Morals in the Life and Da‘wah of the Prophets - I

The Prophet, , was commanded to maintain the same methodology that had
been adopted by all the previous prophets and messengers, may Allaah
exalt their mention, as Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): } Those
arethe ones whom Allaah has guided, so from their guidance take an
example. { [Quran 6:90] Allaah the Almighty granted the prophets
perfection of morals and character so that people would not turn away
from them with the excuse that they were repulsive or ill-natured. All
prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, only spoke what was
revealedto them by Allaah the Almighty. Their message was not
something that they fabricated or that was due to the surrounding
social conditions of their age. Their message was a revelation from
Allaah the Almighty, as each andevery prophet testified: } I only
follow what is revealed to me. { [Quran 6:50] The prophets, may Allaah
exalt their mention, did not have the right to change, replace, add,
or cancel anything that had been revealed to them. Concerning Prophet
Muhammad, , Allaah the Almighty Says (what means):
· } Nor does he speak from[his own] inclination. It isnot but a
revelation revealed. { [Quran 53:3,4]
· } Say, [O Muhammad]: "It is not for me to change it on my own
accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. Indeed, I fear, if I
should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day." { [Quran
10:15]
In their mission, the prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, did
not ask for a reward from their people, as they only sought the reward
of Allaah the Almighty. Prophet Hoode said to his people (what means):
} O my people, I do not ask you for it any reward. My reward is only
from The One who created me. Then will you not reason? { [Quran 11:51]
Prophet Muhammad, , confirmed the same meaning by saying (whatmeans):
} Say, [O Muhammad]: "I do not ask you for the Quran anypayment, and I
am not of the pretentious." { [Quran38:86]
The aim of all the prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, was for
people to have sincerity in religion and to turn them towards
worshipping the Lord of all creation instead of worshipping His
creatures. The prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, also aimed at
saving disobedient people from the adversity of life to the comfort of
both the worldly life and the Hereafter andfrom the oppression of
distorted and false religions to the justice of Islam. In the Quran,
Allaah the Almighty clarifies the true religion that He commands all
people to follow, by Saying (what means): } And they were not
commanded except to worship Allaah, [being] sincere to Him in
religion,inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give
Zakaah. And that is the correct religion. { [Quran 98:5]
Every prophet was sent speaking the language of his people in order to
communicate clearly with them. The prophets, may Allaah exalt their
mention, followed their Fitrah (innate disposition) and talked to
people in a way that suited their mentality without pretense,
declamation or exaggeration. Allaah the Almighty Says (what means):
· } And I am not of the pretentious { [Quran 38:86]
Allaah the Almighty madethe method of Da'wah (propagation) clear to
Hisprophets, as He gave an order to His Prophet, , by Saying (what
means):
· } Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction,
and argue with them in away that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most
knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most Knowing of who
is [rightly] guided. { [Quran 16:125]
The methodology of the prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, and
their Da'wah are clear. The best way to make Da'wah is the clear and
simple way of the noble Quran, with which one does not need any
philosophical or scholastic methodology.
All the prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, gave precedence to
the eternal life of the Hereafter over the worldly life that would
ultimately come to an end. Their predominant characteristic was to
renounce the pleasures of this worldly life and seek the reward of the
Hereafter, as they were certain that: } what is with Allaah is better
and more lasting { [Quran 28:60] and: } that which iswith Allaah is
best for therighteous. { [Quran 3:198]
Allaah the Almighty Says to His Prophet, , (what means): } And do not
extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to
[some] categories of them, [its being but] the splendor of worldly
life by which We test them. And the provision of yourLord is better
and more enduring. { [Quran 20:131]
The prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, werethe most perfect,
most honest and had the noblest lineage of all mankind. Allaah the
Almighty chose them by his Knowledge over everyone and everything else
to bear the greatest trust, which is conveying His message. Therefore,
they must be a model for all people. Regarding the merits of the
prophets, Allaah the Almighty Says (what means):
· } And remember Our servants, Ibraaheem, Ishaaq and Ya'qoob - those
of strength and [religious] vision. Indeed,We chose them for an
exclusive quality: remembrance of the home [of the Hereafter]. And
indeed they are, to Us, among the chosen and outstanding. And remember
Ismaa'eel, Al-Yas' and Dhul-Kifl, and all are among the outstanding. {
[Quran 38:45-48]
· } [Allaah] Said: "O Moosa,I have chosen you over the people with My
messages and My words [to you]. So take what I have given you and be
among the grateful." { [Quran 7:144]
Throughout their Da'wah , the prophets, may Allaah exalt their
mention, not only confirmed the idea of servitude to Allaah by telling
their people (whatmeans): } worship Allaah; you have no deity other
than Him} [Quran 7:59] but they also treated the faults that were
widespread during their time and urged their people to be virtuous.
Forinstance, Prophet Shu'ayb tried to reform the faults of his people,
the people of Madyan, and advised them not to give less in measure and
weight and decrease the rights of others. Also, Prophet Loote said to
his people: } "Do you approach males among the worlds. And leave what
your Lord has created for you as mates?But you are a people
transgressing." { [Quran 26:165-166] He also criticized them for
obstructing roads and committing every evil in their meetings . The
biography of the Prophet, , also proves that he continuously tried to
treat the faults ofhis people, as will be clarified later.
Adhering to Tawheed andLegislation: A Shield for Morality
1- Adhering to Tawheed (monotheism): Tawheed is purity as it is
acknowledgement of the truth, while Shirk (polytheism) is an impurity
as Allaah the Almighty Says (what means): } indeed the polytheists are
unclean. { [Quran 9:28]This is because Shirk is the denial of truth,
and even if the polytheists superficially bathed, adorned and perfumed
themselves their inner impurity would still not be removed. Sins and
evil deeds are considered impurities, as the Prophet, , said: "Whoever
commits any of these sins should conceal them and make use of the
concealmentgranted to him by Allaah. Whoever openly admits to his sins
[to other people] will be punished with what is prescribedin the
Quran."
In order to perfect morality and obtain the desired objectives, we
should be careful in matters pertaining to Tawheed and legislation and
follow the Sunnah of the Prophet, , in this regard. The Prophet, ,
implanted two crucial principles in his Companions: the first wasto
worship Allaah the Almighty without associating any other deity with
Him, while the second principle was to worship Allaah the Almighty
according to HisLegislation and no other. The Prophet, , did not allow
any of his Companions to break either of these two principles. Once
the Prophet, , saw 'Umar ibn Al-Khattaab holding a piece of paper from
the Torah as he had admired what was written on it. Thereupon,the
Prophet, , was veryangry and said to him: "You do this while I am
amongst you? I have conveyed to you the message white and pure. By
Allaah, if Moosa [Moses] had been alive now, he would have had no
choice but to follow me." [Ahmad, Al-Albaani - Hasan ] This Hadeeth
shows the universal nature of the Da'wah of the Prophet, , and thatit
is impermissible to follow anything except the Quran and Sunnah .
Therefore, how can people leave these protected principles and seek
guidance in things that have been distorted and changed?
Once, the Prophet, , heard an Imaam delivering a Khutbah (sermon) on
the pulpit, and saying, "Whoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger will
be rightly guided, while whoever disobeys them, will be misguided."
The Prophet, , said: "What a bad Imaam you are! Say: 'The one who
disobeys Allaah and His Messenger will bemisguided'." [Ahmad, Muslim]
In the abovementioned Hadeeth , the Prophet, , criticized the Imaam
forsaying "disobeying them" when referring to Allaah and His Prophet,
, as the use of this pronoun entails that both Allaah the Almighty and
His Prophet, , are on the same level. The Prophet, , also saw that it
was appropriate to mention and clarify this point in during the
Khutbah .
When 'Uthmaan ibn Math'oon died, Umm Al-'Alaa' said, "O Abu As-Saa'ib!
I testify that Allaah has honored you." The Prophet, , said to her:
"How do you know that Allaah has honored Him?" She replied, "Who would
be honored if not him?" The Prophet, said to her: "By Allaah, though I
am the Messenger of Allaah, I do not know what Allaah will do with me
tomorrow." Umm Al-'Alaa' said, "By Allaah, I will never attest the
piety of anybody after this." [Ahmad and Al-Bukhaari]
Deeds depend on how the last of them will be, which Allaah the
Almighty has concealed from people's knowledge. This refutes what was
said by the Jews and Christians as they said (what means):
· } We are the children of Allaah and His beloved { [Quran 5:18]
· } None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian. {
[Quran 2:111]
Allaah the Almighty told them (what means): } That is [merely] their
wishful thinking, Say: "Produce your proof, if you should be
truthful." { [Quran 2:111] This also refutes what some people do,
thinking that some of the dead are the allies of Allaah The Almighty
and consequently, they worship these 'allies'.
Among the examples thatillustrate adherence to Tawheed is when a man
came to the Prophet, , and said to him, "Allaah and you willing." The
Prophet, , said: "Are you making me an equal to Allaah? You should
say,'What Allaah alone, wills." [Ahmad, Al-Albaani - Hasan [

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