The
Dr. Syed Hasanuddin Ahmad
hasanuddinahmad@yahoo.com
In this age,
Islam and its followers are once again under full attacks by others. The
Muslims all over the world are being harassed and persecuted on account of one
or the other made up reasons and excuses.
Honor and freedom have now become mirage for them, whereas insult and misery
have now become signs of their recognition. The Qur’an tells us that a certain
group was punished in the following manner:
ضربت
عليهم
الذلّةُ
والمسكنة
وبآؤ بغضبٍ من
الله (البقره 2: 61
)
(They were covered with
humiliation and misery; they drew on themselves the wrath of Allah)(Al-Baqarah
2: 61).
It seems the Qur’anic
punishment is now fate of the Muslim Ummah. Muslim countries are being attacked
and occupied. Muslims are being killed in mass. Their houses are being razed,
and properties destroyed. They have become a laughing stock, and a target of
every Tom and Harry to kick around. A clear new example of such assault on the
sensibility of Muslims is the publication of cartoons ridiculing and insulting
the last Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (S). This has been done in the name of
freedom of speech. Freedom of speech has limitations. In a civilized world, one
is free to criticize other’s conduct or idea based on facts. False and
insulting accusations are never condoned by a civilized society. Do not they
know that the non-western world does not accept their definition of freedom of
speech? False accusation is a libel and liable to be punished by a civilized
society. Some might say that in the western culture freedom of speech has no
bounds, but needless to say that this principle is based on double standard.
One is not free to criticize or express one’s opinion on certain events or actions
of certain personalities of the West. Mayor of
النبى أَولى
بالمؤمنين من
أنفسهم
وأزواجه
أُمهاتهم
(الاحزاب 33: 6)
(The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own
selves, and his wives are their mothers)(Al-Ahzab 33: 6).
Also Allah has ordered Muslims to
rise and defend the dignity and honor of the
Messenger of Allah against false accusation and libel:
إن الله وملآ
ئكته يصلون
على النبى
يآأَيهاالذين
آمنواصلواعليه
وسلمواتسليما(الاحزاب
33: 56)
(Allah and his
angels send blessings on the Prophet. O you who believe! Send your blessings on
him, and salute him with all respect) (Al-Ahzab 33: 56).
Muhammad (S) was the only prophet
whose full life-history has been preserved. His life remains an exemplary model
for the entire mankind. He was a man of tolerance, forgiveness, and peace. Here
I will give just two examples from history to illustrate the point: 1. When
Muhammad (S) went to Taif to invite people there to Islam, he was stoned by
urchins and opponents of the city so much so that he was profusely bleeding
from head to toe. An angel came to seek his permission to overturn the mountain
of the city on its citizens. He took pity on his tortures and denied the
request; 2. When Muhammad conquered Makkah, he let all his enemy soldiers and
fighters go free without any punishment. History fails to show any such
parallel event. Does not the West know what its own writers and scholars have
written about Muhammad? Just two examples, for the sake of brevity, from their
literature will suffice-1, “During his lifetime Muhammad thus laid the
foundation for a stable social and political order. Circumstances favored him
in many ways, but he could not have achieved what he did without his personal
qualities, his far-seeing wisdom as a statesman, his skill as an administrator,
and his tact in handling individuals." (The Encyclopedia of Religion:
Muhammad, Political and Social Achievement); 2, "My choice of Muhammad to
lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers
and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was
supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.” “During this
short period of 23 years of his prophet-hood, he changed the complete
Peoples’ demonstrations on streets,
peaceful or otherwise, writings on papers, and speeches and resolutions in
legislatures have never been able to correct political and planned agenda of offences
and assaults. Under such circumstances, should Muslims resort to start
insulting others as a pay back, or become pacifist, or continue the mission of
calling people to their Lord- the Creator? Muslims should never insult or ridicule elders
of others. Allah says:
And do not revile those whom they invoke besides Allah (Al-An'aam 6:
108).
Also no, they should never become
pacifist! They should, however, realize that just words, either by speech or in
writing, are not enough to convince the people. We have to practice what we
preach to let people see the fruits of Muhammad’s teachings. Our behavior and
conduct should please people around us. Our social life, based on Islamic
norms, should be a model for others. Thus, the only way, Muslims can
successfully defend the honor and dignity of the Messenger of Allah is to learn
how he, himself, used to deal with non-believers. Here I will give some
examples from the life of the Messenger of Allah.
Social Dealing: 1. a companion
R of the Aslami tribe had taken some loan from a Jew. He was unable to pay back
the loan in time. The Jew was continuously asking him to give back his loan.
The companion wanted to delay the payment till the improvement of his
situation. The Jew did not want to grant him more time. The case was presented
to the Prophet (S). He ordered his companion to pay back the loan. The companion
told him that he had nothing, except the dress on his body. The Prophet (S)
ordered him to give his leg wrapper to the Jew and use his turban as a wrapper
of his loin (Ahmad).
2. The Jews used to come to
the meetings of the Prophet (S) to listen to his talks. They would deliberately
sneeze during his talks to disturb the listening of the people. Instead of
rebuking and punishing them on this rude and disturbing behavior, the Prophet
(S) used to say, “May God guide you, and correct your manners” (Abu Dawood).
3. An old woman used to throw
garbage over the Messenger (S) whenever he passed through her balcony. One day
she did not throw the garbage. The Messenger of Allah enquired but her. He was
told that she had fallen sick. He then visited her on her sick bed (Muslim).
Justice: 1. a Muslim,
named Bishar, had a dispute with a Jew. The Muslim asked the Jew to go to a
Jewish Chief, K’ab bin Ashraf, to settle the matter. The Jew refused to go to
his own chief, and brought him to the Prophet (S) because he believed him to be
just. After hearing their case, the Prophet (S) decided in favor of the Jew
(Abu Dawood).
2. A Muslim once took some
loan from a Jew. He was not able to pay in time. The Jew was not ready to
extend time of payment. The Messenger (S) ordered the Muslim to pay back the
loan. He expressed his inability, saying he had nothing to pay. The Messenger
(S) ordered him to compensate the Jew with his leg wrapper, and use his turban
as a leg wrapper (Muslim).
Toleration: 1. once, the
Prophet (S) was talking to a villager in the mosque. The villager felt the call
of nature to urinate. He urinated right there in the mosque. Some companions
ran to him to admonish him. The Prophet (S) told them to leave him alone, and
reminded them that they have been raised to make ease, and not create
difficulty. He then asked them to wash the place with the water (Bukhari).
2. Once the Prophet (S) was
going somewhere with a shawl of thick border wrapped over his shoulders and
neck. A Bedouin pulled his shawl so hard that it left injurious marks on the
shoulders and the neck of the Prophet (S). The man then said, “O Muhammad! Give
me something from the treasury of Allah, which you have. And it will not be a
giving from your own or your father’s wealth.” The Prophet (S) attended to him
and ordered to give something to the man (Bukhari).
Gifts & Charity: 1. once, the Prophet (S)
received a silk robe. He sent that robe to Umar R. Umar R brought the robe to
the Prophet (S), and said, “O Messenger of God! You have forbidden the
believers to wear silk and gold. What should then I do with it?” The Prophet (S)
replied, “I did not give it to you to wear, but for some other use.” Umar R
then sent that robe as a gift to his non-believing brother in Makkah (Agreed
Upon).
2.
Once, a man came to the Prophet (S) and begged him to give him some cattle. The
Prophet (S) gave him the entire horde of animals. The man went back to his
tribe and told them to embrace Islam because the Prophet (S) was so generous
that he had not cared of becoming poor [S, Muslim].
3. Once, some non-believers
came to visit him. He entertained them with goat milk so much so that they
drank up milk of all the goats. That night his family members slept hungry. Abu
Basrah Ghiffari RA, who was one of those non-believers who drank up all the
milk that night, narrated this story. He later became a Muslim (Ahmad).
Funerals & Graves: 1. once,
a funeral procession of a Jew passed by the Prophet (S). He stood up as a mark
of respect, and said, “Respect the dead” (Bukhari). 2.
Once, the Prophet (S) visited the grave of his mother. There, the tears started
flowing out of his eyes. His companions wanted to know the reason. The
Messenger (S) said, “I sought the permission of God to pray for the forgiveness
for my mother. The permission was denied. I then sought the permission to visit
her grave. This permission was granted. Do visit the graves, it helps
remembering the death” (Muslim).
Neighbors’ Rights: Non-Muslim neighbors
have also rights over their Muslim neighbors Abdullah bin Umar RA used to send
meat of his slaughtered goat to his neighbor who was a Jew (Abu Dawood).
Here of-course, I am talking about a
huge social struggle and transformation of our attitude. But then Allah does
not help unless we struggle to help ourselves:
إنَّ الله لآ
يغير ما بقومٍ
حتى يغيروا ما
بأَنفسهم
(الرعد13: 11)
(Verily never will Allah change the condition of a
people until they change it themselves with their own souls)(Ar-Ra’d 13: 11).
All these can be achieved only when
all Muslims play their individual and collective role with zeal and devotion.
Example of how much zeal and devotion to the cause we need is that of the
Messenger of Allah (S). He asserted so much devotion and energy that Allah had
to say:
فلعلك باخع
نفسك على آثا
رهم إن لم
يؤمنوا بهذا
الحديث
أَسفًا (الكهف
18: 6)
(Thou would only,
perchance, fret thyself to death, following after them, in grief, if they believe
not in the message) (Al-Kahf 18: 6).
To develop this much zeal and
devotion, and to strengthen our resolve and perseverance, we must adopt the
same technique that was prescribed by Allah to his Messenger (S)- practice and
habit of standing at night to seek his help:
و من اليل
فاسجد له و
سبحه ليلا
طويلا (الانسان
76: 26)
(And part of the night, prostrate thyself to him; and glorify him a long
night through)(Al-Insan 76: 26).
We should be
mentally prepared to face rebukes, insults, ridicules, criticism, excuses,
neglect, and such other offensive acts or talks etc. Patience and toleration
should be our shields to keep our own emotions, anger, and sorrow under
control. Let us recall a hadith narrated by Lady ‘Aisha R that the Prophet (S)
never avenged an insult or injury to his own personal feelings, body, or
substance. However, he never forgave those who committed a crime (of Allah’s
limitations), and always punished them (Agreed Upon)
When we are able to witness the
Messenger’s way of life, then and only then not only we can regain honor, and respect
for him, but also rights to live and practice our own way of life in the world,
and forgiveness of Allah in the Hereafter.
To start with let us first proclaim
with pride and dignity that we are Muslims, and be not shy or afraid of it; and
that is what Allah says:
ومن
أَحسن قولاً
ممن دعآ الى
الله و عمل
صالحًا و قال
إننى من
المسلمين
(فصلت 41: 33)
(Who is better in speech
than one who calls (men) to Allah, works righteousness, and says, “I am of
those who bow in Islam”?)(Fussilat 41: 33).
.