The west has been chastising the Muslims for being fundamentalists , extremists or terrorists . No other religion has been as badly maligned as Islam . No other religion has been more widely discussed in the western media than Islam . No other religion has aroused extreme feelings of love and hatred than Islam. Such people should read the Last Sermon of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) very carefully . Indeed this testament should be kept on the bedside table to enable one to read it over and over again . It summarises Islam . All interest and usurious
dues accruing from the times of ignorance stand wiped out. And the first amount of interest that I remit is that which Abbas ibn Abd-al Muttalib (His uncle )had to receive. Verily it is remitted entirely. He even dealt with the rights of wives and slaves unheard of in contemporary world or after .
In the past centuries , too, since Muhammad , the Muslims’ Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) began his mission of spreading Islam , he and the Holy Quran were reviled . The Crusades were imposed on the Muslims leading to a great blood letting rapine and pillaging by the followers of the Cross.
The Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) was born an orphan in Mecca . His father died before his birth . His mother also left him when he was six years old . He lived in Mecca uptil the age of fifty three before his migration to Medina. The inhabitants of the city saw him in different phases of his life . They saw him as a boy ; in his youth ; as a husband ; as a father ; as a teacher and guide of people . Four times in his life , others vouchsafed for his nobility of character . Twice his by his inveterate foes : once when the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) asked the people of Quraish if he were to tell them that an army was about to attack Mecca would they believe him . Abu Jahl told him that he was Amin and Siddiq meaning thereby that his was truthful . On another occasion , Abu Safyan went to the court of King Heraclius of Rome . In an interview with the King , Abu Safyan praised his noble soul .
And twice he was praised by his friends . When the Quraish asked Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq whether it was correct what the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) told them he ascended to the heavens , Hazrat Abu Bakr says Muhammad( Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) that that would be correct. On another occasion when the Quraish sent a delegation to the court of the King of Abbasynia to hand over the Muslims to them , Hazrat Jafar bin Abu Talib made a speech which impressed the King and his court ..
His nobility , his kindness and his goodness are proved by three major events in his lifetime . When he went to preach Islam to the neighbouring town of Taif accompanied his freed slave , he was stoned so much so that his shoes were filled with his blood . The Angel , Gabrael , appeared and tell him that if he desired , the former could destroy the entire town. The Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) entreated the him to spare it saying that he was sent by Allah to the entire humanity to bear good tidings for those who do good work . The second was the Treaty of Huddibiyya ( a place near Mecca) between the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) and the Muslims on the one side and the disbelievers on the other side which put the former to a disadvantage in the short term . However , in the long run , the Muslims were victorious and they conquered Mecca . And what were the terms of the conquest . No drop of blood was shed on this occasion .
The third was the Conquest of Mecca. Those writers who say that the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) was intolerant must carefully read the events leading to the Conquest of Mecca to understand his noble nature . Abu Sufyan , his inveterate foe whose wife had lost her father and many more kinsmen at the Battle of Badr and who engaged a negro slave , Weshi to slay Hazrat Hamza , the uncle and foster brother of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) , went out in search of the Muslim army . He met Hazrat Abbas , another uncle of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) . Hazrat took Abu Sufyan to the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) . What transpired there at the meeting has been recorded by Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar in his book ‘ Muhammad , the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him )(Page 302-303). After that meeting, the Holy Prophet announced ‘ He who enters the house of Abu Sufyan shall be safe . He who shuts himself up in his own house and locks his door shall be safe and he who is in the Mosque at Mecca shall be safe ‘. There was no blood bath which often happens in the annals of history .
Those who followed him to continue his mission were symbols of love . An illustration can be seen in the life of the second Caliph the great Umar . When there was a famine in Medina , the Caliph vowed not to take meat till the city was free from the famine.
A Muslim Saint , Ali Hajwairy , who is better known by his other name , Data Ganj Baksh wrote a comprehensive book in which he described the piety and kindness of various followers of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) and saints of Islam . I have earlier written (‘What I found in Islam ?‘ )that it is a hallmark of a great leader that the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) was that Islam has emerged as the fastest growing religion in the west . 20000 people are becoming Muslims annually in the USA alone according to a post in the Huffington Post . Again according to the same source the favourite name for male infants in the UK is Muhammad. In the East the might of Russia and seventy years of Soviet rule could not subjugate the will and fierce determination of the Muslims of Russia and territories occupied by the Soviet Bloc. Indeed Imam Shamael is still recognized as a courageous man and thorn in Russain’s side in those territories .
I also wrote earlier (‘What I found in Islam?’) that the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) , the Righteous Caliphs and saints, who followed him were symbols of love ,kindness ,benevolence, nobility of thoughts and deeds . Islam spread by their efforts. For eg. India was invaded by Muslims warriors led by Sultan Mahmud (17 times) and Muhammad Ghori twice .They went back .But the Muslims saints like Hazrat Data Ganj Baksh , Hazrat Batktiar Kaki , Hazrat Moeen uddin Chisti remained where they preached Islam not by sword but through love . No wonder even today thousands of people irrespective of religion , sect , caste creed and sex go to their mausoleums to seek their blessings .
When King Richard I fell during the Crusades , Salahuddin Ayubi (Saladin to the west ) supplied him with ice daily and sent his court physician to cure him . Similarly in Spain when the Muslims ruled it , a Spanish prince , Sancho , was treated by the court physician of the Caliph on the request of his grandmother , Tota . In the Muslim rule whether Arabia , Damascus or Baghdad or in Spain non Muslim were allowed rights enjoyed by the Muslims with the additional proviso that they were protected by Muslims . No wonder the non Muslims contributed to the intellectual heritage of the Muslim Caliphate . Jabir ibn Hayyan , a Christian scientist was working
on the discovery of gold through Alkemy (modern Chemistry ).
Mahfooz ur Rahman
mahfoozurrahman_pk@hotmail.com
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