Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) The modest

Ali Zohery, Ph. D.

Modesty was of equal value to the teachings of Prophet

Muhammad. Modesty, according to him was capital in getting to
Paradise. To be modest with everyone was nearness to Allah.
About his teachings on modesty the Prophet said: “Shall I
tell you about the inhabitants of Paradise? They are all modest
persons.” “Shall I tell you about the inhabitants of Hell? They are
all ignoble, rude and proud ones” (Bukhari, 2671). In essence,
they were to choose between hell and paradise when deciding
to be modest or not to be modest. This statement
aforementioned was not in any way intended to threaten his
followers. Rather, and, more importantly, it was softly spoken so
that it can keep echoing in their minds about why he is insisting
about being modest while on earth. The retribution after death
may be very frightful if they choose not to be modest while still
living.
To show that the Prophet was not only limiting in his
message about modesty to followers of Islam, he made this
important statement: “Every religion has a character and the
character of Islam is modesty” (Muwatta, 47.2.9). In essence, he
was rallying support as well for more following in Islam even
though other religions equally have important characters.
The Prophet always preferred to follow the middle course
between two extremes. Since modesty and kindness are related
to each other in treating others, Prophet Muhammad also laid
emphasis on kindness as an important element of the spirit