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THE
PROPHETS WERE EXAMPLES
To set
a good example for other people was another duty of the
Prophets - a duty which we must also always observe
consciously. After mentioning the Prophets in the Chapter
entitled al-An’am, God commanded His last Messenger:
Those
are they whom God has guided, so follow their guidance!
(al-An’am, 6.90)
We are
commanded by God to follow the example of Muhammad, upon him
be peace and blessings:
You
have a good example in God’s Messenger for whoever
hopes for God and the Last Day, and remembers God oft. (al-Ahzab,
33.21)
God’s
Messenger is our leader. As we stand in prayer according to
the way he prayed, we must also follow him in every walk of
our life. Those who followed him in the first Islamic century
were the real representatives of the true Islamic life. God’s
Messenger says concerning this period:
Muslim
armies will arrive, after me, at the gates of cities,
where they will be asked, ‘Did anyone among you see
the Prophet?’ The answer will be affirmative, and the
gates will be opened for them. Those who succeeded them
will also perform jihad and they will be asked, ‘Are
there any people among you who saw those who had seen
the Prophet?’ They will reply, ‘Yes’, and the
cities will be conquered by them. There will finally
come the third generation, who will be asked, ‘Did
anybody among you see those who had seen the followers
of the Prophet’s Companions?’ When this question,
too, receives an affirmative answer, the conquest will
also be bestowed upon them.1
Again,
in another narration by Bukhari and Muslim, God’s
Messenger says concerning those three succeeding
generations: ‘The best of you are those who live in my
period, then those who succeed them, and then those who
follow them.’2 Those three generations strictly
followed in the Prophet’s footsteps and, accordingly, were
granted great victories throughout the world. Jesus, upon
him be peace, had predicted them, saying, ‘The banners of
the holy ones are in their hands.’3 These holy ones are
the Companions of Muhammad and those who follow his way in
every century.
In a
Tradition, although with a weak chain of transmission, God’s
Messenger declares: The pious scholars of my nation
resemble the Prophets of the Children of Israel.4 From
them, ‘Umar submitted himself to God so sincerely that he
did his duty of servanthood to God much more effectively
than expected of him. During his caliphate, Iran, Iraq and
Egypt were conquered. Muslim armies were fighting in a vast
area under the command of great commanders such as Abu ‘Ubayda
ibn al-Jarrah, Shurahbil ibn Hasana, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas,
‘Amr ibn al-’As and Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan. Jerusalem,
which is now a shame for the Muslim world in its present
state, was also conquered during his caliphate. When the
supreme commander of the Muslim army wanted the priests to
submit the keys of the city, the priests answered, ‘We
cannot see among you the man to whom we are to submit the
keys’. They had read in their religious books the features
of the person who would take over the keys. It was ‘Umar.
Priests
submitted the keys of Jerusalem to ‘Umar
‘Umar
ruled over lands twenty times the size of Turkey, but he did
not have a private camel to travel on. He set out on a camel
belonging to the state treasury, accompanied by his servant.
The priests and Muslim commanders were waiting in Jerusalem,
‘Umar was advancing towards his destination on the camel,
which he rode in turn with his servant. When they approached
the river Jordan, the commanders awaiting his arrival on the
other side of the river were excited, praying, ‘O God, let
it be the turn of ‘Umar to ride the camel when they get to
this river, for these Romans are fond of pomp and display.
They may not esteem us if they see the Caliph pulling a
camel ridden by a servant’. But God had destined that ‘Umar
would pull the camel carrying the servant across the river.
When ‘Umar approached, the priests noticed, among other
things, several patches on his robe. This was the man
described in their books. They submitted the keys of
Jerusalem to him.
‘Umar
never deviated from the path of God’s Messenger, upon him
be peace and blessings. After being stabbed by a Magian
slave, while on his deathbed, he would refuse food and water
because he was too weak, yet when it was time for prayer, he
performed the prayer with his wounds bleeding and said, ‘The
one who abandons prayer has nothing to do with Islam’.5
‘Umar
did so because he was taught by God’s Messenger, upon him
be peace and blessings. He followed his ‘Master’
strictly and himself was to be followed by the succeeding
generations.
1. Bukhari,
Fada’il al-Ashab, 1; Muslim, Fada’il al-Sahaba, 208-9.
2. Bukhari, ibid., 1; Muslim,
ibid., 212.
3. Ibrahim al-Halabi, Sira,
1.218.
4. Ajluni, Kash al-Khafa’,
2.83.
5. Ibn Sa’d,
Tabaqat, 3.350; Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id,
1.295.
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