KHUTAB III - 11. THE IDEAL PROPHET (2)

11. THE IDEAL PROPHET (2)

The second condition for an ideal prophet put by al-Nadawī is that his biography and teaching have to be comprehensive. It means that any guidance needed by people in different walks of life is available in the life and teaching of the ideal prophet. He contends that the only biography and teaching that reached the standard of comprehensiveness were those of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Religion as commonly understood in the Western concept is belief in the existence of a supreme power, the creator who controls the universe. It includes the system of faith and worship based on this belief. In other words, it is the relationship between the worshipper and his Creator. The term religion is usually made as the translation of the term dīn in Arabic, so that dīn al-Islām is commonly translated as “the religion of Islam.” As a matter of fact, this term dīn in its broader sense is more than a religion; it is a way of life.

Religion in a broad sense is a dīn that unfolds the relationship between man and his Creator in the form of worship which is a duty for him. It is also the relationship between man and his other fellow creatures in the form of mutual rights and obligations, mutual respect, mutual care and the way to treat each other. The followers of the ideal prophet would find the answers to questions and solutions of problems they are facing in their daily lives in the examples and the teaching of the religion he brought to them.

Al-Nadawī mentions two kinds of religions: agnostic and theistic. Agnostics doubt the existence of God.  Atheists deny the existence of God. The agnostic religion is one that doubts or is sceptical about the existence of God and maintains that nothing can be known or proved as to His existence, such as Buddhism and Jainism. With these religions it would be useless to find God’s nature, and how to worship Him. On the other hand, a theistic religion is the one that believes in the existence of God as Supreme Being, but it does not tell us much about how to worship Him, such as Judaism and Christianity.

In Buddhism, we are told that Siddharta Gautama left his family and severed all his connections with his community. He abandoned all his responsibility as a father, a husband and a leader of his country as a son of a prince in order to find peace in Nirvana (Buddhist paradise) by overcoming the desire arising from his desire to live. Therefore, he left no message or teaching for people as common men, rulers, the ruled, masters, servants, the rich, the poor. He left no obligations for people as fathers, sons, brothers, sisters, friends, etc. His teachings were never practised by the working class. Trades, industry and business in countries where predominantly Buddhists, such as Burma, Japan, Thailand and Tibet would have declined and the countries themselves would not have developed.

In Judaism Prophet Moses was a marvellous leader, especially in the battlefields and in delivering his people from the Pharaoh’s slavery. He could be a model in fighting the oppression, but he left no rule regarding the relations between husband and wife, father and sons, brothers, friends, etc. As a prophet and a family person, he was married, had children, had a brother (Aaron, Hārūn a.s.), friends, and relatives, his behaviour towards them would have been exemplary and a model for his people, but unfortunately they were not found in the books of Scripture attributed to him. We do not know how he made peace with his adversaries, and how he spent his wealth for the sick, the poor, the orphans and the way-farers.

In Christianity, Jesus had his mother, and according to the Bible he had brothers and sisters, even his earthly father (Joseph the carpenter), although he was born by a virgin mother, Mary. As a prophet he must have some regulations dealing with people’s relations with their relatives and community, but they are not found in the gospels of the Scripture. He himself was unmarried, and therefore, could only be a model for the minority of people who still remain unmarried, but not for the majority of people who are married. He could not be an ideal family man. He remained indifferent to his relatives, and had nothing to do with earning and spending. He had never been involved in war and in fighting in battlefields, and therefore he could not be a model for generals and warriors. He did not leave any rules regarding war and peace, friends and foes, and therefore he could not be the ideal guide for humanity. Were the Christians of Europe and America to follow the examples of Jesus in his indifference to this material world there would not have been any progress in the world in general and in the Western world in particular.

In Islam, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. has been an example for Muslims in all walks of life. His comprehensive biography is recorded in history. He was a family man: a husband and a father. He left many examples of treating his family. He elevated the status of women. He had been persecuted for years by the Makkan pagans and gave us examples for his patience, perseverance and forbearance in carrying the message of Islam. When his uncle Abū Tālib told him about the complaint of the Makkans against his preaching Islam, he told his uncle the well-known statement: “O uncle, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand I would never stop preaching (Islam) until it becomes victorious or I perish.”  As an army commander in the battlefield he was a model in fighting, such as not harming non-combattants, avoiding torture, and treating captives well. The story of Zayd ibn H.ārithah, the only contemporary of the Prophet mentioned by name in the Qur’ān and a former captive, preferred to remain with the Prophet rather than returning to his relatives and people. The Prophet conquered Makkah from which he was expelled 8 years earlier. He entered the city forgiving its people who had mistreated him. He gave an example in treating the conquered people.

In one Qur’ānic verse Allah said: 

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ (الأنبياء : ١٠٧)

And We have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a mercy for

the alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists) (Q. 21:107).

His behaviour and conduct in treating others are the manifestation of this mercy towards the world. He taught us how to treat even animals. He said one day to a Bedouin that his beast of burden has complained to him for being over worked, (either through its body language, or as inspired by Allah), that the Bedouin should give enough rest for the animal.

The Prophet’s teachings encompass the whole community from very minute things such as entering the mosque starting with the right foot, and going out of it starting with the left foot, what to say when one is sneezing, when one is hearing the thunder, and when one heard someone has passed away, what to do in facing the calamity, and how to treat the enemy in disguise (the hypocrites). His teachings elevate the status of women, free his people from slavery, exploitation of fellow human beings, gambling, usury (interest), tribal vengeance, intoxicants, adultery and many other vices.

          The Prophet’s teachings include man’s relation with himself, such as purifying himself from arrogance, envy, selfishness and stinginess, impatience and vengeance. It teaches personal hygiene, washing the areas of the body, which are subject to dirt, such as mouth, nostrils, earlobes, face, arms and feet while performing the ablution. With regards to his relations with his fellow human beings and other creatures, it teaches tolerance, mercy, sincerity, and mutual respect. He encourages greetings with salām (peace) to whomever we meet, no matter whether we know him or not. He teaches us that the younger person should start the greeting, the person who is walking to the one who is standing, the riding person to non-riding. He teaches that a person who kills another person without any valid reason (based on Islamic law) is like killing his own race, the whole of mankind. He teaches us how to worship Allah and to express our gratitude to Him and how to repent and ask His forgiveness and mercy. (ANUMA, 13 Jan. 06)