| 03 May 2004 | Monday | 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425 |
An epitome of humanity
An ethical role-model
According to the Qur'an, there is for us in the ideal pattern of the Prophet's life, the best example to follow. This unequivocal declaration of the Qur'an entails a number of significant implications.
First of all, he is a human being, albeit, the best of them. When we testify at the end of every prayer that he is Allah's messenger, we precede this declaration by another testimony that he is Allah's best servant, Abd Kamil.
Unless he is recognized as a human par excellence, he cannot be acknowledged as a messenger. For a human being alone could be an example to be emulated by other human beings. An angel cannot be an example for human beings for obvious reasons.
Second, he has led an eventful life in this world. He did not avoid the problems of worldly life. Rather he addressed them with faith, courage and wisdom and successfully presented their viable and easy solutions.
He did not leave any significant branch of human endeavour without setting the best example of conduct in it. He lived with full involvement in human society, taking a positive interest in the improvement of human conditions so as to lead them to a successful culmination of human career on earth.
He himself tasted all the sweet and bitter experiences of human life and on that account, he was able to view human condition with empathy and affection.
He lived as the leader and guide of a small persecuted minority at Makkah for thirteen long years of trial and torture at the hands of his Makkan enemies and set the best and the most balanced example of coping with such situations of hardship and adversity.
He emerged in the same city nine years later as an unrivalled teacher, as the victorious commander of a winning army and as head of a powerful socio-political enterprise symbolized in the State of Madinah.
In this latter role also, he set a unique example of balance and moderation. Unaffected by the long saga of tragic trials and travails enacted in Makkah, he set his arch enemies free and declared a general amnesty for all. This generous gesture brought almost all of them in the fold of faith.
The Prophet (SAWS) married and raised children, maintained a happy home and lived a successful family life. He practised trade and commerce. He fought wars and entered treaties of truce and peace. He took care of his kith and kin and managed the affairs of the entire community of believers.
He played host to guests at his home, consoled the grieved ones, amused the children with his light humour, and looked after the sick and the wretched of the earth. He maintained personal friendships and fulfilled all obligations ensuring from them.
At the same time, he performed the supreme role of a teacher, guide and reformer not only for those who were his faithful followers in his own time, but through them, also for those who came after him and will come until the end of history.
Alongside these engagements, he was unsurpassed in worshipping Allah, in seeking His proximity through constant remembrance, prayer and obedience. In this way, he provided posterity the only comprehensive example of such an ideal and balanced life that can be followed for all times and in all circumstances by all men and women of different tastes and temperaments.
The Prophet lived in full view of history. No aspect of his eventful life was concealed from his companions, nor it remained hidden from the microscopic examination of his most meticulous biographers. His public and private life was fully transparent.
His vision of reality, his view of life, and his response to events and accidents was known to all and sundry. Whoever now wants to know as to what is the best and the most balanced conduct in life that is surely approved by Allah, can easily find it out from the treasures of hadith.
Thus, the Prophet's life pattern provides the best possible example of a balanced and moderate conduct in all kinds of conditions. It is the best guide for the strong as well as the weak, the best model for the affluent and the deprived, the best way of conduct for the ruler and the ruled, for the victorious and the vanquished, for the learned as well as for the unlettered. That is why the Qur'an characterized his community as ummat wast - the moderate community.
This moderation which found its highest manifestation in the Prophet's own conduct, was realised essentially at the micro level of the an thropos. He mainly focused his reformative effort on transforming the individual from a savage, barbarian, agnostic, egoistic pervert into a civilized, benevolent, altruistic, temperate, gnostic and God-conscious human being.
He achieved this purpose by developing the latent potential for immense good that is inherent in every human being. Through this reformative transformation of individuals, he laid the foundation of a balanced community and a moderate society, humane culture and a just political order.
This moderation has been anchored in the cardinal doctrine of human fitrah: archetypical human personality. Since human beings tend to lose balance under various subjective and objective factors of influence, human life is threatened by unlimited forms of excesses and lapses.
Therefore, the lasting basis of a moderate society could be established only by including a balanced and temperate behaviour among the individuals. This purpose can only be achieved by a serious and concerted effort directed at curbing all excesses, limiting all lapses and inculcating values of moderation in individual lives.
Before addressing himself to correct the mistakes and rectify the errors of human beings, he fully acknowledged the worth, value and the vast treasure of natural human qualities inherent in all individuals.
In other words, he respected every individual and his individuality. Further, he granted to his disciples and followers their inalienable freedom of choice and action and guided them to employ this freedom in the most purposeful and productive manner. In this respect also he established a balance between human free will and the determined course of action.
This balance and moderation as a hallmark of his community was achieved by the Prophet at every level by closing the door of all excesses and extremes in human condition and by opening all avenues and opportunities for healthy development of human skills and abilities.
In a significant tradition, it has been reported that whenever the Prophet faced any situation offering many options, he invariably adopted the most convenient of these options.
In this, he was setting a great precedence for the community for all times to come. By doing so, he also acknowledged the natural human weaknesses and frailties. Thus he never laid down a rule of behaviour which only the strong and the sturdy could follow, while the frail and the feeble would be lagging behind.
Moreover, the pattern of the Prophet at once catered for the varieties of human disposition as it duly acknowledged the permanent features of human nature. While mankind shared certain traits of nature that are known as "cultural universals" in the sociological parlance they also display many individualistic peculiarities at the level of the individual.
The Prophet's ideal pattern is applicable to both these elements of universalities and particularities as it regulates factors of constancy and variability.
Among his companions, we find men of different dispositions and various predilections. For example, his closest companion and dearest friend Sayyidina Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (R.A) had certain singular qualities.
By contrast, his other companion Sayyidina Umar Faruq (R.A.) was a different type of personality. The greatness of the Prophet lies in the fact that he guided and reformed both these prominent men in accordance with their peculiar personal tendencies. in this way, he helped them develop their inherent natural gifts and talents so as to utilize them for the furtherance of the mission of Islam.
Similarly, once he was asked by another companion to grant him a political office. The Prophet in view of his inability for that task declined his request. Yet on another occasion, the Prophet paid extraordinary tributes to the honesty and truthfulness of the same companion.
This companion was Abu Zarr Ghifari who was known for his ascetic tendencies. About the moral qualities of this man, the Prophet had the following to say: "the shadow of sky has not covered, nor the earth has carried a man more truthful than Abu Zarr!"
The famous military genius of Islam, Khalid bin al-Walid was entrusted with the command of Muslim armies soon after he embraced Islam, while there were in the community many others who had entered the fold of faith much earlier than Khalid b. al-Walid.
However, they were not given that responsibility because they were not found appropriate for that task. Likewise, some individuals among the Prophet's companions were known as the people of Suffuh.
They were devoted to the worship of Allah and took residence in an enclosure in the Prophet's mosque. Some other men were assigned the onerous task of educating the community in view of their special qualities appropriate for that task.
Lack of balance and moderation often comes from a rigid rule when it is applied to all individuals in all situations. The pattern of the Prophet is free from such a literal regimentational approach.
Balance and moderation is also hurt when the change of circumstances is ignored and the same remedy is considered fit for all maladies in all seasons and climates. The Prophet's ideal pattern clearly lays down the principles for responding to all variety and change.
This variety is a feature of the agent who is performing a certain role as well as that of the situation and circumstances in which he finds himself. It is only a true prophet and messenger guided by the explicit writ of Divine revelation, who has the capacity to provide light, wisdom, instruction, guidance, example and inspiration that can cater for all possible constants and variables of human life.
According to Shah Wali Allah, this capacity constitutes one of the greatest living miracles of the Prophet (SAWS) after the Qur'an. May Allah shower His choicest peace and blessings upon him. May he enable us to understand and follow his great pattern of balance and moderation.
An epitome of humanity
Belief in the prophet hood of Muhammad (PBUH) is so important that it overshadows all other Islamic beliefs. Belief in the existence of God and His attributes, in the authenticity and authority of the Quran as the Word of God, in the prophets, angels, divine books and life after death, in short everything a Muslim is required to believe in, are acceptable precisely in the way laid down by Muhammad.
Every Islamic belief and action revolves round the Prophet's (PBUH) personality. He is the focal point of each and every activity encompassed by deen. Allah, Himself bids the Prophet to declare "If you love God then follow me, stick to me, Allah is sure to love you" (Quran).
The Prophet also laid down in unequivocal terms "None can become a believer unless he loves me more than his father and his son and the rest of the human beings."
Allama Iqbal recapitulates the same reality in these words: "Get yourself to Mustafa, as deen is nothing other than his being. If you fail to reach him all the rest you have got is infidelity pure and simple." Sa'adi, the great Persian poet, said: "Never venture even to think that the path leading to God could be traversed except by sticking to the footprints of Mustafa."
Thus nothing could ever be deemed to please God unless authorized by the Prophet. This basic principle is also applicable to the belief in the prophet hood of Muhammad himself. One has to believe in his prophet hood in the way he has detailed.
A true believer cannot but willingly submit himself to whatsoever is demanded of him and laid down for him by the Prophet (Quran). In fact he submits all his claims to independence in thought, action and emotions to the Prophet the moment he asserts his belief in his prophet hood.
As the institution of prophet hood is the axis upon which rotates the religion of Islam, particular care has been taken to provide detailed explanations.
It has been laid down in the Quran in unambiguous terms that the Prophet, like so many earlier prophets, is just a human being. "Say! I am just a human being like you except that Divine Revelation descends upon me that your God is One God" (Quran).
An error so common to various religions regarding the messengers of God has been that they are deemed to be either gods incarnate or at least somehow or the other partners in divine attributes. This misconception defeats the very purpose of sending the prophets who must establish uncompromising belief in one God.
The Quran, in several places, denies forcefully the idea that the Prophet is a super-human creature. Time and again, his "humanness" is asserted in unequivocal terms. It is asserted that the Prophet is a divine Messenger like so many who came before him.
He has human needs, and has to taste death like other humans being. It is not in his power to produce at his own will whatever miracles people demand of him.
Sometimes, unbelievers demanded that instead of sending a human being as a prophet an angel should have been sent unto them. Why should they and how could they follow one who was a mere human being like them? Their demand, though, was not without the ulterior motive of seeking refuge in the excuse that how was it possible for them as human beings to follow an angel.
Besides the distortion of the institution of prophethood - the denial of the humanness of a prophet by raising him to the station of a demi-god - the next most corrupt move has been to deny a prophet the status of a moral, ordinary human being.
If the Hindu scriptures and the New Testament abound in examples of the former, the Old Testament and the Puranas and even the Vedas are replete with the examples of the latter.
Here we find that those personalities who were sent to mankind with the noble purpose of guiding it on the right path are, instead of being depicted as paragons of morality and as the chosen servants of God, presented as helpless victims of wicked insinuations and an easy prey for satanic temptations. At times they are shown to sink low in the abyss of moral turpitude and spiritual depravity.
Islam establishes that every prophet and especially the Prophet of Islam are essentially human beings. We are taught that the prophets, who are divine emissaries, are free of sin, and are ma'soom human beings. They never contravene the will of God.
They never commit sin. The belief in the Ismat ("sinless-ness") of the prophets is stressed so as to convince their followers that they are acting in accordance with the Will of God.
The Quran says about the Prophet, "Verily in the person of the Prophet of Allah there is for you a model of excellence." In another place it is said about the Prophet. "He does never speak on his own. He utters only what has been revealed to him." (Quran).
Still on another occasion the believers are instructed: "Accept whatsoever the Prophet gives you and desist from whatsoever he forbids you" (Quran). The Prophet is told: "You possess the most sublime morals" (Quran).
It is also declared that those who tread in the footsteps of the Prophet, win the love of Allah (Quran). This Quranic teaching about the "sinless-ness" of the prophets also implies that the charges of commission of sinful acts levied against the prophets are later human interpolations of previous religious texts.
The Quran also lays down that every prophet is trustworthy, or ameen. We are told by the Quran that every prophet declares in the very beginning of his call towards Allah that he is a Messenger of God and that he is a trustworthy person. Ameen signifies that he is delivering the Divine Message exactly as he received it from God without any addition or subtraction on his part.
He has not committed any perfidy. He has not concealed nor altered anything. Moreover, a prophet in his social relationship is also honest and trustworthy. He never commits a breach of trust nor does he act in a perfidious manner.
The entire life of the Prophet is an eloquent witness to this prophetic trait. Long before assuming the role of a prophet he was widely acclaimed as the truthful, the trustworthy as "Sadiq al-Ameen".
For 23 long years since he was entrusted with the responsibilities of prophet hood he had to face much opposition. Attempts were made upon his life. Wars were waged against him.
Conspiracies were hatched to dislodge him. He was dubbed a lunatic, a sorcerer, a wizard, a possessed person. But not even his deadliest enemies could question his integrity and trustworthiness. They could not even accuse him of treachery or breach of trust, or of not honouring the sanctity of any contractual obligation or pact.
Never in the entire history of prophet hood has any apostle of God asked for any recompense from any human being for the service of guiding humanity. The Quran repeatedly tells us that each and every prophet declared that he had never asked for any return whatsoever from his followers for leading them to Allah. It is only Allah who will reward them for the services they are rendering to humanity.
The Prophet refused the offer of unbelievers who said they would recognize him as their undisputed ruler, amass for him as much wealth as he demanded and marry him to the most beautiful lady of the land, provided he stopped telling them to believe in one God.
The Prophet remarked that he would never stop doing so even if they placed the sun in one hand and the moon in the other. His only target was that the people accepted the final truth, reformed their beliefs and actions and transformed themselves into sincere servants of God.
These are the attributes possessed by all the prophets of Allah. What is unique about the Prophet Muhammad is that with his arrival on the scene the curtain finally falls on the scene of prophet hood.
The process of providing divine guidance to mankind which commenced from the descent on earth of the first man and the first-ever prophet has come a long way to completion. Muhammad is the last of the prophets. There is no nabi after him. His prophet hood extends to the Day of Judgement.
In his person are accumulated in their entirety all the achievements and accomplishments possessed individually by all previous prophets. The religion he preached is the only religion acceptable to Allah. The Shariat he promulgated is the most perfect legal system. It is the only divine law as it has abrogated all other systems of laws.
The Book that he received from Allah and communicated verbatim is the only genuine divine Book providing guidance to the entire humanity.
An ethical role-model
Ethics is the study of the ideal conduct and perfect character. Socrates considered "the knowledge of good and evil" as the highest knowledge and the Greek philosophers after him inundated the philosophical literature with theoretical counsels of perfect conduct and excellent behaviour, preaching unrealistic superhuman ideals. But none of them was himself a model of ethical conduct for his disciples to imitate.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) not only preached good conduct and excellent behaviour but presented himself as a model of illustrious conduct. The Quran tells us that "he was of a tremendous character" (68:4) and that he himself was conscious of it, otherwise he would not have said to his detractors of Makkah, his native city: "I have dwelt among you a whole lifetime (before my prophethood); have you no sense at all (to realize that I am not lying about my prophethood)"?
The trouble with us is that our clerics and preachers place so great emphasis only on the rituals that the Prophet's accent on ethical conduct has not got the attention it deserves.
Imam Malik records in 'Muatta', his collection of the traditions, that the Holy Prophet said: "I have been sent to bring about perfection in the excellence of conduct." Imam Muslim records that, among other supplications to the Almighty, the Holy Prophet used to pray to God: "guide me to acquire the best traits of personal character, as none can be a better guide in this respect than you."
Tirmezi records the saying of the Holy Prophet on this very subject: "Among all the believers, one who is perfect in moral conduct is the most excellent." Another Hadith quoted by Tirmazi brings home the high place accorded by the Prophet to good conduct and behaviour: "Nothing will be weightier than good conduct in the Scale on the Day of Judgement."
Imam Bukhari, in his collection of Traditions under the head of behaviour towards neighbours, records that when someone asked the Prophet as to which of the two ladies who were known to be pious and good Muslims was better in the Holy Prophet's eyes - the one who used to pray for long hours at night and fast during the day but was foul-mouthed while dealing with neighbours, or the other one who said only the obligatory prayers but used to distribute clothes to the poor and needy quite generously - the reply was that 'the latter will deserve a place in Paradise.'
One only wishes, our preachers refer to these non- controversial sayings of the Holy Prophet and exhort the listeners to act according to the Prophet's words and deeds in respect of good behaviour, or ikhlaque.
Now, let us see what specific aspects of ikhlaque or conduct, have been pointed out by the Prophet for the general run of believers to act upon. An effort has been made to cull from the collections of Traditions as compiled in 'Kanzul Aamal (quoted in Seeratun Nabi also). These have been arranged as under in the order of importance in the writer's view:
1) Belief is based on three things: (a) giving alms for God's sake even during financial straits; (b) propagating peace and security in the world; (c) doing justice even at the cost of one's own self.
2) To be a true believer, one should like for the brother what one likes for one's own self.
3) He is a Muslim from whose hand and tongue others are not hurt and he is a Momin in whom people repose so much confidence that they entrust their life and possession to his care.
4) The best form of faith is: (a) to feed the hungry, (b) to bless every known or unknown person with prayer for safety and security, (c) to speak gently, (d) to bear hardship patiently and (e) to exhibit ethical courage.
5) A Momin is one who neither taunts anyone, nor abuses nor bad-mouths anyone, nor curses anybody.
6) A hypocrite is one who: (a) tells lies, (b) does not fulfil a promise, (c) betrays the trust reposed in him/her.
The Holy Prophet's greatest contribution to the science of ethics, or the code of human conduct and behaviour, is that all noble actions - tending to the sick, feeding the hungry assisting the needy, and so forth - should be considered to be performed in fulfilment of Divine Commandments, not merely for satisfaction of one's own conscience, or to derive inner happiness.
It should be, like any other act of worship, free from selfish motive or desire to show off, the real intention of doing a good deed being the prospect of a reward in the next world.
The Prophet's approach in regard to Ikhlaque, as outlined in the preceding paragraphs, is quite different from that of the philosophers of yore and secular scholars of today.
The doer of a good turn to anyone, according to the Prophet's teaching, has to keep in mind the pleasure of the Almighty, Who may or may not consider the act too great and too good to merit a reward. In other words, the element of selfishness is completely eliminated in being good and helpful to anyone.
Opposed to this sublime view is that of Aristotle representing the philosophers' view in general. He opines that the aim of life is not goodness for its own sake but for happiness.
Whereas good behaviour ranks as worship in Islam, it has been downgraded as an act of self-gratification by others.All religions, including Islam, preach good conduct and noble character-building.
But, according to the Prophet's teaching, all those acts, whether pertaining to worship and prayer or concerning character and behaviour are commendable which bear the stamp of Divine approval.
In the absence of a readily available catalogue of these commendable aspects of individual character, the only course is to synthesize them by putting together those ayaat, or verses, from the Quran which have a bearing on this subject: Here is a list those traits of character which the Quran wants to see in every individual and woman:
Keep one's promise, or treaty, once made (2:177); be steadfast, truthful and spend not ... (3:17); control one's wrath and forgive mankind (3:134); shun vain conversation, guard modesty (23:3-5); walk modestly, avoid argument with the foolish; do not be either prodigal or miserly (25: 63-67); seek neither oppression on earth nor trouble (28:83); stand by testimony (70:33).
The Holy Prophet's own behaviour, or department in general course of life, treatment of others, mode of action and response, etc., was, according to Hazrat Ayesha (may God be pleased with her), "entirely in accordance with the Quran" (Abu Daud).
So, the above synthesis is, in substance, a portrayal of the traits and characteristics of the holy Prophet's multi-faceted personality - a model for all those who wish to be liked and respected by fellow human beings and, above all, willing to earn Allah's favour.