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sardarzada11 · #15 Thursday, June 22, 2006

had died before he was bom. His mother dies by the time he was six years old. He was doubly-orphaned at this tender age, his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib takes charge of the child, but within three years he also died. As soon as he was able, he began to look after his uncle Abu Talib's sheep and goats for his keep. Contrast this poor, double-orphaned Arab child with some of the great religious personalities that preceded him, and you must marvel at what Destiny had in store for him!
Abraham (pbuh) the spiritual father of Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (May the peace of God be upon them all), was the son of a very successful businessman of his time. Moses (pbuh) was reared in the house of Pharoah. Jesus (pbuh) though described as "a carpenter and the son of a carpenter," was well endowed with learning as well as material means. Peter, Philip, Andrew, etc. all downed tools and followed him to be at his beck and call, not because he had any halo1 on his head; there was no such thing, but because of his affluent attire and princely bearing. He could command mansions in Jerusalem for himself and his disciples even during the height of the festive season; and have sumptuous suppers arranged; and you could hear him reproach the materialistic Jews -
And when they found him (Jesus)
on the other side of the sea, they
said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"
Jesus answered them and said, "most
assuredly, I say to you, you seek me,

1. Halo.- An imaginary luminous ring or disc surrounding the head of saintly men and women in religious paintings.
not because you saw the signs,1 but
because you ate of the loaves and
were filled. John 6:25-26

NOTHING TO OFFER

Muhammad (pbuh) had no bread nor meat to offer, no sugar-plums of any kind, in this world or the next! The only thing he could offer his bedraggled, poor shepherd people was trial and tribulations and the strait-jacketing of their lives here on earth and the good pleasures of God in the Hereafter. The life of the Prophet was an open book before them. He had shown them as to what he was; the nobility of his character, his integrity of purpose, his earnestness and fiery enthusiasm for the truth he had come to preach revealed the hero; and they followed him. Mr. Stanley Lane Poole's estimate of our hero is so beautiful and yet so truthful that I cannot resist the temptation of quoting it here:

HE WAS AN ENTHUSIAST IN THAT NOBLEST SENSE WHEN ENTHUSIASM BECOMES THE SALT OF THE EARTH, THE ONE THING THAT KEEPS MEN FROM ROTTING WHILST THEY LIVE.
ENTHUSIASM IS OFTEN USED DESPITEFULLY, BECAUSE IT IS JOINED TO AN UNWORTHY CAUSE, OR FALLS UPON BARREN GROUND AND BEARS NO FRUIT. SO WAS IT NOT WITH MOHAMMED. HE WAS AN ENTHUSIAST WHEN ENTHUSIASM WAS THE ONE THING NEEDED TO SET THE WORLD AFLAME, AND HIS ENTHUSIASM WAS NOBLE FOR A NOBLE CAUSE.

1. The veracity of the Messiah's message and his mission.

HE WAS ONE OF THOSE HAPPY FEW WHO HAVE ATTAINED THE SUPREME JOY OF MAKING ONE GREAT TRUTH THEIR VERY LIFE-SPRING.
HE WAS THE MESSENGER OF THE ONE GOD, AND NEVER TO HIS LIFE'S END DID HE FORGET WHO HE WAS, OR THE MESSAGE WHICH WAS THE MARROW OF HIS BEING. HE BROUGHT HIS TIDINGS TO HIS PEOPLE WITH A GRAND DIGNITY SPRUNG FROM THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF HIS HIGH OFFICE, TOGETHER WITH A MOST SWEET HUMILITY, WHOSE ROOTS LAY IN THE KNOW-LEDGE OF HIS OWN WEAKNESS."
It may easliy be conceded that Muhammad (pbuh) was blessed with the flimsiest of human resources. In fact the odds were loaded against him. But what about his fortune towards the end of his earthly sojourn? He was the overlord of the whole of Arabia! What about the endless means at
his disposal then? We will allow a Christian missionary to answer that -
HE WAS CAESAR AND POPE IN ONE, BUT HE WAS POPE WITHOUT THE POPE'S PRETENTIONS, AND CAESAR WITHOUT THE LEGIONS OF CAESAR: WITHOUT A STANDING ARMY, WITHOUT A BODYGUARD, WITHOUT A PALACE, WITHOUT A FIXED REVENUE; IF EVER ANY MAN HAD THE RIGHT TO SAY THAT HE RULED BY THE RIGHT DIVINE, IT WAS MOHAMMAD, FOR HE HAD ALL THE POWERS WITHOUT ITS INSTRUMENTS AND WITHOUT ITS SUPPORTS." R. Bosworth Smith -Mohammad and Mohammadanism", London 1874, p. 92

HIS HANDICAPS
His "weakness" was his strength. The very fact that he had no material means of support made him to put his entire trust in God, and God the Merciful did not forsake him. His success was all the more staggering. May not the Muslims justly say, the entire work was the work of God?
And Muhammad (pbuh) his Instrument?

3. OUTSTANDING RESULTS
In the words of Thomas Carlyle - "One man against
all men,"1 to a hundred and twenty four thousand at the Farewell pilgrimage alone. How many
were left behind of men, women and children, believers all?
On the 12th of RABI I., in the 11 th year after the
Hijra,2 approximating to the 8th of June 632 of the Christian Era, whilst praying earnestly in whisper, the spirit of the great Prophet took flight to the "blessed companion-ship on high" (Ibn Hisham).
Hazrat Omar (May Allah be pleased with him), on receiving the sad news of the demise of the Holy Prophet, lost his bearings. He was so shocked that he blurted out "if anyone says that Muhammad is dead, I will chop off his head!" Hazrat Abu Bakr As-Siddiq presently verified that the Master had indeed departed from this world; and coming out from the Prophet's apartment announced to the gathering throng outside, that, "Muhammad (pbuh) had indeed passed away. Those that worshipped Muhammad," he said, "'Let them know that Muhammad is dead, but those who worship Allah, let them know that Allah lives for ever!"

1. Hijra literally means Migration.

Regards,
Sardarzada