Allah says:
«فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ وَ لَوْ کُنتَ فَظّاً غَلِیظَ الْقَلْبِ لاَنفَضُّواْ مِنْ حَوْلِکَ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَ اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَ شَاوِرْهُمْ فِی الأَمْرِ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَکَّلْ عَلَی اللّهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ یُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَکِّلِینَ»؛[1]
It is by Allah’s mercy that you are gentle to them; had you been harsh and hardhearted, they would have surely scattered from around you. So excuse them and plead for forgiveness for them, and consult them in the affairs, and once you are resolved, put your trust in Allah. Indeed Allah loves those who trust in Him.
The Merciful God has introduced the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in various places in the Holy Quran and in different ways. One of them is the introduction of the Prophet in this verse.
Although these attributes are not directly stated in this verse, these characteristics can be inferred:
1. Mercy and Kindness
The Merciful God praises His Prophet in the Holy Quran as follows: “And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.”[2] The verse in question considers the mercy and kindness that God has given to the Prophet as the reason for such attributes as gentleness and tenderness of heart.[3]
2. Gentleness and Tenderness of Heart
The Holy Quran considers the Prophet's gentleness to be the result of the Prophet's mercy, kindness, and great morals, and says: "And indeed, you have for me a great character." [4] The Prophet's gentleness was a prelude to attracting as many people as possible to religion and Islam; therefore, it can be said that the Prophet's second characteristic is gentleness.
Three. Forgiveness
The merciful God recommends the Prophet to be forgiving and forgiving, because many people unintentionally and unknowingly fall into disobedience and sin. [5] And since the Prophet is obedient to God's command, he undoubtedly developed this characteristic in himself.
Four. Seeking forgiveness from sinners
The Prophet's mercy and kindness was to the extent that, in addition to forgiving the sins of others, he would seek forgiveness from the merciful God for them, because God's command is for him, and the Prophet also acts based on divine revelation. [6]
Five. Consulting and sharing ideas with others
The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) did not need to consult with others due to his infallibility and the knowledge that God had given him; however, this consultation sometimes took place out of respect and sometimes to raise the level of awareness of the people.
Six. Firmness in making decisions with trust
Although the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) consulted with the people; however, the merciful God has entrusted the final decision to His Prophet; because at the end of the verse, He said to the Prophet: “When you have made a firm decision, do it with trust in God.” Therefore, trust in making decisions was also one of the characteristics of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).
These characteristics are a drop of the infinite characteristics of the Prophet of Mercy (peace be upon him and his family), and it is worthy for every Muslim to follow the Prophet in these characteristics.
Footnote:
[1]. Al-Imran: 159.
[2]. Prophets: 107.
[3]. Sadeghi Tehrani, Muhammad, Al-Furqan fi Tafsir Al-Quran, Farhang Islaami, vol. 6, p. 58 and Samarqandi, Nasr ibn Muhammad, Bahr al-Uloom, Dar al-Fikr, vol. 1, p. 260.
[4]. Qalam: 4.
[5]. Al-A'raf: 199.
[6]. Najm: 3 and 4.
