According to a tradition recorded in the Sahih of Imam Muslim, when the Prophet’s opponents greatly increased their persecution, his Companions asked him to curse them. At this the Prophet replied, “I have not been sent to lay a curse upon men but to be a blessing to them.
”His opponents continued to treat him and his Companions unjustly and cruelly, but he always prayed for them. Once he was so badly stoned by his enemies that the blood began to spurt from all over his body. This happened when he went to Ta’if,
where the Hijaz aristocracy used to while away their summer days. When he attempted to call them to Islam, instead of listening to his words of wisdom, they set the street urchins upon him, who kept chasing him till nightfall. Even at that point, when he was utterly exhausted and bleeding from head to foot,
all he said was, “O my Lord, guide my people along the true path, as they are ignorant of the truth.” His heart was filled with intense love for all human kind irrespective of caste, creed, or colour. Once he advised his Companions to regard all people as their brothers and sisters. He added, “You are all Adam’s offspring and Adam was born of clay.”
