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With eyes as bright
as the shining sun, a reality on the lips more brilliant
than the light of the sun, a heart more fresh than the
flowers of the gardens of Yathrib and Taif, habits and
morals more decent than the moon- lit nights of the
Hijaz, a mind more brisk than the strong winds, a
bewitching tongue, a heart with heavenly light, firm
determination like a trenchant sword and heavenly words
on the tongue - such was Muhammad son of Abdullah, the
prophet of Arabia, the prophet who destroyed the idols
which had separated brothers from brothers. He did not
break only the idols of wood and stone but also broke
the idols of wealth, indecent habits and party-spirit.
The only thing which the cowardly Quraysh desired was
money should be transferred from the hands of the
nomadic Arabs to their own pockets. The only value which
they attached to life was that in order to earn profit
they should travel through the desert on the back of the
camels undergoing extreme hardships and then return to
their hometown Mecca - the same Mecca which was the city
of idol-worship, and where money was the only thing
which counted.
Suddenly they heard a voice which shook their nerves.
Their hopes were shattered. The world turned away its
face from them saying:
"The value of man
is not the same which you have assessed and the object
of the creation of the nomadic Arabs is not the same
which you think it to be".
....... This was the voice of
Muhammad ........
Banu Asad and Banu Tamim were so foolish and ignorant
that they buried their daughters alive without any
cause. There was no justification for their doing so
except that it was a custom which had survived amongst
them. They were opposed to the Divine will. They hated
the beauty of nature. And then they heard a voice, which
was expressive of deep love and sympathy for the people
saying: "Don't bury your daughters alive. Daughters are
as good a creation of God as the sons. No human being
has a right to deprive others of life. It is only God
who creates the people and makes them die".
........ This was the voice of
Muhammad .......
The Arabs were always fighting. They fought and shed
blood for years on account of very trivial things. They
killed their own brothers and then rejoiced and
glorified themselves on it. To sacrifice their lives for
the sake of their own ignorance was something very
ordinary for them. The children cried and screamed and
grew up in conditions which were not conducive to the
creation of love or sympathy for anyone in their minds.
In these circumstances they heard another voice which
said: "What are you doing? You kill one another although
you are all brothers because all of you have been
created by God. Strife is something satanic. Peace and
friendship are more beneficial for you. The blessing for
which you fight can't be achieved except through peace".
........ This was the voice of
Muhammad .......
The Arabs were the most proud and egoistic people. They
considered the non-Arabs inferior to themselves. Not
only this but they did not consider the non-Arabs even
human beings. Muhammad disliked this attitude of the
Arabs very much. Addressing these proud people he said:
"No Arab is superior to a non-Arab unless he is more
pious. Whether you like it or not all human beings are
brothers of one another".
There were oppressed, homeless and helpless persons
whose faces had been scorched by the hot winds. The
society had discarded them and made their lives
miserable. They were more humble in the eyes of the
people than the particles of sand and their life had
become extremely unenviable. And these were the true
friends of the prophet of Islam, just as the indigent
and outcasts of the society were the friends of Jesus
Christ and other great men of the world. It was these
very people for whose benefit the prophet of Islam
endeavoured to prevent the establishment of
dictatorship, disallowed slavery, freed man from the
bondage of his fellow-men, and established the public
treasury so that all might benefit from it without any
discrimination. He directed the efforts of the people
towards public welfare. He insisted on Quraysh, who were
his kinsmen, at every step that they should improve
their conduct, do good deeds, and keep their attention
directed whole-heartedly to God, who has united the
scattered creation into a single whole.
However, Quraysh instigated the ignorant persons as well
as their own children to stone and ridicule him.
The helpless, oppressed and homeless slaves among whom
one was Bilal, the Mu'azzin of the prophet, were
overjoyed when they heard this: "All human beings are
fed by God. He likes him most who is more helpful to his
creatures".
........ This was the voice of
Muhammad .......
Those who were his enemies and stoned and ridiculed him
heard this animating voice: "If you (Muhammad) had been
stern and hard-hearted they would all have deserted you
a long time ago. Forgive them and ask God to forgive
(their sins) and consult with them in certain matter.
But when you reach a decision trust God. God loves those
who trust Him".
........ This was the voice of
Muhammad .......
The following pure
words were imprinted on the minds of those who were
endeavouring in the path of God for a better life, and
were ready to support him (Muhammad) in his campaign
against idol-worship and evil-doing, and were afraid
lest their rights and good conduct might be wasted in
the battle-field.
"Remember! Don't be treacherous. Don't commit breach of
trust. Don't kill either a child or a woman or an old
man or a monk in a monastery. Don't burn a date-palm
tree and don't cut any tree nor pull down a building".
........ This was the voice of
Muhammad .......
The Arabs heard this heavenly voice from Muhammad and
spread it in all the four corners of the world. They
covered powerful rulers and kings with this voice,
established brotherhood amongst human beings and strung
them in one faith, and created relationship between man
and God.
The shade of Muhammad spread so much that the entire Old
World came under it and the land from the east upto the
west began producing the fruits of goodness, knowledge,
peace and friendship. The prophet of Islam stretched his
hand and sowed the seeds of friendship and brotherhood
throughout the world. That hand is still stretched and
is busy sowing the seeds. Hence, there is no part of the
world wherein the followers of Muhammad are not found.
One of them may be in Pakistan and the other may be in
Spain, but in spite of this both of them are treated to
be under one and the same standard. The prophet provided
honour and respect to the Orientals which is even now a
shining crown on their heads.
This voice of the prophet, was a call for human
brotherhood. It stopped the hands of the rulers from
reaching the property of the subjects and gave equal
rights to all human beings. In his religion there is no
discrimination between a common man, a ruler and a
subject and an Arab and a non-Arab, because all human
beings are the slaves of God and it is He who provides
sustenance to all of them.
This voice emancipated women from the oppression of men,
freed the labourers from the injustice of the
capitalists and delivered the servants from the
degradation of submission to their masters. As opposed
to Plato and other philosophers, who deprive the workers
of their social rights on account of their mean
occupation and have divided the society into many
grades, the prophet of Islam made all human beings
participate in the affairs of government. He also
disallowed usury and exploitation of one man by another. |
