وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ

(68:4) and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. *4
*4) Here, this sentence gives two meanings: (1) "That you stand exalted to a high and noble character; that is why you are enduring
all these hardships in your mission of guiding the people to the Right
Way, otherwise a tnan of weak character could not have done so;" and (2)
"that besides the Qur'an, your high and noble character also is a clear
proof that the accusation of madness that the disbelievers bring
against you is absolutely false, for high morals and madness cannot
co-exist in one and the same person. " A madman is he whose balance of
mind is upset, who has lost his temperamental equilibrium. Contrary to
this, the high morals of a person testify that he is a right-minded and
sound-natured person, who possesses perfect temperamental equilibrium.
The people of Makkah were not unaware of the morals and character
possessed by the Holy Messenger of AIIah. Therefore, it was enough just
to make a reference to them so that every reasonable man of Makkah was
made to think how shameless were those people who were calling a man of
such sublime morals and character a madman. Their absurd conduct was not
at all harmful for the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) but for
themselves, for maddened in their craze for opposition they were saying
such a thing about him which could not be regarded as credible by any
man of understanding. The same also is the case with those men of
knowledge and scholarship, who in the modern time are accusing the Holy
prophet (upon whom be peace) of having fits of madness and epilepsy. The
Qur'an is available everywhere in the world and the Holy Prophet's life
also exists in the written form in entire detail. Every person can see
it for himself what a foolish and meaningless thing is being uttered in
their blind enmity by those who regard the man who brought this unique
and matchless Book and who possessed such sublime morals and character
as a mentally deranged person. The best description of the Holy
Prophet's character has been given by Hadrat 'A'ishah in her statement:
Kana khuluqu-hul-Qur an: the Qur'an was his character." Imam Ahmad,
Muslim, Abu Da'ud. Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Darimi and Ibn Jarir have cited,
with a little variation in wording, this saying with several chains of
transmitters. This means that the Holy Prophet had not merely presented
the teaching of the Qur'an before the world but also given its practical
demonstration by his personal example. Whatever was enjoined in the
Qur'an was acted upon practically by himself in the first instance;
whatever was forbidden in it was shunned and avoided by himself most of
aII. His own self was characterised most of all by the moral qualities
which were declared as sublime by it, and his own self was most free
from those qualities which were declared as abhorrent and reprehensible
by it. In another tradition Hadrat 'A'ishah has stated: "The Holy
Prophet (upon whom be peace) never hit a servant, never raised his hand
on a woman never used his hand to kill a person outside the battlefield,
never avenged himself on anyone for an injury caused unless someone
violated a sanctity enjoined by AIlah and he avenged it for the sake of
Allah. His practice was that whenever he had to choose between two
things, he would choose the easier one unless it was a sin; and if it
was a sin he would keep away from it most of all" (Musnad Ahmad). Hadrat
Anas says: "I served the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) for ten
years. He never did so much as express even a slight disgust over what I
did or said: he never asked why I had done what I had done, and never
inquired why I had not done what I had not done." (Bukhari, Muslim