The Relevance of the Prophet's (s) Life Accounts
to the Present Society
Following is an abridged text of speech delivered on the occasion of Prophet Muhammad’s Birth and International Unity Week celebration held in a certain city in the Philippines on August 3, 1996 / Rabi‘ al-Awwal 17, 1417 AH.
Sallu ‘alayhi wa alih! (Audience: “Allahummma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa ali Muhammad, Allahummma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa ali Muhammad, Allahummma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa ali Muhammad.”)
A‘udhu billahi minash-shaytanir-rajim, Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. Al-hamdulillahi rabbil-‘alamin. Huwal-ladhi arsala rasulahu bil-huda wa dinil-haqq liyudhhirahu ‘alad-dini kulli wa law karihal mushrikun.
Was-salatu was-salamu ‘ala ashrafil-mursalin Sayyidina wa Mawlana Muhammad al-Mustafa wa ‘ala alihit-tayyibinat-tahirin wa ‘ala as-habihil muntajabina wal-akhyar.
...Fellow standard-bearers of the kalimah, “la ilaha illallah, Muhammadar-rasulullah”; my dear sisters- and brothers-in-Iman:
As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh!—May the spirit of peace, blessings and mercy of Allah be upon you all.
By way of introduction, let me ask you a fundamental question: Granting that some of you want to conduct a background investigation of my life profile; who will become the rightful source of information—my immediate family circle or our mere neighbors who are not so much and at times even not at all concerned and particular with my daily routine? I guess you don’t have any qualms in agreeing with me that my family members are indeed the ones to be referred to.
In like manner, on the question of the actual date of the Holy Prophet’s birth I am completely giving you the opportunity to answer since I believe and firmly believe that your answer would never be a betrayal to common sense and logical reasoning.
Embarking on the topic of my talk, The Relevance of the Prophet’s Life Accounts to the Present Society, I would like to highlight two Qur’anic injunctions along with their respective manifestations in the early history of Islam and then, their relevance in the context of contemporary Muslim community. Firstly, we have verse 13 of Surah al-Hujurat where Allah ‘Azza wa Jal states:
"O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and female, and made you into tribes and families that you may know each other. Verily, the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is he who is most righteous among you."
Along this line, as we open the book of the past, we will surely come to know that by proclaiming and making the Muhajirin and Ansar as brothers and that Muslims are brethren, the Holy Prophet of Islam established the new social order based on faith. In other words, it gave birth to an ummah [community] which transcends beyond ethnographic, racial, and geographical boundaries as exemplified by the presence, among the early Muslims, of Abuzar of Arabia, Bilal of Africa, Suhayb of Syria, and Salman of Persia.
In doing so, the Rahmatul-lil-‘alamin [Mercy to the worlds, the Prophet (s)], in fact, laid down the charter of human liberty and equality as he is reported to have said:
All men are equal like the teeth of a comb. The Arab is no better than the non-Arab. The white has no superiority over the black. All are children of Adam and Adam is from dust. Degree of piety is the only distinction.
Let me share with you, respected sisters and brothers, that after proving beyond any doubt the universality of Islam, the preeminent ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood, Shahid Sayyid Qutb, in his monomuntal book entitled, The Milestone, concluded as follows:
"Thus, the pride of lineage was ended; the slogan of race died; the vanity of tribalism vanished; the voice of nationalism silenced and man’s spirit soared to higher horizons, free from the bondage of flesh and blood, and the dignity of soil and homeland."
At this juncture, I guess you, my dear brethren, will conform to me that the significance of this event, however, is yet to be conceived and learned by all of us, one billion Muslims across the globe. It is because by still clinging steadfastly to the rope of nationalism, parochialism, and ethnocentrism, we, sad to note, are unconsciously but actually imitating the narrow-mindedness of the pervert and transgressing Jewish people who, at the expense of others, regard themselves as the chosen beloved children of the One True God.
Meanwhile, I would like also to give emphasis on the import of Surah al-Ahzab, verse 21 wherein Allahu Ta‘ala categorically states:
"Ye have indeed in the Apostle of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the praise of Allah."
Taking into consideration this noble passage, we are truly reminded, my dear brethren, that excellent pattern of behavior was the paramount and decisive weapon of our beloved Rasul [Messenger] and the succeeding rightful leaders (‘a). It was this very weapon which they utilized to convince their adherents throughout the ages to rally behind the movement of monotheism, truth, justice, and faith.
Now, if we try to correlate this guiding star of yesterday with today’s plight of the Islamic ummah, we can easily admit the fact that out of disobedience and negligence on our part, we are misrepresenting our Din al-Islam; and as such, committing grave injustice to the school of faith to which we claim to belong.
For instance, from the point of view of non-Muslims, Islam is bad and therefore not the true religion. This impression is anchored on the deplorable reality that we, Muslims, are portraying a dark and depressing scenario of a society sunk in inertia and backwardness, and afflicted with intellectual and moral bankruptcy.
We are all Muslims, yet we are disunited. We profess the truth of Islam, yet we are retrogressive. We followed the Prophet of hygiene and cleanliness and the paragon of virtue, yet we are dirty and ill-mannered people. And we believe in the Glorious Qur’an as the ever-living fountainhead of laws and guidelines, yet we are always in a state of shambles and chaos.
Concerning our dealings, on the other hand, with our fellow Muslims from the majority or greater section of the Islamic ummah, let me throw these questions: are we now ready to adopt the methodology set forth by the Holy Prophet (s) and other repositories of divine guidance? Is not the Holy Prophet less as a man of empty rhetoric and acrimonious argumentation, but more on being an embodiment of piety, humility and exemplary conduct? Are we now willing to abide, both in letter and spirit, with the precepts even in matters of glances and gestures as enjoined by our faith?
If our answer to all these inquiries is a resounding yes, it is then, and only then, that we can hope and expect for the eventual transformation of our kalimah at-tawhid [expression of unity] to tawhid al-kalimah [unity of expression], or the unity of not only expression but of practice and implementation.
In closing, I would like to disclose a Divine Warning for us, which was announced 14 hundred years ago and enshrined in the last portion of Surah Muhammad:
"If ye turn back (from the Straight Path), He will bring in your stead a people other than you; then, they will not be like you (in negligence and complacency)."
With this, I wish for you all the blessings of Allah on this auspicious commemoration of Mawlid an-Nabi and International Unity Week.
Wa billahi tawfiq wal-hidayah; was-salamu ‘alaykum wa bahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
And hold fast
by the covenant of Allah all together and be not disunited."
Qur'an 3:102
© 1998-2004 Shajaratun Muntazirah
Email: [email protected]
Address: http://www.geocities.com/smuntazirah
