Muhammad ,the man whom we love

[Rock]

Bismillah


assalamu alykom


Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:


The Prophet (pbuh) observed: None among you will be a truthful believer till


he likes for his brother or for his neighbor that which he loves for himself.

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


This is how Allah described him in Quran:


"Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allah, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter Paradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hell-fire), for the believers (he is) full of pity, kind, and merciful." (Quran 9:128)

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


as salam alykom


He taught us manners, first of which to be kind and dutiful to our parents:


"Narrated Aba A`mrel Shaybani saying the owner of this house - indicating to the house of Abdullah - told us saying I asked the Prophet salla Allah a`lyhee wa sallam which are the best deeds in the eyes of Allah, he said: performing prayer on time, he said what is after that? he replied being kind and dutiful to parents, he said what comes next? he replied Jihad in the cause of Allah. He stressed saying this is what he told me and if I asked him more he would have informed me" (reported by Bukhari)


1. MUHAMMAD


570-632


From: The 100, a Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History


By American author : Michael H. Hart


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.


Of humble origins, Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world's great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive.


The majority of the persons in this book had the advantage of being born and raised in centers of civilization, highly cultured or politically pivotal nations. Muhammad, however, was born in the year 570, in the city of Mecca, in southern Arabia, at that time a backward area of the world, far from the centers of trade, art, and learning. Orphaned at age six, he was reared in modest surroundings. Islamic tradition tells us that he was illiterate. His economic position improved when, at age twenty-five, he married a wealthy widow. Nevertheless, as he approached forty, there was little outward indication that he was a remarkable person.


Most Arabs at that time were pagans, who believed in many gods. There were, however, in Mecca, a small number of Jews and Christians; it was from them no doubt that Muhammad first learned of a single, omnipotent God who ruled the entire universe. When he was forty years old, Muhammad became convinced that this one true God (Allah) was speaking to him, and had chosen him to spread the true faith.


For three years, Muhammad preached only to close friends and associates. Then, about 613, he began preaching in public. As he slowly gained converts, the Meccan authorities came to consider him a dangerous nuisance. In 622, fearing for his safety, Muhammad fled to Medina (a city some 200 miles north of Mecca), where he had been offered a position of considerable political power.


This flight, called the Hegira, was the turning point of the Prophet's life. In Mecca, he had had few followers. In Medina, he had many more, and he soon acquired an influence that made him a virtual dictator. During the next few years, while Muhammad s following grew rapidly, a series of battles were fought between Medina and Mecca. This was ended in 630 with Muhammad's triumphant return to Mecca as conqueror. The remaining two and one-half years of his life witnessed the rapid conversion of the Arab tribes to the new religion. When Muhammad died, in 632, he was the effective ruler of all of southern Arabia.


The Bedouin tribesmen of Arabia had a reputation as fierce warriors. But their number was small; and plagued by disunity and internecine warfare, they had been no match for the larger armies of the kingdoms in the settled agricultural areas to the north. However, unified by Muhammad for the first time in history, and inspired by their fervent belief in the one true God, these small Arab armies now embarked upon one of the most astonishing series of conquests in human history. To the northeast of Arabia lay the large Neo-Persian Empire of the Sassanids; to the northwest lay the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman Empire, centered in Constantinople. Numerically, the Arabs were no match for their opponents. On the field of battle, though, the inspired Arabs rapidly conquered all of Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine. By 642, Egypt had been wrested from the Byzantine Empire, while the Persian armies had been crushed at the key battles of Qadisiya in 637, and Nehavend in 642.


But even these enormous conquests-which were made under the leadership of Muhammad's close friends and immediate successors, Abu Bakr and 'Umar ibn al-Khattab -did not mark the end of the Arab advance. By 711, the Arab armies had swept completely across North Africa to the Atlantic Ocean There they turned north and, crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, overwhelmed the Visigothic kingdom in Spain.


For a while, it must have seemed that the Moslems would overwhelm all of Christian Europe. However, in 732, at the famous Battle of Tours, a Moslem army, which had advanced into the center of France, was at last defeated by the Franks. Nevertheless, in a scant century of fighting, these Bedouin tribesmen, inspired by the word of the Prophet, had carved out an empire stretching from the borders of India to the Atlantic Ocean-the largest empire that the world had yet seen. And everywhere that the armies conquered, large-scale conversion to the new faith eventually followed.


Now, not all of these conquests proved permanent. The Persians, though they have remained faithful to the religion of the Prophet, have since regained their independence from the Arabs. And in Spain, more than seven centuries of warfare 5 finally resulted in the Christians reconquering the entire peninsula. However, Mesopotamia and Egypt, the two cradles of ancient civilization, have remained Arab, as has the entire coast of North Africa. The new religion, of course, continued to spread, in the intervening centuries, far beyond the borders of the original Moslem conquests. Currently it has tens of millions of adherents in Africa and Central Asia and even more in Pakistan and northern India, and in Indonesia.


In Indonesia, the new faith has been a unifying factor. In the Indian subcontinent, however, the conflict between Moslems and Hindus is still a major obstacle to unity.


How, then, is one to assess the overall impact of Muhammad on human history? Like all religions, Islam exerts an enormous influence upon the lives of its followers. It is for this reason that the founders of the world's great religions all figure prominently in this book .


Since there are roughly twice as many Christians as Moslems in the world, it may initially seem strange that Muhammad has been ranked higher than Jesus. There are two principal reasons for that decision. First, Muhammad played a far more important role in the development of Islam than Jesus did in the development of Christianity. Although Jesus was responsible for the main ethical and moral precepts of Christianity (insofar as these differed from Judaism), St. Paul was the main developer of Christian theology, its principal proselytizer, and the author of a large portion of the New Testament.


Muhammad, however, was responsible for both the theology of Islam and its main ethical and moral principles. In addition, he played the key role in proselytizing the new faith, and in establishing the religious practices of Islam. Moreover, he is the author of the Moslem Holy Scriptures, the Koran, a collection of certain of Muhammad's insights that he believed had been directly revealed to him by Allah. Most of these utterances were copied more or less faithfully during Muhammad's lifetime and were collected together in authoritative form not long after his death. The Koran therefore, closely represents Muhammad's ideas and teachings and to a considerable extent his exact words. No such detailed compilation of the teachings of Christ has survived. Since the Koran is at least as important to Moslems as the Bible is to Christians, the influence of Muhammad through the medium of the Koran has been enormous It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. On the purely religious level, then, it seems likely that Muhammad has been as influential in human history as Jesus.


Furthermore, Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was a secular as well as a religious leader. In fact, as the driving force behind the Arab conquests, he may well rank as the most influential political leader of all time.


Of many important historical events, one might say that they were inevitable and would have occurred even without the particular political leader who guided them.


For example, the South American colonies would probably have won their independence from Spain even if Simon Bolivar had never lived. But this cannot be said of the Arab conquests. Nothing similar had occurred before Muhammad, and there is no reason to believe that the conquests would have been achieved without him.


The only comparable conquests in human history are those of the Mongols in the thirteenth century, which were primarily due to the influence of Genghis Khan. These conquests, however, though more extensive than those of the Arabs, did not prove permanent, and today the only areas occupied by the Mongols are those that they held prior to the time of Genghis Khan.


It is far different with the conquests of the Arabs. From Iraq to Morocco, there extends a whole chain of Arab nations united not merely by their faith in Islam, but also by their Arabic language, history, and culture. The centrality of the Koran in the Moslem religion and the fact that it is written in Arabic have probably prevented the Arab language from breaking up into mutually unintelligible dialects, which might otherwise have occurred in the intervening thirteen centuries. Differences and divisions between these Arab states exist, of course, and they are considerable, but the partial disunity should not blind us to the important elements of unity that have continued to exist. For instance, neither Iran nor Indonesia, both oil-producing states and both Islamic in religion, joined in the oil embargo of the winter of 1973-74. It is no coincidence that all of the Arab states, and only the Arab states, participated in the embargo.


We see, then, that the Arab conquests of the seventh century have continued to play an important role in human history, down to the present day. It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history.

[radiyah]

Bismillah


<i>Continuance of ... An excerpt from the book entitled "The Message of Mohammad," by Athar Husain</i>


Trust in Allah (swt)






Muhammad (pbuh) preached to the people to trust in Allah (swt). His whole life was a sublime example of the precept. In the loneliness of Makkah, in the midst of persecution and danger, in adversity and tribulations, and in the thick of enemies in the battles of Uhud and Hunain, complete faith and trust in Allah (swt) appears as the dominant feature in his life. However great the danger that confronted him, he never lost hope and never allowed himself to be unduly agitated. Abu Talib knew the feelings of the Quraish when the Prophet (pbuh) started his mission. He also knew the lengths to which the Quraish could go, and requested the Prophet (pbuh) to abandon his mission, but the latter calmly replied,


"Dear uncle, do not go by my loneliness. Truth will not go unsupported for long. The whole of Arabia and beyond will one day espouse its cause." [ibn Hisham, Sirat-ur-Rasul]


When the attitude of the Quraish became more threatening, Abu Talib again begged his nephew to renounce his mission but the Prophet's (pbuh) reply was:


"O my uncle, if they placed the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, to force me to renounce my work, verily I would not desist therefrom until Allah made manifest His cause, or I perished in the attempt." [ibid.]


To another well-wisher, he said,


"Allah will not leave me forlorn."


A dejected and oppressed disciple was comforted with the words:


"By Allah, the day is near when this faith will reach its pinnacle and none will have to fear anyone except Allah." [sahih Bukhari]


It was the same trust in Allah (swt) which emboldened the Prophet (pbuh) to say his prayers openly in the haram in the teeth of opposition. The Quraish were once collected there and were conspiring to put an end to his life when he next entered the haram. His young daughter Fatima, who happened to overhear their talk rushed weeping to her father and told him of the designs of the Quraish . He consoled her, did his ablutions and went to the Ka'bah to say prayers. There was only consternation among the Quraish when they saw him. [Ahmed, Musnad]


Then leaving his house for Madinah he asked Ali (ra) to sleep on his bed and told him,


"Do not worry, no one will be able to do you any harm." (Tabari, Ibn Hisham)


Even though the enemies had surrounded the house, he left the house reciting the Quranic verse:


"We have set a barricade before them and a barricade behind them and (thus) have covered them so that they see not." [Qur'an 36:9]


Abu Bakr was frightened when pursuers came close to the cavern in which he and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) were hiding during their flight, but the Prophet (pbuh) heartened him,


"Grieve not. Allah is with us."


A guard was kept at the Prophet's house in Madinah because of the danger that surrounded him but he had it withdrawn when the Quranic verse was revealed:


"Allah will protect you from the people." [Qur'an 5:67]


A man was caught waiting in ambush to assault the Prophet (pbuh) but he was directed to be released with the words,


"Even if this man wanted to kill me, he could not." [Ahmed, Musnad]


A Jewess from Khaibar had put poison in the Prophet's (pbuh) food. He spat it out after taking a morsel but a disciple who had his fill died the next day. The Jewess was brought before the prophet (pbuh) who questioned her:


"Why did you do this?" "To kill you," was her defiant reply. She was told, "Allah would not have allowed you to do it." [sahih Muslim]


In the battle of Uhud when the rear guard action of the Makkan army had disorganized the Muslim army and had turned the tables, the Prophet (pbuh) stood as firm as a rock even though he had suffered personal injuries. When Abu Sufyan taunted the Muslims and shouted "Victory to hubal!" (hubal was one of their idols), the Prophet (pbuh) asked Umar (ra) to shout back, "Allah is our protector and friend. You have no protector and friend. Allah is Great, Magnificent." [ibn Hisham]


Again in the battle of Hunain, when the unexpected assault of the army had swept the Muslim force off its feet and a defeat seemed imminent, the Prophet (pbuh) did not yield ground. With trust in Allah (swt) he showed such courage that the Muslim army rallied behind him to win a signal victory.


Salam

[Rock]

Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported:


Allah's Messenger (pbuh) observed:


He who believes in Allah and the Last Day should either utter good words


or better keep silent;


and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should treat his neighbor with


kindness;


and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should show hospitality to his


guest.

[radiyah]

Bismillah


<i>Continuance of ... An excerpt from the book entitled "The Message of Mohammad," by Athar Husain</i>


Justice


The Prophet (pbuh) asked people to be just and kind. As the supreme judge and arbiter, as the leader of men, as generalissimo [head commaner and chief] of a rising power, as a reformer and apostle, he had always to deal with men and their affairs. He had often to deal with mutually inimical and warring tribes when showing justice to one carried the danger of antagonizing the other, and yet he never deviated from the path of justice. In administering justice, he made no distinction between believers and nonbelievers, friends and foes, high and low. From numerous instances reported in the traditions, a few are given below.



Sakhar, a chief of a tribe, had helped Muhammad (pbuh) greatly in the siege of Taif, for which he was naturally obliged to him. Soon after, two charges were brought against Sakhar: one by Mughira of illegal confinement of his (Mughira's) aunt and the other by Banu Salim of forcible occupation of his spring by Sakhar. In both cases, he decided against Sakhar and made him undo the wrong. [Abu Dawud]


Abdullah Bin Sahal, a companion, was deputized to collect rent from Jews of Khaibar. His cousin Mahisa accompanied him but, on reaching Khaibar, they had separated. Abdullah was waylaid and done to death. Mahisa reported this tragedy to the Prophet (pbuh) but as there were no eye-witnesses to identify the guilty, he did not say anything to the Jews and paid the blood-money out of the state revenues. [sahih Bukhari]


A woman of the Makhzoom family with good connections was found guilty of theft. For the prestige of the Quraish, some prominent people including Asmaa Bin Zaid interceded to save her from punishment. The Prophet (pbuh) refused to condone the crime and expressed displeasure saying,


"Many a community ruined itself in the past as they only punished the poor and ignored the offences of the exalted. By Allah, if Muhammad's (My) daughter Fatima would have committed theft, her hand would have been severed."[sahih Bukhari]


The Jews, in spite of their hostility to the Prophet (pbuh), were so impressed by his impartiality and sense of justice that they used to bring their cases to him, and he decided them according to Jewish law. [Abu Dawud]


Once, while he was distributing the spoils of war, people flocked around him and one man almost fell upon him. He pushed the men with a stick causing a slight abrasion. He was so sorry about this that he told the man that he could have his revenge, but the man said, "O messenger of Allah, I forgive you." [Abu Dawud]


In his fatal illness, the Prophet (pbuh) proclaimed in a concourse assembled at his house that if he owed anything to anyone the person concerned could claim it; if he had ever hurt anyone's person, honour or property, he could have his price while he was yet in this world. A hush fell on the crowd. One man came forward to claim a few dirhams which were paid at once. [ibn Hisham]


salam

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


”narrated Mu`adh ibn Jabal saying that I heard the Messenger of Allah sallah Allah a`lyhee wa sallam say that Allah may He Be Glorified Say those who love each other for the Sake of My Glory are entitled for pulpits of light about which prophets and martyrs envy” (reported by Sunan Termidhi)


“narrated Abi Muslim Abdullah Alkhorasani saying that the Messenger of Allah sallah Allah a`lyhee wa sallam said shake hands and hatred would go away, and exchange gifts this would instill love between you and eliminate conflicts” (reported in Mua`ta Malek)

[radiyah]

Bismillah


<i>Continuance of ... An excerpt from the book entitled "The Message of Mohammad," by Athar Husain</i>





Equality






Muhammad (pbuh) asked people to shun notions of racial, family or any other form of superiority based on mundane things and said that righteousness alone was the criterion of one's superiority over another. It has already been shown how he mixed with everyone on equal terms, how he ate with slaves, servants and the poorest on the same sheet (a practice that is still followed in Arabia), how he refused all privileges and worked like any ordinary labourer. Two instances may, however, be quoted here:


Once the Prophet (pbuh) visited Saad Bin Abadah. While returning Saad sent his son Quais with him. The Prophet (pbuh) asked Quais to mount his camel with him. Quais hesitated out of respect but the Prophet (pbuh) insisted: "Either mount the camel or go back." Quais decided to go back. [Abu Dawood]


On another occasion he was travelling on his camel over hilly terrain with a disciple, Uqba Bin Aamir. After going some distance, he asked Uqba to ride the camel, but Uqba thought this would be showing disrespect to the Prophet (pbuh). But the Prophet (pbuh) insisted and he had to comply. The Prophet (pbuh) himself walked on foot as he did not want to put too much load on the animal. [Nasai]


The prisoners of war of Badr included Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet (pbuh). Some people were prepared to forgo their shares and remit the Prophet's (pbuh) ransom but he declined saying that he could make no distinctions. [sahih Bukhari]


During a halt on a journey, the companions apportioned work among themselves for preparing food. The Prophet (pbuh) took upon himself the task of collecting firewood. His companions pleaded that they would do it and that he need not take the trouble, but he replied,


"It is true, but I do not like to attribute any distinction to myself. Allah does not like the man who considers himself superior to his companions." [Zarqani, Vol. 4 pg. 306)]





Salam

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


as salam alykom


His manner in addressing issues was certainly adequate to each given situation. He taught us how to handle situations according to the involved person.


Look at the following example and be amazed as I always do whenever I read this hadeeth:


<b>Narrated Abi Horairah that a Bedouin came into the mosque while the Messenger of Allah (PAPBUH) was sitting, and the Bedouin prayed two Raka`a and invoked upon Allah saying O Allah have mercy on me and Mohamadan and do not bestow mercy on anyone else with us. The Messenger (PAPBUH) said you limited what is unrestricted. Then the Bedouin passed urine at one side of the mosque, people hurried towards him. The Messenger (PAPBUH) stopped them saying you were ordained to make things easy on people and not make it difficult. Just pour a bucket of water on the urine.</b>



‏(reported by Ahmed)‏ ‏

[radiyah]

Last chapters of <b>"An excerpt from the book entitled "The Message of Mohammad," by Athar Husain"</b>


<b>Kindness to animals</b>






The Prophet (pbuh) not only preached to the people to show kindness to each other but also to all living souls. He forbade the practice of cutting tails and manes of horses, of branding animals at any soft spot, and of keeping horses saddled unnecessarily. [sahih Muslim] If he saw any animal over-loaded or Milad he would pull up the owner and say,


"Fear Allah in your treatment of animals." [Abu Dawood]


A companion came to him with the young ones of a bird in his sheet and said that the mother bird had hovered over them all along. He was directed to replace her offspring in the same bush (Mishkat, Abu Dawood)


During a journey, somebody picked up some birds eggs. The bird's painful note and fluttering attracted the attention of the Prophet (pbuh), who asked the man to replace the eggs. [sahih Bukhari]


As his army marched towards Makkah to conquer it, they passed a female dog with puppies. The Prophet (pbuh) not only gave orders that they should not be disturbed, but posted a man to see that this was done.


He stated, "Verily, there is heavenly reward for every act of kindness done to a living animal."





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Love for the poor






The Prophet (pbuh) enjoined upon Muslims to treat the poor kindly and to help them with alms, Zakat, and in other ways. He said: "He is not a perfect Muslim who eats his fill and lets his neighbour go hungry."


He asked, "Do you love your Creator? Then love your fellow beings first."


Monopoly is unlawful in Islam and he preached that "It is difficult for a man laden with riches to climb the steep path that leads to bliss."


He did not prohibit or discourage the acquisition of wealth but insisted that it be lawfully acquired by honest means and that a portion of it would go to the poor. He advised his followers


"To give the labourer his wages before his perspiration dried up."


He did not encourage beggary either and stated that


"Allah is gracious to him who earns his living by his own labour, and that if a man begs to increase his property, Allah will diminish it and whoever has food for the day, it is prohibited for him to beg."


To his wife he said, "O A'isha, love the poor and let them come to you and Allah will draw you near to Himself." [sahih Bukhari]


One or two instances of the Prophet's (pbuh) concern for the poor may be given here. A Madinan, Ibad Bin Sharjil, was once starving. He entered an orchard and picked some fruit. The owner of the orchard gave him a sound beating and stripped off his clothes. The poor man appealed to the Prophet (pbuh) who remonstrated the owner thus:


"This man was ignorant, you should have dispelled his ignorance; he was hungry, you should have fed him."


His clothes were restored to the Madinan and, in addition, some grain was given to him [Abu Dawood]


A debtor, Jabir Bin Abdullah, was being harassed by his creditor as he could not clear his debt owing to the failure of his date crop. The Prophet (pbuh) went with Jabir to the house of the creditor and pleaded with him to give Jabir some more time but the creditor was not prepared to oblige. The Prophet (pbuh) then went to the oasis and having seen for himself that the crop was really poor, he again approached the creditor with no better result. He then rested for some time and approached the creditor for a third time but the latter was adamant. The Prophet (pbuh) went again to the orchard and asked Jabir to pluck the dates. As Allah would have it, the collection not only sufficed to clear the dues but left something to spare. [sahih Bukhari]


His love for the poor was so deep that he used to pray: "O Allah, keep me poor in my life and at my death and raise me at resurrection among those who are poor." [Nasai]


May Allah(SWT) give reward to Athar Husain, and may Allah(SWT) accept from us, but this is not the end, our love to our Prophet never ends, and we will keep coming back with more insha'Allah.


Salam