No community has been without its righteous guides and teachers to
help its people towards the truth and to lead them from the depths of
darkness to the light ofIslam. The Prophets of Allah Subhanahu wa
Taaala received the message and direction that enabled them to counsel
their contemporaries. Through the ages, the earlier messages were
distorted. Mankind having lost sight of theShariah was in dire need of
divine guidance. It had degenerated inwardly and outwardly to an
abominable and immoral course of conduct. In the midst of spiritual
decay, Allahopened a door of Hidayah, sending His mercy to all of
mankind, His Final Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam), to guide
them from the darkness of Jahiliyyah to the light of Islam.
Alif. Lam. Ra. (This is) a Scripture which We have revealed unto
you(Muhammad) that thereby you may bring forth mankind from darkness
unto light, by the permission of theirLord, unto the path of the
Mighty, the Owner of Praise. (Suratul Ibrahim 14:1)
He it is who blesses you, and His angels (bless you), that He may
bring you forth from darkness unto light; and He is Merciful to the
believers. (Suratul Ahzaab 33:43)
A messenger reciting unto you the revelations of Allah made plain,
that He may bring forth those who believe and do good works from
darkness unto light. And whosoever believes in Allah and does right,
He will bring him into Gardensunderneath which rivers flow, therein to
abide forever. Allah hath made good provision for him. (Suratut-Talaaq
65:11)
The Prophet (sallallahualaiyhi wa sallam) was sent as a teacher and
role model for all of mankind. He was sent as a warner of Allahs wrath
and punishment, a bearer or good tidings, as well as a guide to
Paradise.
O Prophet! Verily, We have sent you as a witness, and a bearer of glad
tidings, and a warner and as one who invites to Allah (alone) by His
permission and as a lamp that gives light. (Suratul Ahzaab 33:45-46)
The above verse tell us that Allah has sent the Prophet (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam) as a lamp that gives light, which means that the
Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) is the source of guidance.He
spreads light and mercy through the instructions, teachings,and
practice of the Quran and Sunnah.
The Prophet (sallallahualaiyhi wa sallam) has the best personality,
characteristics, and morals. Once when Aisha (radiyyallahu anha) was
asked aboutthe life and conduct of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa
sallam), she replied, Have you not read the Quran? His character is
the complete explanation of the Quran. This means that his daily life
was a living illustration and explanation of the Quran. He did and
said everything in accordance to the teachings of the Quran and his
life is the reflection of the Shariah of Allah. He maintained the best
characteristics in his roles as father, husband, friend, ruler,
governor, teacher, statesman, protector of the weak, widows, and poor,
a guide to the rich, a guardian of the orphans, and a servant of
Allah. No one could ever equal the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa
sallam) in the whole history of mankind and no one ever will, insha
Allah.
And verily, you are on an exalted standard of character. (Suratul Qalam 68:4)
When the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) came into this world,
the community at that time was known as ummi, meaning illiterate. They
did not know how to read or write. They did not know the potential of
a human being. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam), himself,
also was not educated. He had never even seen the face of a teacher,
nor had he ever picked up a book and read even a sentence. On one
hand, we have a community and on the other hand, we have the Prophet
who was sent to guide them andboth are ummiilliterate. Allah commanded
the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam):
Arise and warn! (Suratul Muddath-thir 74:2)
So the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) stood up and made two
major claims:
1. I have been sent intothis world as an educator and warner.
2. I have been sent intothis world to perfect the best of moral
conduct in human behavior, to educate and purify them.
These were two of the biggest challenges thatthe Prophet (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam) had to face and two of the biggest goals he had
toaccomplish throughout his prophethood.
In a period of twenty-three years, when the last sermon was given in
the field of Arafat, there were approximately 124 to 144 thousand
Muslims present. There was no other period of time in the past two
millenniums that one person has changed the lives and minds of so many
people in a period of twenty-threeyears.
A professor of Islamic and Arabic Studies at Edinburgh University, who
wrote a biography of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)
called, Muhammad in Mecca, Muhammad in Medina, stated: One thing
baffles me. I cannot understand how one man, who hasno formal
education, could lead a community, who behaved like animals and
created those same human beings into men the world had never seen.
The Weekly News Magazine, TIME, dated July 15, 1974, carried a
selection of opinions by various historians, writers, military men,
businessmen, and others on the subject: Who Were Historys Great
Leaders? Some said that is was Hitler; others said Ghandi, Buddha,
Lincoln, and the like. But Jules Masserman, a United States
psychoanalyst put the standards straight by giving the correct
criteria wherewith to judge. He said: Leaders must fulfil three
functions:
1. Provide for the wellbeing of the led.
2. Provide a social organization in which people feel relatively secure, and
3. Provide them with one sent of beliefs.
With the above three criteria, he searches history and analyzes
Hitler, Pasteur, Caesar, Moses, Confucius, and the lot, and ultimately
concludes:
People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People
like Gandhi and Confusius, on the otherhand, and Alexander, Caesar,
and Hitler on the other hand, are leaders in the second sense and
perhaps the third sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category
alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Muhammad, who
combined all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same.
A Christian Reverend and commentator of the Bible, followed by that of
his Master, said:The ultimate criterion of a true prophet is themoral
character of his teachings.
The men that have been quoted above, who have praised the Noble
Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) are not Muslims, but they are
those who have studied Islam and understood that Prophet Muhammad
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) was no ordinary man.
When the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) sent a letter to
Caesar, the King of Rome, inviting him to embrace Islam, Hercules
summoned Abu Sufyan bin Harb, who was the archenemy of the Prophet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) and the believers at that time, and
questioned him about this man, who was claiming to be a prophet of
God. Abu Sufyans testimony went as follows:
Muhammad descends from a noble family. Noone of this family happened
to assume kingship. His followers are deemed weak withnumbers ever
growing. He neither tells lies nor betrays others, we fight him and he
fights us, but with alternate victory. He bids people to worship Allah
Alone with no associate, and abandon our fathers beliefs. He orders us
to observe prayer, honesty, abstinence, and maintain strong family
ties.
Hercules replied:
I fully realize that Prophets come from noble families; he doesnot
affect any previous example of prophethood. Since none of his
ancestors was a monarch, we cannot then allege thathe is a man trying
to reclaim his fathers monarchy. So long as he does not tell lies to
people, he is, for the more reason, immune to telling lies as regards
Allah. Concerning his followers being those deemed weak with numbers
ever growing, it is something that goes inagreement with questions of
Faith untilthis latter assumes its full dimensions geographically and
demographically. I have understood that no instance of apostasy has as
yet appeared among his followers and this points to the Bliss of Faith
that finds its abode in the human heart. Betrayal, as I see, is alien
to him because real Prophets hold betrayal in abhorrence. Bidding
worship of Allah with no associates, observance of prayer, honesty,
and abstinence and prohibition of paganism are traits bound to subject
to him all my possessions. I have already known that a Prophet must
arise, but it has never occurred to me that he will be an Arab from
among you. If I was sure, I would be faithful to him, I might hope to
meet him and if I were with him, I would wash his feet.
Even, Abu Sufyan, the most staunch enemy ofIslam before he converted,
had to testify to the excellent behavior and truthfulness of the
Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) and because of that, even
Hercules said that if he were present with the Prophet (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam), hedwash his feet with his own hands.
Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah, you have a good example to follow
for him who hopes (in the meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and
remembers Allah much. (Suratul Ahzaab 33:21)
One time, Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiyyallahu anhu) told the Messenger
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) that he loved him more than anything in
the world except for his ownself. The Prophet (sallallahualaiyhi wa
sallam) told him it was not sufficient, so Umar (radiyyallahu anhu)
told the Final Messenger that he loved him more than his ownself. The
Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) saidthat he had attained what
is proper. He stated: No one of you has a true faith until I am dearer
to him than his father, his children, and all of mankind. This was
recorded in Bukhari and Muslim. The Prophet (sallallahualaiyhi wa
sallam) is the most beloved creation to Allah and no one else could
surpass this love of Allah that He has for His noble creation. If one
does not love whatAllah loves, then he is bound to be destroyed.
Sahih Al-Bukhari narrates a hadithi qudsi on the authority of Ata
(radiyyallahu anhu), which comprehends most of the characteristics of
the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam):
O Prophet! We have surely sent you as a witness, a bringer of good
tidings, a warner,and a protector for the Ummis. You are my chosen
servant and Apostle. I have named you the Trusting, since you trust Me
in every matter. You are neitherrough mannered nor hard-hearted. Nor
do you uproar in the market place. You never requite evil for evil,
but forgive and overlook. Allah will notgive you death till He has
brought your stray nation on the right path through you and has given
light to the blind eyes of the unbelievers and has opened their deaf
ears and closed hearts. I will refine you with all that is noble; and
endow you with every noble habit; and will make tranquility your
attire and trait; and piety your conscience; and wisdom the substance
of your thought and knowledge and truthfulness and sincerity your
nature; and forgiveness and good works your custom; and justice your
practice, truth your rule, righteousness your guide, and forge the
followers of Islam into a community. Your name is Ahmad. Through you,
I will show the people the right path after deviation from it; and
bestow knowledge and wisdom upon them after their complete ignorance.
Through you, I will raise my creatures from the abysmal to the zenith
of perfectionand will make your Ummah the best Ummah for the guidance
of mankind.
The Prophet (sallallahualaiyhi wa sallam) is the best role model for
mankind and it is incumbent upon each and every believer to obey and
follow the messenger if they hope for Paradise and the pleasure of
Allah, Most High, the Exalted. He was the most reliable, trusted, and
loved. He was the mostgenerous, keen and most attentive to the peoples
trust and was very careful to pay peoples due in full. He never
betrayed nor deceived nor lied.
The Prophet (sallallahualaiyhi wa sallam) said: The example of
guidance and knowledge with whichAllah has sent me (Quran and Sunnah)
is like abundant rain falling on the earth. Some of which was fertile
soil that absorbed rainwater and brought forth vegetation and grass in
abundance. Another portion of it was hard and held the rainwaterand
Allah benefited thepeople with it and theyutilized it for drinking and
to irrigate the landfor cultivation. A portion of it was barren which
could neither hold water nor bring forth vegetation (then that land
gave nobenefits). The first is the example of the person who
comprehends Allahs religion (Islam) and gets benefit (from the
knowledge) which Allah Taaala has revealed through me and learns and
then teaches it to others. The (last example is that of a) person who
does not care for it anddoes not take Allahs Guidance revealed through
me. (He is like that barren land.)
Say: Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, but if you turn away, he is
only responsible for the duty placed on him (i.e. to convey the
Message) and you (are responsible) for what is placed on you. If you
obey him, you shall be on the right guidance. The Messengers duty
isonly to convey (the Message) in the clear way. (Suratun-Nur 24:54)
As a child, as a boy, as a youth, as a man, as a laborer, as a
husband, as a father, as a companion, as a businessman, as a preacher,
as a teacher, as a religious reformer, as a soldier, as a general, as
an administrator, as a planner, as a ruler of a state, as a leader of
thefaithful, as a protector of the weak, widows, and poor, as a guide
to the rich, as a guardian of the orphans, and as a servant and
messenger of Allah, the Beloved Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)
has no equal, no parallel, and no peer in the entire history of
mankind. He stands head and shoulders above all other human beings in
the nobility of his character and the pietyof his soul. In all these
walks of life and in all of these departments, the Prophet (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam) is a hero and the best role model for mankind.
I have always held the religion of Muhammadin high estimation because
of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion whichappears to me
to possess the assimilating capacity to the changing phase of
existence which can make itself appeal to every ageI believe that if a
man like him (Muhammad) were to assume dictatorship ofthe modern
world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would
bringit the much needed peace and happiness
--G.B. Shaw, The Genuine Islam, Vol. 1, No. 81936
May Allah shower His choicest blessings upon the Beloved, Honored
Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam), his companions, and all
those that follow him till the Day of Judgement. And may Allah include
us amongthose who love the Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)
more than anyone and anything else in the world and may Allah give us
the ability to perfectly imitate the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam). Ameen, AlhumdulillahiRabbil Alameen.
--
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