There was a man, Abdullah, who loved Allah and the Prophet so much that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had to declare about him:

Indeed, he loves Allah and His Messenger. (Al-Bukhari)

Abdullah so loved the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he used to delight in presenting the Prophet with any delicacy that came to Madinah, so when any merchant caravan arrived with something like butter or honey, he would take it for him as a gift.

Later, when the seller demanded payment, Abdullah would bring the seller to the Prophet and say:

“Give this man its price.”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) would then say:

Didn’t you give it to me as a gift?

Abdullah would say:

“Yes, O Messenger of Allah; however I cannot afford to pay.”

The two of them would laugh together and then the Prophet (peace be upon him) would pay the merchant.

This was the type of close and jovial relationship that Abdullah and the Prophet had with each other.

The Attitude of the Prophet towards Abdullah the Alcoholic

Abdullah was an alcoholic. He would often become so drunk that he had to be brought staggering through the streets before the Prophet, and each time, the Prophet would rule to have the prescribed punishment carried out. This was a common occurrence.

After Abdullah had departed from one of these all too frequent sentencing, one of the companions said about Abdullah:

“O Allah curse him! How often he is summoned for this!”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) rebuked that companion, saying:

Do not curse him, for I swear by Allah, if you only knew just how very much indeed he loves Allah and His Messenger. (Al-Bukhari)

He then added:

Do not help Satan against your brother.

We can learn a lot from this attitude of the Prophet.

We should reflect first upon the close and affectionate relationship this companion enjoyed with the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Though the Prophet (peace be upon him) was who he was, it did not prevent him from relating to Abdullah in a familiar manner, of being his friend, and joking with him.

The Prophet’s Inclusive Society

This shows us that in the society of the Prophet (peace be upon him) people were not segregated into the pious and the sinners, with social interactions debarred between the two groups.

Rather, it was a unified, inclusive society, where each person could be at a different level of piety. Some were at the forefront of righteousness, some were moderately pious, while others were prone to fall into sin. However, no one lived aloof from society, nor was anyone shunned. Everyone remained part of society.

This inclusiveness meant that when some members of society fell into error, the effects of their mistakes were limited. No one was marginalized, so there was no chance sinfulness to grow on society’s “fringes”.

When anyone made a mistake, there was no end of brotherly support from others in society who were more than willing to lend a helping hand and get that person back on track.

A Lesson to Learn

Another lesson the Prophet’s conduct shows us is the importance of maintaining a positive outlook.

In spite of the fact that Abdullah the alcoholic was frequently being summoned before the Prophet (peace be upon him), the Prophet drew everyone’s attention to one of Abdullah’s positive qualities – that he loved Allah and His Messenger.

Yet, when we think about this particular quality, we find that it was not something unique for Abdullah, but a quality that all believers have in common. Nevertheless, the Prophet (peace be upon him) chose to praise Abdullah for this reason.

In doing so, the Prophet could cultivate, encourage, and strengthen this quality in everyone. He also reminded them that if someone slips up, that person’s faith and love of Allah is still intact.