Prophet Muhammad
(Peace be upon him) –
Mercy for All the
Creatures
Dr Mozammel Haque
Four years
after the death of Justinian (A.C. 569), a Great Man, preaching a great
religion, Islam, was born at Makkah, in Arabia, which was in dense darkness of
social dissolution and spiritual despair.
The famous writer,
H.O. Armstrong, in his book Lord of Arabia, writes about the
situation of Arabia and its people of that time thus: "Arabia remained
isolated and unknown, for it was a brutal country and inhospitable, a land of
cruelty and violence and its inhabitants, Arabs, were as brutal and cruel as
their land. Both villagers and Beduins lived hard and dangerously.
They were pagans
and savages, unclean, poverty-stricken, debased in their habits, idolators with
cruel and brutal beliefs. They were bestial in sex, untamed and untamable; they
were split up into small tribes which were continuously at war with each other
and were savagely intolerant of any stranger or of any innovation".
Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) was sent by Allah Almighty as a blessing to Mankind. Allah says in the
Quran: “And We sent you (O Muhammad) not, but as a mercy for all
creatures". (21:107) Islam united the Arabs, purified them and bound them
into one people.
The Prophet filled
them with a great faith. The historian Gibbon has truly discovered, “Through
Islam, Muhammad banished from the Arab within ten years their hard-heartedness,
spirit of revenge, anarchy, female infanticide degradation, rivalry, lawlessness,
usury, drunkenness, infanticide, murderous quarrel and human sacrifice as well
as stupid superstitions and fetishes". Within ten years he controlled All
Arabia. He had created a new civilization to the world - a civilization which
is not only rich in science but also contributed towards the moral, spiritual
and human development.
Unlike other great
religious teachers, there are no mythical elements surrounding him. Holy
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is a historic man and his life was led in times that
are regarded as historical. In the seventh century of the Christian era this
man was born and lived out his life in lands the history of which is known. The
Holy Prophet created a society more free from widespread cruelty and social
oppression than any society had ever been in the world before. “Let it be fully
understood that Islam protects all, whether a man be Muslim, Christian or
anything else and persecution is forbidden in any shape or form. Complete
toleration was the gift of Islam to the world and it is gradually permeating
the strata of narrowness and hatred”, writes Dr Sheldrake about Islam and its
founder.
The religion of
Islam proclaimed the first real democracy ever conceived in the minds of men.
Islam is essentially a religion which propagated democracy and social equality.
All the believers are equal and this fundamental equality is not a fiction as
is so common among Christianity. It is accepted and real. The Hungarian
Professor Dr Germanus, a great scholar, writes, “It is the people who are addressed
in the Quran and it is for the benefit of the people and their salvation that
all the injunctions of the rituals and beliefs are imposed on the believers. It
is not a class privilege by descent or esoteric love which can rule over the
oppressed and cowed en masse, but every individual man and woman stand directly
before God in worship, duty and right”.
Islam imposes no restrictions on any
individual enterprise towards amelioration of his status while it regulates the
duties and rights towards his fellowmen. The respect and observance of Islamic
social laws are a safety-valve against disruptive theories. These teachings are
pillars of every sound society. They condemn selfish exploitation of the
helpless and severely punish theft and robbery. No slogans or hatred but
serious work and self-discipline all represented by the Sunnah of the Holy
Prophet will pave the way towards the renaissance of the Islamic people.
No other society
has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity
and of endeavour, so many and so various races of mankind. Islam has been more
successful in mitigating race prejudice than other universal creeds. There is
absolutely no colour bar for marriage. Islam has never known class-struggle and
social hatred. It has banned human hatred and opened the way for human
brotherhood and equality, whereas the western civilization is still unable to
look beyond narrow horizons of racial and national antagonism.
When shall the
modern nations place love of man above love of the world? There can be no
democracy without love of man as a man. This democracy is the very essence of
Islam. That faith makes Islam a Brotherhood, an International Brotherhood, a
fellowship of many races and tribes.
One of the commonest sneers at Islam
in the West is that it teaches that women have no souls. Servicer remarks,
"Muhammad sought to make himself the champion of women whose position he
tried to ameliorate. Before his reform women and children could not inherit
what was worse, the nearest relation of the deceased took possession of the
women and their property in the same way as he took over his slaves with their
savings.
Muhammad gave the
women the right to inherit; and often insisted in their favour. His last sermon
at Makkah contained these memorable words: Treat your women well, they are your
helpers. He well knew that if a woman is a slave by day, by night, she is a
queen and her influence is at all times worthy of consideration".
Because of its
democratic nature, freedom, equality, toleration and justice, Islam spread
throughout the whole world. The expansion of Islam is the most miraculous of
all miracles. Being inspired by the light of Islam, the medieval Arabs
conquered most of the then civilized world in less than a century, whereas the
Roman Empire of Augustus was won over a period of 700 years.
"Within a century after their
rise these people became the masters of an empire extending from the shores of
the Atlantic Ocean to the confines of China, an empire greater than that of
Rome at its Zenith", wrote Philip K. Hitti in his well-known book History
of the Arabs. Islam has been and still is a living force from Morocco to
Indonesia and a way of life to more than a billion of the human race.
Holy Prophet
Muhammad established a civilization wherein there was peace, harmony and
co-operation. Arrogance, haughtiness and conceit were hated. Modesty,
humbleness and simplicity were praised and appreciated. All forms of extremism,
violence and aggression were prohibited. Islam is a message of peace and stands
for freedom and equality which, as a matter of fact, had long been forgotten in
all the lands of the degenerated ancient civilizations.
The people
throughout the world welcomed this religion because of its message of peace.
Finday in his book History of the Roman Empire, writes, "The
inhabitants of Syria welcomed the followers of Muhammad; the Copts of Egypt
contributed the place their country under the domination of the Arabs".
Islam establishes a
brotherhood among all Muslims. It is a religion of peace and toleration. The
dominant feature of Islam, as its very name implies, is the making of peace. A
Muslim is one who has made peace with God and man; peace with God implies
complete submission to His Will and obedience to the laws of creation. Peace
with mankind implies the doing of good to one's fellow creatures.
The Holy Prophet of
Islam was a very great man. His honesty and probity as a poor young man earned
him the social title of Al-Amin: The Just. His immense contribution to
civilization remains an outstanding and astounding fact of history.
Howsoever we may
judge, the character of this man is a precious heritage for Humanism. He was
always very abstemious in his habits and contented himself with simple food,
clothes and lodging. He was entirely free from avarice. The Holy Prophet was an
exemplar of patience and forbearance to the proud hot tempered Arab. His sweet
patience was indeed his great virtue. His boundless charity and generosity to
all flowed from his unworldly heart like a fountain in the Arabian desert.
Bernard Shaw wrote
in his book the Genius of Islam, "He (Muhammad) is a Saviour
of Humanity". Shaw asserts in the same book and says, "I believe that
if a man like him to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would
succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed
peace and happiness." Bernard Shaw has truly acknowledged, "Muhammad
was a saviour of Humanity, the Mercy for all men, a blessing for men and an
exemplar in every age."
We must send
blessings to Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as the Qur’an says, "Allah and
His Angels send blessings on the Holy Prophet: O you who believe! Send your
blessings on him, and salute him with all respect". (33:56).
* First
published in Muslim World, the English Weekly of Rabita al-Alam
al-Islami on 8th of April, 2006
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