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THE
PROPHETS
TAUGHT
PEOPLE GOD’S LAWS
Another
purpose for sending the Prophets is to communicate to people
the Divine Commandments, like the obligations of performing
five daily prayers, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and
paying the zakat, and the prohibitions of all kinds of
illicit sexual intercourse, drinking alcohol and gambling. But
for the Prophets, we could not have known the Divine
Commandments. This function of the Prophets is called ‘Messengership’,
concerning which the Quran declares,
They
deliver the Messages of God and fear Him, and do not fear
anyone except God. (al-Ahzab, 33.39)
God
said to the Last Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings:
O
Messenger, deliver that which has been sent down to you
from your Lord; for if you do not, you will have not
performed His Messengership. God protects you against
people; verily God will not guide the people of unbelief.
(al-Ma’ida, 5.67)
The
mission of the Messenger was to enlighten all of humanity
concerning every dimension of their life. So, any neglect in
delivering God’s Message would be an unforgivable fault for
it would amount to leaving humanity in darkness. For this
reason, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings,
was continually in search of unadulterated minds and hearts to
which he could impart God’s Message.
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, might have offered
his Message only a few times to those like Abu Bakr and ‘Umar,
but he must have offered it to Abu Jahl and the like at least
fifty times. Each time he appeared before them, he would say:
Proclaim, ‘There is no deity but God’, and be saved! He
would visit the places where people gathered and carry the
fragrance of the same words, Proclaim, ‘There is no deity
but God’, and be saved!
Muhammad’s
traveling to Ta’if his supplication on the way to return
Fairs
used to be held periodically in places around Makka such as
‘Arafat, Mina, Muzdalifa and ‘Aqaba, and he used to visit
all of them every year, preaching the same truth tirelessly.
A time
came when reactions, which had begun with indifference and
continued with derision and mocking and finally with
persecutions, tortures and boycotting, reached an unbearable
point and the Makkan polytheists offered no hope for further
conversions. God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, took Zayd ibn Haritha with him and went to Ta’if.
Unfortunately, there, too, he was faced with violent anger and
terror. The children of Ta’if, positioned on either side of
the road, threw stones at him. There was not a square inch of
space on his body not vulnerable to the stones. However, he
finally succeeded in leaving the town and reached a tree under
which he took shelter, bleeding profusely. He held up his
hands and supplicated:
O
God, unto You do I complain of my frailty, lack of
resources and lack of significance before those people. O
Most Merciful of the merciful, You are the Lord of the
oppressed and You are my Lord. To whom do You abandon me?
To that alien who looks askance and makes grimaces at me?
Or to that enemy to whom You have given mastery over me?
If, however, Your indignation is not against me, I have no
worry. But Your grace is much greater for me to wish for.
I seek refuge in the light of Your Countenance, which
illumines all darkness and by which the affairs of this
life and the Hereafter have been rightly ordered, lest
Your wrath alight upon me, or Your indignation descend
upon me. I expect Your forgiveness until You are pleased,
and there is no other resource nor any power but in You.
He had
just finished his supplication when he saw a tray placed
before him. A Christian slave from Nineveh, who had seen God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace, being stoned and tormented from
the vineyard where he had been working, had put some grapes in
a tray and brought it to him. God’s Messenger, upon him be
peace and blessings, said, In the name of God as he began to
eat. This surprised Addas, the Christian slave. It was the
first time he heard this phrase during his time among the
polytheists.
-
‘Who are you? What has made you come here?’ he asked.
On
hearing the answer, I am Muhammad, from Makka, the Last
Prophet, he said with tears in his eyes, ‘God has made me
find you’. He then embraced Islam.1
The
Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, performed
his mission incessantly throughout his life. As a result of
his tireless efforts, the circle of light broadened day by
day, and the party of unbelief became more and more
frustrated, just as the unbelievers are in rage today at the
Islamic revival currently encompassing the whole world.
They
desire to extinguish with their mouths God’s light; and
God refuses but to perfect His light, though the
unbelievers are averse. (al-Tawba, 9.32)
If
God has lit a candle, it is impossible to extinguish it just
by blowing.
When
Makka proved to no longer be fertile ground for further
developments, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, emigrated to Madina, where he continued calling to
Islam. He had to face the antagonism of the Jews and
hypocrites and fight many battles during his ten years in
Madina.
In the
twenty-third year of his mission, he began to feel the time
for departure was approaching. He had performed the minor
pilgrimage a few times, but he had not been able to carry out
the major pilgrimage. In that year he managed to fulfill this
sacred duty. He climbed the hill of ‘Arafat on the back of
his camel and gave a sermon known as the Farewell Sermon. In
this sermon, he emphasized that feuds and transactions
involving interest were strictly forbidden; reminded the
congregation once more of the rights of women; talked about
family ties and mentioned tribal and national relationships. A
huge tearful congregation listened to him. While delivering
his sermon, he frequently asked them if he had communicated
God’s Message. With each positive reply, he held up his
blessed index finger towards the sky and said, ‘O God, be
the witness!’2 In deep consciousness of Divine service, he
might have thought, ‘God sent me to the world to perform the
duty of Messengership. Just as these people bore witness to
the fulfillment of my duty, I hope I may be regarded as having
truly done it.’ He was prepared to meet God in perfect
satisfaction.
1. I. Hisham, Sira,
2.60-63; I. Kathir, al-Bidaya, 3.166.
2. Ibn Ma’ja,
Manasik, 84; Abu Dawud, Manasik, 56.
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