WORDS OF encouragement can be the cause of lifting a person and helping him through a difficult patch. This quality of giving verbal support is seen in the lives of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and his Companions.
REVELATION
WHEN THE first revelation came, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) experienced a strange happening for the first time. He went home in fear and asked his wife Khadijah (radhiallahu anha) to cover him up.
At this juncture, she provided much needed verbal encouragement by expounding the good that the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) had done up to then and concluded by saying that, as a result, Allah Ta’ala would not disgrace him.
BATTLE
IN ONE OF the battles, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) used high words of encouragement for one of the archers. He said, "Shoot, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you."
One can well imagine the pleasure that Sahaabi must have felt and how much more he must have exerted himself.
In the Battle of the Trench, the Muslims only base, Madinah, came under attack by a coalition force of the enemy. The Muslims had to dig a deep and wide trench to defend Madinah and they toiled hard with the pangs of hunger gnawing at them. Some tied stones on their bellies to stave off the pain.
The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) shored up the morale of the Sahaaba by reciting couplets praying for good for them. They in turn recited couplets reaffirming their commitment to the Prophet (sallallahu alihi wa sallam) and the cause of Islam.
SICKNESS
A PRAYER that we are taught to recite when visiting the sick is a source of hope for them in their agony: "There is no problem, this sickness will be a purification, if Allah wills."
The Qur’an, Allah’s Word, provides words of encouragement for the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and for the Muslims in general. Let us bring this Islamic quality alive and be sources of inspiration and pillars of strength for one another in our trying times. A good word is sometimes all it takes.
Wonderful Words
