Prophethood: Root Cause of
Islam-West Conflict
by Khurram Murad
Today, the West is proclaiming clash of civilizations on the one hand,
while on the other it is preparing itself for the self-predicted combat between Islam and
the West. Beating the martial drums and rising up against Islam, it is foretelling the
world community of an imminent clash.
In such a situation, Muslims must understand the root cause of any such
threatening conflict. They must realize the core issue and the ground on which a decisive
contest is about to be staged. The answer to this question is important. It is important
because only then shall the Muslims be able to determine direction, formulate policies and
adopt strategies to face the impending danger to Islam.
Conflict over the Prophethood
Undoubtedly the real issue – which unfortunately a few understand
– is the status of testimony of the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him): Is
Muhammad (pbuh) the Prophet of God? This has been disputed since the 1st
day of the Prophet (pbuh)’s proclamation from the cave of Hera. It then
continued to be the cause of collisions. The question of acceptance or rejection of
Muhammad (pbuh) as the Prophet of God divided people into two distinct camps. The two
groups exist today and are there to stay in future as well. Despite mankind’s
veneration of the positive societal impact of system based on principle of affirmation of
Prophethood, the element of denial stays on. Most alarmingly, the conflict on issue has
now become a universal threat to peace.
No doubt, the West has its own economic, political and strategic
interests to pursue. Arab oil and the vast petro-resource are important for it. Israel
implant in heart of Muslim world thus becomes apprehensible. Intent to enslave Muslim
rulers had firmly been established now when we see a vast network of Western army
installations in the Middle East, which negotiate nothing besides weakening the Muslim
countries in all respects. Moreover, the Western countries are tightening the noose around
Muslim nations posing threat to their interests anywhere on globe.
Despite these material interests, the prime dispute between Muslims and
the secularists is religious in nature. Ironically, conflict of interests exist between
the U.S. and Europe and countries like Japan, China and Russia also, yet no symptom of
eternal malice exists between them. None of these countries intends to exterminate the
other.
No gainsaying the fact, the issue thus transcends conflict of material
interests. The West means to confront those who believe in Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) –
the people who do not defer laying down lives in defense of values preached by the
Prophet. The West’s fathering the human rights, the emancipation of women
and the like – slogans raised in the name of civility – seem malicious and
reflect religious bigotry. Designs to frequently attack Islamic values, more often,
portraying Islamic system in direct conflict with democracy, are venomous. The name of
civilization is being used as weapon to destroy the teachings generated, the values spread
and established within the domain of prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh).
Today Muslims stand no match to the Western political, economic and
military prowess. The West despite realizing that even if Muslims establish their social
and political system, empower penal system and enforce Islamic laws, observe hijab
in their countries, do not possess muscle to pose sizable threat to the Western
civilization, repeatedly harp that the Muslims revivalism – Fundamentalism
– is the biggest threat to its brand of civilization. The answer to this preposition
also hides beneath the core issue – the Prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh).
It is not surprising to find an ordinary Muslim unaware of the core
civilization conflict issue, but it is painful to see banner-holders of Islamic revivalism
not fully understanding it. It is because of this that the agenda of application of
prophethood has reverted to the back stage. Despite fact that the Prophet (pbuh)’s
love have always bonded Muslims, no attempt has since been made in this direction. A
serious concern and zeal to do so is thus the prime need of the day.
Invectives against the Prophethood
The history of West’s enmity towards the prophethood of Muhammad
(pbuh) is not recent. Ever since Islam and Christianity came face to face, the Christian
world and especially Europe, have launched an ever lasting war against Islam, the target
being the person of Muhammad (pbuh) and his prophethood.
Emerging out from the deserts of Arabian Peninsula, the disciples of
Muhammad (pbuh), within an unbelievably short span of time, conquered Syria, Palestine,
Egypt, Libya, Tunis and Algeria – the nerve centers of Christianity. Significantly,
not only the lands but the hearts and souls were also conquered; majority population of
captured areas voluntarily embraced Islam. Moreover, Islam as an illuminating faith
dominated the whole region and did not decline for at least one thousand years despite
continuous Christian intrigues and conspiracies. There is not much theological difference
between Islam and Christianity and this is the most lamentable fact. Instead of sorting
the differences by cool analysis, the hatred caused by a handful of miscreants always led
to long Islam – Christianity dual. The two religions were so similar that Islam
seemed to be the revival of real Christianity. Christians were at a loss on how to explain
their distorted theological stories and events in front of clear Islamic perception. Their
main concern was thus to stop Christians from converting to Islam. They firmly believed
root-cause of this calamity as the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh). It was more than
evident that the real source of Muslim strength and courage was their firm belief,
commitment to and unprecedented love with the person of Muhammad (pbuh). Christians thus
invested all their energies to prove that the claim of prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) was
(God forbid) false, based on unfounded stories and statements. They propagated that
Muhammad (pbuh) wrote the Qur’an himself by pirating Christian and Jewish traditions
and scripts and that the Qur’an’s subject and style is full of irrelevant
statements. Thus, they tried to prove that the book is not credible enough to claim to be
revealed.
However, this was not a serious and an informed campaign. Series of
false allegations signifying bad taste were fabricated with evil design and then
propagated against the life and character of the Prophet (pbuh). Be it the far dark ages,
the medieval times or the present so-called enlightenment era, events of Prophet
(pbuh)’s life have constantly been distorted. Qur’an was denounced to be ‘a
self-created and unauthentic’ book. Islam was alleged to be spread through 'sword'
and that the Prophet (pbuh) allured a group of obedient disciples by allowing them of
piracy, physical and material enjoyment and temptation. And that he utilized this
motivated band of army to conquer lands. Indecent and objectionable words were used to
narrate such stories. In fact, the smut is hard to be quoted. However, for the sake of
authenticity of our statement, a few examples will be mentioned but with high degree of
uneasiness. It will only be done with the view that mentioning of evil is not an evil and
that Qur’an has itself described the allegations of its opponents.
According to the book Encounters and Clashes: Islam and Christianity
in History II, Rome, Saint John of Damascus (753 A.D), an high official of Ummayyad
dynasty, before the time of Hazrat Umar Bin Abdul Aziz, said:
A false prophet named Muhammad had arisen from among Banu Ismail, who
was a literate of the "the Torah and the Injeel" (The Gospel and the Bible). He
had also been a student of a Christian saint. Based on his immature literal capability, he
had put forth a modified version of Christianity. He had deceived people to believe him a
pious man. Then he faked up the story that divine book was revealed to him. This book,
comprising of absurd and ridiculous materials, he handed over to his disciples to obey and
follow. Unlike Moses and Jesus, he was unable to provide evidence of receiving divine
message. Neither was he able to show any miracle. How can a person be trusted who produced
a divine revelation of his own choice only to marry the wife of Zaid?
Similarly, a member of Khalifa Mamoons cabinet, pen named Abdul Masiuh
Al-Kindi, cooked an article in the name of Ar-risalah wherein he, to defame prophet
Muhammad (pbuh), wrote:
How Muhammad could be a true prophet, whereas he killed people, pirated
trade caravans, committed immorality and could not demonstrate any miracle in support of
his claim of prophethood. As far as the Qur’an is concerned, it is a book composed of
faked material collected from Christians and Jews. How can it be claimed to be divine?
Until the beginning of the present century, Saint Johns deliberations
and Ar-risalah of Al-Kindi have continued to play a vital and decisive role in
shaping the attitude and thought of Europe regarding Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The Latin
translation of Ar-risalah was published in Spain and then in Switzerland during
12th and 15th centuries, respectively. It became so important to the Europeans that in
19th century Sir William Moore found it essential to publish its English translation from
London. During the whole span of one millennium, the Europeans in general and the
Christian saints in particular had been repeating what Al-Kindi and Saint John had said
about Qur’an and Muhammad (pbuh). The main focus had been:
·
To prove Qur’an to be based on
controversial and contradicting information obtained from the Jews and Christians
·
To breed moral allegations against the
person of Muhammad (pbuh), and
·
To convince people that like any other
politician or ruler, Muhammad (pbuh) was deceptive and his actions were deceitful (God
forbid)
The purpose of mentioning above examples is to clarify the basic
premise of the topic. The 20th century is almost over. A long time
has elapsed. Today, the interaction between Islam and Christianity is more frequent and
extensive. Everybody claims to possess scientific, informed and impartial attitude in his
investigation of facts. Moreover, there are slogans of co-existence on the basis of
sympathy and equitable justice for all. But unfortunately, we find no basic change in
European attitude and thought. Even the scholars known for their liberal, broad-minded
approach and civilized deliberations (e.g. Vatican, Montogomery Watt, Kenneth Cragg etc.),
have done the same thing. They did change their styles but without changing the subject.
They have polished their words to uphold the much-repeated allegations. The old scheme was
pursued, only disguised in civilized manner. Words were sugarcoated, interpretation
updated, but the theme was the same. Resultantly, the outcome of all such efforts was
futile.
Medieval age is peculiar for most absurd propagation of invectives
against Islam. The pattern of allegations and disinformation cooked during this period
speaks itself of the non-Muslims’ bafflement. For example, it was said that:
·
The Qur’an has come travelling on
the horns of a bull
·
The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) alleged a
dove used to bring revelations to him
·
He was epileptic
·
He was a magician and thus hypnotized
people
·
He was under the spell of Jinn and
Satan (devil)
·
A rebel Christian monk taught him
religion
Today these crude arguments have been bettered by fancy
psychological, social and political interpretations to cater to modern apprehension. For
example, Rodinson pshchologically erodes the status of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and finds
source of Qur’an following Freud's theory. Watt, using his sociological acumen, finds
this source in:
·
The nomadic life of Arabs in Arabian
deserts
·
Their Jahiliya customs
·
The influence of feudal system of Makkah
·
The Christian and Judaic teachings and
traditions, and
·
The necessity of a firm political system
for the Arabs at that time.
Cragg raised the question of origin of prophethood and states that it
lies:
·
Under the apprehensions and efforts of
Muhammad (pbuh) to unite Arabs, and
·
In the conviction that Qur’an is by
all means a divine book since only an Arab script could ensure unity and provide identity
to the Arabs
Answering as to "How this idea and conviction matured?" Cragg
adds that Muhammad (pbuh) conceived the view through keen observation of other people of
the books viz. Christian and Jews. As a result, the concept of Qur’an started
brimming in his (pbuh) mind (God forbid).
In addition to these efforts, an immense academic work was carried out
to produce fiction based on fabricated stories to defame and denounce the Qur’an and
the prophet (pbuh). These writings highlight and drive around blasphemous stories like:
·
The Satanic Verses to prove exotic
influence on the divine revelations (the Qur’an)
·
The case of Nakhla to show
materialistic notions and political maneuvering of prophet (pbuh)
·
The case of killing of Banu Quraidah as
an evidence that Muhammad (pbuh) was blood-thirsty
·
The marriage with Hazrat Zainab (RA) as a
case of moral corruption of the prophet (pbuh)
The nature of these invectives is malicious, but surprisingly they were
not fabricated in prophet (pbuh)‘s lifetime. Even the Mushrikeen and the Kuffar
refrained from raising such derogatory remarks on the person of the prophet (pbuh).
Excepting this difference of attitude, Jahiliya of the 6th century Arabs are no
different than Jahiliya of modern times. Today, the same old false allegations and
futile objections are being repeated that the prophet (pbuh) was a poet, a story-teller,
was under the influence of a Jinn, was a magician, was a claimant of divinity and that he
was a man who raised himself on a big lie and that many people assisted him in this
business.
Qur’an disproves the claim in this way, "And they say:
"Tales of the ancients, which he has caused to be written, and they are dictated
before him morning and evening,"" (Al-Furqaan: 5). Again in surah An-nahal: 103,
Qur’an rebuts one of these allegations in this way, "We know indeed that they
say, "It is a man that teaches him." The tongue of him they wickedly point to is
notably foreign, while this is Arabic, pure and clear."
One would readily visualize the reflection of these allegations, and of
course, the intentions behind them, posed by Europe on Muhammad (pbuh) for over a thousand
years, in the following verses of the Qur’an: "Similarly, no messenger came to
the peoples before them, but they said (of him) in like manner, "a sorcerer, or one
possessed"! Is this the legacy they have transmitted, one to another? Nay, they are
themselves a people transgressing beyond bounds." (Azzariat: 52-53)
In his book, Islam and the West, the Making of an Image, Norman
Daniel, dealt with the matter in this way: "While looking at the works of even
impartial writers, we should never overlook the historically antagonistic behavior and
attitude of Christianity towards Islam and Muhammad (pbuh). That's because the similar
attitude has been and still today remains as a pro-dominant and essential component of
thoughts of every Western scholars who speaks on the subject."
Causes of Malice
What are the reasons of such a severe enmity of Christianity in
general, and the Europeans in particular, towards Muhammad (pbuh), his prophethood and the
book (The Qur’an) revealed on him?
Besides the historical, political and psychological accounts given
above, more are needed to understand the matter. The catastrophic set back Christianity
faced due to the unbelievable victories of Islam was embedded in the unshakable faith of
Muslims in and a strong affiliation with the personality of Muhammad (pbuh). To combat
such a situation they found no other way except to destroy the root-source of strength and
vitality of Islam. To do so, they adopted the easiest option and that is to defame
Muhammad (pbuh) by:
·
Propagating that he was a false prophet
(May Allah save us)
·
Suggesting that Qur’an was his own
creation, and
·
Degrading his moral character.
In these efforts, they did not care telling lies or breaking norms of
civility.
Even though the West today is not declaring all out war against Islam
but there are vivid confessions and symptoms of it, in its hidden nefarious attitude. The
weekly Economist of London reports that as a leading civilization in this world,
the only potential rival to the West is Islam. The West can come face to face and collide
with Islam. It is because Islam is the only kind of an idea in the present world, which
claims to be based on the existence of an absolute truth beyond human experience and
vision. It also claims to be the truth revealed on Muhammad (pbuh) fourteen centuries ago,
still intact in the form of Qur’an. There is no parallel to such faith in truth
required to move and subdue the existing civilization. That’s why Europe is afraid of
Islam and the Muslims. There is presumption of another cold war that may not remain cold
for long.
Obviously, the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) still remains the main
target. No opportunity is wasted to attack the good name of the prophet (pbuh), though, by
a willfully changed strategy, the task today is assigned to the Salman Rushdis and Taslima
Nasreens.
Now there are people who claim to accept Muhammad (pbuh) to be a
prophet but with the only attributes the Israelis vested on their prophets of Torah;
the prophets whose life and teachings they themselves had distorted. There are some who
advocate changes in the basic essence and attributes of the divine revelation in the name
of moderation and dialogue. Some feel the necessity of a reformer – Saint Paul
prototype – who would relieve them from the injunctions of Islamic Shari’ah.
Some desires categorization of the Qur’anic Ayah into two distinct types – those
related to beliefs and morality to be accepted as revealed from God, whereas those related
to the socio-economic political code of life be declared inventions of prophet Muhammad
(pbuh), thus making them subject to change and modification.
There is also a group, which, instead of indulging in such a debate,
adopts a different strategy. Under the lucrative so-called slogans of human rights, status
of women and democratic governance, etc., this group is injecting sugarcoated poison in
peoples’ minds and thus trying to re-shape the life-style of the Ummah. In course of
time, they believe, unshakable Muslim faith on the absolute truth and the prophethood
shall gradually and automatically terminate this way.
West-Islam Controversy
The Economist had rightly said: "Today, the only and the
biggest threat to Western civilization is the faith and commitment of the Muslims to their
prophet Muhammad (pbuh), which is the source of unlimited strength for them." Lest us
now briefly examine how?:
1. The theoretical basis of Western civilization and the so-called
modernism is that mankind has now attained intellectual maturity. It is no more dependent
on any metaphysical being for knowledge and guidance. It is self-sufficient and
independent of any divine source and concept, which it adopted in early days for its inner
contentment.
On the contrary, the lead support of prophethood is the absolute
knowledge and faith that the existence of the Creator is the true and undeniable fact. The
true knowledge and even the life itself are the creation of Allah, the very Entity Who is
the only Creator, the sole Sustainer and the Healer. All authority and sovereign powers
belong to Him and Him only. He is the one Who guides people and provides them with the
code of life. Mankind, by all means, is dependent on Him and exists under His domain as
His servant creature.
2. According to the Western epistemology, the source of true knowledge
is only human sense perception, its reasoning, observation, experience and the scientific
investigation. Obviously the knowledge based on these sources is always hypothetical. Any
statement or fact, which is proved to be true today, may be proved false tomorrow.
Moreover, if any statement is unquestionable, this method considers it no knowledge,
rather a belief or faith. No such knowledge in this world can be said to be certain and
ultimate, let alone taken as yards stick for truth on which people may rely and follow for
salvation.
On the contrary, the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) develops and
creates insight and conscience that there is an ultimate truth and the only source of it
is the Divine Revelation and, in turns the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) is proved.
Nobody can be succumbed to the truth. Whoever accepts it should surrender wholeheartedly
and unconditionally before it. In the domain of his life, he should adopt it and obey its
implications. The West has completely abandoned the concept of truth and false. Even the
use of such terminology to them is outmoded and uncivil. But, to the followers of the
prophet Muhammad (pbuh), these terms are full of meaning.
3. The Western view is that truth and false are relative terms. Nothing
can be right or wrong in its own right. Thus, be it the moral values, social rules,
regulations or laws, good or bad, useful or harmful, halal or haram,
everything is determined by individual's own views and choice about it. Every concerned
individual is his own arbiter.
But, to the followers of Muhammad (pbuh), things and matters which have
been qualified (to be true or false; allowed or disallowed) through Divine Verdict can not
be changed by a person’s will, choice, experience, argument or logic.
4. The Western civilization does not entertain metaphysical knowledge
and its source in its theory of life. Neither does it own the concepts of Allah, the
Angels, the Revelation and the life Hereafter.
On the contrary, the followers of Muhammad (pbuh) believe that the
significance and purpose of human entity can only be gathered through non-perceivable
Revealed source. To them, the facts, which have been revealed via the prophethood of
Muhammad (pbuh), are the truth.
5. The world and the worldly life is equally important and of deep
interest to both the Westerners and the followers of Muhammad (pbuh). The difference lies
in the sought objectives. While the main target of a Westerner is to seek happiness,
comfort, enjoyment and the better quality life, the interest of a Muslim lies in the human
welfare for earning salvation in the Hereafter. The later perception brings in its fold a
humble yet most peaceful human society.
The Conceptions of Realities
Everyone who desires dominance of Islam and those who are striving for
the cause, should realize the importance of the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) and the
decisive role it has to play in today’s civilization conflict. They should address
the issue by re-determining priorities and strategies. Following factors should be kept in
mind while evaluating the situation:
The perception of eternal finality: We must understand the
present social milieu in which we are striving for the practice and dominance of Islam. It
is definitely different and 1400 years away from the prophet’s time despite fact that
the efforts being made are continuation and a part and parcel of the same prophetic
mission. Muslims must understand that Muhammad (pbuh) was not appointed prophet (by Allah)
for any particular nation or era. Rather, he was sent for whole humanity irrespective of
time and space. No other prophet shall follow Muhammad (pbuh) till the Day of Judgment.
From the 6th century till the 21st and even
beyond, Muhammad (pbuh) shall remain as the only prophet. The whole mankind today is his
disciple and belongs to his Ummah. This statement, although simple, has far reaching
connotations. It is obligatory then that Muhammad (pbuh)’s message be continuously
delivered in the manner done in his time.
The perception of immortal message: We should concede that
Muhammad (pbuh) is still present, in his own right, amongst us as the prophet and
messenger of Allah. It is so, because the Divine Book he brought is still intact, his life
as model is preserved with minutest details, his deen (the Divine way of life) is
omnipresent and most significantly his followers throng the world. Consequently, it is
incumbent on Muslims to continue with the mission launched and executed by him,
considering it as the prophetic duty, one bestowed by Allah.
The true perception of prophethood: Muslims must recognize that
to combat the Jahiliya during the prophet era, the demand for commitment towards
his prophethood was of prime importance. Although the faith to Allah comes first and is
the essence of Islamic way of life, yet faith in the prophet is prime and decisive. Belief
in God is the basic premise of all prophets and cradles the purpose of prophethood, yet it
is only by admitting a prophet that one can yield to the concept of Allah. This way, only
that belief and concept of Allah is acceptable which is based on the declaration and
description provided by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). As Qur’an is without any
reservation, the Revealed Words of Allah, the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) is also
beyond any doubt. These have to be taken as granted, otherwise, there will be no rationale
and sound interpretation behind the concepts of halal and haram, wajibaat
and manijat and azzab and thawab. About all these matters, it is only
the prophetic version, which counts. Practically then, faith and obedience to the prophet
is equivalent to the obedience of Allah and is only source to seek pleasure and proximity
before God.
Importance of the belief in Prophethood: Belief in the
prophethood should be given due importance and priority in all our efforts of dawah
and jihad (striving for the supremacy of Allah’s injunctions). Otherwise, mere
belief in Allah would become meaningless let alone points of agreement on some petty
social values like democracy and human rights etc. Jews believed in one God, Christians
too claimed to be the believers of one God, and Qur’an itself has praised the
excellence of their ibadah (worship) and akhlaq (moral dignity), yet they
incurred Allah’s wrath simply because denied belief in the prophethood.
Belief in Prophethood solicits Allah’s help: The
belief in prophethood is decisive in the perspective that promise of Allah’s help,
salvation and victory is with the Prophets and with those who truly believe in the
prophethood, sincerely follow prophetic teachings and become the helpers in his mission
and struggle for establishing Allah’s Deen (code of life). Qur’an says,
"Our Word has already been passed before (this) to Our Servants sent (by Us), that
they would certainly be assisted, and that Our forces _ they surely must conquer."
(al-Saffat: 171-173)
The Message of Love and Peace: The eternal struggle of
the prophetic mission against the mischief, which now has taken the shape of a
civilizational conflict between Islam and the West, is, in fact, a struggle for winning
over the heart and mind of people. The winning of hearts would result in the supremacy and
dominance of Deen. Force can conquer land, acquire money and goods, seize political
power but it cannot win people’s minds and hearts. Similarly, argument can earn
support but it can never secure commitment, devotion and readiness to brace sacrifices in
life. There is only one way to win over the hearts: firm belief in the prophethood of
Muhammad (pbuh), full devotion to and for his mission, love and reverence for him and full
obedience and commitment to follow him in all aspects of life. This is how people’s
hearts and civilization wars always been won in the past and would be won in future.
We should certainly strive to prove that Islam is the true and supreme
religion and presents a complete code of life, should warn people about the curse of
interest/usury and dangers of un-Islamic economic systems, should highlight the beauties
of Islamic social, political, economic and family systems. But we should never forget that
the purpose of all these pursuits is to create favorable conditions and conducive
environment for upholding the cause of Truth. If people admit all Islamic values but
refuse to believe in the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh), the way of success in the
civilization war will remain obstructed. There are many people who praise Islam, eulogize
Islamic arts and architecture, applaud Islamic spiritualism and mysticism but, still, are
not ready to follow the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as they do not believe in his prophethood.
Such people, therefore, can never be regarded as aides and supporters of the prophetic
mission.
Similarly, even if we supply ample proof, which we should always do,
that Islam approves democracy, that it ensures human rights more than any other ideology,
that it not only upholds women’s rights but has given them a status which even the
West has never thought of, and that the penal code of Islam is not cruel but rather
sympathetic and compassionate to the people and society. Surely, we should do all this,
but it would not enhance the prospects of winning over people’s hearts. Arguments of
logic and intellect cannot serve the purpose. What is needed is a firm and unshakable
belief in the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) and a pure flow of love for him more than
anything else.
Thus, the biggest objective before us should be to give top priority to
the dawah towards the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh). It does not mean that we
start saying and writing, in or out of place, that Muhammad (pbuh) is the true prophet of
Allah and, therefore, should believe in him else they would be considered as infidels or
transgressors. By this we mean:
·
Employing all ways and means, especially
modern means of communication, we tell the world about the unparalleled beauty of the
Prophet’s character, pleasing features of his personality, his mercy, passion, love
and deep affection towards the whole creation of Allah which make him the most unique
person among the whole mankind. We should do this repeatedly, with full vigor and every
time with a new and elegant style, especially before those who are his staunch enemies and
in their own languages. It is an undeniable fact that Prophet’s companions were fond
of him because of his tender and loving heart and his once-enemies became loyal and humble
servants due to his moral and behavioral excellence.
·
All Muslims, and specially those who are
striving for the supremacy of Prophetic mission all over the world, adopt and follow, as
far as possible, his model of character. Books, speeches and videos are not enough to
present Prophet’s life and model, our very lives should reflect some of his
excellencies. Our homes, our public places, our mosques must become the sources of
dissemination of the luminous life and message of the prophet (pbuh). Our mosques should
welcome the opponents in a manner the Prophet (pbuh) welcomed the delegations of Najran
and Thaqeef. This is possible only when our lives begin to be identified with the
life of the Prophet, as Iqbal has said: Every heart is in harmony with his call and in
every chest there is a piece of his heart.
·
We adopt such a manner of presenting the
Prophet’s life and message that without involving into lengthy, heated and futile
debates we successfully rebut and diffuse the allegations raised against him. Fully
knowing the root-cause of a point of discord, we should present his person and character
in such a way that the source of discord fades away on its own.
·
The real task before us is to struggle
for the supremacy and translate into action the teachings of Deen and the message
brought by the Prophet. Imam Muslim, with reference to Hadhrat Abu Huraira (RA)
transcribes that Prophet (pbuh) said, "I swear by Allah in whose hands lies the life
of Muhammad, whoever from amongst this Ummah, be he a Jew or a Christian, listens
about me but dies without having belief in what I have brought, will go to hellfire".
According to Imam Nawawi, Ummah here means the "Ummah of Dawah" (the people who
are the addressee of dawah) i.e. all people on this earth from the onset of
Muhammad’s prophethood till the day of resurrection. Imam Ghazali has made a
significant point: what does the ‘listening’ mean? Does it mean to only hear
about the Prophet through ears? No, Ghazali said "Listening means, to hear about the
Prophet, his life and mission in such a way that is essential to convince one’s heart
and mind. Otherwise, the people who are assigned to convey the message may be more liable
to go under hellfire.
Today a vast majority of infidels has not even heard the name of
Muhammad (pbuh) and those who have, they have heard only cursorily or antagonistically. In
fact, those who are properly conveyed the name and message are very few. Then, are not we
responsible for and before billions of people who have no knowledge and, consequently,
belief in the prophethood of Muhammad and his being the seal of all prophets?
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had sent emissaries to the countries of the
world, and now there are emissaries in every nook and corner of the globe inhabited by
well over one billion Muslims. They have his message with them. Those who realize their
position and responsibility should stand up with full spirit, sincerity and devotion. A
great care is needed for the task of bringing peoples close to the prophet (pbuh) and his
mission. An equal of the amount and resources we spend in disseminating the teachings of
his Deen should be spent in highlighting Prophet’s person, his life and
character, and his moral excellence. Those who get closer to the source of illumination
will get their mind and heart opened and get their due share of warmth and light. The more
the people believe in the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) and the stronger their devotion
with his life and mission, the more will be the chances of victory of the Prophetic
message in the civilizational conflict.
This is a debt that we all owe and each one of us should come forward
to repay his own share of the debt.
This article is an adapted version of the editorial article written by
late Khurram Murad in monthly Tarjuman al-Qur’an of July 1992. The article is about
the root cause of Islam vs. the West civilization clash that ensued almost 1400 years
before and that threatens world peace the most today. No doubt, every effect has a cause
behind it and hence logically the remedy of an act in fact lies in doing away with the
motive that has prompted it. Since this aricle focuses source of world apathy towards
Islam, Muslims world over can seek guidance from its debate for framing an effective
strategy to soften antagonist’s hostile stance of Islam.
