 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Interviews The Mercy of the Prophet Muhammad in Our Daily Lives Session Details Subject The Mercy of the Prophet Muhammad in Our Daily Lives The session has just started. Please feel free to join us with your questions. After the session has ended, you can view the whole dialogue by clicking Recent Sessions, or the archive. For feedback and suggestions, please e-mail us at EngLivedialogue@islamonline.net. Yours, Islamonline Live Dialogue Editing Desk.. Jazakum Allah khayran for your question: I believe that anything Allah requires of us is vital for the strengthening of our spiritual states - of which both our understanding and implementation is, in essence, a result of. I believe that our invocation of blessings and peace/salutations upon our holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is required of us by our Maker for OUR own benefit. By acknowledging the Prophet's status with Allah as the best of creation, we remind ourselves of the standards that we should to aspire to. We are, in a way – to simplify - acknowledging the A+ and therefore, even if we don't attain it, hope that our shortcomings are overlooked because of our acknowledgement of it. When the purpose of our creation is understood, it becomes evident that it was fulfilled in the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). We are talking about the human being with no ego, who lived for others. As a beautiful poem had said about him, "Verily the merit of the Prophet of Allah is so limitless / That no tongue can begin to articulate his greatness…", let alone what a poor servant like myself can say, typing away in a limited period of time. It is also important to note that the Prophet's spirit is returned to him when we invoke peace and blessings upon him, to answer us back, and so our spirits are very fortunate to still be able to have that form of spiritual connecting with him even though we were created in a time after his. That connection is essential for us to begin to holistically understand our purpose of creation and our Lord's love for us, and for the sweetness of faith - and it's becoming dearer to our to our hearts more than anything else – to become our state insha'Allah. Here is a condensed recollection, a kind of verbal icon, of that Prophetic beauty. It is paraphrased from a passage by Imam al-Ghazali, in Book 19 of his Revival of the Religious Sciences, (Ihya Ulum al-Din). "The Messenger of God (s) was the mildest of men, but also the bravest and most just of men. He was the most restrained of people; never touching the hand of a woman over whom he did not have rights, or who was not his mahram. He was the most generous of men, so that never did a gold or silver coin spend the night in his house. If something remained at the end of the day, because he had not found someone to give it to, and night descended, he would go out, and not return home until he had given it to someone in need. From what Allah gave him [...] he would take only the simplest and easiest foods: dates and barley, giving anything else away in the path of Allah. Never did he refuse a gift for which he was asked. He used to mend his own sandals, and patch his own clothes, and serve his family, and help them to cut meat. He was the shyest of men, so that his gaze would never remain long in the face of anyone else. He would accept the invitation of a freeman or a slave, and accept a gift, even if it were no more than a gulp of milk, or the thigh of a rabbit, and offer something in return. He never consumed anything given in sadaqa. He was not too proud to reply to a slave-girl, or a pauper in rags. He would become angered for his Lord, never for himself; he would cause truth and justice to prevail even if this led to discomfort to himself or to his companions. "He used to bind a stone around his waist out of hunger. He would eat what was brought, and would not refuse any permissible food. If there was dates without bread, he would eat, if there was roast meat, he would eat; if there was rough barley bread, he would eat it; if there was honey or something sweet, he would eat it; if there was only yogurt without even bread, he would be quite satisfied with that. "He was not sated, even with barley-bread, for three consecutive days, until the day he met his Lord, not because of poverty, or avarice, but because he always preferred others over himself. "He would attend weddings, and visit the sick, and attend funerals, and would often walk among his enemies without a guard. He was the most humble of men, and the most serene, without arrogance. He was the most eloquent of men, without ever speaking for too long. He was the most cheerful of men. He was afraid of nothing in the dunya. He would wear a rough Yemeni cloak, or a woolen tunic; whatever was lawful and was to hand, that he would wear. He would ride whatever was to hand: sometimes a horse, sometimes a camel, sometimes a mule, sometimes a donkey. And at times he would walk barefoot, without an upper garment or a turban or a cap. He would visit the sick even if they were in the furthest part of Madina. He loved perfumes, and disliked foul smells. "He maintained affectionate and loyal ties with his relatives, but without preferring them to anyone who was superior to them. He never snubbed anyone. He accepted the excuse of anyone who made an excuse. He would joke, but would never say anything that was not true. He would laugh, but not uproarously. He would watch permissible games and sports, and would not criticise them. He ran races with his wives. Voices would be raised around him, and he would be patient. He kept a sheep, from which he would draw milk for his family. He would walk among the fields of his companions. He never despised any pauper for his poverty or illness; neither did he hold any king in awe simply because he was a king. He would call rich and poor to Allah, without distinction. "In him, Allah combined all noble traits of character; although he neither read nor wrote, having grown up in a land of ignorance and deserts in poverty, as a shepherd, and as an orphan with neither father nor mother. But Allah Himself taught him all the excellent qualities of character, and praiseworthy ways, and the stories of the early and the later prophets, and the way to salvation and triumph in the Akhira, and to joy and detachment in the dunya, and how to hold fast to duty, and to avoid the unnecessary. May Allah give us success in obeying him, and in following his sunna. Amin ya rabb al-alamin." I pray this helps, and any shortcomings in replying are from my own soul. Moez And that is why Islam is not simply pacifist and did not order its followers to stop that: instead, to fight for reasons other than tribe, and kin. As for the modern world, things have changed. Nowadays, a global "state of peace", which rejects unwarranted territorial sovereignty is more immanent. What follows is that Islamic jurisprudence finds a different human context that, in which ever legal and traditional way it answers to, differently." For more more readings on the subject you can read "Islam in the Modern World" by Sherman Jackson. To wrap up, because of time limitation and the lack of face-to-face contact between us which is essential in truth-seeking endeavors, I would like to also request of you to seek a more accurate definition of the term 'Mercy', as it is, for example, of God's mercy to - at times- administer justice which could entail punishment. I would love it if you would give me a call. My mobile phone number is: +20122287878. Jazak Allahu khayr for your question. In the two that you have listed, the latter is more important – i.e. accompanying pious people – because the traditional Islamic understanding is that knowledge is in the hearts of people and not in the lines of books. That is not to say that reading is not of essence, but you were asking for priorities. I hope this answer helps you. Moez Jazak Allahu khayr for your question. The Prophet Muhammad (upon him be blessings and peace) is the most loved and maligned of people in the world, which is indicative of how important he his. Anyway, I refer you to an answer above in which we gave a link to Sherman Jackson's article, "Islam and the Modern World", and to the Ask About Islam section in IslamOnline.net. I hope this helps. Moez. I would agree with you if this topic were on a website that was devoid of religion completely. This website, being dedicated to spreading the message of the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be blessing and peace of Allah) after him, will naturally have to discuss him at times, even before those who don't consider him a prophet. If this weren't the case, then HIS very reciting of the Qur'an (the Book God revealed to him) before those among his people who didn't believe in it would have been a waste of time. However, he did recite it to them, and many of them – although having had been in a state similar to yours prior to his recital - believed him to be a prophet of God after hearing God's word. This is not an attempt to convert you as much as it is an attempt to show you the logic behind discussing something, in your presence, that you may not believe in. I hope this helps. Yes, I think that the apologetic view will sound alien and offensive to a Western audience as it would to any human being. However, the traditional Muslim view, being, in essence, an atttempt to reflect Allah and His Messenger's viewpoint would, on the contrary, be quite attractive to any audience, be they Western or otherwise. Having said that, due to time constraints, I refer you to Islam and the Modern World and to Mercy: The Stamp of Creation I hope this helps. Moez. The way of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) is the culmination of God's revelation in terms of it being the inherent nature of human beings and the perfect state that one can be in. It therefore will at times be a blend of other traditions also revealed by God, like the traditions of Moses and Jesus. They were for a specific people, in a specific condition, and were, therefore, to last a specific period of time. In God's final revelation you are allowed to seek retribution, but forgiveness is better. I would kindly like to refer you to the Prophet's position during the triumph in Makkah. Please read the chapter "The Conquest of Makkah" in Martin Lings' book "Muhammad: His life based on the earliest sources" and also Chapter 3 about the Prophet Muhammad in the book "Ideals and Realities of Islam", by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. I pray this helps. moez. Can you explain how the Mercy of Muhammad is realized in the lives of so many people who toil and struggle to earn their daily bread, Thank you in advance. As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmat Allah, Jazak Allah khayr for your question. I am not sure if I understand the question. I will try my best to answer based on what I have understood. I believe the mercy of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is realized in the lives of the people you mention, for example, in his saying "I prefer to be hungry for a day and show patience, and then be satiated for another and show gratitude" (this is not a literary translation). In other words, his life was an example of how to maintain a state of perfect adoration and worship towards his Lord, regardless of his external environment (be that of abundance or poverty). He saw, as we all should learn to, insha'Allah, all the circumstances around him as being brought about by the Lord of all the worlds, and therefore, as an opportunity to bring us closer to our Lord, when responded to in the most spiritually apporpriate of ways, i.e. in this case, patience or gratitiude. I pray this helps. moez Jazak Allahu khayr for your question. Although I am not a scholar, I thank you for your high opinion and ask you for your prayers that Allah helps me become one, insha'Allah. I believe the hundreds of thousands of Muslims who died in Asia were not deprived of the mercy of God and subsequently of his holy Messenger. In the traditional Islamic understanding, they are all martyrs and it is us who should beg Allah to be given an iota of the mercy they have been shown. Not only were they granted mercy in the form of martyrdom, but also in the form of relief from living in a time where heedlessness is the prevalent norm. Were it not for the Prophet's having been sent as a mercy to all the worlds, his very words that those drowned will be martyrs would not have reached us. When we have him in our hearts and die a sudden death like this, we can only expect the highest of stations with our Lord in our eternal life, soon to come. "But Allah would not punish them while thou wast with them, nor will He punish them while they seek forgiveness."(Al-Anfal 8:33) I beg Allah's forgiveness for you and for me and for all of humanity. I hope this helps. moez I ask that Allah the Almighty reward you and guide you, and I ask that those who are lost be blessed with the mercy of Allah the Almighty, and that He may show them the path of return as you have been shown Brother in Islam, Wa Jazak Allah kul al Jaza Jazaki Allahu khayr for your kind words and question. To start off, we can be noble ambassadors to the cause of our Lord by emulating our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, from this angle, both your questions become one, for it is only through emulating him that we can truly represent his way. Due to time constraints, I refer you to the following two articles and sincerely pray that they contain what your heart is looking for: "Seeing With Both Eyes", and "The Sunna as Primordiality". I hope this helps. moez Jazak Allahu khayr for your question. Your question has, itself, wonderfully elaborated how some of the Prophet's mercy is to reach the human beings that were inflicted with the recent tsunami calamity. We should try to emulate his model by showing the utmost of our generosity (in terms of donating our money, our time, and our efforts) towards those inflicted, and doing so out of a genuine love that we feel towards them as our fellow human beings. That, coupled with our sincere prayers for those deceased and those who remain present amongst us, is also of essence at this point. I hope this helps. moez Jazak Allahu khayr for your question. Due to time constraints and because this is such an extensive topic that needs a lot of elaboration, I refer you to the article "Mercy: The Stamp of Creation". I hope this answer helps you. moez | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
