先知ﷺ的“品格就是《古兰经》”，这是他的妻子阿伊莎所描述的。他ﷺ践行自己所宣讲的一切，而《古兰经》的讯息以慈悲为首要，因此这一品质在他的言行中比任何其他方面都更加突出。先知ﷺ的慈悲号召因此不仅仅是空洞的言辞，而是他视为神圣、并且感到自己必须比任何其他穆斯林都更好地体现出来的教导。

The Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم “character was the Qur’an,”74 as described by his wife, ‘Āishah . He صلى الله عليه وسلم practiced everything that he preached, and since the Qur’anic message preached mercy above all, this quality was more pronounced in his practice than anything else. The Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم call to mercy was therefore not mere words, but rather teachings that he held to be sacred and felt he must embody better than any other adherent of Islam.

他在多种场合明确地向人们宣布："慈悲的人必蒙至慈者的怜悯。你们怜悯地上的众生，那在天上的（主）就会怜悯你们。"75

In the clearest terms and on various occasions, he would announce to the people, “The merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth, and the One on the heavens will have mercy upon you.”75

即使在礼拜这一伊斯兰教的支柱、最重要的身体功课中,先知ﷺ仍然时刻关注人们的苦难。艾布·卡塔达传述,先知ﷺ曾说:“我有时站着礼拜,却听到孩子的哭声,于是我把礼拜缩短,因为我不愿让他的母亲受苦。”76 在另一段圣训中,他告诫说:“你们中谁带领众人礼拜,就应当简短,因为其中有体弱者、病人和老人。而你们中谁独自礼拜,则可以按自己的意愿延长。”77

Even while observing the ritual prayer, a pillar of Islam and its most important physical act, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم remained cognizant of people’s suffering. Abū Qatādah  narrates that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم once said, “I sometimes stand in prayer then hear a child crying, so I make my prayer brief due to not wanting to cause hardship for his mother.”76 In another hadith, he cautioned, “When one of you leads the people in prayer, he should be light, for among them are the weak, and the ill, and the elderly. And when one of you is praying alone, then let him elongate it as he pleases.”77

关于先知ﷺ对孩童的仁慈，以及他劝导人们对孩子怀有慈悲，可靠的圣训记载多得可以写满数十页。其中有一段颇为典型的记述：当先知ﷺ亲吻自己的外孙时，其情感流露之深切，使阿格拉·本·哈比斯感到困惑。

The authentic narrations on the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم exemplary mercy with children, and his counseling of mercy towards them, would fill dozens of pages. In one telling exchange, al-Aqra‘ ibn Ḥābis  became perplexed at Muhammad’s صلى الله عليه وسلم elaborate display of affection, upon seeing the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم kiss his grandchild.

这位同伴生长于粗犷的贝都因环境中,他觉得这种行为有悖男子气概,于是自豪地说:"你们亲吻自己的孩子?我有十个儿子,从未亲吻过他们中的任何一个。"先知ﷺ回答道:"如果安拉已经从你心中夺走了慈悲,那我又能为你做什么呢?"78 父母天然地爱自己的孩子,但许多人忽视了孩子在情感上需要这份爱的表达;而慈悲的先知ﷺ从不如此。事实上,他对待的不仅是自己的孩子。阿奈斯·本·马立克(愿安拉喜悦之)转述说,先知ﷺ曾进门,看到艾布·塔勒哈的一个儿子神情忧伤,并很快注意到他的宠物小鸟(nughayr,麻雀)不见了,于是用轻松的语气安慰他说:"艾布·欧麦尔啊,那只小鸟怎么了?"79 先知ﷺ之所以询问这只小鸟,是因为它对这个小孩意义重大;他称这个尚未为人父的孩子为"欧麦尔之父",是为了与"nughayr"押韵,并以对其未来成年的美好期许来俏皮地提振他的情绪。

This Companion’s rugged Bedouin upbringing made him feel that this was contrary to masculinity, and so he said in pride, “You kiss your boys? I have ten sons and have never kissed any one of them.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم responded, “And what do I possess [to help you] if Allah has plucked mercy from your heart?”78 While parents naturally love their children, many overlook the child’s emotional need for expressions of that love, but the Prophet of Mercy صلى الله عليه وسلم never did. In fact, it was not just his own children that he treated this way. Anas ibn Mālik  narrates that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم once entered to find a son of Abū Ṭalḥah  in a sad state, and quickly noticed that his pet nughayr (sparrow) was no longer around, so he lightheartedly said to him in consolation, “O Abū ‘Umayr, what happened to the nughayr?”79 He inquired about the creature because it meant so much to the young child, and called him the father of ‘Umayr despite him not yet being a parent, to rhyme with the word nughayr and playfully uplift his spirits with the thoughts of his future manhood.

先知穆罕默德ﷺ的内心甚至能体会动物的痛苦。他ﷺ曾向门弟子讲述过去的人因为为一只干渴的狗下井取水而蒙真主赦宥的故事,又在另一次说道:“每一个有生命的生灵身上都有行善的机会。”他ﷺ教导说,磨快刀刃是善待献祭牲畜应尽的一部分,并禁止为了取乐或为了食用以外的目的杀害无害的动物。他ﷺ也曾责备弟子们在田间过度役使骆驼,责备他们在抵达目的地后不及时卸下坐骑所载的重物,还曾警告他们,有一名女子因为关押一只猫而不给它食物,因此注定要下火狱。在一段优美的圣训中,阿布杜拉·本·麦斯欧德叙述说,他们曾与安拉的使者ﷺ同行旅途,使者ﷺ离开去方便。同伴们便看见一窝雏鸟,将它们捉了起来。母鸟随即赶来,惊慌地疯狂扑打翅膀。安拉的使者ﷺ看到这一幕,便说:“谁让这只鸟为它的雏鸡而悲伤?把它的小鸟还给它!”84

The Prophet Muhammad’s صلى الله عليه وسلم heart even empathized with the pain of animals. He صلى الله عليه وسلم would tell his followers about sinners of the past who were forgiven by God for climbing down into a well to retrieve water for a parched dog,80 and stated on another occasion, “In every living creature is an opportunity for charity.”81 He صلى الله عليه وسلم taught that sharpening one’s blade is a necessary part of the kindness due to a sacrificial animal,82 and forbade that a harmless animal be killed for sport or for other than consumption. He صلى الله عليه وسلم would reprimand his followers for overworking their camels in the fields, and for not relieving their riding mounts of the loads they carried promptly after reaching their destination, and once warned them of a woman who was bound for the Hellfire due to trapping a cat without food.83 In one beautiful hadith, ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd  narrates that as they once traveled on a journey with the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, he stepped away to relieve himself. The Companions then saw a nest of young birds and captured them. The mother then came, frantically flapping its wings in panic. When the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم saw this, he said, “Who caused this bird to grieve over its young chicks? Return its young ones to it!”84

这样仁慈的品性，即便对动物也如此，并不令人意外，尤其是真主（至高者）在《古兰经》中确认：“我派遣你（穆罕默德），只是作为全世界的慈悯。”85

Such a kindhearted disposition even towards animals is not unexpected, especially when Allah (the Most High) affirmed in the Qur’an, “And We have not sent you [O Muhammad] except as a mercy to all the worlds.”85

最后,他深广的仁慈,首先体现在他对人们得救的关切上。《古兰经》常常提到他因民众拒绝正道而深感痛心,例如经文说:“如果他们不信这部经典,你(穆罕默德)或许会因为对他们的忧伤而自寻短见。”{86}先知ﷺ在夜间礼拜时常常悲切地哭泣,祈求真主使他的民族免受许多前代民族所遭受的惩罚,直到真主最终向大天使吩咐道:“吉卜利勒啊,你去告诉穆罕默德ﷺ,我们将使他满意于他的民族,我们不会让他失望。”{87}在另一段圣训中,阿伊莎传述,有一天她看到先知ﷺ面带喜色,便说:“真主的使者啊,请为我向真主祈祷吧。”他说:“主啊,请宽恕阿伊莎过去和将来的罪过,无论是隐秘的还是公开的。”阿伊莎因刚刚获得的福分而欣喜若狂,笑得竟然头从他的膝上滑落。先知ﷺ接着问道:“我的祈祷使你高兴吗?”她说:“您的祈祷怎么会不使我高兴呢?”他说:“以真主起誓,这正是我在每一次拜功中为我的民族所作的祈祷。”88

Finally, his profound and universal mercy was above all reflected in his concern for people’s salvation. The Qur’an would often address his deep grief over people’s resistance to guidance, in verses such as, “Then perhaps you would kill yourself through grief over them, [O Muhammad], if they do not believe in this message, [and] out of sorrow.”86 The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would weep passionately during his night prayers, pleading to God to spare his nation of the torment that many former nations had faced, until Allah ultimately instructed the archangel, “O Gabriel, go to Muhammad and tell him that We will please him regarding his nation, and We will not disappoint him.”87 In another hadith, ‘Āishah  reports that upon seeing the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم facing beaming cheerfully one day, she said, “O Messenger of Allah, supplicate to Allah for me.” He said, “O Allah, forgive ‘Āishah for her past and future sins, those in secret and those in public.” Ecstatic at the fortune she just secured, ‘Āishah laughed so hard that her head fell from his lap. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then added, “Did my supplication make you happy?” She said, “How could your supplication not make me happy?” He said, “By Allah, this is my supplication for my nation in every single prayer.”88