WHAT MUHAMMAD DID FOR HUMANITY - TEN POINTS

What Prophet Muhammad Gave Humanity in 10 Points

 

By Adil bin Ali Ash-shaddy

Secretary General of IPIPM

Arabic calligraphy: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

Some non-Muslim westerners wonder what Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) offered to humanity. This question is raised particularly after incidents of defamation targeting the Prophet's honorable character by western media.

So, it is our duty to answer these questions and to highlight what our Prophet gave to humanity and the world. Aided and guided by God's revelation, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) contributed the following:

1. He transferred humanity from obedience and submission to other men to the worship and submission to God alone, associating nothing with Him. Consequently, humanity became free from servitude to other than God, and this is the greatest honor for mankind.

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2. Through revelation from God, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) liberated the human mind from superstition, deception, and submission to false objects of worship as well as those concepts contrary to reason. This includes the claim that God had a human son, and that idols and stones can harm people.

3. His message laid the foundations for tolerance among people. In the Qur'an, God revealed to His Prophet that there is to be no compulsion in the acceptance of religion.

The Prophet also clarified the rights of non-Muslims who do not wage war against Muslims and guaranteed protection of their lives, children, property, and honor. Even today in many Muslim countries there are Jewish and Christian citizens living in peace and security, in contrast to the Spanish Inquisition when Muslims were exterminated in an ethnic cleansing that violated all basic human principles.

4. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was a mercy sent by God to all peoples regardless of race or faith. In fact, his teachings include mercy even to birds, animals, plants, and inanimate beings. He forbade harming them without right or reason.

5. Muhammad showed unparalleled respect for and appreciation of all the prophets who preceded him, among them Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace and blessings be upon them all).

One who denies or disrespects any of the prophets cannot be a Muslim. Islam regards all of the prophets as one brotherhood, inviting people to the belief that there is no deity worthy of worship except God, who is the one true God.

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6. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) defended human rights for both males and females, for the young and the elderly, regardless of social status. He established a set of sublime principles; one example being in the speech he gave during his farewell pilgrimage in which he declared strict prohibition of transgression against people's lives, property, and honor.

He laid down these principles more than 1400 years ago, long before the world knew of the Magna Charta in 1215, the Declaration of Rights in 1628, the Personal Freedoms Law in 1679, the American Declaration of Independence in 1776, the Human and Citizen Rights Charter in 1789, and the worldwide Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) presented to the world a perfect model of brotherhood among human beings.

7. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) elevated the importance of morality in human life. He called for good manners, honesty, loyalty, and chastity, and strengthened social bonds such as being dutiful to parents and relatives, always putting into practice what he preached.

He prohibited and warned against negative behaviors such as lying, envy, betrayal, fornication, and disrespect of parents, and he treated the problems stemming from these grave social diseases.

8. Through the revelation from God, His Messenger invited people to use their minds, to discover the universe around them, and to acquire knowledge. He confirmed that God rewards such deeds at a time when scientists and intellectuals in other civilizations were suffering persecution and accusations of heresy and blasphemy, being terrorized in prisons, tortured and often killed.

	The Prophet’s Contribution to Human Thought

9. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) came with a revelation from God, presenting a religion compatible with human nature, a way of life that satisfies the needs of the soul and those of the body, and establishes a balance between worldly deeds and those done for the Hereafter.

It is a religion that disciplines human instincts and desires without suppressing them completely as happens in some other cultures which were absorbed with ideas contrary to human nature, depriving religious men of such natural human rights as marriage and of such natural reactions as anger toward transgression. This led most members of these civilizations to reject religious teachings and become absorbed in the material world, which caters only to their bodies while leaving their souls in a miserable state.

10. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) presented to the world a perfect model of brotherhood among human beings. He taught that no race is superior to another for all are equal in origin and equal in responsibilities and rights. One's degree of faith and piety is the onWly criterion for preference. His Companions were given equal opportunities to belong to Islam and serve the religion. Among them were Suhayb, a Byzantine, Bilal, an Abyssinian, Salman, a Persian, and many other non-Arabs.

In conclusion, each of these ten points requires further details and explanation. What Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) offered humanity is too detailed to be mentioned in this brief outline. There is also a great deal that has been said about him by objective researchers from the East and West after they studied the biography of this great Prophet.

God's Blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad as well as upon all other God's prophets, his family, Companions, and followers.

* Taken with some modification from www.mercyprophet.com.** This article was published in 2010.

Dr. Adil bin Ali Ash-Shaddy is Secretary General of the International Program for Introducing the Prophet of Mercy

Dr. Adil bin Ali ash-Shaddy is Secretary General of the International Program for Introducing the Prophet of Mercy.

http://www.onislam.net/english/shariah/muhammad/a-mercy-for-all/448938-what-prophet-muhammad-gave-to-humanity-in-points.html#at_pco=smlre-1.0&at_si=55ab7d8e5560d64b&at_ab=per-2&at_pos=1&at_tot=3

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TIME TO REAP THE HARVEST

Time to reap the harvest
Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam

We are meeting at a highly auspicious moment, blessed by God – the night of 29th Ramdhan in much of the Subcontinent and the night of 30th in many parts of the Muslim world. These are the most precious moments of the holy month, and possibly the Night of Power (Lailat-al-Qadr) in the Subcontinent.

We have been asked by our beloved prophet (PBUH) to find the great night in which a night’s prayer and supplications are worth about 85 years of the same. We have been asked to try to seek it in the nights with odd numbers of the last ashra (10 days) of the month (21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th). For most of us, it could be this night. For the rest it could be the night before Eid, which has its own blessings from Allah. We must strive in the way of Allah in the time left up to Eid. We must ensure these precious moments are not lost in frivolity.

Within the next 24 to 48 hours it will be time to rejoice, to thank Allah for our having been chosen to be alive in these blessed moments, for having bestowed on us the taufiq to fast and pray and stay away from everything forbidden by Islam in the days of Ramdhan. At the end of it comes Eid (which, in Arabic, means joy), the time to rejoice. This is also the time to reap a rich harvest of our deeds in the form of Allah’s pleasure, which is the most precious treasure coveted by a Muslim.

Allah has shown the reward for every good deed, all acts of faith and piety, including the prayers and supplications during Ramdhan (which is 70 times greater than in the rest of the year), but He has not disclosed the reward for this month’s fasting, which is mandatory. The reward is understood to be Allah’s pleasure, which will bring us a clean, moral and satisfying life and a Hereafter that will bring us such good things that our eyes had never seen, our ears never heard, our minds could never imagine.

With the Eid prayers this cycle of Ramdhan, with all its blessings, ends to come only next year, which many of us will never see. Remember, for many of us it is going to be our lives’ last Ramdhan. Do not allow a single moment to pass without Allah’s remembrance. By the time Eid prayers, followed by the mandatory khutba ends, Allah will confer his approval on us (Insha Allah) and we will return home, satisfied and thankful to Him.

We will return home with the commitment and pledge to live the rest of our lives in prayers to Allah and service to His Creation, living clean lives dedicated to Islam. We will keep this spirit for the rest 11 months till we welcome the month again with great enthusiasm and thankfulness. But, remember, all of us may not see the next Ramdhan. So, make the most of what is left of it.

With this, I take leave of you. As I may not meet you in the next few weeks, accept my Eid Mubarak a few hours in advance. Wassalam.

P.S: Please try to pay fitrah (in Indian value, Rs. 50 each person) before heading for the Eidgah for the Eid prayers. That is the preferred way of paying fitrah.

 

http://iosworld.org/short_takes/Time_to_reap_the_harvest.htm

 

RAMADHAN - A MONTH OF SYMPATHY

Ramadan: Month of Sympathy

 

By A. S. Halawani, PhD

Academician and Writer

What follows is based on a true story…

There was an affluent father who used to keep his family fed and clothed decently, if not splendidly. After a while, things changed and he became in straitened circumstances. Unable to afford food for his family as he used to, the month of Ramadan came. His social standing as well modesty prevented him from stretching his hand to ask others for assistance even if it were in the form of a personal debt. While struggling with life, all he could manage to be feeding his children with was nothing but cheese, oil and beans.

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The children put up with this on the first and second days of Ramadan. On the third, however, the youngest commented:

“O Father! Cheese and oil have burnt our stomachs. We are fasting and we need something to moisten our tummies in this burning heat. We are almost about to faint from the smell coming up from the kitchens of our neighbors. Why don’t you feed us as our neighbor does to his children? Why don’t you feed us as you used to do?”

Then, the expressive but burning words of the little child were followed by tears spilling from his sad eyes.

Upon that, the grief-stricken father withdrew into a dark corner of the house where he burst into tears, as he did not want his children to see signs of society’s faithlessness and people’s cruelty on his face!

Did you find this emotional? Did it move your feelings? Did it move you to tears?

If yes, let me then congratulate you for the remaining sense of humanity you still have; the sense of humanity which Islam came to advocate and instill into the societies which broke away from all senses of common humanity.

When humaneness fades away, the law of the jungle prevails so that the strong devours the weak, the rich only gives charity to the poor to see humiliation and humbleness in his eyes, and one does not care about his next-door neighbor or even bother to know anything about his conditions.

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Customarily, when a Muslim breaks his fast, he praises Allah for His abundant blessings and favors. However, praising Allah for His favors should not be via the tongue alone. It should involve sharing such blessings and favors with other indigent brothers in humanity and in faith.

Many are those who are poor and to whom neither the society show mercy, nor the state care about in any way; a matter which makes them groan in pain under the severity of misery and deprivation. In fact, if mercy for these people is mandatory in other than Ramadan, it is most mandatory and necessary during the blessed month. Likewise, if humanity necessitates that anyone who recognizes them should assist them, a true Muslim should be keener on helping them so as to wipe away the tears from their eyes and to see his own happiness in making them happy.

The poor, for real, are too many to be counted. Here, I do not mean the professional beggars who knock at doors or roam the streets asking for charity. Rather, the ones who are meant here are the likes of a father who cannot find work to feed his kids; a mother who lost her guardian but her chastity and modesty prevent her from stretching her hand out; a child whose father passed away leaving him alone with no supporter or protector around; a refugee who was driven out of his own homeland at the hands of oppressive rulers and traitorous politicians leaving behind his riches as well as pride.

	How to Find Allah

These are the ones, along with so many others, to be remembered during the blessed days of Ramadan. I am not saying we should give them out in charity as charity is a supererogatory or voluntary act of worship. No, never do I mean any of this! What I mean here is that we should expiate for our own sins by way of making them feel the duly blessings of brotherhood, neighborhood, religious affiliation, and human compassion. Indeed, were it not for our and the society’s negligence, they would not have been in such bad and cruel conditions!

It goes without saying, if they feel the bitterness of deprivation in other than Ramadan for once, they feel it more than a thousand times in Ramadan!

How many Muslims spread their tables with various colors of food and drink every time they break their fast? Amazingly, only a little amount of these extra foods and drinks may feed whole families, relinquish their thirst, and wipe away the tears from the eyes of their groaning children.

Is there anyone of us who thinks about his nearby needy neighbor and destitute relatives?!

Is there anyone of us who thinks he can save some of the food he prepares for his own family on daily basis and decide to give it out to a poor family to break their fast with?!

In fact, if every fasting well-off person feeds another who is poor, no one will ever remain hungry or thirsty. If this really takes place, Ramadan will turn into a season whose blessings do not cease or come to an end and we, Muslims, will be the best of all nations for real.

Given this, let us search for the refugees, the homeless, the destitute and those who lost their breadwinner to do ourselves good through supporting them and to save ourselves from Allah’s torment through sympathizing with them. It is we who need them more than they need us!

Let every one of us remember that Allah the Almighty may not accept our fasting or acts of obedience while there are hungry human beings whom we could satisfy and unhappy fellows whom we can make happy around us. Finally, let us remember the hadith of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in which he says, “The one who sleeps with a full stomach knowing that his neighbor is hungry doesn’t believe in me.” (At-Tabarani)

A. S. Halawani is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics and Translation, Misr University for Science Technology (MUST); Former Editor-in-Chief of the Electronic Da`wah Committee (EDC), Kuwait; Former Deputy Chief Editor and Managing Editor of the Living Shari`ah Department, www.islamOnline.net; Member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS); and member of the World Association of Arab Translators Linguists (WATA).