Salaams.
The fifth question of total 6 questions was:
Brother you said " 1- Claiming proximity to a concept is not defining others, but defining oneself. Q.5 Is every human being definable or understandable by others ? For example, let us say has every muslim understood Prophet Muhammad (s) ?
Firstly I think the context was mis-understood. Claiming proximity to a concept is quite different from claiming proximity to a person (entity). Concepts are typically a single direction of a facet. People, on the other hand are multi-faceted. So it is much easier to claim proximity to a concept than to a person. None-the-less, let alone concepts, even claiming proximity to a person is very common. Some examples are: Christians, who by definition claim proximity to Christ, and Shia-ne-Ali who by default claim proximity to Imam Ali (as).
But regardless, lets get down to the question itself. The main point to ponder will be what does "understanding" a person mean? Does it mean to understand the nature of a person, or does it mean to understand the ideals of a person? Unfortunately, the world has been tied up in over-estimating, and over-indulgence in focusing on the nature of persons. Buddha, for example, spread his ideals, but many nations take him as god-like (ignoring his ideals). There are similar stories about several others, and it is safely assumed that all devotional mythical figures (whether Greek, Roman, Hindu, etc.) were all human entities who were made the focus of people.
Infact in Islam, all focus must be on Allah (swt) and such should be the penetration of this focus, that it leaves space for no other. This is the peak of devotion. This is why the difference between understanding the nature of a person vs. understanding the ideals of a person becomes important. A very simple example is the Angel(s) of death. It is not important to know the nature of the Angel's existence (components, pysche, composition, etc), what is important is to know the function. The Angel takes souls and so we must sow well in this world before he takes away our souls.
As far as humans are concerned, their nature is the same basic humanity. All humans eat, drink, sleep, breathe, think, etc. All (besides medical anomaly exceptions) have respiratory system, digestive system, circulatory system, nervous system, reproductive system, etc. What makes them different is their wealth, their aptitude, their race, their nation, etc. However, all (except the mentally ill) are capable of realizing the position of their Rabb, and that is why Allah (swt) will strongly test Belief on the day of Qiyamah. Infact all humans are the same in nature, with the only important difference (in the eyes of God) being the difference of Taqwa !
Now what is important in understanding Muhammad (sawa) is not his nature (and the Qur'an says he was human like us exempting revelation), but rather his ideals ! Indeed the difference between a godly nation and an ungodly nation is that the former makes the Almighty their focus, while leveraging the ideals of godly people, while the latter makes persons their focus, as a substitute for the Almighty, using various excuses. For example, the excuse of the Hindus is that God is not tangible, and so they need images of him, even false ones, to focus attention. Others believe that God has delegated all processes to be capable and preferable through intercessors, and so these intercessors become the focus.
The Qur'an in Yunus 10:18 talks about the excuse of people worshiping entities under the banner of intercessors. Since those people called the entities Intercessors, they did not believe that they were gods. Yet still, Qur'an calls it worshiping, and that is because the focus of their devotion was to these entities. They believed that the best channels for achieving their success and worldly benefit was to call upon these intercessors and make them happy by doing things in their name, or for their pleasure (khushnoodeeh). And then these intercessors would use the favor bestowed upon them, to one way or another, improve the peoples' affairs and lot. On the flip side, a godly nation performs its acts for the pleasure of Allah (swt), and for earning His favor.
This is why Allah (swt) says in Qur'an, Baqarah 2:165 that the believers are those who are stronger in love for Allah (swt). Being stronger in love is not a sweet-talk, it is a manifest reality. When one is strongest in love for Allah (swt), his love does more dhikr of Allah (swt), his limbs perform acts in the name of Allah (swt), for the pleasure of Allah (swt), his calls, pleas and cries are submitted directly to, and in the court of his beloved, Allah (swt). Infact, the focus of devotion of this person will be Allah (swt) more than any entity that exists in creation. And yes, it does not even matter if one prays 5 daily Salaah, if his focus during the salaah is not Allah (swt). And also when one is really in dire need, he prefers to call upon (focus unto) other than Allah (swt). Thus the true godly person is he who loves Allah (swt) more than any other and logically expresses it by his beliefs and deeds (dhikr, dua, hamd, etc.).
Why am I saying this? Because I wanted to drive the point that Muhammad (sawa) did not come so that his person be understood, or his nature be understood. He came specifically as a Messenger, so that the Message he carries may be understood. Infact, part of his message was that man should not fall into the same trap as the nation of his predecessor, Christ. They must not repeat the mistake of making the messenger the focus, rather than the One who sent the message. If we love Muhammad (sawa), which we should, it must be because he was the chosen Messenger of Allah (swt), who the Almighty chose as the bearer of his final seal of formal Message to mankind.
So we have to ask ourselves, what did Muhammad (sawa) stand for? What were his ideals? What makes him important? What makes his Ahlul-Bayt (as) important? And from every direction of these questions, we arrive at the same answer - it is his position as a Messenger and Guide from Allah (swt). And the same for all the Ahlul-Bayt (as) - their position as practical (by example) and theoretical guides to us from Allah (swt). If we focus on their person, and leave their teachings, we have taken nothing. And if we focus on their teachings, then we have taken everything, because it automatically induces the appreciation and thankfulness to them for their service to God in guiding us. And most thanks are due to Allah (swt) who sent them unto us to guide us.
The best way to understand the position of Muhammad (sawa) is to see how Muslims are commanded to address him in the canonical prayer, Salaah. "Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu, wa rasooluh" i.e. I bear witness that Muhammad (sawa) is the Servant and Messenger of Allah (swt). This is the best way to understand Muhammad (sawa). He is the best of slaves of Allah (swt) and the best of Messengers. We must strive to follow his footsteps in being a best possible slave of Allah (swt) and a best possible listener and follower of the message brought by his eminence, the blessed.
May Peace and blessings of Allah (swt) be upon Muhammad (sawa), His Messenger, and upon the guides from the family, i.e. Ahlul-Bayt (as) of the Messenger. May Allah (swt) give us courage and resilience in understanding and following their teachings. And in so doing, making Allah (swt) the focus of our attention and devotion in as much a way as the Prophet (sawa) and his Ahlul-Bayt (as) did. And not to substitute Him by any other, whether in prayer or acts for pleasure of the devotional thereof. Inshallah.
Was-salaam,
~Ali..