When the Prophet ﷺ declared his prophethood, Quraish used to go and meet the people who had come for pilgrimage warning them to be careful of the person who declared himself as the Prophet of Allah. They used to tell them that this man caused disputes between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and between mother and sons, in Makkah.

Nadr bin Harris was a Makkan chieftain. He told the Makkans that they were not right in ridiculing Mohammed ﷺ and no matter how much they maligned him by calling him a magician, a mad or possessed person, but they would not succeed. He reminded them that Mohammed ﷺ was the best youth among them and they could not deny his charisma.

“He was the most beloved to you, he was the most trustworthy, truthful gentleman (in your eyes). Now that he says that he is the Prophet of Allah, you are calling him a magician, mad and possessed”. Nadr swore by Allah, “He is the best person among us and we all agreed to it (before). He has never cheated anyone. A magician will make money out of his magic, this man has never done so.  You allege that he is a poet, but we have never seen him talking vaguely like poets. It is Allah who has made him a great man and if you reject him today, tomorrow you will regret it.”

Akhlaq (Character) was the reason why Khadijah proposed to marry him

When Mohammed ﷺ was around twenty five years old, a rich widow named Khadijah lived in Makkah, too.  Mohammed ﷺ was a shepherd then and his trustworthiness and truthfulness were well known. One day, Khadijah offered him to trade her goods for her and share the profit with her. She sent her slave Meyyserah to accompany him. The caravan returned with good profit and her slave gave a good review of the noble Akhlaq of our Prophet ﷺ.

So, she proposed him for marriage in these words, “O my nephew ( related distant cousin) I want to propose you for marriage because you are from my family . You are a gentleman, trustworthy, a beloved person of community and your Akhlaq (character) is very noble. You have always been a truthful person.”

Khadijah had been proposed to by many noblemen, but she rejected all of them and chose Mohammed ﷺ,  even when he was still not a prophet and was not rich at all, all because of his Akhlaq (character).

Akhlaq (Character) that speaks louder than words

The Prophet ﷺ always wanted to spread the virtues of good Akhlaq (character). He said:

“Four things are very precious. If you possess them, then do not worry about achieving anything else. Truthfulness, Trustworthiness, Good Conduct and the effort to earn Halal.”

Allah declares that truthfulness brings a lot of blessings. Trust is of two types; One is towards Allah by obeying Him and His Messenger ﷺ . The other is being honest with people.

A rich Khadijah (May Allah pleased with her) chose him because of his truthfulness, trustworthiness and good conduct. These qualities can bring immense happiness in our homes.

The above incidents reflect his Akhlaq (character) which was acknowledged even before he was appointed as a prophet. The Quraish chose him as a leader, Khadijah (May Allah be pleased with her) chose him as her husband and the reasons were the same; because of his noble Akhlaq (character)!