In The Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
MUHAMMAD (S) – THE ONLY HOPE OF MANKIND
[Shamim A
Siddiqi, New York]
INTRODUCTION: At the end of sixth century AD, humanity had lost all the
guidance that came from its Creator and Sustainer as how to live, act and
behave on earth. There were no human rights anywhere in the world. Under the
domination of both the superpowers of the time, the Roman and the Persian
Empires, only the ruling class was enjoying all rights and
privileges. The common man has no rights worth its name and was
treated as serfdom. Women folk were treated in Christianity
something as “untouchables” and under the fold of Hindu paganism, they had no
right to live after the death of husband. They were to die with them alive due
to age old prevalent custom of “sati”. Europe was grappling under its
dark ages and America was not known at all to the civilized world of the
time. Humanity was, thus, passing through dark pages of its history; its fate
was lying in obscurity and apparently had no hopes in its “destiny”.
The Christian priests,
saints and hermits of the time were all in waiting for the coming of a
Messenger from a land in the desert covered with date trees as prophesies in
Bible foretold. Only the City of Madinah in the heart of Arabian
Peninsula fulfilled that criterion. They had established numerous
monasteries at the northern arch of Arabian Peninsula. The monastery of Ba'hirah Rahib was one of them.
The blind Professor Taha Yaseen
of Egypt has given a vivid description of these monasteries in his
book of Seerah of Rasulullah (S) and has shown that how eagerly Judeo-Christian
world was waiting for the new Messenger of Allah. The detail account given by
Prophet’s beloved companion Salman Farsi (RA) of his reaching to Madinah in
search of the Messenger as directed by Christian priests confirms the quest and
long waiting of Judeo- Christian world.
Unfortunately, at the
end of 20th and the beginning of the 21st century,
the humanity is experiencing as a whole more or less the similar situation as
that of 6th century but in a different perspective. In 6th century,
the causes of concern and waiting were genuine as all the
previous guidance from God were either lost, or mutilated through human
innovations and manipulations along with the life pattern of the previous
Messengers too except with some scanty account that could not lead and deliver
to human society a system and a model of their life-pattern to live with. In
the context of the present world, both the Guidance from the Creator and
Sustainer are available intact in their original form along with the
life-pattern of the Messenger, the guide, the model as how to live, act and
behave in the world in its minutest details. It is just the self-denial
attitude of Judeo-Christian-Pagan world that is blind to its existence
in its totality. It is due to age old prejudices, historical animosity and
ignorance of an unprecedented nature; it is being ignored one way or the other.
Their blindness is by
their free-choice and not by accident or any natural mishap. It can be termed
as “day-light-blindness”. They are in disparate need of a
system for getting justice, peace, security and an ideal model to lead a
balanced and an organized life in their personal, family and society at
individual, national and international levels. They are making blind rough
shots here and there, grappling in darkness but having no semblance of light
either in their vision, approach, programming or projections. They are seeing every thing from the ken of mortal eyes and not as their
urgent need for Divine Guidance and the life-pattern that the Messenger had set
in its minutest details for human beings to follow. That is why man has failed
in all its programming, projections and man-made systems whether it was
feudalism, monarchy, capitalism, socialism, communism and secular democracy or
military dictatorship. All have multiplied human problems and provided only
some band-aid-treatment or some namesake temporary
respite only. Problems are gradually heaping and pilling up in Himalayan size.
In sequence, humanity
has lost all its hopes. The forthcoming era of Globalization, World Trade and
forming of different Group Markets on the pattern of EUC are bound to fail as
their objective is to exploit the human needs and meager resources of
under-developed and developing countries around the world to add a few degrees
to the standard of living of the developed countries at he cost of increasing the poverty level in the poor
countries higher and higher. By denying the existing Divine Guidance and the
role of the Messenger of time, humanity cannot survive anymore. It has no
choice but to turn its face to follow the life-pattern of Muhammad
Ibne Abdullah (S) of Macca with all hopes and expectations and it
would get it there. Let us see what hopes the life of the Messenger of the
time, Prophet Muhammad (S) has in store for the suffering humanity that
all the secular isms could not deliver at all.
THE
FIRST STEP TOWARDS BUIILDING THE FATE OF HUMANITY:
After his appointment as the Messenger of God in the cave of
Hera in 572 AD, Prophet Muhammad (S) concentrated, on individuals, the
epic center of all troubles and corruptions on earth. He (S) rightly concluded
that if individuals are corrected, reformed and their character is re-build on
the basis of fear of Allah and accountability in Akhirah, society as a whole
can be reconstituted afresh on balanced moral grounds. As such:
* He (S) cemented the
relations of each individual with his/her Creator and Sustainer;
* Every individual is a
trustee of what Allah has given him and not master or owner;
* Every
one is accountable to his or her Creator and Sustainer for all
his/her actions and deeds on earth in Akhirah;
* He (S) presented his
life as ideal for all individuals to follow in every walk of life till
eternity.
Rasulullah
(S) made every effort
in remodeling their respective individual character on these principles and
made them the most trustworthy people of the time. This was his (S) team of
workers that he first built and they were the instruments in changing the society
altogether on the concept of Tawhid, Amanah (Trust), Akhirah
[the Concept of Accountability on the Last day of Judgment] and his
Prophethood. He (S) purified individual’s character and motivated them to carry
out the mission of Islam to the four corners of the world. His (S)
Kalimah: La Ilaha Ilallah, Muhammadun Rasulullah was, in fact, was and is the most
revolutionary political slogan and a motivating force that kept his (S)
followers always active, motivated and involved in the service of mankind: to
be good to others, in removing the evils [the Munkar] from the society and
establishing the Ma’roof [the Permissible] all around. This
benevolent character that he (S) created amongst his (S) followers was by
serving himself as its model in every walk of life. He (S), thus, transformed
the Arab society of Jahiliyah [ignorance] in to a benevolent
and God-Conscious society all around in his (S) life time within a limited
period of 23 years. This is his (S) prescribed, well-practiced and
trusted model for mankind to follow till eternity. If humanity wants today to
remove corruption, favoritism, nepotism and discrimination in all its forms and
shape from its ranks and files, this is the only way now left for mankind to
accept and follow, the only hope to get justice, peace and a balanced
harmonious growth in the world.
THE
MOST INSPIRING CHARACTER OF HISTORY:
* Prophet
Mohammad (S) was very kind, compassionate, merciful and full of concern
for the believers in Allah;
* He (S) was at the
highest order of morality;
* His (S) morals were
the embodiment of the Qur’an [Hadith]. In fact, he (S)
the walking Qur'an;
* Rasulullah (S)
confirmed in practice and advocacy: “I have been appointed to perfect
the morality”. [Hadith]
* Mohammad (S) was
the Messenger for entire mankind till eternity. The Jews and the
Christians have no choice but to accept him (S) as their Prophet too
as the Qur'an constitutes all the truthful Teachings of the Torah and the
Bible and the Islam is what was presented by Prophet Abraham
(SA).
* Arabs acknowledged him
(S) unanimously and used to call him Al-Sadiq &
Al-Ameen [the Truthful and the Trustworthy];
* He (S)” never spoke
out of his own desire and that what he coveyed to
you was but
the
Divine] inspiration with which he is being inspired” [Q. Al-Najm: 3-4]
* He (S) said, “Ana
Afsahul Arab” [I am the most eloquent
person amongst the
Arabs];
* He (S) was an
Extraordinary advocate and promoter of “Ilm” [knowledge] in the society: “Talabul Ilme farizatun
ala kulley Muslim” [Acquiring knowledge
is obligatory on every Muslim [and Muslimah] – Hadith –Ibne Ma’ja];
* He (S) was the most
ideal and perfect Da’ee Ilallah [Calling humanity to the fold of
the Creator and Susatiner for
all times to come:
* He (S) declared the
first Charter of Human Rights in 631 AD from the Mount of
Arafat
when he (S) performed his (S) first and the last Hajj.
* He (S) was the most
ardent advocate of human rights, wage-earners rights, very benevolent to
slaves, care taker of the way fairers, the oppressed,
the orphans and the rights of women;
* He (S) established the
concept of equality amongst human beings, eradicated all kinds of
discrimination on account of color, race, wealth, language and geographical
boundaries. He made Bilal bin Ribah (RA), a Negro from Eretria, the Moazzin of his Mosque in Madinah and his
personal exchequer;
* He (S) was an
affectionate father, a dutiful and loveable husband, an ideal neighbor, a
trustworthy and honest trader, an efficient administrator, a foresighted statesman
and a brilliant general. In short he (S) was the most accomplished human being.
Whoso ever came in contact with him (S) adored him, including his adversaries. He
(S) is the most perfect ideal in every walk of life for any individual and
society to follow as model, the only hope of mankind to deliver Khair [good]
and justice to all who resolves to follow him and his teachings.
BUILDING
A MODEL HUMAN SOCIETY - Rasulullah (S) first built his (S) team of
workers on the lines stated above. We call them Sahabah [His beloved
Companions] out of reverence. He (S) built it through "Person to
Person Contacts" who in turn became the king pins
of the Islamic society that he (S) established in Arabian Peninsula based on
the principles of equality, justice and complete social security for the poor,
the needy, the destitute, the underfed, the unemployed, the
incapacitated and the way fairers – the
have-nots, through a well-established social-welfare system of Islam that
advocated: “Collect from your affluent and return it back to your
poor and needy” [Hadith}
Mohammad (S) built
a society in which justice was free, education was obligatory and free for all.
It was free of corruption and favoritism. Rate of crime was extremely low to
the extent that often jails were found empty. Situation of law and
order was so perfect that an old lady could travel from Sana’a to Hazarmaut, a distance of about 1,000 miles with gold in her
hands and she had no fear except that of Allah. Adi
bin Hatim (RA) confirmed it by his own observation.
CONCLUSION: The forgoing proves beyond any shadow of doubt that the life
pattern that Prophet Mohammad (S) demonstrated to the world
the system of life that he (S) delivered to mankind is now the only
hope of mankind to get justice, peace and security on earth. The more its
adoption is delayed, the more it is drifting away from its cherished goal to
attain perfection in transforming the abode of man into the cradle of peace and
free of exploitation; where both the affluent and the poor will feel contented
in their respective field and where the opportunity of progress will be
available to all and sundry without any prejudice as a right of all human
beings. Humanity can attain this goal only when it would accept the leadership
of Prophet Muhammad (S) as the only hope of its survival and delivering good to its specie.
However, it would be
possible only when the Muslim Ummah establishes Islam as a political entity
somewhere in its midst and sets a model for humanity to follow. If the Ummah
does it, the world would rush to it and accept it like a hot cake, Insha Allah.
Will the Muslim Community and its leadership accept it as the most important
challenge of time and replenish the ‘skeleton” cheeks of humanity with new
hopes and blood.
Shamim Siddiqi
July 4, 2015