[Commentary]
Al-Nawawī—may Allah have mercy on him—quoted these hadiths in the chapter entitled “Pardoning and Turning Away from the Ignorant.” Among them is the report from ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet ﷺ never struck anyone with his own hand—neither servant nor anyone else—except while fighting in the path of Allah. This reflects his ﷺ generosity: he would not beat anyone over a personal right of his, for he was free either to waive the right or to claim it.

Yet when the sacred limits of Allah were violated, he ﷺ would not remain silent; rather, he responded with the firmest resolve, because he would never approve of anything that angers Allah, exalted is He. In the same way, a person should be eager to adopt pardoning, overlook people’s conduct and manners, and turn away from them—unless one of Allah’s sanctities is infringed, in which case he must not acquiesce.

Among the hadiths cited is the story of the Bedouin who caught up with the Prophet ﷺ while he was wearing a Najrānī cloak with a coarse edge. The Bedouin seized him—yanking him so violently that the border of the cloak left a mark on the Prophet’s neck. The Prophet turned to find a Bedouin asking for alms, so he ﷺ smiled and ordered that he be given something.

Observe this exalted character: the Prophet ﷺ did not rebuke the man, strike him, glare at him, or even frown; instead he smiled—and on top of that he granted him a gift. Were someone to treat us in that manner, we would never tolerate it; indeed, we might fight him. As for the Messenger