In The Name Of Allah
Dated, December 13, 2013
Sirrat
of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Main Points:
1-The First Muslims
The propagation of Islam began to increase
in Makkah. It took effect in those broad-minded individuals, who quickly
abandoned their former Jahiliyah and secretly embraced the new faith. The
ayat (verses) of the Quran descended on
the hearts of those who accepted the seeds of faith as rain descends on fertile
soil:
"When We send down water on it, it
thrills and swells and put forth every single kind [of growth]" (Quran 22:5)
It was natural that the prophet (PBUH)
should present Islam first to those who were closest to him among his household
and friends. These people had never had any doubts about the greatness of
Muhammad (PBUH) or his truthfulness, so
it is no wonder , therefore, that they were the first to support and follow
him.
After that momentous day in the month of Ramadan, Revelation came
again and again to the Prophet (pbuh). He understood now what he had to do and
prepared himself for what was to come. Only a strong and brave man, helped by
Allah, can be a true prophet because people often refuse to listen to Allah’s
message. Khadijah was the first to believe the Prophet
(pbuh) and accept
as true what he brought from Allah. Through her, Allah made things easier for
the Prophet (pbuh). Khadijah strengthened him, helped him spread his message,
and stood up to the people who were against him.
Then Revelation
ceased for a time. The Prophet (pbuh) was upset and unhappy, thinking that
Allah had left him, or that he might have angered
Allah in some way
so that Allah no longer thought him worthy of His message. However, the
Archangel Gabriel came back to him and brought this surah, or chapter, of the
Qur’an:
In
the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
"By the
morning hours, And by the night when it is stillest, Thy Lord hath neither
forsaken thee nor doth He hate thee, And verily the Last will be better for
thee than the First. And verily thy Lord will give unto thee so that thou wilt
be content. Did He not find thee an orphan and protect thee? Did He not find
thee wandering and guide thee? Did He not find thee destitute and enrich thee?
Therefore the orphan oppress not,
Therefore the
beggar drive not away, And as for thy Lord’s blessing, declare it.."
(Qur’an: 93.1-11)
The Prophet
(pbuh) began to speak secretly of Allah’s message to those Who were close to
him and whom he could trust. At that time
Mecca was going
through hard times. There was very little food to be had. Abu Talib, the
Prophet’s uncle, who had taken care of him after his grandfather’s death, was
finding it very difficult to feed his large family.
The Prophet
(pbuh) said that he and another uncle, al-’Abbas, who was a rich man, would
each bring up one of Abu Talib’s children in order to help him. The Prophet
(pbuh) took .Ali and his uncle took Ja.far.
One day, when the
Prophet (pbuh) was outside the city, the Archangel
Gabriel appeared
to him. The Archangel kicked the side of a hill and a spring of water began to
flow out. He then began to wash himself in the running water to show the
Prophet (pbuh) the ritual ablution to be made before prayer. Then the Archangel
showed him all the positions of Muslim
prayer-the various movements and things to be said with each movement. The
Prophet (pbuh) returned home and taught all these things first to Khadijah and
then to his followers. Since then Muslims have continued to purify themselves
before prayer by performing the ritual ablution and have followed the same
movements and prayers first performed by the Prophet (pbuh). To begin with,
though, only the Prophet
(pbuh) and his
wife knew of these things. Then one day .Ali entered the room and found the
Prophet (pbuh) and Khadijah praying. He was puzzled and asked what they were
doing. The Prophet (pbuh) explained to him that they were praising Allah and
giving thanks to Him. That night
’Ali stayed up
thinking about all that the Prophet (pbuh) had said; he had
great admiration
and respect for his cousin. Finally he came to a decision
and the next day
he went to the Prophet (pbuh) and told him that he
wanted to follow
him. Thus Khadijah was the first woman to embrace
Islam, the
teachings which the Prophet (pbuh) brought from Allah, and
Ali was the first
young man. Shortly after they were joined by Zayd ibn
Harithah, a
slave, freed and adopted by the Prophet (pbuh).
The Prophet
(pbuh) began to leave Mecca with ’An in order to pray.
One day Abu Talib
happened to pass by and when he saw them he
stopped and asked
them what they were doing. The Prophet (pbuh) told
him that they
were praying and following the same religion as Abraham.
He explained
that, like Abraham, he had been ordered to guide the people
to Allah’s truth.
Abu Talib looked at his son, ’Ali, and said: ’Muhammad
(pbuh) would
never make you do anything that was wrong. Go with him.
But I cannot
leave the religion I now follow and which was followed
by my father.’
Then he turned to the Prophet (pbuh), saying, ’Even so, I
promise you,
Muhammad (pbuh), that no one will hurt you as long as I
am alive.’ And
with that Abu Talib went on his way. At about this time
the news of
Muhammad (pbuh) being the Prophet reached an honest,
wise, and
respected merchant of Mecca called Abu Bakr. He knew
Muhammad (pbuh)
well and believed he could never lie, so he went to
find out for
himself if the story were true. The Prophet (pbuh) told him
that he had
indeed been sent by Allah to teach everyone to worship the
one true Allah.
On hearing this from the Prophet’s own lips Abu Bakr
knew it to be the
truth and became a believer instantly. Later the Prophet
(pbuh) was
reported to have said that everyone he ever invited to accept
Islam showed
signs of disbelief and doubt, except Abu Bakr; when he
was told of it he
did not hold back or hesitate. Because of his wisdom,
honesty, and
kindness people had always turned to Abu Bakr for advice.
He was, therefore,
a man of some influence and through him many people
came to Islam.
Among these was Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas as, the uncle of
Aminah, the
Prophet’s mother. The night before Abu Bakr came to visit
him and tell him
about Islam, Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas dreamt that he was walking in
darkness. As he walked he saw the moon and when he looked
at it he saw
’Ali, Abu Bakr, and Zayd, the Prophet’s freed slave,
beckoning to him
to come and join them. When Abu Bakr told him about
the Prophet’s
religion, he understood the meaning of his dream and went
at once to the
Prophet (pbuh) and declared himself a Muslim. He
understood that
to be a Muslim means to submit oneself to Allah’s Will
and to serve only
Him. Another person brought to Islam by Abu Bakr was
Bilal. One night
Abu Bakr went to the house of Umayyah ibn Khalaf, one
of the most
important men of Quraysh. Umayyah was out and Abu Bakr
found only
Umayyah’s slave, Bilal, at home. Abu Bakr talked to the slave
about Islam and
before he left, Bilal, too, had become a Muslim. The
number of people
following the Prophet (pbuh) began to grow.
Sometimes they
would all go out of the city to the mountains around
Mecca to hear him
recite the Qur’an and to be taught by him. This was all
done very
secretly and only a very few people knew about Islam in those
early days
In The Name Of Allah
Dated, December 27, 2013
Sirrat
of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Main Points:
1-The announcement of the call
2-The beginning of the prophet's troubles
Three years passed and one day the Archangel Gabriel came to the
Prophet (pbuh)
and ordered him to start preaching openly to everyone. So
the Prophet
(pbuh) told the people of Mecca that he had something very
important to tell them.
Ibn Abbas said that when the verse :"
And warn your tribe of the close relatives"(Qur'an 26:214),was revealed
the prophet (PBUH) climbed the hill of Safa
and started shouting:" O Banu Fihr,O Banu Adi," calling all
the clans of Quraish to assemble, and those who couldn't come out sent a messenger
to see what had happened.
When they all had assembled the prophet
(PBUH) said:
"What would you say if I told you that
there was an army of horsemen in the valley wanting to attack you,would you
believe me?"
They said:"We have never heard you
tell a lie."
He said:" Well, I am warning you of
terrible punishment [Because of their disbelieving in the oneness of God]"
Abu Lahab then shouted:"May you be in
misery all day long! Is this what you called us for? "
Then the crowd
dispersed and the Prophet (pbuh) was left alone. A
few days later
the Prophet (pbuh) tried again. A feast was prepared in his
house for all of
his uncles. After the meal he spoke to them and said, ’O
sons of ’Abd
al-Muttalib! I know of no Arab who has come to his people
with a better
message than mine. I have brought you the best news for
this life and the
next. Allah has ordered me to call you to Him. So which
of you will help
me?’ All the men kept silent. Then ’Ali, his cousin,
jumped up and
said: ’O Prophet of Allah! I will help you.’ Then the men
all got up and
left, laughing as they went because only one young boy had
agreed to help
the Prophet (pbuh).
His message
ignored by most of the people and his uncles, the Prophet
(pbuh) continued
to meet his friends secretly in a house near the hill of
Safa. There they
prayed together and he taught them about the religion of
Islam. But even
though they kept to themselves, they were sometimes
abused by those
who would not believe. From one such incident,
however, an
unexpected conversion to Islam took place. One day, when
the Prophet
(pbuh) was returning home, speaking with his followers, he
met Abu Jahl, a
leader of Quraysh, who hated the Prophet (pbuh) and his
teachings. Abu
Jahl started to insult him and to speak spitefully of Islam,
but the Prophet (pbuh) made no reply and
went on his way.
This loud call was the final degree of communication.
The Prophet (PBUH) severed relations with his people an account of his call. He
explained to those who were closest to himself that belief in the message is
what would keep alive the relationship between him and them and that the blood
kinship which the Arabs upheld had melted in the heat of this warning coming
from Allah.
Quraish continued moving along their path
of obstinacy and avoidance of truth. Likewise Muhammed (PBUH) continued moving
along his path, calling them to Allah, being gentle in his presentation of
Islam, exposing the disgraces of paganism, listening and answering, attacking
and defending.
Later, Hamzah,
one of the Prophet’s uncles, who was a strong and
brave warrior of
whom people were quite afraid, heard how his nephew
had been
insulted. Filled with rage, he ran straight to the Ka’bah where
Abu Jahl was
sitting among the people and struck him a violent blow in
the face with his
bow. Hamzah then shouted, ’Will you insult him when I
follow his
religion, and I say what he says? Hit me back if you can!’
Some people got
up to help Abu Jahl but he stopped them saying, ’Leave
Hamzah alone, for
by Allah, I have insulted his nephew badly. ’From that
moment on Hamzah
followed the teachings of the Prophet (pbuh) and
with his
conversion to Islam Quraysh realized that the Prophet (pbuh) had
a strong
supporter and so for a while they stopped persecuting him. Soon,
however, the
leaders of Quraysh became angry again, when they saw that
the Prophet
(pbuh) was going ahead with his teaching.
A group of them went to his uncle, Abu Talib,
who had promised to protect him. They told him to ask the Prophet (pbuh) to
stop attacking their gods and their way of life, and in return they would let
him do as he wished with his religion.
After a time they
saw that there was no change, so they went back to
Abu Talib and
this time they told him that if he did not stop his nephew,
they would fight
them both. Abu Talib was very upset by this quarrel
among his people,
but he could not break his word to his nephew. He sent
for the Prophet
(pbuh) and told him what had happened, saying, ’Spare
me and spare
yourself; do not put a greater burden on me than I can bear.’
The Prophet
(pbuh) thought that his uncle might abandon him and that he
would no longer
have his support, but nevertheless he answered, ’0 my
uncle, by Allah,
if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my
left in return
for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up until
Allah makes Truth
victorious, or I die in His service. Abu Talib was
deeply moved by
this answer. He told the Prophet (pbuh) that he would
support him for
as long as he lived and encouraged him to go on
spreading Allah’s
message. From that time on, however hard the leaders
of Quraysh tried
to convince Abu Talib to stop protecting his nephew, he
always refused to
listen to them. In order to get rid of the Prophet (pbuh)
and his
followers, his enemies started persecuting those Muslims who
were poor or
weak, or had no powerful friends. One such person was
Bilal, the slave
of Umayyah ibn Khalaf. His master would take him out
into the desert,
tie him up, and leave him in the sun with a large stone on
his chest.
Fortunately Abu Bakr was passing by one day and saw
Umayyah torturing
Bilal, so he bought him from his master for a large
sum of money and
then set him free. But not all persecuted Muslims were
as fortunate as
Bilal. Many suffered, but all of them endured it patiently,
knowing that they
were doing the right thing and that their reward in the
life to come
would be greater’ than any happiness they could find on
earth.
Dated, January, 3rd 2014
Sirrat
of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Main Points:
1-Muslims
face hardships
Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) had
to continue preaching and overcoming all the obstacles that were placed in his
way , and those who belived in his message had to be firm and steadfast. Their
steadfastness was not to be in their own interests alone, not even in
fulfillment of the duties of faith, but also in the interests of the future
generations. A skyscraper does not rest on the surface of the earth but on
foundations which go deep into the earth, and these bear its weight and
pillars. The early Companions of the
prophet (PBUH) with their strength of conviction and sincere loyalty were the
pillars of his call and the roots which extended in later days in all
directions of the globe.
The idolaters decided that
they would spare no efforts to fight Islam and persecute those who entered it.
This atmosphere filled with hatred was accompanied by a war of humiliation, the
intent behind it being to demoralize the Muslims. The prophet (PBUH) and his
companions were accused and abused, and a group was formed to carry out these
campaigns against Islam and its followers. Muslims were caught in a tight spot
their Prophet was being accused of madness.
This war turned into torture
and bloodshed as far as the weak and oppressed believers were concerned. Those
of them who had no clan to defend them could not be saved from humiliation and
murder by anything. They were held and tortured painfully until they
disbelieved, died or became unconscious.
Among them was Ammar Ibn
Yasir, who was one of the earliest converts to Islam. He was a freed-slave of
the Banu Makzzom. He his father and his mother accepted Islam, and they were
dragged by the idolaters into the hot sands of Makkah in the blazing midday
heat and there they were torture.
One day the prophet (PBUH)
passed by them in this state and he said:"Patience, family of Yasir, for
your rendezvous is Paradise. Yasir died of the torture. His wife,Sumayyah, shouted
curses at Abu Jahl; he stuck a spear into her heart and she died. She was the
first female in Islam to be martyred.
They redoubled their
torturing of 'Ammar, sometimes by heat and at other times by placing a stone on
his chest or by ducking him underwater and saying:" We shall not let you
go until you curse Muhammed or say something good abou Al Lat and Al Uzza.
Eventually he did and so they let him go. He came to the prophet (PBUH),
weeping, and the Prophet( PBUH) asked him what was the matter. He replied by
explaining by explaining what had happened.
Then the Prophet (PBUH)
asked:" How do you find your heart?"
He replied:"I find it
content with faith"
The prophet (PBUH)
then advised him:" O Ammar, if they do it again then do the same as
before."Thereafter Allah revealed:" Save him who is forced into it
and whose heart is still content with faith"(Quran 16:106).
Dated, January 10th , 2014
Sirrat
of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
Main Points:
1-Negotiations between Quriash and the
Prophet (PBUH)
2-Muslims' immigration to Abysinia.
The idolaters thought that their harsh
treatment towards the weak Muslims would prevent others from responding to the
caller. The hopes of them were doomed to disappointment, however. In fact the
Muslims were on the increase. Quarish sought to employ another strategy, which
contained both allurement and threat. They sent to Muhammad (PBUH) offering him
any wordly thing that he desired, and they sent to his uncle, who was
protecting him, warning him of the consequences of maintaining such protection
and urging him to silence Muhammed (PBUH) so as not to cause any harm of
himself and his family.
Quraish sent 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah' was a calm
and composed man. He went to the prophet (PBUH) and said:
When he finished, the prophet (PBUH)
recited to him the opening verses of Surat Al Sajdah:
As the number of the Prophet’s followers increased so the enemies
of the
Muslims grew more
and more angry. At last some of the Muslims
decided to go to
another country in order to live in peace. It was only five
years since the
Archangel Gabriel had first come to the Prophet (pbuh)
and two years
since the Prophet (pbuh) had spoken out in public. The
Muslims asked the
Prophet (pbuh) to allow them to leave Mecca. He
agreed, saying
’It would be better for you to go to Abyssinia. The king
there is a just
man and it is a friendly country. Stay there until Allah
makes it possible
for you to return. The Muslims prepared for the
journey. They
decided to wait until night so that they could leave without
being seen. The
first sixteen left Mecca and, after reaching the shore of
die Red Sea,
crossed over to Abyssinia. Another eighty-three men and
nineteen women
followed, all hoping to be welcomed by the king and
people of that
country. This was the first hijrah, or migration, in Islam.
The Meccans were
furious when they discovered that these Muslims
had secretly left
the city for among them were the sons and daughters of
many of the
leading families of Mecca. The anger of the Meccans was
even greater when
they found out that the Muslims had been warmly
welcomed in
Abyssinia. The leaders of Quraysh decided to send two men
to the Abyssinian
king in hopes of persuading him to send the Muslims
back. These were
’Amr ibn al-’As, a very clever speaker, and .Abd Allah
ibn abi Rabi.ah.
Before they met this king, they gave each of his advisers
a gift, saying:
’Some foolish men from our people have come to hide in
your country. Our
leaders have sent us to your ruler to persuade him to
send them back,
so when we speak to the king about them, do advise him
to give them up
to us.’ The advisers agreed to do what the Meccans
wished.
Amr ibn al-’As
and ’Abd Allah ibn abi Rabi’ah then went to the king
and presented him
also with a gift, saying: ’Your Highness, these people
have abandoned
the religion we have always followed in Mecca, but they
have not even
become Christians like you.’ The royal advisers, who were
also present,
told the king that the Meccans had spoken the truth and that
he should send
the Muslims back to their own people. At this, the king
became angry and
said, ’No, by God, I will not give them up. Those who
have come to ask
for my protection, settled in my country, and chosen me
rather than
others, shall not be betrayed. I will summon them and ask
them about what
these two men have said. If the Muslims are as the
Meccans say, I
will give them up and send them back to their own people,
but if the
Meccans have lied I will protect the Muslims.’ ’Amr was very
upset by this for
the last thing he wanted was for the king to hear what the
Muslims had to
say. The king then sent for the Muslims. When they
entered, they did
not kneel before him as was the custom of the
Abyssinians. ’Why
do you not kneel before our king?’ they were asked by
one of the
advisors. ’We kneel only to Allah’, they replied. So the king
asked them to
tell him about their religion.
Ja’far ibn abi
Talib, Ali’s brother and a cousin of the Prophet (pbuh),
was chosen to
speak for the Muslims. He replied, ’0 King, at first we were
among the
ignorant. We and our ancestors had turned from the faith of
Abraham, who,
with Ishmael, rebuilt the Ka.bah and worshipped only
Allah. We used
idols in our worship of Allah; we ate meat that had not
been killed in
the right way; we did not respect the rights of our
neighbors; the
strong took advantage of the weak. We did terrible things
of which I dare
not speak. This was our life until Allah sent a Messenger
from among us,
one of our relatives, whom we have always known to be
honest, innocent,
and faithful. He asked us to worship only Allah, and to
give up the bad
customs of our forefathers. He asked us to be truthful and
trustworthy, to
respect and help our neighbors, to honor our families, and
to put a stop to
our bad deeds and endless fighting. He asked us to look
after orphans. He
ordered us not to slander or speak evil of women or
men.
He ordered us to
worship Allah alone and not to worship anyone or
anything else
alongside Him. He ordered us to pray, to give alms, and to
fast. We believe
he is right and therefore we follow him and do as he has
commanded us.
The Meccans began
to attack us and come between us and our
religion. So we
had to leave our homes and we have come to you, hoping
to find justice.’
The king, who was
a Christian, was moved by these words. .Amr had
to think quickly
of a way to win the argument. Cunningly he said to the
king, ’These
people do not believe in Jesus in the same way as you’. The
king then wanted
to know what the Prophet (pbuh) had said about Jesus.
Ja’far replied by
reciting a Surah from the Qur’an which tells the story of
Jesus and his
mother Mary. These are a few of the lines he recited:
In
the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
.And make mention
of Mary in the Scripture, when she had
Withdrawn from
her people to an eastern place, And had chosen
seclusion from
them. Then We sent unto her Our spirit and it assumed for
her the likeness
of a perfect man. She said: Lo! I seek refuge in the
Beneficent One
from thee, if Thou fearest God. He said: I am only a
messenger of thy
Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son. She
said: How can I
have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have
I been unchaste?
He said: ’Even so thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. And
(it will be) that
We may make of him revelation for mankind and a mercy
from Us, and it
is a thing ordained. And she conceived him, and she
withdrew with him
to a far place. Then she brought him to her own folk,
carrying him.
They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an monstrous
thing. Oh sister
of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy
mother a harlot.
Then Mary pointed to the child (Jesus); But they said,
’How can we speak
to one who is still in the cradle, a young child?’ He
said, ’Lo, I am
Allah’s servant; He has given me the Book, and made me a
Prophet.
He has made me
Blessed, wheresoever I may be; and He has enjoined
me to pray, and
to give alms, so long as I live, and likewise to cherish my
mother; he has
not made me arrogant, unblest Peace be upon me, the day
I was born, and
the day I die, and the day I am raised up alive!. (Qur’an
19:16-33) . When
the king heard this, his eyes filled with tears. Turning
to his advisers,
he said, ’These words have surely come from God; there is
very little to
separate the Muslims from the Christians. What both Jesus
and Muhammad, the
Messengers of Allah, have brought comes from the
same source.
So the Muslims
were given the king’s permission to live peacefully in
his country. ’Amr
was given back the gift he had presented to the king
and the two Meccans returned home, bitterly
disappointed.
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