Taif
The Prophetﷺ was able to maintain the spirit of forgiveness and forbearance even in the most testing of circumstances, never losing sight of his divine mission.
Aisha (ʿĀʾishah), the Prophet’sﷺ wife, once asked him what had been the worst day of his life out of the multitude of tribulations he faced over the years before he migrated to Medina to build a new home.
The Prophetﷺ replied that it was the day at Taif (Ṭāʾif), a town he had fervently hoped to find better receptivity to the message of Islam. He had decided to make his way to this town after having suffered persecution from the Meccan elite, and after having grieved over the loss of his beloved first wife and his uncle, two of his greatest supporters.
In the aftermath of after these tragedies and trials, the Prophetﷺ hiked for days through the mountains to reach Taif. The townspeople and their children lined up on either side of a path that stretched for three miles, hurling rocks, abusing and humiliating the Prophetﷺ with every step he took.
Blood streamed down his face and body, reaching his sandals, and yet even in the midst of enduring this terrible treatment, the Prophetﷺ maintained perspective. He did not seek retribution, instead he chose compassion and hope, praying that the children of Taif would be different in the future. And so, the Prophetﷺ was able to maintain the spirit of forgiveness and forbearance even in the most testing of circumstances, never losing sight of his divine mission.
The sword in the tree
The Prophetﷺ let him go, teaching him that real power lay in showing mercy.
The Prophetﷺ would never allow himself to be overtaken by anger or vengeance, because his mission was solely to channel the will and mercy of God. Even in the heat of a moment, in the space between a transgression and a retaliation, his ability to show mercy was instantaneous.
One such moment occurred when Prophet Muhammadﷺ was taking a nap under a tree in Medina, and his sword was hanging in its branches when a hostile man grabbed the sword and stood menacingly above the Prophetﷺ. The man said, “Who is going to stop me from killing you now?” And the Prophetﷺ looked up at him and said that God alone would stop him. He said this with such confidence that the man dropped the sword and the Prophetﷺ overturned him, picked up the sword and said, “Who’s going to stop me from killing you now?” The man begged for his life, and the Prophetﷺ let him go, teaching him that real power lay in showing mercy.
The man, the pillar and the turn of heart
The Prophetﷺ, in his foresight, had been giving his enemy a chance to observe the Muslim community, the very people he had been persecuting.
The Prophetﷺ always used wisdom and foresight when it came to dealing with enemies, and this played out in the story of a hostile tribal leader who once came to Medina, full of hatred and seeking to inflict harm on the Prophetﷺ. The man was captured and tied to one of the pillars in the mosque, and the Prophetﷺ asked him what he had to say for himself. The tribal leader replied that he was powerful and wealthy and that if he was hurt, then blood would spill, but if the Prophetﷺ were to show kindness then he would be a grateful man.
The Prophetﷺ decided to leave him where he was, and came the next day, asking him the same question, and getting the same answer. By the third day, after receiving the same answer again, the Prophetﷺ let him go. This confused the Companions. They questioned why Prophet Muhammadﷺ would let such a powerful and dangerous man go when he could easily come back and harm them.
But instead of returning with more malice and manpower, the leader returned ready to embrace Islam. The Prophetﷺ, in his foresight, had been giving his enemy a chance to observe the Muslim community, the very people he had been persecuting. The Prophetﷺ wanted to give him time to transform hate into familiarity and understanding.
In constantly seeking to cultivate a peaceable environment, the Prophetﷺ enabled a space where the best ideals and the best of character could be nurtured. Even when confronted with the worst of people, Prophet Muhammadﷺ showed insight, deep understanding and ultimately mercy, which was his greatest gift to the world.