Life-of-Muhammad

204
Life of Muhammad sa
RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Every aspect of the Holy Prophet's sa life appears to
have been governed and coloured by his love for and
devotion to God.
In spite of the very heavy responsibilities that had
been laid upon his shoulders the greater portion of his
time during the day as well as during the night was
spent in the worship and praise of God. He would leave
his bed at midnight and devote himself to the worship of
God till it was time to go to the mosque for the morning
prayers. He sometimes stood so long in prayer during
the latter part of the night that his feet would get
swollen, and those who saw him in that condition were
always much affected. On one occasion ‘A’isha ra said to
him: "God has honoured you with His love and
nearness. Why then do you subject yourself to so much
discomfort and inconvenience?" He replied: "If God has
by His Grace and Mercy conferred His love and nearness
upon me, is it not my duty in return to be always
rendering thanks to Him? Gratitude should increase in
proportion to the favours received" (Bukhari, Kitabul
Kusuf ).
He never entered upon any undertaking without
divine command or permission. It has already been
related in the biographical portion that, in spite of the
very severe persecution to which he was subjected by
the people of Mecca, he did not leave the town till he
received the divine command to do so. When
persecution became very severe and he gave permission
to his Companions to migrate to Abyssinia, some of
them expressed a desire that he should accompany
them. He declined to do so on the ground that he had
not received divine permission to that effect. Thus,
during a period of hardships and persecution when
people usually like to keep their friends and relations
close to themselves, he directed his Companions to seek
refuge in Abyssinia and himself stayed behind in Mecca,
for God had not yet directed him to leave it.