An Unmet Challenge

 

The Evidence

Initially, the Meccan unbelievers said Muhammad is the author of the Quran.  God responded to them:

"Or do they say, ‘He himself has composed this [message]’?  No, but they are not willing to believe!  But then, [if they deem it the work of a mere mortal,] let them produce another discourse like it - if what they say be true!  [Or do they deny the existence of God implicitly by denying the fact of His revelation?]  Have they themselves been created without anything - or were they, perchance, their own creators?" (Quran 52:33-35)

First, God challenged them to produce ten chapters like the Quran:

"Or they may say, ‘He forged it,’ Say, ‘Bring ye then ten suras forged, like unto it, and call (to your aid) whomsoever you can, other than God! - If you speak the truth!’  If then they answer not your (call), know you that this revelation is sent down with the knowledge of God, and that there is no god but He!  Will you then submit (to Islam)?" (Quran 11:13-14)

But, when they were unable to meet the challenge of ten chapters, God reduced it to a single chapter:

"And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down on Our slave, then produce a surah thereof and call upon your witnesses other than God, if you should be truthful.  But if you do not – and you will never be able to – then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the unbelievers." (Quran 2:23-24)

Finally, God foretold their eternal failure to meet the divine challenge:

"Say: ‘If all mankind and all jinn[1]  would come together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce its like even though they were to exert all their strength in aiding one another!’" (Quran 17:88)

The Prophet of Islam said:

"Every Prophet was given ‘signs’ because of which people believed in him.  Indeed, I have been given the Divine Revelation that God has revealed to me.  So, I hope to have the most followers of all the prophets on the Day of Resurrection." (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

The physical miracles performed by the prophets were time-specific, valid only for those who witnessed them, whereas the like of the continuing miracle of our Prophet, the Noble Quran, was not granted to any other prophet.  Its linguistic superiority, style, clarity of message, strength of argument, quality of rhetoric, and the human inability to match even its shortest chapter till the end of time grant it an exquisite uniqueness.  Those who witnessed the revelation and those who came after, all can drink from its fountain of wisdom.  That is why the Prophet of Mercy hoped he will have the most followers of all the prophets, and prophesized that he would at a time when Muslims were few, but then they began to embrace Islam in floods.  Thus, this prophecy came true.

Explanation of Quran’s Inimitability

State of the Prophet Muhammad

He was an ordinary human being.

He was illiterate.  He could neither read nor write.

He was more than forty years old when he received the first revelation.  Until then he was not known to be an orator, poet, or a man of letters; he was just a merchant.  He did not compose a single poem or deliver even one sermon before he was chosen to be a prophet.

He brought a book attributing it to God, and all Arabs of his time were in agreement it was inimitable.

The Challenge of the Quran

The Quran puts a challenge out to anyone who opposes the Prophet. The challenge is to produce a chapter (surah) similar to it, even if it were to be a cooperative effort.  A person may summon all the help he can from the physical and spiritual realms.

Why this Challenge?

First, Arabs were poets.  Poetry was their supreme ornament and their most representative form of discourse.  Arabic poetry was rooted in the oral; it was a voice before it acquired an alphabet.  Poets could compose intricate poems spontaneously and commit thousands of lines to memory.  Arabs had a complex system of evaluating a poet and the poetry to meet rigid standards.  Annual competition selected the ‘idols’ of poetry, and they were engraved in gold and hung inside the Kaaba, alongside their idols of worship.  The most skilled served as judges.  Poets could ignite wars and bring truce between warring tribes.  They described women, wine, and war like no one else.

Second, the opponents of the Prophet Muhammad were strongly determined to quash his mission in any way possible.  God gave them a non-violent approach to disprove Muhammad.

Inability to Meet the Challenge and its Consequences

History is a witness that the pre-Islamic Arabs could not produce a single chapter to meet the challenge of the Quran.[2]  Instead of meeting the challenge, they chose violence and waged war against him.  They, of all people, had the ability and the motive to meet the Quranic challenge, but could not do so.  Had they done so, the Quran would have proven false, and the man who brought it would have been exposed as a false prophet.  The fact that the ancient Arabs did not and could not meet this challenge is proof of Quran’s inimitability.  Their example is of a thirsty man next to a well, the only reason he dies of thirst is if he was unable to reach the water!

Furthermore, the inability of previous Arabs to meet the challenge of the Quran implies later Arabs are less competent to meet the challenge, due to their lack the mastery of classical Arabic that the previous, ‘classical’ Arabs had.  According to linguists of the Arabic language, the Arabs before and during the time of the Prophet, in exclusion to subsequent generations, had the most complete mastery of the Arabic language, its rules, meters, and rhymes.  Later Arabs did not match the mastery of classical Arabs.[3]

Lastly, the challenge is for Arabs and non-Arabs alike.  If the Arabs cannot meet the challenge, the non-speakers of Arabic cannot claim to meet the challenge either.  Hence, the inimitability of the Quran is established for non-Arabs as well.

What if someone were to say: ‘perhaps the challenge of the Quran was met by someone in the time of the Prophet, but the pages of history did not preserve it.’?

Since the beginning, people have reported important events to their succeeding generations, especially in that which captures attention or what people are looking out for.  The Quranic challenge was well spread and well known, and had someone met it, it would have been impossible for it not to have reached us.  If it has been lost in the annals of history, then, for the sake of argument, it is also possible that there was more than one Moses, more than one Jesus, and more than one Muhammad; perhaps many scriptures were also revealed to these imaginary prophets, and it is possible the world knows nothing about it!  Just like these suppositions are unfounded historically, it is also unreasonable to imagine that the Quranic challenge was met without it reaching us.[4]

Second, had they met the challenge, the Arabs would have discredited the Prophet.  It would have been their biggest propaganda tool against him.  Nothing like this happened, instead, they chose war.

The fact that no effort of the non-Muslim has succeeded in ‘producing a verse’ like a verse of the Quran means that either no-one has taken the Quran seriously enough to make the effort, or that they made the effort, but were not successful.  This shows the inimitability of the Quran, a unique and everlasting message.  The uniqueness of the Quran combined with the divine message it brings to mankind is a sure indication of the truth of Islam. In the face of this, every person is faced with one of the two choices.  He either openly accepts the Quran is God’s Word .  In doing so he must also accept that Muhammad was sent by God and was His Messenger.  Or else he secretly knows the Quran is true, but he chooses in his heart to refuse it.  If the seeker is honest in his seeking, he need but explore this question of its inimitability to nurture the inner certainty that he has really found the final truth in the religion it predicates.

- islamreligion.com

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Footnotes:

[1]Invisible beings with parallel existence to humans.

[2]The fact is attested to by non-Muslim Orientalists.

‘That the best of Arab writers has never succeeded in producing anything equal in merit to the Quran itself is not surprising…’ (E H Palmer (Tr.), The Quran, 1900, Part I, Oxford at Clarendon Press, p. lv).

‘…and no man in fifteen hundred years has ever played on that deep-toned instrument with such power, such boldness, and such range of emotional effect as Mohammad did…As a literary monument the Quran thus stands by itself, a production unique to the Arabic literature, having neither forerunners nor successors in its own idiom…’.’ (H A R Gibb, Islam - A Historical Survey, 1980, Oxford University Press, p. 28).

and Christian Arabs:

‘Many Christian Arabs speak of its style with warm admiration, and most Arabists acknowledge its excellence. When it is read aloud or recited it has an almost hypnotic effect that makes the listener indifferent to its sometimes strange syntax and its sometimes, to us, repellent content. It is this quality it possesses of silencing criticism by the sweet music of its language that has given birth to the dogma of its inimitability; indeed it may be affirmed that within the literature of the Arabs, wide and fecund as it is both in poetry and in elevated prose, there is nothing to compare with it.’ (Alfred Guillaume, Islam, 1990 (Reprinted), Penguin Books, pp. 73-74)

[3]Rummani (d. 386 AH), a classical scholar, writes: ‘So if someone were to say: "You rely in your argumentation on the failure of the Bedouin Arabs, without taking into account the post-classical Arabs; yet, according to you, the Quran is a miracle for all. One can find in the post-classical Arabs excellence in their speech", the following can be said in reply, "The Bedouin had developed and had full command of the complete grammatical structure of Arabic but among the post-classical Arabs there are none who can use the full structure of the language. The Bedouin Arabs were more powerful in their use of the full language. Since they failed in the imitation of the Quran, so the post-classical Arabs must fail to an even greater extent."‘ (Textual Sources for the Study of Islam, tr. and ed. by Andrew Rippin and Jan Knappart)

[4]The argument was made by al-Khattabi (d.388 AH).

What is the Quran?

 

There have been many incredible works of literature, such as Shakespeare’s plays and fantasy epics like Lord of the Rings.  What ties these works together is that they are the product of great human minds.  As amazing as these works are, can you imagine how much more amazing a book would be if God Himself authored it, surely it would be the greatest book ever produced.  Moreover, imagine that God answers all the important questions that human beings have about life, such as why we are here and what happens to us after we die.  Finally, imagine if God authored this book with you in mind, a book that addresses you as an individual.  Wouldn't you want to read such a book? The Qur'an is exactly that book.

The word "Qur'an" is Arabic for "recitation".  Indeed one of the many things that make the Qur'an unique is that it claims to be the literal speech of God.  Muslims believe that the Qur'an was dictated to Prophet Muhammad, may God’s peace be upon him (or pbuh for short), by God Almighty through the angel Gabriel over 1,400 years ago.  The Qur'an was not revealed all at once but rather gradually over a period of 23 years during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  It may surprise readers to learn that the Qur'an contains the same core message as other divinely revealed Scriptures, such as the Torah of Moses and Gospel of Jesus (peace be upon them) and Muslims believe that in their original form, these previous Scriptures were also sent from God.  The Qur'an informs us that Muhammad (pbuh) is the final Messenger in a long line of Messengers that God sent before him, such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus.  This is another of the unique aspects of the Qur'an; it acknowledges all of the Abrahamic faiths and all of the Prophets sent by God.

The Qur'an is also unique in history in terms of the revolutionary impact it had on society.  Pre-Islamic Arabia was not a very pleasant place to live in.  Given the tribal structure of Arab society, any disputes often led to blood feuds between tribes that would consume whole generations.  Slavery was an economic institution of the Arabs.  Male and female slaves were sold and bought like animals, and they formed the most depressed class of the Arabian society.  Arabia was a male-dominated society to say the least.  A man could marry any number of women and when a man died, his son "inherited" all his wives except his own mother.  Women, as a general rule, had virtually no legal status: fathers sold their daughters into marriage for a price and women had little or no property or succession rights.  The most powerful class of the Arabs was made up by the capitalists and money-lenders who took 100 per cent interest on loans.  Infanticide, particularly the burying alive of female infants, was a norm.  Finally, illiteracy was common among the Arabs, as were alcoholism and adultery.  I think you can appreciate why this period of Arab history before the dawn of Islam is known as the period of ignorance!

Can you imagine being tasked with reforming such a society? Have a think about how long it would take one person to cure all these social ills.  One generation? Perhaps several generations? You may even view it as an impossible task.  Just to give you an idea of the scale of the challenge, let's look at an attempt in recent Western history to eradicate just one of these social ills, alcoholism.  In 1920 the United States government passed a nationwide law to ban the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages for moral and health reasons.  This is commonly known as Prohibition and although consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of Prohibition, it subsequently increased and led to other problems such as corruption and organised crime.  The law was repealed in 1933.  The failure of one of the most powerful governments in the world to tackle just a single social ill should make us reflect on the Qur'an.  The Qur'an managed to completely reform not only alcoholism but all the social ills of Arabian society in a single generation, just 23 years! This was a revolution the likes of which the world has never witnessed.

The impact of the Qur'an on the world is not just historical.  What must be noted is that although the Qur'an was revealed in 7th century Arabia, its message is meant for the whole of mankind.  In fact there are over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world today because of the Qur'an.  Just to give you a practical demonstration of just how many Muslims there are in the world, at any given moment on any day someone, somewhere, is praising God by reciting the Qur'an in their prayers.  You must be wondering to yourself, what is it about the Qur'an that has made such an imprint on the hearts of over a billion Muslims? - islamreligion.com

The Ideal Personality of a Muslim

 

His Attitude Towards God

One of the most distinguishing features of the Muslim is his deep faith in God and his conviction that whatever happens in the universe and whatever befalls him, only happens through the will and the decree of God.  The Muslim is closely connected to God, constantly remembers Him, puts his trust in Him and is obedient towards Him.

His faith is pure and clear, uncontaminated by any stain of ignorance, superstition or illusion.  His belief and worship are based upon the teachings of the Qur’an and the authentic Hadith.  He feels that he is in constant need of the help and support of God.  He also has no choice in his life but to submit to the will of God, worship Him, strive towards the Right Path and do good deeds.  This type of mentality will guide him to be righteous and upright in all his deeds, both in public and in private.

A Muslim also recognizes the signs of the unlimited power of God in the universe, and so his faith in God increases.  God says:

“Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and (in) the difference of night and day are tokens (of His sovereignty) for men of understanding.  They remember God, standing, sitting, and reclining, and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, (and say): Our Lord!  You did not create all of this in vain.  Far removed are You from every imperfection!  Preserve us from the punishment of the Hellfire.” (Quran 3:190-191)

His Attitude Towards His Self; Mind, Body and Soul

A Muslim pays due attention to his body’s physical need taking good care of it and promoting its good health and strength.  He does this by being active, not eating excessively.  Rather, he eats enough to maintain his health and energy because he understands that a strong believer is more loved by God than a weak believer.  The Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said: “Indeed a strong believer is more beloved to God then a weak believer.  In the both of them are good virtues.”  God, the Almighty, says:

“Eat and drink; but be not wasteful, for God does not love the people who waste.” (Quran 7:31)

He also pays attention to his personal hygiene because the Prophet, placed great emphasis on it.  His appearance is always neat and clean.  His oral hygiene is also very clean because the Prophet encouraged the use of the siwak (tooth-stick from the Arak tree).  However, he does all of this in accordance with the Islamic ideal of moderation; avoiding the extremes of exaggeration and negligence.  God, the Exalted, says:

“Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of God which He has brought forth for His slaves, and the good things of His providing?  Say: Such, on the Day of Resurrection, will be only for those who believed during the life of the world.  Thus do We detail Our revelations for people who have knowledge.” (Quran 7:32)

In addition to taking care of his physical self, a Muslim also takes care of his mental self.  This is done by keeping away from drugs and stimulants.  He also does not forget to exercise regularly to maintain his physical fitness because there is a direct relationship between the physical health and mental health.  He also takes care of his mind by pursuing beneficial knowledge; religious and secular.  God says:

“And say: My Lord!  Increase me in knowledge.” (Quran 20:114)

A Muslim also pays as much attention to his spiritual development as to his physical and intellectual development.  He does so in a precisely balanced fashion which does not concentrate on one aspect to the detriment of others.  For this reason, the life of a Muslim revolves around the worship and remembrance of God; five daily prayers, fasting the month of Ramadan, etc.

His Attitude Towards People

With his parents, the Muslim is an example of sincere obedience and love.  He treats them with kindness and respect, infinite compassion, utter politeness and deep gratitude.  He recognizes their status and knows his duties towards them through God’s command.  God says:

“Worship God and do not ascribe any partner to Him and (show) kindness to the parents.” (Quran 4:36)

With his wife, the Muslim exemplifies good and kind treatment, intelligent handling, deep understanding of the nature and psychology of women, and proper fulfillment of his responsibilities and duties.

With his children, the Muslim is a parent who understands his great responsibility towards them.  He pays attention to anything that may influence their Islamic development and give them a proper education.  This is so that they may become active and constructive elements in the society, and be a source of goodness for their parents and community. 

With his relatives, the Muslim maintains the ties of kinship and knows his duties towards them.  He understands the high status given to relatives in Islam, which makes him keep in touch with them, no matter what the circumstances.

With his neighbors, the Muslim illustrates good treatment and consideration of others’ feelings and sensitivities.  He puts up with their mistreatment and turns a blind eye to his neighbor’s faults while taking care not to commit any such errors himself.

A Muslim’s relationship with his brothers and friends is the best and purest of relationships because it is based upon loving for the sake of God.  He is loving towards them and not cold-hearted.  He is loyal to them and does not betray them.  He is sincere and does not cheat them.  He is tolerant and forgiving.  He is also generous and supplicates for their happiness and well being.

In his social relationships with all people, the Muslim is well-mannered, civil, noble, and characterized by the attitudes which Islam encourages.  Some of these characteristics are: not being envious of others, fulfils his promises, modesty, patience, avoiding slanders and obscenities, not interfering in that which does not concern him, refraining from gossiping, and avoiding stirring up trouble.

These are the qualities and attitudes that every Muslim strives to make as part of their character and personality.  For this reason, a society that has residents with such characteristics is one that will enjoy true happiness and peace.

- islamreligion.com

The Obvious Existence of God

 

From the moment man opens his eyes to this world a great order surrounds him.  He needs oxygen to survive; it is interesting that the atmosphere of the planet on which he lives provides more than just the adequate amount of oxygen he needs.  This way, he breathes without difficulty.  For the existence of life on this planet, the existence of a source of heat is essential.  In response to this need, the sun is located at just the right distance to emit the exact amount of heat and energy human life needs.  Man needs nourishment to survive; every corner of the world abounds in astonishingly diversified provisions.  Likewise, man needs water; surprisingly, three-fourths of the planet is covered with water.  Man needs shelter; in this world of ours, there is land on which it is suitable to build and all sorts of materials with which to make shelters.

These are only a few among billions of details making life possible on earth.  In brief, man lives on a planet perfectly designed for his survival.  This is certainly a planet “created for human beings”, as God said in the Quran:

“Do you not see that God has subjected for you all that is in the Heavens and all that is on the Earth, and has completed and perfected His Bounties upon you, [both] apparent and hidden?...” (Quran 31:20)

A person’s interpretation of the world rests on “acquired methods of thought.” That is, he thinks in the way he has been taught, or, less kindly, the way in which he is indoctrinated.  Under this misguidance, he often dismisses all the aforementioned as “trivial realities.” However, if he does not side-step the matter, and start questioning the conditions making our existence possible, he will surely step out of the boundaries of habitual thinking and start to think:

How does the atmosphere serve as a protective ceiling for the earth?

How does each one of the billions of cells in the human body know and perform its individual tasks?

How does this extraordinary ecological balance exist on earth?

A person seeking answers to these questions surely proceeds on the right path.  He does not remain insensitive to things happening around him, and doesn’t plead ignorance about the extraordinary nature of the world.  A person who asks questions, who reflects on and gives answers to these questions will realize that, on every inch of the planet, a plan and an order reigns:

How did the flawless order in the whole universe come into being?

Who provided the delicate balances in the world?

How did living beings, incredibly diversified in nature, emerge?

Keeping oneself occupied with relentless research to answer these questions results in a clear awareness that everything in the universe, its order, each living being and structure is a component of a plan, a product of design.  Every detail: the excellent structure of an insect’s wing, the system enabling a tree to carry tons of water to its topmost branches, the order of planets, and the ratio of gases in the atmosphere; all are unique examples of perfection.

In every detail of the infinitely varied world, man finds his Creator.  God, the owner of everything in the whole universe, introduces Himself to man through the flawless design of His creation.  Everything surrounding us, the birds in flight, our beating hearts, the birth of a child or the existence of the sun in the sky, manifest the power of God and His creation.  And what man must do is understand this fact.

These purposes owe their existence to the fact that everything has been created.  An intelligent person notices that planning, design and wisdom exist in every detail of the infinitely varied world.  This draws him to recognition of the Creator.

So you need never plead ignorance that all living beings, living or non-living, show the existence and greatness of God, look at the things around you.  Strive to show appreciation in the best manner for the eternal greatness of God.  For the existence of God is obvious, and ignoring it would only be the beginning of the greatest damage we could ever do to ourselves.  That is simply because God is in no need of anything.  He is the One Who shows His greatness in all things and in all ways.

God is the owner of everything, from the heavens to the earth.  We learn the attributes of God from the Quran:

“God!  There is no god but Him, the Living, the Self-Sufficient.  He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep.  Everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him.  Who can intercede with Him except by His permission?  He knows what is before them and what is behind them but they cannot grasp any of His knowledge save what He wills.  His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth and their preservation does not tire Him.  He is the Most High, the Magnificent.” (Quran 2:255)

- islamreligion.com

Meet the Prophet Muhammad

 

"I began to look at him and at the moon, he was wearing a red mantle, and he appeared to be more beautiful than the moon to me." (Al-Tirmidhi)

This is how Jabir ibn Samura described the Last of the Prophets, the Chief of the Pious, the Prince of the Believers, the Chosen One of the Most Merciful – Muhammad, the Messenger of God.

He had a pleasant face that was round, white, and fair.  His hair fell to his ear lobes.  His beard was thick and black.  When he was pleased, his face would light up.  His laugh was no more than smiling.  His eyes were blackish, and his eyelashes were long.  His long eyebrows were curved.  When the eyes of Abdullah ibn Salam, the chief rabbi of Medina, fell on his face, he declared that such a noble face could not be the face of a liar!

He was of medium height, neither tall nor short.  He walked inclining forward.  He wore tanned leather sandals.  His pants would reach to the middle of his shin or sometimes just above his ankles.

On his back, towards the left shoulder was the ‘Seal of Prophethood’. It was the size of a pigeon’s egg with spots like moles on it.  His palms were described to be softer than the brocade of silk.

He was recognized by his fragrance when he approached from a distance.  Drops of his perspiration were described to be like pearls.  His companions collected his sweat to mix with their perfumes which made them even more fragrant!

Islamic doctrine holds if someone has been blessed with the vision of the Prophet in a dream as described, then indeed they have seen him.

He would keep silent for long periods of time and was the most dignified when silent.

When he spoke, he uttered nothing but the truth in a voice pleasing to the ears.  He did not speak rapidly as many people do today; rather he spoke in a clear speech so that those who sat with him could remember it.  His speech was described to be such that anyone who wished to count his words could have done so easily.  His companions described him to be neither vulgar nor indecent.  He neither cursed people, nor abused them.  He merely reprimanded by saying:

"What is the matter with such and such people" (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

The most hateful conduct to him was lying.  Sometimes he used to repeat himself twice or even thrice to enable the listeners to understand him well.  He would give short sermons.  While delivering the sermons his eyes would become red, his voice would rise, and his emotions become visible as if he were warning of an imminent assault from an enemy.

He led a simple life without any extravagance or lavishness.  He put the worldly life behind his back and turned away from it.  He considered it to be a prison, not Paradise!  Had he wished, he could have had anything he desired, for the keys of its treasures were presented to him, but he refused to accept them.  He did not exchange his share of the life to come with the worldly life.  He knew that it is a corridor, not a permanent residence.  He understood fully well that it is a transit station, not a leisure park.  He took it for its real worth - a summer cloud that would soon disperse.

Yet God says He enriched him from poverty:

"Did He not find you poor and enrich you?" (Quran 93:8)

Aisha, his wife, said:

"A month would pass while the family of Muhammad would not light fire in their homes.  They subsisted on two things - dates and water.  Some residents of Medina who were his neighbors would send milk from their sheep, which he would drink and then give to his family." (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)

She said the family of Muhammad never ate wheat bread to their satisfaction for three consecutive days from the time of his arrival at Medina until he passed away, about 10 years!

With all this, he would stand up in the middle of the night to offer his gratitude to his Lord in prayer.  He would pray for so long that his feet would swell!  When his wives would ask why he worshipped God so much, his only response would be:

"Shall I not be a thankful servant of God?" (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)

Omar, one of his companions, remembering the days he passed in hunger said that sometimes the Prophet did not even have inferior quality of dates to satisfy his hunger!

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, another companion and eye-witness, says that once, when Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, awoke from sleep, the marks of the mat made out of date palm leaves on which he used to sleep were etched on his body.  Abdullah complained:

"My father and mother be ransomed for you!  Why did you not let us prepare something (softer) for you from which you could protect yourself?"

He replied:

"I have nothing to do with this world.  I am in this world like a rider who stops under the shade of the tree for a short time and, after taking rest, he resumes his journey again, leaving the tree behind." (Al-Tirmidhi)

Various conquerors in the annals of history are known for spilling rivers of blood and erecting pyramids of skulls.  Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, is known for his forgiveness.  He never took revenge from anyone who wronged him to the point that he never struck anybody with his hand, neither a woman nor a servant, unless he was fighting in battle. His forgiveness could be seen on the day he entered Mecca as a conqueror after eight years of exile.

He forgave those who persecuted him, and forced him and his family in exile for three years in rugged mountains, who had accused him of being a lunatic, a poet, or one possessed.  He pardoned Abu Sufyan, one of the most evil of people who plotted to persecute him day and night, along with his wife, Hind, who mutilated the dead body of the Prophet’s Muslim uncle and ate the raw liver after ordering Wahshi, a  fierce slave known for his fighting skills,  to kill him, which later led them to accept Islam. Who else could be on such an exalted standard of character but the noblest and most truthful Messenger of God?

Wahshi, who used to live in Mecca, won his freedom from Hind for the service of killing the uncle of the Prophet.  When Islam gained dominance in Mecca, Wahshi ran away from Mecca to Taif.  Eventually Taif also succumbed to the Muslims.  He was told Muhammad would forgive anyone who accepted Islam.  Even though the crime was so great, Wahshi gathered his courage and came to the Prophet of Mercy and announced his Islam, and Muhammad forgave him.

His forgiveness even extended to Habbar ibn Aswad.  When Zaynab, the Prophet’s daughter, was migrating from Mecca to Medina, the Meccans tried to stop her, Habbar was one of them.  He made the Prophet’s pregnant daughter fall from her camel.  As a result, she lost her baby.  Running away from the guilt of his crime, Habbar fled to Iran, but God turned his heart towards the Prophet.  So he came to the Prophet’s court, acknowledged his guilt, bore the testimony of faith, and was forgiven by the Prophet!

Muhammad performed physical miracles with God’s permission.  He split the moon into two halves by merely pointing his finger at it.  In a mystical journey known as Mi’raaj, he traveled in one night from Mecca to Jerusalem on a heavenly mount, al-Buraq, led all the Prophets in prayer, and then ascended beyond the seven heavens to meet his Lord.  He cured the sick and the blind; demons would leave the possessed by his command, water flowed from his fingers, and his food would glorify God.

Yet he was the most humble of men.  He sat on the ground, ate on the ground, and slept on the ground.  A companion narrated that if a stranger were to enter a gathering where he was present, he would not be able to differentiate the Prophet from his companions due to his humbleness.  Anas, his servant, swore that in his nine years of service, the noble Prophet never chastised him or blamed him for anything.  Those around him described Muhammad to be so humble that even a little girl could hold his hand and take him wherever she wished.  He used to come to the weak among the Muslims in order to visit the sick and attend their funeral processions.  He used to stay at the back of the caravan to aid the weak and pray for them.  He would not hesitate to walk with a widow or a poor person until he had accomplished for them what they needed.  He responded to the invitation of even slaves, eating nothing more than barley bread with them.

He was the best of men to his wives.  Aisha, his wife, described how humble he was:

"He used to remain busy serving and helping his household, and when the time for prayer came he would perform ablution and go for prayer.  He would patch his own sandals and sew his own garments.  He was an ordinary human being, searching his clothes for lice, milking his sheep, and doing his own chores." (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

Indeed he was the best of all people to his family.  His personality was such that people were not driven away from him!

Such was the noble Prophet of God who we must love more than our own selves and whom God has described as:

"Indeed in the Messenger of God you have a good example to follow…" (Quran 33:21)

- islamreligion.com

“God is beautiful and He loves beauty”

 Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "God is beautiful and He loves beauty."[1]

Some people who seek to be pious tend to underrate the value of beauty.  They fail to recognize that beauty is an Islamic value.  God intended for His Creation to contain beauty. 

God says: "And He created the cattle for you; you have in them warm clothing and (many) advantages, and of them do you eat.  And you have a sense of pride and beauty in them as you drive them home in the evening, and as you lead them forth to pasture in the morning." (Quran 16:5-6)

He says: "And (He has created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride and use as an ornament for show; and He has created (other) things of which you have no knowledge." (Quran 16:8)

Elsewhere in the Quran, God speaks about the beauty of the heavens, the stars, of gardens and myriad other things. 

Beauty stands in opposition to ugliness.  God is beautiful in His essence, in His names and attributes, and in His actions.  This is why the greatest of all pleasures in Paradise is to look upon God’s countenance.  God says: "That day will faces be resplendent, looking to their Lord" (Quran 75:22-2)

God refers to His names as being beautiful: "God’s are the most beautiful names." (Quran 7:180)

Likewise, His actions are beautiful.  They are always within the context of His beneficence and grace, or His justice and wisdom.  His actions are never in vain, never unjust, and never superfluous.  "Perfected is the Word of your Lord in truth and justice." (Quran 6:115)

God created everything with proficiency and He created the human being in the best of forms. 

The beauty that exists in Creation – on land and at sea and in the heavens – attests to God’s beauty as well as His power.  He who created beauty is most entitled to beauty.  And indeed Paradise is adorned with beauty beyond imagining. 

God’s beauty is also beyond our imagining.  Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, beseeched God with the following prayer: "I am unable to extol all of Your praises.  You are as You have extolled Yourself."[2]

Prophet Muhammad also said: "His is a veil of light.  If He were to remove it, the glory of His countenance would ignite everything of Creation as He looks upon it."[3]

Our faith in God’s beauty strengthens our connection with our Lord.  It increases our love for Him and our longing to return to Him.  Prophet Muhammad used to offer the following prayer: "I ask of You the joy of looking on Your noble countenance and of my longing to be with You."[4]

Our faith in God’s beauty should also encourage us to concern ourselves with our appearance, dress, and decorum, as well as with the beauty of our words and deeds.  This is something that God wants from us. 

Someone once approached the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, and asked: "What if someone likes that his clothing and his shoes are beautiful?" The Prophet replied: "God loves to see the affects of His grace upon His servant."[5]

The Prophet’s Companions, following the example that the Prophet set for them, took care of their appearance. 

When the Prophet said: "God is beautiful and He loves beauty," this means that God blesses us for the beauty that we bring about through our good efforts.  He loves beauty in us, just as He loves us to be possessed with knowledge, generosity, clemency and purity. 

We have already mentioned that beauty is among the purposes of God’s Creation. 

God says: "Is not He (best) Who created the heavens and the Earth, and sends down for you water from the sky wherewith We cause to spring forth beautiful orchards, which you could not (otherwise) have grown the trees thereof?" (Quran 27:60)

"Surely We have made whatever is on the earth an embellishment for it, so that We may try them (as to) which of them is best in deed." (Quran 18:7)

"Know you (all), that the life of this world is but play, amusement, and embellishment." (Quran 57:20)

God had given His prophet Joseph (peace be upon him) half of all human beauty.[6] Likewise, Prophet Muhammad was blessed with a bright complexion and a handsome face, not to mention the beauty of his character as seen in his politeness, humility, patience, kindness and forbearance even with those who actively opposed him and the religion of Islam.

-islamreligion.com

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Footnotes:

[1]Saheeh Muslim

[2]Saheeh Muslim

[3]Saheeh Muslim

[4]Sunan al-Nasai

[5]Sunan al-Tirmidhi

[6]Saheeh Muslim

Prophet Muhammad’s Last Sermon: A Final Admonition

 

Beloved Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia circa 570 C.E.  He is an example for all of humanity.  He was a remarkable man at all times.  He excelled in all walks of life by being a prophet, ruler, orator, soldier, husband, friend, father, uncle, nephew, and a grandfather.  He was a man of love, patience, courage, wisdom, generosity, intelligence and magnitude who inspired millions of lives throughout the world.

God says in the Quran that he was sent as a mercy for the people of the world.

"We sent thee not save as a mercy for the peoples." (Quran 21:107)

His Prophetic Mission began at the age of forty, circa 610 C.E., and continued until 632 C.E.  From the path of ignorance, mankind was lead to the straight path and was blessed with the guidance of God.

Shortly before his death, Prophet Muhammad delivered a sermon during the Hajj, which came to be known as his "Final Sermon".  This final sermon was not only a reminder to his followers, but also an important admonition.  The final sermon confirms the end of his Prophetic Mission.

Year 10 A.H.  of the Islamic Calendar is considered to be one of the most significant years for three reasons.  Firstly, this was the year when the Prophet delivered his Last Sermon during his farewell pilgrimage to Mecca.  Secondly, this was the year where a number of deputations came to the Prophet to announce their Islam as well as their tribes.  Thirdly, it was the golden period of Islam when multitudes of people embraced the faith by accepting the message of the Prophet.

Prophet Muhammad undertook his farewell pilgrimage in the year 10 A.H.  His farewell pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the most significant historical events in the minds of Muslims, for it was the first and last pilgrimage made by Prophet Muhammad, as well as being the model for performing the fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj.

Prophet Muhammad’s final sermon was delivered during the Hajj of the year 632 C.E., the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah, the 12th month of the lunar year, at Arafat, the most blessed day of the year.  There were countless Muslims present with the Prophet during his last pilgrimage when he delivered his last Sermon.

The Final Sermon:

After praising, and thanking God, the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said "O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again.  Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust.  Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners.  Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.  Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds.  God has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived.  Your capital, however, is yours to keep.  You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity.  God has Judged that there shall be no interest, and that all the interest due to Al-Abbas ibn Abd’el Muttalib shall henceforth be waived...

Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion.  He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you.  Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under a trust from God and with His permission.  If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness.  Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers.  And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

O People, listen to me in earnest, worship God, perform your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and offer Zakat.  Perform Hajj if you have the means.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve.  An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and good action.  Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.  Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly.  Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.

Remember, one day you will appear before God and answer for your deeds.  So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new faith will be born.  Reason well, therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey to you.  I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and it may be that the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly.  Be my witness, O God, that I have conveyed your message to your people."

Thus the beloved Prophet completed his Final Sermon, and upon it, near the summit of Arafat, the revelation came down:

"…This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My Grace upon you, and have chosen Islam for you as your religion…" (Quran 5:3)

Even today the Last Sermon of Prophet Muhammad is passed to every Muslim in every corner of the world through all possible means of communication.  Muslims are reminded about it in mosques and in lectures.  Indeed the meanings found in this sermon are indeed astounding, touching upon some of the most important rights God has over humanity, and humanity has over each other.  Though the Prophet’s soul has left this world, his words are still living in our hearts.

- islamreligion.com