When it was time for the midday prayers the prophet performed the prayers...

When it was time for the midday prayers the prophet performed the prayers, and this standby continued when the prophet performed the prayers for other times, and until the following day, the Jew remained alongside the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family. The companions of the prophet were enraged by the conduct of the Jew, and they started to threaten him. Objecting to their behaviour, the prophet asked them, “What are you doing?” they replied, “O Messenger of Allah!

A Jew has detained you!” replied, “My Lord has not sent me to wrong one who is under the protection of the Islamic state, nor anyone else!” By midday of the following day, having seen the conduct of the prophet of Islam, the Jew said, “I testify there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger . . . and I give half of my money in the cause of Allah . .

.”4 Taking lead from the Qur’anic verse {and if the ignorant address them they reply (in) peace}5, when a Christian man came to Imam Baqir and said to him mockingly, “Are you Baqar (meaning cow)?” The Imam peace be upon him replied, “I am Baqir (literally meaning the splitter of knowledge, i.e.

being the most knowledgeable of his time, as he then known).” He said, “are you not the son of a cook?” The Imam replied, “That is her skill.” The Christian man then went on to say to the Imam, “are you not the son of the obscene Negro?” The Imam calmly replied, “If you are saying the truth, then may Allah forgive her, and if you are saying lies, then may Allah forgive you.” The calm, courteous and non-violent replies of the Imam lead the Christian man to the truth that the Imam had, and embraced Islam whole-heartedly.

It was in such ways that prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his pure family, used to deal with others; through leniency and compassion, tolerance, forgiveness, and magnanimity, such that he managed to attract the hearts and minds of the people. In this respect Allah Almighty states, 4 Sheikh al-Sadouq, “al-Amali”, p 465. 5 The Holy Qur'an, The Criterion (25): 63. Encounters {It is part of the Mercy of Allah that thou dost deal gently with them.

Were thou severe or harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about thee . . .}6 In this way, Islam has today attracted some two billion followers, and this is despite all the atrocities that have been committed by so-called Muslims in the name of Islam over many centuries.