Treatment of The Sinners and The Ignorant; In the Light of Sīrah

Abstract

Allah Almighty had created man with the instinct to choose between good and evil. It is nature that being a human to be indulged in some activity unconsciously and then to realize and feel sorry for the crime committed. To err is human and to forgive Devine. So sins should not be treated as a single entity for there are of various types, ranging from the small mild ones to the big severe ones, thus dividing people who commit them accordingly. When our father and mother, ate from the forbidden tree, which was wrong, they realized it there and then, and instantly felt pain and remorse and abstained from it and declared repentance with humility and knocked the door of Allah for mercy and forgiveness. Allah the almighty heard their prayers and embraced them in his mercy and forgave their sin, for he is most gracious, and most merciful. Similarly our prophet has set an ideal for treating the sinners, he did not turn his face away from them nor did he declare abandoning them or excommunicating them or even counting them as dirt that should be avoided or looked down upon. He treated them with an open heart and with utmost compassion, sympathy and tolerance, and took them by the hand to the righteous path, his sympathy was always present, a sun that never sets. This article is basically to deal with prophetic examples and virtual self how the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) treated the sinners and ignorant. It is suggested that the public and the rulers should be made aware about teaching of Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), so that they would be able to deal with the sinner and ignorant in an effective manners by following the teaching of Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).