Mustafa Ahmad Al-Zarqa Language: English | Format: PDF | Pages: 19 | Size: 1 MB
In the Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Merciful
Great and sublime achievements can he
manifest in different fields of human action, and so there are great
figures in science and philosophy, in public service and generosity, in
war, etc. But in whatever field, the greatness of such achievements is
founded upon its generating raison d’être, just as the strength of the
trunk of a tree is founded upon the strength of its roots. And,
accordingly, the value, importance and enduring quality of this
greatness lie in the potency of its grounds.
We affirm that true greatness is based on many pillars and essentials, of which the most important are these four:
First, the psychological and moral
qualities of the individual. Second, the nobility and worth of the
fundamental values initiated by the individual, and upon which the
individual’s actions were based. Third, the extent of the realization of
these fundamental values in actions by the individual. Fourth. the
extent of the individual’s success in forming a well-qualified leading
generation to shoulder the responsibility for maintaining those
fundamentals and continuing to put them into effect.
Certainly, greatness cannot be
comprehensive nor full unless it contains all of these four elements. In
the pages that follow, we shall show the greatness of our Prophet
Muhammad, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, in the light
of these essential elements, depending for our demonstration on solid
facts and historical evidence.
The First Pillar
As to the first pillar, psychological and
personal moral qualities, the authentic biographies of the Prophet
teach us that he was the very pattern of excellence, the noblest
exemplar. Before he was called to prophethood, he was a peerless example
of the good youth, of complete purity. The people of his tribe called
him ‘the Trustworthy . In a Jahili society, he did not drink wine, nor
worshipped idols, nor sought amusement in improper ways, Not even those
of his tribe who became mortal enemies after lie was called to
prophethood. imputed any misconduct to him. He was affectionate to the
poor, tender— hearted to the weak, and a supporter of the oppressed.
That is why he took part in the Fudel pact in which some good people
bound themselves to help the weak and oppressed and to recover their
rights against abuse by the tyranny of tribal chieftains.
After his prophethood, ‘A’isha, the
Mother of the Faithful, may Allah be pleased with her, described him in
this way in a sound hadith: ‘His moral was the Qur’an itself’, meaning
that the moral qualities mentioned in the Qur’in and the injunctions
revealed by divine command, were all hamionized in his person. ‘A’isha
also said that ‘Allah’s Messenger, may peace and the blessings of Allah
be upon him, never took revenge for himself unless the things made
inviolate by Allah were violated; he then took revenge for Allah.”
After the Angel Gabriel appeared to the
Prophet at the cave of Hira and he came home trembling to tell his wife
Khadija about what had happened, she said: ‘By Allah, Allah will never
disgrace you.
You keep good relations with your kith
and kin, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving who have
been affected by calamity.’
After these general remarks about the
Prophet’s personal qualities, we shall now refer to four particular
virtues, which no other great person has exhibited all together,
especially not those who have enjoyed power.
A – Our Prophet, may
peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, combined in a single
personality the highest degrees of spirituality through diligent worship
of Allah with the highest degree of industrious struggle and
constructive effort for the service of mankind. He excelled in exerting
himself to worship Allah and looking forward to the Day of judgement. He
was sincere in his desire and diligent to please Allah. He gave charity
in the cause of Allah without limit. Also he would stand in night
prayer until his feet became swollen, and would fast continually,
spending the nights and day s in hunger.
However, he dissuaded his Companions from
uninterrupted fasting in this way’, lest it prove unbearable to them;
he said: ‘As for me I spend the night [in a state such] that my Lord
feeds me and provides me drink.’ Once, his wife ‘A’isha, the Mother of
the Faithful, may Allah be pleased with her, asked him about his
exertion in worship in spite of the fact that Allah had pardoned him for
everything he had sent ahead or left behind. He replied: “Should I not
be a thankful servant”? And in a sound hadith, he says: “If you knew
what I know you would weep much and laugh little.”
Such diligence in worship did not prevent
the Prophet, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, from
initiating the right action at the proper moment in all manner of
administrative, legislative, economic, political and military affairs.
The Hijra marked the beginning of the Islamic era, the Muslims were
beset with many problems, in addition to their shortage of armed forces,
as a result of their forced migration. Nevertheless, the Prophet, may
peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, seized the opportunity to
intercept the great annual trade caravan returning from Syria under the
leadership of Abu Sufyan. In consequence, the Prophet entered the battle
of Badr in which he humbled the umibelievers of the Quray’sh and
impressed upon the enemies of the Muslims a new respect and admiration.
Later, in the battle of Uhud, victory turned into defeat when a group of
archers deserted the position the Prophet had assigned to them, and the
Muslims had to return to Madina greatly weakened. The Prophet, may
peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, immediately prepared to
enter upon a new battle, accompanied by only those who were with him at
Uhud, to renew respect for the Muslims in the minds of the unbelievers.
Their enemies were afraid and marched off toward Makka. Thereupon, the
Muslims went back, led by the Prophet, may peace and the blessings of
Allah be upon him, to Madina, their morale which had been damaged by
defeat thus restored and having learnt an invaluable lesson for their
future military affairs.
B – Humility, modesty
and altruism are among the rarest of personal attributes among the great
and eminent if they also enjoy supreme authority. The Prophet, despite
the high solemnity of his state and the freely given reverence of his
Companions, shunned all torms of pomp and appearances of pride such as,
typically, characterize rulers, heads of state, and holders of high
office. The Prophet, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him,
and his followers were the same in outward manner, in dress. in their
attitude when seated, even in the physical work they undertook. For
example, in the battle of the Trench, they personally took part in the
digging and carrying. When travelling, the Prophet used to gather
firewood to help his followers in preparing food, and he was so like any
one of them that newcomers were unable to distinguish him among his
followers in the mosque. Thus, it was normal to ask the question. ‘Which
of you is Muhammad’?’ whereupon the Companions would point to the
Prophet.
Of his modesty, a sound hadith reported
by Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, records: “The
Messenger of Allah, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him,
was more modest than the virgin behind the curtain [or in the
apartment].”
Out of selflessness and concern for
others the Prophet spent freely from his income from moneys, spoils of
war, and gifts to himself, leaving literally next to nothing for his
family. It is recorded that whenever he was given a vessel of milk as a
gift, he would call the poorest of the Muslims, the ‘sitters on the
bench’, to drink and he himself drank the remainder after them.
It as related from ‘A’isha, may Allah be
pleased with her, that she said: “Never did the family of Muhammad, upon
him be peace, eat their full of Harley-bread for three successive
days.’
According to al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet died in such a condition that his armour was pledged to a Jew.
The moral qualities of self-discipline
and denial for others’ sake, is lacking among rulers and presidents who
are accustomed — even in the so-called democratic and socialist regimes
of our age —to taking exclusive possession of houses and means of
transport and all other conveniences, as well as to piling up wealth by
exploiting their positions of authority.
C – The Prophet’s
submission to right is the third of his unique traits. Addressing Umar
bin al- Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, who wanted to deal
forcefully with a Jew who had come to the Prophet, may peace and the
blessings of Allah be upon him, then in straitened circumstances, to
demand payment of a debt, and had done so harshly, the Prophet said:
‘Let him be. for the creditor has the right to speak harshly.’
The Prophet’s unequalled forbearance, a
quality especially rare among those who wield power, towards those who
are uneducated and rude, is another demonstration of his submission to
right. The incident is well-known of a bedouin who came to the Prophet
and asked him for a gift (of money), and pulled at the Prophet’s collar
until it chafed his neck. The Prophet showed extraordinary forbearance
in responding to the bedouin and gave him what he asked despite his
ill-manners.
D – The Prophet’s ideal
life was characterized by full adherence in practice to the high moral
standards he taught. There were no gaps between his words and his deeds.
Thus, he did not break an agreement with
any of his enemies nor acted treacherously even if he feared treachery
from them, nor did he engage in falsehood to obtain a victory in any of
his battles. The sound hadith — ‘War is a stratagem’ does not by any
means indicate an exception to this moral standard in politics. It
indicates the permission in the actual business of battle, to disguise
from an enemy such information as the size of one’s force or their
deployment – for example, to marshal ranks for a battle in such a way as
to show massive numbers or to make a din so that the enemy tears the
imminent arrival of large reinforcements. An actual instance of this
noble stratagem is how the Prophet, may peace and the blessings of Allah
be upon him, would lead his forces in a direction different from his
intended destination, in order to conceal that information from the
enemy. That is no more than sound practical wisdom and security, and not
a violation of high moral standards in politics and tactics.
An admirable tradition narrates this
incident from the life of the Prophet. A polytheist, ‘Abdullah bin Sa’d
bin Abi Sarh, apostatized after embracing Islam and defamed the Prophet,
may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him. The Prophet ordered
the Muslims, accordingly, after the conquest of Makka, to execute him.
But he, ‘Abdullah, took refuge with ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan, his foster
brother, may Allah be pleased with him, who took him to swear allegiance
to the Prophet. The Prophet three times refused this allegiance, but
then accepted it. After ‘Abdullah had departed, the Prophet, may peace
and the blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “Was there not among you
any man who rose to kill him (i.e. ‘Abdullah) when I refused his
allegiance?” They said: ‘Oh, Prophet of Allah! Why did you not make a
sign?’ The Prophet said: “Prophets should not use tricks that deceive
with the eyes.”
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