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By Mr A G Karim coffee@euro-comm.co.uk With
eyes as bright as the shining sun, a reality on the lips more brilliant than the
light of the sun, a heart more fresh than the flowers of the gardens of Yathrib
and Taif, habits and morals more decent than the moon- lit nights of the Hijaz,
a mind more brisk than the strong winds, a bewitching tongue, a heart with heavenly
light, firm determination like a trenchant sword and heavenly words on the tongue
- such was Muhammad son of Abdullah, the prophet of Arabia, the prophet who destroyed
the idols which had separated brothers from brothers. He did not break only the
idols of wood and stone but also broke the idols of wealth, indecent habits and
party spirit. The only thing, which the cowardly Quraysh
desired, was money should be transferred from the hands of the nomadic Arabs to
their own pockets. The only value which they attached to life was that in order
to earn profit they should travel through the desert on the back of the camels
undergoing extreme hardships and then return to their hometown Mecca-the same
Mecca which was the city of idol-worship, and where money was the only thing which
counted. Suddenly they heard a voice which shook their
nerves. Their hopes were shattered. The world turned away its face from them saying
"The value of man is not the same which you have assessed and the object
of the creation of the nomadic Arabs is not the same which you think it to be".
........This was the voice of Muhammad......... Banu
Asad-and Banu Tamim were so foolish and ignorant that they buried their daughters
alive without any cause. There was no justification for their doing so except
that it was a custom which had survived amongst them. They were opposed to the
divine will. They hated the beauty of nature. And then they heard a voice, which
was expressive of deep love and sympathy for the people saying: "Don't bury
your daughters alive. Daughters are as good a creation of God as the sons. No
human being has a right to deprive others of life. It is only God who creates
the people and makes them die". .......This was
the voice of Muhammad......... The Arabs were always
fighting. They fought and shed blood for years on account of very trivial things.
They killed their own brothers and then rejoiced and glorified themselves on it.
To sacrifice their lives for the sake of their own ignorance was something very
ordinary for them. The children cried, screamed, and grew up in conditions which
were not conducive to the creation of love or sympathy for anyone in their minds.
In these circumstances they heard another voice which
said "What are you doing ? You kill one another although you are all brothers
because all of you have been created by God. Strife is something satanic. Peace
and friendship are more beneficial for you. The blessing for which you fight can't
be achieved except through peace". ......This,
too, was the voice of Muhammad......... The
Arabs were the most proud and egoistic people. They considered the non-Arabs inferior
to themselves. Not only this but they did not consider the non-Arabs even human
beings. Muhammad disliked this attitude of the Arabs very much. Addressing these
proud people he said: "No Arab is superior to a non-Arab unless he is more
pious. Whether you like it or not all human beings are brothers of one another".
There were oppressed, homeless and helpless persons
whose faces had been scorched by the hot winds. The society had discarded them
and made their lives miserable. They were more humble in the eyes of the people
than the particles of sand and their life had become extremely unenviable. And
these were the true friends of the prophet of Islam, just as the indigent and
outcasts of the society were the friends of Jesus Christ and other great men of
the world. It was these very people for whose benefit the prophet of Islam endeavoured
to prevent the establishment of dictatorship, disallowed slavery, freed man from
the bondage of his fellow men, and established the public treasury so that all
might benefit from it without any discrimination. He directed the efforts of the
people towards public welfare. He insisted on Quraysh, who were his kinsmen, at
every step that they should improve their conduct, do good deeds, and keep their
attention directed wholeheartedly to God, who has united the scattered creation
into a single whole. However, Quraysh instigated the
ignorant persons as well as their own children to stone and ridicule him.
The helpless, oppressed and homeless slaves among whom one was Bilal, the Mu'azzin
of the prophet, were overjoyed when they heard this: "All human beings are
fed by God. He likes him most who is more helpful to his creatures". .......This
was the voice of Muhammad......... Those who were his
enemies, stoned, and ridiculed him heard this animating voice: "If you (Muhammad)
had been stern and hard-hearted they would all have deserted you a long time ago.
Forgive them and ask God to forgive (their sins) and consult with them in certain
matter. But when you reach a decision trust God. God loves those who trust aim
". .......This was the voice of Muhammad.........
The following pure words were imprinted on the minds
of those who were endeavouring in the path of God for a better life, and were
ready to support him (Muhammad) in his campaign against idol-worship and evil-doing,
and were afraid lest their rights and good conduct might be wasted in the battle-field.
"Remember ! Don't be treacherous. Don't commit
breach of trust. Don't kill either a child or a woman or an old man or a monk
in a monastery. Don't burn a date palm tree and don't cut any tree nor pull down
a building". .......This voice was the voice of
Muhammad........ The Arabs heard this heavenly voice
from Muhammad and spread it in all the four corners of the world. They covered
powerful rulers and kings with this voice, established brotherhood amongst human
beings and strung them in one faith, and created relationship between man and
God. The shade of Muhammad spread so much that the entire
Old World came under it and the land from the east upto the west began producing
the fruits of goodness, knowledge, peace and friendship. The prophet of Islam
stretched his hand and sowed the seeds of friendship and brotherhood throughout
the world. That hand is still stretched and is busy sowing the seeds. Hence, there
is no part of the world wherein the followers of Muhammad are not found. One of
them may be in Pakistan and the other may be in Spain, but in spite of this both
of them are treated to be under one and the same standard. The prophet provided
honour and respect to the Orientals which is even now a shining crown on their
heads. This voice of the prophet, was a call for human
brotherhood. It stopped the hands of the rulers from reaching the property of
the subjects and gave equal rights to all human beings. In his religion there
is no discrimination between a common man, a ruler and a subject and an Arab and
a non-Arab, because all human beings are the slaves of God and it is He who provides
sustenance to all of them. This voice emancipated women
from the oppression of men, freed the labourers from the injustice of the capitalists
and delivered the servants from the degradation of submission to their masters.
As opposed to Plato and other philosophers, who deprive the workers of their social
rights on account of their mean occupation and have divided the society into many
grades, the prophet of Islam made all human beings participate in the affairs
of government. He also disallowed usury and exploitation of one man by another.
After the prophet of Islam it was Ali bin Talib who
called men to good morals.
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