Life-of-Muhammad

Life of Muhammad sa 245layer of corn to remain on the outside so thatprospective purchasers could have appraised its realcondition. He observed: "He who deals unfairly withothers can never become a useful member of society"(Muslim). He insisted upon trade and commerce beingentirely free from every suspicion of sharp practice. Heexhorted purchasers always to inspect the goods andarticles they proposed to purchase, and forbade anyperson to open negotiations for a transaction whilenegotiations about it were in progress with any otherperson. He also forbade the hoarding of commoditiesagainst a rise in the market and insisted that themarket should be regularly supplied.PESSIMISMHe was an enemy of pessimism. He used to say thatwhoever was guilty of spreading pessimism among thepeople was responsible for the downfall of the people, forpessimistic ideas have a tendency to discourage peopleand arrest progress (Muslim, Part II, Vol. 2). He warnedhis people against pride and boastfulness on the onehand and against pessimism on the other. He exhortedthem to tread the middle path between these extremes.Muslims must work diligently in the trust that Godwould bless their efforts with the best results. Eachshould strive to go forward and should seek to promotethe welfare and progress of the community, buteveryone should be free from any feeling of pride or anytendency towards boastfulness.CRUELTY TO ANIMALSHe warned people against cruelty to animals andenjoined kind treatment to them. He used to relate theinstance of a Jewish woman who was punished by Godfor having starved her cat to death. He also used torelate the story of a woman who found a dog suffering