The Prophet (PBUH) Mends People's Hearts

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was an exemplary model in mending hearts. Al-Bukhari narrated from Anas that he said: "Even a female slave from the people of Madinah would take the hand of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and lead him wherever she wished." The Prophet (PBUH) would not hurt her feelings. He was asked: "Which people are most beloved to Allah? And which deeds are most beloved to Allah?"

He replied:

"The most beloved people to Allah are those most beneficial to people, and the most beloved deeds to Allah Almighty are happiness you bring to a Muslim, or relieving a distress from him, or paying off a debt for him, or driving away hunger from him. And for me to walk with a brother in need is more beloved to me than to seclude myself in this mosque – meaning the Mosque of Madinah – for a month."

Among his (PBUH) stances in mending the hearts of his companions was what he did when he met his companion Jabir ibn Abdullah, who was heartbroken after his father's martyrdom in the Battle of Uhud. In Sunan Al-Tirmidhi, Jabir ibn Abdullah said:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) met me and said: "O Jabir, why do I see you heartbroken?" I said: "O Messenger of Allah, my father was martyred and left behind a family and debt." He said: "Shall I not give you good tidings of how Allah met your father?" He said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "Allah has never spoken to anyone except from behind a veil, but He brought your father back to life and spoke to him directly, saying: 'O My servant, wish from Me, and I will give you.' He said: 'O Lord, bring me back to life so I may be killed in Your cause a second time.' The Lord Almighty said: 'I have already decreed that they will not return.'" He (the Prophet) then said: "And this verse was revealed: 'And do not think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead.'"

Indeed, he mended his heart and comforted him by speaking about his father's rank in Paradise.

Lady Khadijah's Testimony to the Prophet's (PBUH) Heart-Mending

Lady Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) bore witness to the Prophet's (PBUH) heart-mending nature. In Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim, when the revelation first descended upon the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) in the cave of Hira, he returned to Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her), informed her of the news, and said: "I feared for myself." She (may Allah be pleased with her) replied:

"Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. Indeed, you maintain kinship ties, speak truthfully, bear the burdens of the weak, earn for the destitute, entertain guests, and help in rightful calamities."

The Prophet (PBUH) Did Not Forget Those Who Mended His Heart

The Prophet (PBUH) never forgot those who mended his heart or stood by him. Among these instances is what came in Sahih Al-Bukhari from Jubayr ibn Mut'im that the Prophet (PBUH) said regarding the prisoners of Badr:

"If Mut'im ibn Adi were alive and he spoke to me about these wretched ones, I would leave them to him."

This was because Mut'im ibn Adi had a favor upon the Prophet (PBUH) when he returned from Ta'if under his protection.

The Prophet (PBUH) Mends the Heart of Animals

Added to his (PBUH) stances in mending hearts is what he did when he mended the heart of an animal. Abu Dawud narrated from Abdullah ibn Ja'far, who said:

One day, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) entered a garden belonging to the Ansar, and there was a camel that came to him, groaning, and its eyes shed tears. Bahz and Affan said: "When it saw the Prophet (PBUH), it whimpered and its eyes shed tears." The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) stroked its back and ears, and it became calm. He then said: "Who is the owner of this camel?" A young man from the Ansar came and said: "It is mine, O Messenger of Allah." The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Do you not fear Allah regarding this animal that Allah has given you ownership of? It complained to me that you starve it and overwork it."

The Prophet (PBUH) Mends the Heart of Inanimate Objects

Al-Tirmidhi narrated from Anas ibn Malik that the Prophet (PBUH) used to stand on Fridays, leaning his back against a date palm trunk placed in the mosque, and deliver sermons to the people. A Roman man came to him and said: "Shall I not make something for you to sit on, as if you are standing?" So he made him a pulpit with two steps, and he would sit on the third. When the Prophet of Allah (PBUH) sat on that pulpit, the trunk groaned like the groaning of a pregnant she-camel, so much so that the entire mosque shook out of sadness for the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) descended from the pulpit and embraced it while it was groaning. When the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) embraced it, it became calm. Then he said:

"By the One in whose hand is Muhammad's soul, if I had not embraced it, it would have continued like this until the Day of Judgment."

The Prophet (PBUH) Commands Mending Hearts

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) called for mending people's hearts. He commanded that if one meets his brother, he should smile in his face. Al-Tirmidhi narrated from Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity." Al-Bayhaqi narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

"Indeed, you cannot encompass people with your wealth, but you can encompass them with a cheerful face and good character."

Among the manifestations of his (PBUH) call to mend hearts is his emphasis that acts of assistance to others are charity for which a Muslim is rewarded. Al-Tirmidhi narrated from Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

"Your enjoining good and forbidding evil is charity, your guiding a man in a land of misguidance is charity, your vision for a man with poor sight is charity, your removing a stone, thorn, or bone from the path is charity, and your pouring from your bucket into your brother's bucket is charity."

Indeed, he (PBUH) even called for protection from Hellfire by mending hearts. Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Protect yourselves from the Fire, even with half a date. And if one does not find that, then with a good word."

Among the manifestations of his (PBUH) call to mend hearts is his promise that whoever mends the hearts of people, Allah Almighty will mend his heart. In Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

"Whoever relieves a Muslim of a distress from the distresses of this world, Allah will relieve him of a distress from the distresses of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever makes things easy for a person in difficulty, Allah will make things easy for him in this world and the Hereafter. And whoever covers a Muslim's fault, Allah will cover his fault in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah is in the aid of His servant as long as the servant is in the aid of his brother."

Imam Ahmad narrated from Abu Hurayrah that a man complained to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) about the hardness of his heart. He said to him:

"If you wish for your heart to soften, then feed the poor and stroke the head of the orphan."

The Prophet (PBUH) Teaches Us to Ask Allah in Our Prayers to Mend Our Hearts

In Sunan Ibn Majah, with a good chain of narration, from Abdullah ibn Abbas, he said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to say between the two prostrations in the night prayer:

"O my Lord, forgive me, have mercy on me, mend my heart, provide for me, and raise my status."