The Mercy and Compassion of the Prophet of Allah
The Prophet of Mercy states in a hadith:
"Allah, glory unto Him, the Rahman, has mercy for those who are merciful. Show mercy and compassion for those on Ear th so that you will be shown mercy and compassion by those in the Heavens." (Tirmidhi, Birr, 16/1924)
The profound mercy the Messenger of Allah was imbued with becomes conspicuous, among other selfless deeds, in his giving permission to a mother to shorten her salat given she has her toddler incessantly crying by her side, and no less in his many nights of praying, with teary eyes, for the wellbeing of his ummah and his sacrifice of his entire time for the salvation of mankind from Hellfire.
Since he was sent as a mercy for the entire realm of being, the compassion of the Blessed Prophet had encompassed every single creature. Asked, on one occasion, to curse the disbelievers, he instead replied:
"I have not been sent to Earth to curse.. .for I am a Prophet of Mercy." (Muslim, Fadail, 126; Tirmidhi, Daawat, 118) 
When he went to the town of Taif to convey the call of Islam, he was stoned by its ignorant and selfish commu nity. The Angel of the Mountains, accompanied by Jibril, then came to the Blessed Prophet avowing to:
"No", he said. "I only wish that the Almighty will send forth from their progeny a generation who will worship none other than Allah and will ascribe none as partners to Him." (Bukhari, Bad'ul-Khalq, 7; Muslim, Jihad, 111)
For the dwellers of Taif, the Thaqif, who had expelled him from their town amid unspeakable insults and who had held out until the ninth year of Hegira at the expense of many Muslim casualties, the Noble Prophet prayed persistently:
"O Allah... Grant guidance to the tribe of Thaqif... Send them to us of their own accord" until in the end, they arrived at Medina to enter the folds of Islam, by their own will." (Ibn Hisham, IV, 134; Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 73/3942)
Abu Usayd once came to the Prophet with some prisoners of war he had taken captive at Bahrain. The Blessed Prophet saw a female captive crying and so he asked for the reason why she was.
"That man sold my son" she complained.
"Did you?" the Prophet of Grace fl inquired, turning his gaze to Abu Usayd.
"Yes" responded Abu Usayd.
"To whom...?''
"... To the Abs Clan:'
The Messenger of Allah thereupon commanded the Companion to:
"Mount your horse, go and return with the lady's son!" 1
As exemplified by the following account, the Prophet's benevolence was of a universal character. He once stated, with the Companions by his side:
"By Allah, under whose Power I abide, you will not enter Paradise until you are compassionate."
"But, Messenger of Allah, we are all compassionate", the Companions commented.
"Compassion is not simply that you nurture for one anoth er. Rather it is something that extends to entire creation; yes... to creation in its entirety" (Hakim, IV, 185/7310)
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1. Ali al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanzu'l-Ummal, Beirut 1985, IV, 176/10044.