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The
Noble Man -by Sanaullah Noori |
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In human life years, months and days come and go
but nobody cares or tries to remember each and every day. There are,
however, specific days that nobody forgets. The day we shall talk about,
amazingly, nobody forgets. Nobody forgets that year even for a moment.
This particular day is ever fresh and vivid in the mind of the people.
People remember this day for many many decades. The day we are talking
about has indeed kept the mind of the people engrossed with emotion for
the last fifteen hundred years. The day is shining in red letters in the history
because of the birth of a noble man. Mankind has been remembering this
great man, centuries after centuries. You may now be thinking that this
man must have been an outstanding person. Yes. This man, although made of
clay like us, is unparalleled. He is the crown of mankind. He brought in the world great many changes He brought light among people in darkness He brought peace in the world in distress He affirmed right against wrongness He freed men from bondage of many gods He found among all men equality and fairness He elevated the consciousness He did not, however, walk with pride over the land
like Alexander. He was not a ruler like Hammurabi of Babylon. Like the
Persian Cyrus, he had neither the spacious palace nor the throne made of
jewels and marbles. Neither he fought like Julius Caesar many battles for
valour and fame, nor he declared himself an emperor like Augustine. Who
then he is? He was a greater conqueror than all the greatest
conquerors of the world because he had fought against all kinds of
falsehood, wrong, oppression, exploitation and dominance of ruthless
polytheist tyrants. His valour was much greater than the gallantry of the
greatest warriors of the world for he became great not by dominating
people but by winning their hearts. He also fought wars, but such wars
were neither intended to establish supremacy nor to conquer lands. The
wars were against oppression and persecution. The objectives of the war
were to establish justice against injustice and wrong doings. To keep high
the flag of truth, he fought wars either to be victorious or to embrace
martyrdom. Indeed, he was a brave warrior of truth and justice. He never
became shaky in the struggle against wrongs and injustices. His soldiers
never took part in the killing of noncombatant innocent people and
destruction of properties. His warriors never retreated, and preferred
martyrdom to living an ignominious life. He was greater than the greatest ruler of the world
but he did not rule like a king. He treated everybody equally and ensured
happiness, peace and prosperity for all without any discrimination and
favouritism. He had no subjects, but only companions and followers. He
taught them great ideals of a noble life. He showed them the correct path
of truth and justice. His greatness is more than the worldly kings and
emperors for he did not subjugate people by wealth and power, rather he
earned great respect and admiration, honor and love in their hearts by
sacrificing for them, enduring pain and agony for them, dispensing every
wealth and resources for them, consoling them in their helplessness,
showing them the right path when they were in the wrong, becoming friend
and one with them in their distress and caring them with great affection. No emperor could have ever imagined getting a place
in man’s heart with such glory and high esteem. People did not join his
rank for money, honour and power as happens in the case of the followers
of kings, military commanders and emperors, but they joined him imbued
with the principles of justice, fair play and the great ideals of truth.
They joined his camp being overwhelmed by his character. People joined him
because they loved him. He had no palace of granite and marble but the
small cottage made of clay was more lively, majestic and magnificent for
he used to send to the whole world the message of truth, peace and
tranquility from this cottage. People from far and wide used to visit him
in this cottage for learning the true lessons of equality and brotherhood. He had no throne made of jewels and marbles but his
seat made of leaves of date-tree was more majestic, more dignified than
the thrones of the kings and emperors for he used to accomplish the
onerous and arduous duty and responsibility of ruling the vast country
from this ordinary seat. Nobody feared him and everybody used to approach
him for peace and justice. Who is this great man? Who is this unusual,
illustrious person that lived an ordinary life? He was the Great Guide for the salvation of
mankind, the Messenger to establish peace and tranquility, happiness and
prosperity in the whole world. He was Prophet Muhammad1. He
brought a great number of people in the seventh century to light and gave
them the message of truth, justice, peace and good conduct and thus made
great changes in the then world and saved it from imminent misfortune and
catastrophe. He changed the face of the world and, therefore, the seventh
century is considered as the greatest century of history. Prophet Muhammad was born in Makkah in 570 A.D in
the aristocratic and noble Quarish family. Prophet Ibrahim2 was
the first progenitor of the Quraish. He was one of the greatest teachers
of ancient societies. He was the prophet or messenger of Allah. In the Old
Testament he has been named Abraham. To the Muslims, the Bible is the Holy
Book Injil. The Muslims consider Prophet Adam, Prophet Noah, Prophet
Abraham, Prophet Jesus and other prophets as their own prophets and refer
to them with reverence. The Muslims also believe that these great
messengers had preached the message of peace and happiness. Islam is a
superb, balanced and well-meaning way of life for men of all walks of life
in this world. Prophet Abraham also invited people towards the fold and
banner of Islam, the religion of peace. He, however, suffered much in the
hands of misguided and strayed people. His life story is full of events. Prophet Ibrahim originally came from Uru region in
Babylon. The people of Babylon, who lived about four thousand years ago,
used to worship the sun, the moon, the stars and other celestial bodies as
deities. The ancestors of Prophet Ibrahim, even his father, used to
worship those deities. They used to make images of clay and worship them,
but Prophet Ibrahim, since his boyhood, had developed a dislike for
worshipping deities made of clay. He was imaginative and always used to
contemplate. He thought over and reflected for days together as to how an
idol made of clay by man can be more powerful than man. Why does man
worship such idols as being the ones that determine man’s good and bad,
fate and destiny? Such idols can be destroyed by a simple stroke of a
finger. How insignificant are such idols? He looked towards the sky. Are
the sun and the moon illah or the creator of man? How can this be
so? The sun sets in the evening and the moon disappears as the sun rises
in the morning. The sun and the moon are really rendering service to man.
The sun shines the whole day and the moon spreads light the whole night.
How then the sun and the moon can be the objects of worship of man? The
sun and the moon, in truth, follow the commands of others; swim in the
orbit in the path designed by others. The young boy Ibrahim deeply thought over the matter. The Creator of man must be the One Who decides good and bad for man. He must be Omnipotent, All-powerful. Others must obey Him and be His subordinates. The Creator, however, cannot be like the insignificant fragile idol. The Creator is One Who cannot be like the sun and the moon, which rise and set. Prophet Ibrahim, after deep reflection and meditation, attained the absolute knowledge and the ultimate truth. He realized with the core of his heart that the One Who has created the sun, the moon, the stars, other celestial bodies, the clay, the fire, the wind and the earth and the One Who has employed these for the good service of man, is the All-majestic Creator of man. No one has power equal to Him. He is aware of all secrets of His creations. He is the One and He has no partner. The sun and the moon rise and set at His command. He is above everybody and, therefore, man can worship Him alone and none else deserve to be worshipped. Prophet Ibrahim began to worship One Allah. He
submitted himself to the Will of Allah. He surrendered himself to Him.
This surrender to Allah is the way to truth, dignity, peace and happiness.
Man can achieve the ultimate salvation in this way. Man can make his life
decent in this world by following this path. The name of this way of life
or life style is Islam. Prophet Ibrahim invited the people of Babylon to
this path of peace and happiness. The people first considered him a
lunatic but later when they saw him calling them sincerely and
wholeheartedly to worship One Allah in place of worshipping idols of their
forefathers, they started oppression and persecution over him. However,
those who were conscious and honest they responded to the call of Prophet
Ibrahim. In the face of extreme enmity and hostility of the
people of Babylon, Prophet Ibrahim (A), along with his disciples,
adherents, followers and members of his family left his homeland for
Canaan. Canaan was a land bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Here he
preached the religion of monotheism and the message of peace, happiness
and prosperity for a long time. He moved to many townships. On being
ordained by Allah, Prophet Ibrahim took his infant son Ismael and wife
Hager to a place called Makkah, and left them there. In course of time a
settlement grew up there. Since the establishment of this settlement more
settlements were set up here. The trade caravans of the desert started to
pass through this route as a result of which a township developed here
within a short period. This township is today’s Makkah. Prophet Ibrahim
built here a House for the Worship of Allah. This House is Kaaba. It is
narrated that the ancient House of Worship of Prophet Adam was also built
at this place. It is for this reason that the Kaaba is considered to be
the most ancient House of Worship of the world. The descendents of Prophet
Ibrahim (A) later looked after this House as its servants.
The principal lineage of this family is Quraish. It was the Quraish
that looked after the Kaaba as its servants for decades. The Quraish, being the descendents of Prophet Ibrahim and servants of Kaaba, were always highly respected in the Arab society. Precious gifts and endowments used to come to Kaaba from all over Arabia and other countries for which the Quraish did not worry for their living. Many of them were also engaged in trade and business. But with the passage of time they became totally changed. They completely forgot the teachings and ideology of their great ancestor Prophet Ibrahim. They became fully drowned in darkness. The Arab nation in the neighbourhood also along with them plunged into a deep darkness. That was the time of aiam e jahiliya, Dark Age, through which the whole world was passing. The whole Europe had sunk into darkness around 500 A.C when the Romans were defeated in the hands of illiterate and half-educated Titans. The Arabs plunged into unfathomable darkness even
before that. Very little of laws, manners and customs were left with them.
Prophet Ibrahim and his great followers had built a model ideal society.
With the passage of time that cultured society became uncivilized. They
deviated so much that in the Kaaba, where Prophet Ibrahim used to worship
the Omnipotent One Allah, they placed idols of 360 deities and started
worshipping them by ascribing partnership with Allah. Like the people of
Babylon they considered that these deities control their destiny. They
thus plunged deep into superstition and confusion. In history, this phase of the Arabs is being
depicted as the period of aiam e jahiliya. In Arabic aiam
means days or age and jahiliya means ignorance. It means, that age
of the Arabs was a period of ignorance and barbarism. In other words, it
was the era of darkness. They, however, plunged into such a deep ignorance
that they even did not know that they were living in ignorance for the
ignorant never thinks himself or herself to be ignorant and the barbarian
does not consider himself or herself to be barbaric. There was no
conscience or human quality among them.
To harass and oppress the weak, killing for no reason, committing
sins and doing immoral indecent practices became just an ordinary matter
to them. The society got divided into many tribes. If someone of one tribe
killed someone of another tribe, a war would start and continue for years
between the two tribes to take revenge. This would result in unnecessary
bloodshed and loss of many lives. They used to value aristocracy, familial
nobility and high birth more than truth and justice. Alcohol, gambling,
nakedness and adultery became part of their everyday entertainment. To rob
the property of enemy tribe and kidnap their beautiful women were matters
of heroism and pride for them. Nothing of the due process of law and
justice was left with them. They had no relations with civilized and
well-mannered life. In a word, barbarism was their self-identity. They considered false beliefs as religious conviction They considered baby daughter as curse and would bury them alive They considered homicide and looting as heroic acts They remained busy in bloody tribal strife’s They looked upon slavery with
approval Prophet Muhammad was born during those days of
great degeneration and decadence of the Arabs. But who then knew that this
child would one day proclaim the end of Dark Age and usher in the
beginning of a great era in the world history. While in his mother Amena’s womb, this great
child lost his father Abdullah. He was deprived of the affectionate
motherly care and love of Amena, the warmth of her lap when he was only
six. This great infant thus became an orphan in his childhood. Grandfather
of the child, Abdul Muttalib, the headman of the Quraish tribe, therefore,
took upon himself the responsibility of the child. But soon Abdul Muttalib
died. Thus Muhammad lost the protection of a powerful Arab tribal leader
in his boyhood. Allah created this circumstance in his childhood to train
him to struggle against all odds for He decided that in future something
great will be accomplished through him. His uncle Abu Talib of course did
not abandon him; he looked after him, patronized and supported him when
Abdul Muttalib died. The baby Muhammad was sent to the foster mother
Halima’s house according to the Arab tradition. Halima reared him with
motherly care and affection. The sons of Halima used to go to the field to
graze sheep. The child Muhammad often used to go the field with them. He
used to become astonished to see the vastness of the field embracing the
sky. When alone, he used to reflect. He was, by nature, imaginative and
thoughtful. He did not have greed or strong desire for anything. He would
not demand or ask for anything. He did not know what is a lie or
falsehood. He was, by nature, different from other boys of his age. It was
Halima who first observed and identified the wonderful and amazing traits
of his character. She could realize that in future this child would become
a great man. Muhammad came back to his uncle Abu Talib after
staying six years in the house of his foster mother and then became an
apprentice in the business of Abu Talib. Abu Talib at that time often went
to Syria for trade and business with the caravans of camels. Muhammad thus
did not get the opportunity for learning, as he had to start life struggle
at the early days of his life. He, therefore, remained unlettered for the
rest of his life. He was later named nabi al ummi, meaning the
unlettered prophet. In other words, he did not learn from anybody. He was,
however, a wise man although unlettered. He was not a usual wise man but
was unparalleled in wisdom and understanding. Allah opened up before him
the infinite and never-ending store of knowledge of the nature and made
him wise. He went to Syria on a business trip along with his
uncle Abu Talib while he was twelve. He was then a good-looking, handsome
boy. His eyes and face emitted simplicity and divine soothing light. His
face, above all, was adorned with the sweet grace of intellect and wisdom.
His broad forehead was illuminated with unusual divine light. No other boy was so eye-catching and sharp like him. During this business trip Abu Talib met a Christian
priest. The boy Muhammad was present in this meeting. The Christian priest
Bahira gazed at the boy with great surprise. Bahira took a deep, attentive
look, a penetrating glance over the face of the boy. He then enquired with
great curiosity from Abu Talib about the antecedent and conduct of the
boy. He was further taken aback when Abu Talib explained to him in detail
about the background of the boy. With great respect, the priest nodded,
and then, told Abu Talib very gently: “Be careful about the protection
and security of this great boy”. He then soliloquized: I see clearly in
his face all signs of the great man. He is, the greatest, promised future
prophet who will show the right path to the misguided people. Bahira
regretted for his ill luck, as he would not be alive when the truth would
fully come out. From his childhood, Prophet Muhammad was thoughtful
like his ancestor Prophet Ibrahim. Why does his community worship fragile
idol of clay; why do they ask for benefit in a plaintive tone from the
fragile powerless idol; how can the idol be the master of people’s fate,
the controller of their destiny, their luck – good or bad? All these
questions made him extremely distressed. He realized that the Creator of
the worlds, Omnipotent Allah, is the Creator of man. He controls the
destiny. It is He Who alone is to be worshipped by man. Because of this
realization he used to abhor and dislike the worship of idols and other
ghosts and spirits from his childhood. His character was clean and
unblemished from his childhood. No wrong or shameful act ever touched his
life. A peep into his whole life will reveal that the young boy Muhammad
was the miniature of the future greatest perfect man and the last Prophet
Muhammad. It seems that Allah
kept his character stainless and sinless from childhood for He decided to
greatly honour him with the responsibility of prophethood in future.
Truthfulness, fairness, feelings for others were the excellent traits of
his character. He was so truthful that in his boyhood he became popular in
the Makkan society as al amin or the trustworthy. He was so sharp
in intelligence and judgment that when a serious dispute arose among the
clans of Makkah as to who will place Hajr al Aswad, the sacred Black
Stone, in its position, the people without any disagreement accepted his
decision although he was only twelve at that time. Which clan will carry
the sacred Black Stone? That was the point of dispute. Everyone wanted to
carry the stone and earn blessing and reward. The stone was, however, so
small that it was not possible on the part of all to participate in
carrying it to its place He thought over the solution of the problem and
found a wonderful way out. He spread a sheet of cloth and put the stone on
it and then urged the leaders of the opposing clans to hold the hems of
the sheet and carry the stone to the wall of Kaaba. Then he himself put
the stone to its niche. Everybody was happy with this fantastic solution
for every clan could participate in this virtuous work. Everybody was
amazed by the singular judgment of boy Muhammad. He was very faithful and trustworthy from his
childhood. The people of Makkah used to keep their valuable goods in his
custody. Later, those who started opposing him tooth and nail for his
belief and creed still considered him as the best keeper of their goods.
He had many things with him that belonged to those who opposed him and he,
in the face of extreme enmity and danger from the Quraish, returned those
to their owners at the time of leaving Makkah. The innocent and kind Muhammad was pained to see
the degeneration of the society stricken by conflict, rivalry and
wrongdoing for he used to think always for the people and contemplate what
shall bring good to them. He wanted them to forget their rifts and
differences and live in a healthy society free from misdeeds. At that time
an eight year long brutal war was going on between different tribes in
which many people got killed. Burial of the dead and attending the injured
became a big problem. He was sad on seeing the appalling condition of the
people. He used to think how to overcome this awful condition. To mitigate
the sufferings of the people and to render services to the distressed
humanity he established, when he was only seventeen or eighteen years old,
with the support of the prominent persons, a welfare society along with a
group of youths. This society is known as hilful fudul. It
rendered, for a long period, excellent services and accomplished many
admirable works. He married Khadijah at the age of twenty-five.
Khadijah was a rich lady from an aristocratic family.
She, at the time of marriage with Muhammad, was a widow of
forty-year old. She had many decent traits and used to respect people’s
noble and splendid qualities. She was above all a warm, kindhearted and
affectionate lady. She used to help her noble and righteous husband in all
matters and spent all her wealth and resources for spreading the message
and teaching of Islam by her husband. She was the source of inspiration
and strength of Prophet Muhammad during his difficult days. Prophet Muhammad was imaginative from his
childhood. He used to remain busy alone in the meditation of Allah and
noble thinking and after the marriage often used to visit the isolated
cave Hira on the outskirts of Makkah and meditate. He spent a great deal
of time in this cave contemplating the absolute truth and reality. One day
he heard a startling voice while in meditation in the cave. What an
excellent and graceful voice! He heard someone telling him: Peace and
blessings be upon you. O Messenger of Allah, read. He did not see anybody
anywhere. He only listened that magnificent voice with wonder. He heard
that voice but could not understand its meaning and significance. When he
was invited for the second time to read, he said in fear: I do not know
how to read. Then the voice said: Read (or proclaim or recite) in the name
of thy Lord who created. Created man out of leech-like clot. Read, and thy
Lord is the Most Bountiful. He Who taught
(the use of) pen. Taught man that which he knew not
[Al Quran 96 (Sura Iqraa): 1-4]. The first thing that he listened in the cave Hira
was the call towards knowledge. He started his great journey with
knowledge, for it is light that is required foremost to bring an end to
the Dark Age. Allah, therefore, revealed to him first the verses
concerning wisdom. The soul that carried this holy message is angel
Gabriel 3. That excellent and superb voice in the cave Hira was
that of Gabriel. On listening this voice, Prophet Muhammad went home
shivering being scared and explained everything to Khadija. The wise and
farsighted Khadija was able to comprehend that the message Prophet
Muhammad received in the cave Hira is the words of Allah and through this
revelation her great husband has been bestowed with the honour of
prophethood. She consoled him
and said: You have been conferred, from today, the status of prophethood.
Khadija further realized that there is none, other than her great husband,
to show the correct path to the misguided people. She firmly believed in
Prophet Muhammad for: As a man he was dignified As a youth he was unparalleled As a juvenile he was above all As a boy he was gentle without per As a child he was without equal Khadija also firmly believed in the goodness of her
husband who always worked for peace, prosperity and happiness of the
people and never did any harm to anyone. There was none like him who used
to give refuge to people who had no shelter, consoled people who were
scared, helped people who were in distress and looked after the sick.
There was none like him with such pristine character. Neither falsehood
nor evil or deceit ever touched him. He was the excellent embodiment of
the greatest human qualities. He was the example of the perfect noble
character. Khadija, therefore, affirmed full faith in him and took from
him the lesson of truth and goodness. What is this way of goodness? This is Islam whose message had been preached by
Prophet Ibrahim and other prophets. This is the message of monotheism that
invites people towards good of the common people that Arabs and other
nations had forgotten and thus plunged into ignorance. The message was
revealed to Prophet Muhammad, the Greatest Guide of mankind, in the cave
Hira for preaching the great teachings of Absolute Truth to the misguided
people. The revelation is the guidance coming from Allah. It is called wahy
in Arabic. Only the great prophets or the messengers received revelation
or wahy. Prophet Muhammad received revelations through angel
Gabriel for long twenty-three years, from the age forty to sixty-three
years. The revelations describe how man should behave in the face of
various difficulties, in which way lies his well-being and where lies harm
and misfortune. In other words, Allah, through His sacred revelations, has
taught man the lessons of Islam, the message of peace, tranquility,
happiness and security. These revelations have been recorded in the Holy
Quran, the great store book of knowledge and wisdom. Prophet Muhammad preached the core or the central
message of Islam, the monotheism. The Creator of the worlds-the Majestic
and Magnificent Allah is the controller of man’s fate, good and bad. He
is the only Ilah, the only Lord to be worshiped. Muhammad, the
messenger of peace and happiness, is His Prophet. In brief, this is
monotheism. This is what the last Prophet has affirmed. He said: There is
none to be worshipped other than Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet. The essence and sprit of the message of Islam is:
Not to bow before anybody other than Allah. Not to accept anybody other
than Allah as the controller of destiny. Allah is the Greatest Creator. He
is One. He has no partner. Neither
idol nor powerful ruler or any other creatures can be His partners. This
means: There is none between man and Allah. There is no creator other than
Allah. Man is the representative of Allah. As the vicegerent of Allah in
this world all men ought to enjoy equal rights and equal freedom and are
supposed to establish justice, truth, peace and happiness as ordained by
Allah, spread the glory of Allah and worship Him with devotion. Peace and
happiness can be achieved only by submitting to Allah, the source of
supreme welfare. This is the essence of Islam. Islam is an Arabic word. It is derived from the
root word silm. It has two meanings. One meaning is surrender or
submission. In other words, it means surrender to the Will of Majestic and
Magnificent Allah. The other meaning is peace. The two meanings are, in
fact, complementary for real peace can be achieved only through absolute
surrender to the Will of Allah. Absolute peace is established where the
canons and doctrines of Islam are fully pursued in real life and society.
Such a society is identified as a land of peace. In Arabic it is described
as dar al islam, meaning the land of peace. Islam is not a religion in the usual sense of the
term. It is, in fact, a
balanced way of life to establish peace and happiness. The doctrine of Islam is the eternal principle of monotheism or the Oneness of Allah. It has to be established in words and deeds, in individual and social life. Man, as the vicegerent or the representative of Allah, has to dedicate him to establishing equality, freedom and justice. If this principle is established, peace will reign in the world. It is for this reason that the message of Islam is termed as the message of peace. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the greatest guide of Islam, therefore, opened the door of Islam for everybody. In Islam there is no distinction between man and man. Islam has denounced injustice, wickedness, inequality and dominance. In Islam good governance is looked upon with great admiration and respect. The advent of Islam is indeed a great revolution in the human history. |