IN contemporary times, people in general and Muslims in particular need to emulate Mohammad’s (peace be upon him) humane and practical approach to life. He showed that Islam is not a theoretical philosophy. He preached and practised a code of life, its commandments and prohibitions, and rendered good actions and service to mankind in all spheres of human activity.

Within a short span of time, he had successfully ushered in an era of tolerance and liberalism and had revitalized a decadent social order. He was able to mould the character of his fellowmen, reform them and change their thoughts, put new ideals before them and elevate them to the higher plane of a better, harmonious life. Subsequently, the Muslim ummah, not based on relations of blood, race, colour or class, came into being through sheer adherence to permanent divine values.

He never compelled anyone to become a Muslim. Through his exemplary behaviour people were drawn to him. He lived for 40 years among the people before inviting them to Islam. It was quite difficult for them to accept a human being like them as a nabi. He would plainly say that he was but a man like others and that he had no treasures, nor did he claim to know the secrets of the future. The Quran testifies to this: “Say (O Muhammad) I am only a man like yourselves” (18:110).

The Prophet always showed composure and balance while confronting the tribulations of life. The insistent demand of the people that he should work miracles to convince them made him despondent. He changed the attitudes and characters of people through his behaviour. They were astonished to see his reaction towards the citizens of Taif who had been very unkind to him. He did not curse anyone, but prayed “may Allah guide the people of Taif”. Following the defeat at Uhud, the companions asked him to curse the people of Makkah. He said, “I was not sent to curse people. I was sent as an inviter to the truth and as a mercy to the people.”

Edward Gibbon (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) writes, “Even at the zenith of his worldly power the good sense of Mohammad despised the pomp and royalty — he submitted to the menial offices of the family, he kindled the fire, swept the floor, milked the ewes and mended with his own hands his shoes and his woollen garments. He observed the abstemious diet of an Arab and a soldier.”

How many of us claiming to be his followers practise these? His life was very simple. He would put on whatever kind of cloth he could get. He would eat whatever was placed before him. He would sit wherever he could find room, whether on a mat, carpet or the ground. He was a model family man, very loving to the children.

As a role model we must remember that he taught us to obey Allah’s commands, give alms, speak the truth, to give back safe and whole what is entrusted to us by others, to be affectionate to our neighbours, to shun wicked acts and to avoid bloody quarrels.

To the Christians of Najran and the adjoining areas he promised the security of God and his own pledge. “No cross or image shall be destroyed, they shall not be oppressed, they shall not be required to furnish provisions for the troops” were his standing orders.

Contrary to some modern-day notions, he disliked wars and when he migrated to Madina he brought an end to the tribal wars which had been rampant for more than a century. He invited the followers of all faiths and advised them to unite and establish a city-state to forge a common defence and security against all adversaries. Surprisingly, his advice was readily accepted even by the tribes of Aws and Khazraj.

The Meesaq-e-Madina (charter) is the first constitution of the world. Today, as the world’s population is increasing and the number of people adhering to different faiths continues to grow, this document should be widely propagated. It stifles all forms of priestly and clergy rule. Following this ideal, the Islamic commonwealth included within its fold Jews, Sabians, Christians and others as citizens like the Muslims. They were accorded religious, social and political rights through this charter.

Today, when extremism and fanaticism have engulfed all faiths, it must be remembered that Mohammad strictly obeyed the divine command, “Revile not those unto whom they pray besides Allah, lest they wrongfully revile Allah through ignorance” (6:109). But Muslims seem to have forgotten this important aspect of Islam, and as a result, we see many bloody conflicts and the needless loss of life in the name of Islam. Mohammad had taught that the greater holy war is the war inside us against our own weaknesses and failings.

One of his sayings shows his respect for all religions. “When the bier of anyone passes by thee, Muslim or non-Muslim, rise to thy feet”. As a result of his teachings which laid the foundation of human rights and values, Muslim communities all over the world, even as far as China, India, Japan, Africa and the West, show that Islam still has the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If Muslims truly follow his teachings in all aspects of social life, the opposition between eastern and western societies can be replaced by cooperation.

Islam upholds the dignity of labour and Mohammad himself worked along with others in the construction of the first mosque at Quba and in the digging of the trench in the battle of Khandaq. He emancipated slaves and women from bondage. The slaves were placed on an equal footing with their masters and they were elevated to the rank of generals and commanders. Bilal was appointed the first muezzin of Islam and was respectfully addressed as Syedna (chief) Bilal. Women were given the right of divorce and inheritance in the property of their deceased husbands and fathers.

The Prophet was successful in bringing into existence a new type of man — self-respecting, self-reliant, conscious of his worth and desirous of enhancing it with the ambition to set up a better social order in the world. Jeffery Lang in his book Struggling to Surrender writes “To swear that Mohammad is the messenger of God is to accept his life as an example and to affirm that his actions set the standard for mankind’s conduct regardless of time and place. If Muslims are to convince western civilization that Islam provides a better way, then they would have to either soften their commitment to Mohammad’s example or invest their time and effort to argue their case convincingly.”

A model which can serve as a standard for every class of people under different circumstances and states of human emotions will be found in the life of Mohammad. For the rich there is his example as a tradesman; for the poor is his example as an internee of Shu’ayb Abi Talib and the emigre of Madina. For the vassal, there is the man who endured the hardships imposed by the Quraish of Makkah; for the conqueror there is the victor of Badar and Hunayn. In defeat, one can take a lesson from the discomforted at Uhud. As a teacher, one can learn from the holy mentor of the school of Suffah; as a student from the man who sat before Gabriel.

As a preacher, direct your vision to the man delivering sermons at Madina; if you are an orphan, do not forget the child of Aminah and Abdullah left to the tender care of Halimah. As a travelling salesman, cast a glance at the leader of caravans on the way to Basra; as a judge or arbiter, at the Prophet entering the Kaaba before sunrise and installing the Hajr-i-Aswad. If you are married, draw a lesson from the behaviour of the husband of Khadijah and Aisha; if a father, go through the biography of a tender and loving man who rejoiced at the birth of girls.

Whenever anyone came, he moved quickly to give him a seat. He was quick to smile and greet the person, and was never harsh or offensive, and rarely angry. He was generous in praise, averse to conflict or too much comfort. He always rose to the challenge of history.

Abdullah Ibne Ubaiy withdrew one-third of the Muslim army in Uhud, but Mohammad did not seek slaughter or vengeance. He said, “We will have mercy and treat him kindly as long as he remains with us”. Fadallah came with the intention of killing him and felt nervous when Mohammad met him with calm and a smiling face. Mohammad advised him kindly to seek God’s forgiveness and Fadallah lived the rest of his life saying, “I came to kill him and left with no man more beloved and dear to me.”

In short, whoever and whatever you may be, you will find a shining example in the life of Mohmmad. All that Muslims need to know of him is readily accessible. There was never a span of time, howsoever small, that he spent away from the gaze of his companions.

Mohammad laid the greatest emphasis on human rights and tolerance. He made his followers realize the importance of observation and knowledge, and was able to divert man’s attention to the vast and limitless universe and find the clue to God’s greatness. He disclosed a concept of life compatible with nature. Through his lifetime of struggle and exemplary behaviour he emphasized that the Quran was not a collection of dogmas, but a code of life which regulated everything that involved human life. He never preached what he could not practise. His last words were not about property, dominance or kingdom, but the protection of the weak and downtrodden. Today Muslims all over the world are miserably placed. This is because they have failed to live up to the ideals set forth by Mohammad.


THE entire history of mankind in the post-Muhammadan period provides testimony to the Prophet’s impact on humanity. With the emergence of the Prophet (SAWs) on the stage of history, humanity clearly entered a new decisive and final stage of religious consciousness and cultural development.

When the Qur’an proclaimed in unmistakable terms that the institution of Prophethood had reached its final stage with Prophet Muhammad (SAWs), this proclamation was also fully attested by the subsequent course of human history.

No new Prophet or messenger, nor any other Divine scripture succeeded the Prophet (SAWs) or the Qur’an. The Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sirah remain the authentic touchstone of the truth and the reliable source of Divine call to humanity.

The foremost thrust of the Prophet’s teaching that changed the erstwhile religious perspective was to liberate humanity from the animistic notions of the past that involved a deification of the phenomenal world. The primitive religiosity of man largely prevailing in the world before Prophet Muhammad (SAWs), was to invest everything beneficial or harmful in this universe, with a supernatural sanctity or even at times with divinity.

Thus, man humbled himself before sun and moon, stars and galaxies, sky and earth, rivers and oceans, even beasts and animals. This pantheistic notion constructed for man’s servitude and compelled him to bow before millions of gods and deities.

Another less primitive but equally obscurantist view that was held by a number of other creeds was to see this world as an evil satanic scheme which undermines the spirituality of man. These creeds also enfeebled man before the diabolical and devilish influences of this world represented by corporeality and matter and body and flesh and thus took a negative view of man and this phenomenal world.

These creeds and cults projected this world as a prison house in which man is placed by destiny and from which the deliverance should be sought by emancipating oneself from all sanguine, social, marital and material involvement. While one view imposed on man a direct servitude of this material world, the other painted the world in evil and adversarial terms.

The Prophet’s sound and rational teaching dealt a powerful blow to all such obscurantisms and superstitions. He taught in unambiguous terms that man’s habitat and environment have been created for the service of man. He reminded that this world has been created, designed and tailored to suit the survival of man and to serve the needs of human life. Said he in one of his oft-quoted sermons: ‘indeed this immediate world has been created for you, but you have been created for the ultimate world of the hereafter’. For the eternal home of lasting bliss which will be the final abode of mankind is really worth man’s while.

It was precisely this teaching of the Prophet (SAWs) clearly articulated in the Qur’an that gave rise to the crystallization of the empirical methodology of natural sciences. For unless one has the satisfaction of knowing that this world is not essentially man’s enemy, but friendly and compatible to humanity’s well-being and amelioration, natural science is hardly tenable. Science and all its modes and methods of inquiry and investigation seem to proceed clearly from the monotheistic doctrine of Islam taught by the Qur’an and the Prophet. The Qur’an contains profuse statements that fully substantiate this contention.

All these statements of the Qur’an as explained by the Prophet’s teachings are premised on the doctrine that nothing created by Allah is futile and fruitless. But on the contrary, everything that He has created, He has created for a definite purpose. And the noblest of these purposes has been assigned to man under the terms of his august office of ‘vicegerent’. In this way, the Prophet (SAWs) emerges as a great benefactor of humanity.

People might still be persisting in their polytheistic or pantheistic views of religion, but the enterprise of science is definitely a monotheistic enterprise. Sooner or later, humanity is going to reach the stage when it is no longer possible to disbelieve in One Supreme God Who alone is the Creator, Sustainer and Controller of this cosmos.

The logical flow of the overwhelming scientific evidence that is continuously pouring in will also eventually shatter the myth that reason and revelation or theology and science were incompatible. Those shallow interpreters of science in post-medieval Europe who, fascinated by Newtonian physics, Darwinian biology and Freudian psychology, tried to dismiss theo-centric worldview and circulated the view that science had rendered god irrelevant, are now open to serious criticism by scientists themselves. The findings of ecological sciences, inter-alia, have furnished an un-controvertible evidence that the entire cosmos is serving the interest of human kind.

Another conspicuous impact of the Prophet’s dispensation which is a logical corollary of the first doctrine is the elevation of the status of man. In the first place, the emergence of a man of the Prophet’s calibre on the scene of history in itself brought the status of man to great heights unknown to mankind previously. The Prophet repeatedly reiterated the lofty locus of man. He reminded him that his destiny lay in his own hands. He put great premium on the value of human endeavours and achievements. The Prophet rejected all erstwhile claims to pre-natal distinctions of race or colour, or clan or caste. He blotted out from the innocent face of humanity the stigma of original sin.

Moreover, he declared in his last public sermon that all notions of mutual superiority among humans are false, and that man had been created in the best form and invested with unlimited potential for self-development. Thus he was fully eligible to fashion his own destiny. He could make or unmake success or failure by his own conscious deeds and misdeeds. What is more, the Prophet equalized genders. He recognized full value of woman and her natural God-given gifts and talents.

The course of human cultural career subsequent to the Prophet (SAWs) is an ample self-evident commentary on these monumental cataclysmic reforms introduced by the Prophet (SAWs) and fully promulgated in the socio-cultural, moral and spiritual dispensation established by him and by his companions.

These are only some aspects of the many significant changes in thought and behaviour, vision and perspective that the Prophet of Islam effected in the world. Humanity as a whole and not merely the community of his loving followers owe to the Prophet (SAWs) a great debt.

Mercy for the worlds

By S.G Jilanee

EVEN after the passage of nearly fifteen hundred years the personality and character of Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) continues, still, to amaze and fascinate thinkers, historians and intellectuals. And not only Muslims but even those who have little love lost for him — even the Jews, Christians, and others — are impressed and charmed. Countless treatises have been written on the subject but there always remains something more to be said.

If you look for any unusual factor or any spectacular feature such as in the field of miracles, that distinguished him from his “colleagues,” — the other Messengers of Allah, you may be disappointed. For Muhammad was a “plain,” down-to-earth human, and the message he propagated was equally plain and down-to-earth. There was nothing supernatural about either his person or his work.

Yet, this very factor, this want of any superhuman traits, this absence of incredible performances, was what separated him from other Prophets. For example he performed no such miracles as Noah, Abraham, Swaleh, Hud, Loot, et al. He did not sail in an ark over an all-consuming flood. He was not swallowed by any fish. He was not thrown into a pit of flaming fire. He was not asked to sacrifice his son in the way of Allah. He was not a king like David and Solomon. His club did not turn into a snake, nor did the palms of his hand emit any effulgence.

Born like any other human, Muhammad did not speak in his cradle. He did not make birds with clay and breathe life into them. He did not heal lepers and congenitally blind people nor bring the dead to life. Nor were there jinns to do his biddings nor did he communicate with birds. Yet, he was designated as “Mercy for the worlds,” the “Seal of the Prophets,” blessed with “Me’raj,” — the celestial journey by night into Divine presence, and he stood “on an exalted standard of character.”

As a Messenger of Allah, Muhammad was like unto all other Messengers. Men of faith “make no distinction between one and another (2:285).” However, the miracles his predecessors performed were, by their very nature, beyond human comprehension. But they were also transitory, ephemeral, like a flood or a rain of rocks or other calamity. It came and went and became history. On the other hand, what Muhammad performed and achieved was something tangible; concrete; comprehensible. His miracle was reality, enduring, abiding, permanent.

He transformed a wild people into law-abiding citizens, disciplined the undisciplined, civilized the uncivilized, and established a “modern” society with a working system of governance all within a span of about ten years. In response to defiance, denial and persecution he did not invoke Divine retribution upon his tormentors and have them wiped out like the ‘Aad, Thamud and others. This is the most glaring testimony to his being an embodiment of mercy, and one that largely distinguishes him from other Prophets.

Answering those who wanted him to perform miracles, he pointed to the miracles scattered all around them, in the earth and in the sky. As truth can be stranger than fiction so realities can be miracles, calling for open-jawed amazement. Look over the world, says he; is it not wonderful, the work of Allah; wholly “a sign to you,” if your eyes were open! This earth, Allah made it for you; “appointed paths in it;” you can live in it, move about in it.

Great clouds, black, awesome, with their thunder and lightning, — where do they come from! They pour down copious showers on a parched, dead earth, and grass springs, and “tall leafy palm-trees with their date-clusters hanging round, wherein is a sign.” Your cattle too, he points out, Allah made them; serviceable dumb creatures; they change the grass into milk; you have your clothing from them. Ships, like huge moving mountains, with their cloth wings spread out, go bounding over the waves, driven by Heaven’s wind, His wind, under His command. And when Allah has withdrawn the wind, they lie motionless, dead, and cannot stir!

These, indeed, are miracles par excellence! Besides, look at the creation of humans. Is that anyway less than a miracle? Allah made you, he says, “created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh partly formed and partly unformed.” (22:5). Ye were small once; then ye grew. Ye have beauty, strength, thoughts and then old age overtakes you; your strength fades into feebleness; ye sink down, and again are not. And, above all, “Ye have compassion on one another.” Is that not a great miracle in itself, — mutual compassion? What if Allah had made you having no compassion on one another?

As among Allah’s Messengers, so with other people; Muhammad (S.A.W.) was like a common human, yet uncommon; similar, yet different. Totally free from cant, he never pretended to be what he was not. He therefore repeatedly emphasized, “I am a human like unto you.” (basharum mithlukum).

But Muhammad (S.A.W.) was not an ordinary person. The purpose of emphasizing the likeness was to generate empathy with his interlocutors and his audience and to reassure them that he was on the same grid with them. He felt the anguish of pain and the comfort of pleasure, hunger and thirst, joys and sorrows, same as any human. Another reason for repeating this reminder, frequently, was to prevent his followers from lapsing into the same pitfall as the Christians, who, in their zeal called him the son of God. So he pointed out that what distinguished him from ordinary humans was that he received wahi, — the Revelation. “I am like unto ye, (but) on whom Divine Revelation has come that assuredly there is no other deity for you but only One, Allah!”

Events about his birth and childhood are too well-known to require any detailed treatment. The man who was to be ordained as the last Messenger of Allah and who would testify to the credentials of all other Messengers of Allah before him, was yet born an orphan. His mother also died when he was only a child. His grandfather, a hundred year old man, Abdul Muttalib, deeply loved the little orphan boy, the child of his youngest and most beloved son, Abdullah. But Abdul Muttalib also died when Muhammad (S.A.W.) was only two years old, leaving him to the care of his eldest uncle, Abu Talib.

What put him way above other humans was Muhammad’s character. That was his forte — character born of Sincerity and nurtured by truth. His companions, friends and relatives named him Al Amin, “The Faithful, the Trustworthy.” Even at a young age, he was recognized as a man of truth and fidelity; true in what he did, in what he spoke and thought. From an early age he had been remarked as a thoughtful man. He was silent when there was nothing to be said; but pertinent, wise and sincere, when he did speak; always throwing light on the matter. Throughout his life he was regarded as an altogether solid, brotherly, genuine man, a serious and sincere character; amiable, cordial, and companionable.

Why would the Bedouins obey him, recognize him unless he had the mesmerizing power of sincerity, the magic of truth and plain words? They were wild men, bursting ever and anon into quarrel, into all kinds of fierce fights; no one without right worth and manhood could have commanded them. Yet they accepted him as Prophet of Allah, because, there he stood face to face with them; “bare, not enshrined in any mystery; visibly clouting his own cloak, cobbling his own shoes; fighting, counselling, ordering in the midst of them.” They had seen what kind of a man he was, judged him and then bowed before him. “No emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this man in a cloak of his own clouting.”

Muhammad had to deal with the ferocious bloodthirsty Arab heathens, who drove him out of his home. He had to deal with the plots of the scheming Jews. It was a life-and-death war with them. Carlyle takes note of the fact that in such situations “cruel things could not fail,” but asserts that “neither are acts of mercy, of noble natural pity and generosity wanting.” Such acts were each the free dictate of his heart; each called for, there and then, on the spur of the moment, yet each done not as a self-seeker, not for personal aggrandizement or ambition but in the way of Allah.

A tender heart was another facet of his character. His emancipated and beloved slave, the first among slaves to embrace Islam, had fallen in the Battle of Tabuk. He said it was well of the man. He had done his Master’s work and has now gone to his Master. Yet the martyr’s daughter found him weeping over the body, melting in tears! “What do I see?” said she. “You see a friend weeping over his friend,” answered the Prophet.

Muhammad personally led at least nineteen engagements with the heathens. There was booty from those battles. Yet, his household was the most frugal; his common diet barley-bread and water and occasionally some dates: sometimes for months there was not a fire once lighted on his hearth. He would mend his own shoes, patch his own cloak, — a true paradigm of the man who “having nothing yet hath all.”


“NAY, by God, it would never be so! He would never sadden you. You have always been kind to your relatives. You speak truth. You clear the debts of others. You help the poor. You are hospitable. You assist your fellow men. You bear the afflictions of those in distress.”

These words of solace came impulsively, without least hesitation, from the mouth of a lady who had known him inside out, experienced him through thick and thin, for fifteen years as his wife. This was Khadijah comforting her husband, Muhammad (PBUH) when he returned from the cave of Hira, exhausted and terrified, fearing for his life, after the first ever encounter with the arch-angel Gabriel and receiving the first Divine Revelation. She adduced as her witness his past career when though he was not a prophet yet was reputed far and wide as al-Sadiq al-Ameen, the truthful, the trustworthy, the faithful.

“A man of Truth and Fidelity, true in what he did, in what he spoke and thought,” (Carlyle). How could such a noble soul, bearing such lofty morals, be forsaken, left uncared-for, by God! She related what she had observed, experienced, felt and heard. The approach was rational, the argument convincing, the reasoning sound. And what testimony could be more reliable, more dependable than one’s own wife’s. So this was the man Muhammad, prior to when the mantle of prophethood adorned his shoulders. And what after that?

Ali was the nearest and dearest of all his blood relations. He had been with the Prophet since his childhood. It was he who as a lad had stood up out of all the kinsmen, whom the Prophet had called at the mount of Safa in compliance with the Divine commandment “Admonish the nearest of your kinsmen” (Q:26:214), and declared fearlessly, when others had refused to believe in the prophetic call, his belief in his prophethood. He describes the Prophet that he was benevolent, extremely generous, truthful and very kind-hearted. It was a pleasure to be in his company. A man was over-awed by his first contact with him but came to love him after remaining in constant touch with him.

‘Ayesha, his next beloved wife after Khadijah expired, who remained with him for nine years, in his advanced age till death, thus acknowledged his graceful manners and high morals: He did never cast reflection upon anybody. He never spoke ill of any one. He was never revengeful. Instead he forgave those who offended him. He never turned down any seemly request. He was always miles away from unjust behaviour.

Anas bin Malik, who as a boy had been appointed by his mother to attend upon the Prophet just after his arrival in Madinah, and who remained attached to him for ten years, informs us that during this long period the Prophet did never so much as scold him or find fault with him, nor he ever reprimanded him for any lapse which he happened to commit.

These are the impressions of some of the many persons who had the opportunity to have long and most intimate connection with him. But far more eloquent and emphatic is the testimony of Allah Himself, Who, calling to witness all the historical records written and preserved, or to be penned down at any time, by human hand declared: “Verily there is in store for you a great reward unfailing, never-ending, beyond expectations. And you, for certain, stand on the most exalted pedestal of morality,” (Q: 68:4).

At another place his virtuous character is extolled in the following words. “It is by virtue of Allah’s compassion alone that you deal with them gently and leniently. Had you been gruff or harsh-hearted they would have certainly broken away from about you,” (Q3:159).

This was the practical manifestation of the Prophet’s own teachings. He had instructed the faithful, “Do not envy one another. Do not hate one another. Do not turn away from one another. Be you O ! servants of Allah brothers. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He neither lies to him nor does he hold him in contempt. It is evil enough for a man to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. Every thing of a Muslim is inviolable for another Muslim : his blood, his property, and his honour.” And this was how he acted upon his own advice.

The Quran has been revealed to enable the mankind to differentiate between good and bad, right and wrong, virtue and evil, and to guide it to the right path which leads to the eternal bliss, the real success in this life and the hereafter. Prophet Muhammad through whom this Divine message has been communicated is at the same time commissioned with the task of putting it into practice, enacting its instructions, presenting his own self as the paragon par excellence of its teaching.

He preached and practised and rose to the heights of being the role model for humanity at large. “Verily there is in the person of the Messenger of Allah the best of the patterns of conduct for every one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day and who deeply engages in the remembrance of Allah,” (Q:33:21)

The life-blood of religion is the remembrance of Allah. The Quran’s Olul-albab, Men of deep understanding, are those “Who remember Him standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides,” (Q:3:191). The Prophet has also instructed that “Your tongue should always remain wet with the remembrance of Allah.” We are told that there was no moment when he was not engaged in the remembrance of Allah.

The supplications of the Prophet which have been handed down to us, preserved in the Hadith books and also found in several independent works show that on every possible occasion and in all positions he maintained communion with his Lord and that at no time he was lost in forgetfulness. He told the people to be ever vigilant in asking forgiveness from Allah for their sins and shortcomings or substandard performance of their duties. What he himself did was to ask forgiveness from Allah seventy or hundred times in just one sitting.

He said that every Muslim had to offer his prayers five times a day. He himself offered prayers at least eight times a day. The night-prayer, Tahajjud, which was optional for every one else was offered compulsorily by him. While offering night prayers he stood for such a long time that his legs became swollen. When once Ayesha remarked that why did he take so much trouble when Allah had already redeemed him, his modest reply was, “Should I not act as a thankful servant!” He did never miss his congregational prayers. He was so particular about it that even during his last illness which ended in his departure from this world he attended the mosque while reclining on his two companions.

Fasting during the month of Ramazan was made incumbent upon every believer. The Prophet himself fasted during Shabaan and Ramazan. He also fasted on Mondays and Thursdays as well as on the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth of every month. During the month of Shawwal he fasted for six days after Eid-ul-Fitr. He also fasted during the first ten days of Muharram.

It was enjoined on the well-to-do Muslims to spend a fixed portion of their wealth as Zakat, (Q:2:215,254). It was made optional for any one to give in charity as much as he could afford after satisfying his needs, ((Q:2:219). None was required, however, to give away all of that which he possessed. “Make not your hand tied to your neck (be niggardly), nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach so that you become blameworthy and distressed,” (Q:17:29). The Prophet also explained that the best act of charity was that which did not result in destitution. The Prophet’s life was however that of giving preference to other’s needs, sacrifice, generosity, magnanimity and self-denial.

Extremely frugal concerning his own needs he gave away whatever he had to the poor, the destitute, the needy and the have-nots. Though he himself led a life of privation and bare subsistence for others he was magnanimous beyond imagination. According to Ibn Abbas “More generous than all of us was the Apostle of Allah who gave away freely especially during Ramazan. He never said ‘no’ in reply to any request, and never took his food alone. No matter in what small quantity the food was available, he invited all those present to share it with him.

He had asked us to inform him if any Muslim died without clearing his debt, for he always took the responsibility to get it repaid. The legacy of the deceased, evidently, devolved on his heirs.” Abu Dhar, a companion of the Prophet relates that once he said to him, “Were the mountain of Uhud turned into gold for me, I would not like three nights to pass with a single dinar in my possession except whatever I may keep for clearing away somebody’s debt.”

The greatest and the most common weakness of those in power and high position is that they are prone to fall an easy prey to the onslaught of nepotism. They are tempted to oblige their incompetent relatives and undeserving friends by appointing them to responsible posts where they could enjoy power and pelf, or out of public exchequer they squander money upon those who have no right to it. According to the Quran it is a criminal breach of trust, (Q:4:58). It has been condemned by the Prophet.

Once his companion Abu Dhar, about whom the Prophet said that he was the most truthful of all those who walked on earth, requested him to appoint him on an administrative post. The Prophet declined to oblige him saying he was too weak to shoulder the responsibilities of that office.

On another occasion his beloved daughter Fatimah, much distressed by the hardships of continuously drawing water from the well and grinding the hand-mill, requested him to provide her with a maid-servant, he very politely turned down the request saying “No provision has yet been made for the poverty-stricken people of Suffah. Moreover, the orphans of Badr have already made a request before you.”

It is easy to say “Love thy enemy” but very difficult to practise, especially when the enemy is in your grip. The life of the Prophet abounds with examples of showing mercy, compassion and forgiveness when the deadliest and lifelong enemies were on their knees. General amnesty for Abu Sufyan, the lifelong enemy, to his wife Hind who had chewed the liver of his uncle Hamzah, and to his killer Wahshi, to the Makkans after the conquest of Makkah with the words “Go your way, you are the freed ones, forgiveness to Abd Yalail, the stone-hearted chief of Taif who nearly killed him, are only a few examples of his humane and merciful attitude towards his enemies. His entire life-span is an eloquent testimony to the undeniable reality that he practised what he preached.


Today, more than ever, the Muslim world needs to look back at the practical aspects of the Prophet Mohammad's (PBUH) life and try to imbibe them in our daily lives for peace and harmony. This is what Islam is all about. When Muslims accept some person as a Nabi (Messenger), they must as well believe in emulating the example set by the Nabi.

It is understood that anything actually taught by the Nabi was either done or would have been done by him had the occasion arisen. The Quran tells us that all Messengers were charged by Allah with the same mission (2:136). It is also written that all people are a single nation, so Allah raised Messengers as bearers of His news and as warners and He revealed unto them the Book with truth (2:213).

In other words the message that comes from Allah of human guidance is a practicable verity and not a dreamer's ideal. Prophet Mohammad received Divine Revelation and translated it into action through his own example (2:129 & 151). He was the first to obey these laws (39:11-14) and led others to pursue the path of guidance.

Earlier Messengers had come with Allah's message and guidance, but people changed these, corrupted them or simply hid them. The Quran says 'O people of the Book there has come to you Our Messenger revealing to you much that you used to hide in the Book' (5:15).

Pre-Islamic Arabia was a seat of different religions and sects, each decrying the other as is being done nowadays. Prophet Mohammad denounced division and sectarianism and decried the hostile attitude of the followers of these separate religions and sects.

'And the Jews say that the Christians do not follow anything good, and the Christians say that the Jews do not follow anything good while they recite the same book' (2:213). People were more inclined, like today, on rituals which were supposed to be the essence of all religions.

The Quran says, 'It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East or West, but righteousness (Taqwa) is that one should believe in Allah, the day of judgment, the Malaika, the Book and the Messengers and give away wealth out of love for Him to the nearest of kin and to the orphans, the needy and the wayfarer.

The captives pray and pay Zakat and fulfil the performance of their promises and be patient in distress and adversity and in time of conflict. Such are the righteous ones' (2:177).

Prophet Mohammad did not propagate Islam through miracles. He worked what was more than a miracle: striving against odds and achieved success never seen before or since in history, and in the adverse circumstances to which he had been subjected. But to achieve this unique success he did not resort to things beyond human reach, in which case he could not have acted as an exemplary personality.

He used all honest and honourable means that were open to others. He would plainly say that he was a man like others (18:1110) and 'It is not in my power to cause you harm or bring you to the right path' (72:21) and 'The unseen is only known to Allah (10:20) 'with Him are the keys of the unseen, the treasures no one knows but He' (6:59).

One supreme quality that shows he had achieved the zenith of character and morality that must be the final goal of human endeavour, where man reflects Divine values, was his steadfastness.

In victory or in defeat, in power or in adversity, he remained the same. According to Washington-Irving 'His military triumphs awakened no pride or vain glory, as they would have done had they been effected for selfish purposes.

If he aimed at universal dominion, it was the dominion of the faith'. Gibbon writes in the "Rise and fall of the Roman empire" that even at the zenith of his worldly power, the good sense of Mohammad despised the pomp of royalty.

How many of us claiming to be his followers practise what he advised to do? In Madinah he had the opportunity of practising what he had preached at Makkah. He ennobled and enlarged the laws of Moses and brought upon earth the kingdom of heaven prayed for by Jesus.

He established a state with those at helm of affairs not ruling but serving the citizens. There was no prejudice of class, colour, race or descent.

To demolish this long prevailing social injustice, it was emphasized that the noblest in the sight of Allah was he who was most virtuous among men. The state belonged equally to one and all, male and female - and all, in turn, belonged to one universal God, all obeyed one law, not man-made but sent down from the All Merciful and impartial God, which was the same for rich and poor alike.

His life was very simple. He would put on whatever kind or quality of cloth he could get. He would eat whatever was placed before him. He would sit wherever he could find room, whether on a mat, carpet or the ground (Tirmizi 'Shumail').

Unlike the rulers of the modern world, he entered into treaties with his enemies and honoured them. Following the treaty of Hudaybiah in 6 A.H., he discouraged the Muslims of Makkah to flee the city.

The surrender of Makkah offered him ample opportunities of revenge, but he did not avail himself of them. As a role model we must remember that he ordered us to obey Allah's commands, give alms, speak the truth, give back safe and whole what is entrusted to us by others, to be affectionate to our neighbours, to shun wicked acts and avoid bloody quarrels.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica says: "It is easy to make good and far reaching plans, but more difficult to carry them out. Moses, Jesus and many of the prophets before Mohammad did not live to see the success of their respective missions.

The emancipated children of the Egyptian bondage repeatedly disobeyed Moses; Peter and other disciples denied their Master and left him in the moment of his dire need. But Mohammad the humble preacher to the haughty Makkans, who had only the other day been ridiculed, stoned and hunted out of their city of his birth, had within the short span of nine years after his flight from Makkah lifted up his people from the abysmal depth of oral and spiritual degradation to a conception of purity and justice.

"These who had dwelt in a state of permanent warfare among themselves and had revelled in bloodshed and murder on the most trifling pretexts became wedded into a unique brotherhood. Those who cherished no respect for women became the foremost champions of female rights."

The spirit infused by Mohammad enabled the Muslims to face courageously the most formidable foes that a man has to grapple with - one's own corrupt nature and evil habits.

He understood human nature and mind and did not propose to kill our instincts or crush our passions. Instead he propounded a system to control them so that they may function to our best advantage and pass from the bestial to the noble.

Muslims today are more inclined towards an individual and self-conceited Islam for entry into heaven which lies somewhere beyond the sky. Mohammad pointed out the error of such crude notions.

Heaven is the evolved condition of our soul, the casting or not casting of human passion into the mould of divine attributes that makes our Heaven both here and in the hereafter - for the Quran promises two Heavens (55:46) and also its reverse - Hell. He repeatedly said that every person who seeks to observe good morals must tread God's earth reflecting Divine attributes.

Every Muslim should examine, search and assess his deeds and review his conduct several times a day. For this we were ordered to establish the system of 'Salaat' five times a day. This involves the total submission to the laws of Allah in a practical shape.

Mohammad also proposed greetings through "Salaam Alaikum" (Peace be upon you) as As-Salaam is one of the attributes of Allah and means peace. The western equivalent of this is 'Have a nice day' which is oft repeated.

He also quashed a centuries old system of invoking God's mercy through an intermediary. This belief had crept into almost all religions. No religion of Divine origin in its subsequent stages remained free from it.

Islam has no priestly class. Addressing Mohammad (PBUH), Allah says, "And when my servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am near; I answer the prayers of the supplicant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me, that they may find the right way" (2:186).

For the first time, the principle of 'No compulsion in religion' was enunciated and acted upon by Mohammad. Differences of opinion in religious matters were respected and freedom of conscience was allowed. History is full of religious persecutions of the worst type and that is evident even today.

Mohammad preached religious tolerance that had never been known before. To the Christians of Najran and adjoining areas he promised the security of God and his own pledge 'No cross or image shall be destroyed, they will not be oppressed, they shall not be required to furnish provisions for the troops' were his standing orders.

Today a large part of the wealth and brain of the West is expended in discovering ways in which they may utilize destructive weapons to pander to the spirit of aggression.

Mohammad allowed the use of force in three conditions only 1) To protect a house of worship from destruction be it Christian, Jew or Muslim (22:40) (2) In self defence (22:39). (3) To establish freedom of conscience and fight religious persecution.

He was the first leader of a religion that made religion and science help-mates. He abolished dogma and made reason and logic the test of religious truth. He placed the cultivation of knowledge on top.

For him, exploring the realms of nature for the benefit of humanity was the real glorification of God. He gave such an impetus to learning that it brought forth within a century after him a tremendous upheaval in the world of scientific research work.

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"The race is not over because I haven't won yet."

Adil Memon
Police Service of Pakistan (P.S.P)
37th Common Training Program