Surah Ali 'Imran, Ayah 163

Among the Qualities of Our Prophet Muhammad are Mercy and Kindness

Allah addresses His Messenger and reminds him and the believers of the favor that He has made his heart and words soft for his Ummah, those who follow his command and refrain from what he prohibits.

فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ

(And by the mercy of Allah, you dealt with them gently) 3:159. meaning, who would have made you this kind, if it was not Allah's mercy for you and them. Qatadah said that,

فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ

(And by the mercy of Allah, you dealt with them gently) means, "With Allah's mercy you became this kind." Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that this, indeed, is the description of the behavior that Allah sent Muhammad with. This Ayah is similar to Allah's statement,

Commentary:

The verse مَا كَانَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَن يَغُلَّ translated as, 'And it is not (conceivable) for a prophet to misappropriate the spoils - 161', has a particular back-ground of its revelation. As a corollary, the problem of 'Ghulul', that is, misappropriation in the spoils, comes into focus.

Misappropriation in the spoils: A sin which cannot be ascribed to any prophet by any stretch of imagination:

The background, as narrated by al-Tirmidhi, is that a sheet was found missing from the spoils collected in the battle of Badr. Some people said that the sheet may have been, perhaps, taken by the Holy Prophet ﷺ . If those who said that were hypocrites, the source speaks for itself. May be, this came from a less-initiated

The Prophet forgave the forty Muslims who had disobeyed his orders on the occasion of the battle of Uhud. However, people doubted that the Prophet had really forgiven them. They thought that he had done so only outwardly, for show, and that later he would show his anger. These verses tell us that the Prophet’s inner feelings did not differ from his outward behaviour. His actions never belied his words. This also indicates what a Muslim leader should be like. His heart should be free of malice, jealousy, hatred, etc., even at a time when such a grave mistake is being made by his people as was made by the Prophet’s companions on the occasion of the battle of Uhud. He should not even keep any malice hidden in his heart. He should live with his people, after his act of forgiveness, as if nothing had ever been amiss. Moreover, when Muslims trustingly handed over all their affairs to him, he should not exploit their lives and their wealth to serve his own personal ends. This would be crossing the limits, showing no fear of God’s wrath. How could one, dedicated to leading people along the path of God’s will, ever think of meeting God, if he himself had gone against His will?