Quran, an Everlasting Miracle
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The Holy Quran is the most important miracle of the Prophet of Islam and the best proof of his prophethood. This great miracle is having superiority on all the other miracles from the following aspects:
1. It is permanent and everlasting and it has been given into the charge of man forever and they can witness the miracle of Quran throughout history. As opposed to other miracles, which endure only for a limited period of time.
2. It is also not limited from the aspect of space; it is under the control of one and all in every period of time, so that he may realize that it is a miracle, as opposed to other miracles that can be verified in a particular place and only some people are able to witness them.
3. The Quran, in addition to the fact that it is a proof of prophethood, is also a program of life and a guide to the right path, as opposed to other miracles, which do not have such an excellence.
The Holy Quran is the word of God and a miracle in such a way that others are incapable of presenting such a discourse. Quran introduces itself to be a miracle and by way of challenge says:
قُل لَّئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الْإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى أَن یَأْتُواْ بِمِثْلِ هَذَا الْقُرْءَانِ لَا یَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ کَانَ
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بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِیراً
“Say: If men and jinn should combine together to bring the like of this Quran, they could not bring the like of it, though some of them were aiders of others. ” (17: 88)
أَمْ یَقُولُونَ افْتَرَیهُ قُلْ فَأْتُواْ بِعَشْرِ سُوَرٍ مِّثْلِهِ مُفْتَرَیَتٍ وَادْعُواْ مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِن کُنْتُمْ صَدِقینَ / فَإِلَّمْ یَسْتَجِیبُواْ لَکُمْ فَاعْلَمُو اْ أَنَّمَآ أُنزِلَ بِعِلْمِ اللَّهِ وَأَن لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَهَلْ أَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ
“Or, do they say: He has forged it. Say: Then bring ten forged chapters like it and call upon whom you can besides Allah, if you are truthful. But if they do not answer you, then know that it is revealed by Allah’s knowledge and that there is no god but He; will you then submit? ” (11: 13-14)
وَإِنْ کُنْتُمْ فِى رَیْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُواْ بِسُورَةٍ مِّنْ مِّثْلِهِ وَادْعُواْ شُهَدَآءَکُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ کُنْتُمْ صَدِقِینَ / فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُواْ وَلَن تَفْعَلُواْ فَاتَّقُواْ النَّارَ الَّتِى وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَ الْحِجَارَةُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْکَفِرینَ
“And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a chapter like it and call on your witnesses besides Allah if you are truthful. But if you do (it) not and never shall you do (it) , then be on your guard against the fire of which men and stones are the fuel; it is prepared for the unbelievers. ” (2: 23-24)
In the above verses, Quran has been introduced as the miracle and proof of the veracity of the claim of Prophet Muhammad (S) and it
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has openly demanded from the people that if they have any doubt in the miracle of the Quran or the messengership of The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) , they should bring a like of it or ten chapters or at least one chapter.
If those who are inimical to Islam had the capacity to perform this feat, they would have definitely taken up the challenge or at least brought one chapter like that of Quran and presented it to the Holy Prophet (S) and Muslims in order to render the prophethood of His Eminence doubtful. This was the best method of confronting and defeating Islam.
Therefore, if they had been able to perform this feat, they would have prevented the spread of the influence of Islam and succeeded in dispersing the new converts from the company of The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) and this also did not carry the bloodshed and difficulties of fighting battles.
But it is not mentioned anywhere in history that they took up this challenge of Quran and succeeded in it.
In any case, the challenge of the Quran is not restricted to the people contemporary to the period of the Messenger of Allah (S) , it is general and addressed to all the people of every age and place; it has asked all the intellectuals and litterateurs that if they have doubt in the messengership of The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) they should bring a like of this Quran or a chapter like it. But as the Quran predicted, they
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have till date not been able to perform this feat. Enemies of Islam have also written books in refutation of Quran and tried to insult it, but so far no one has succeeded in writing a book like it.
In the words of Almighty Allah, there is a beautiful fluency and attraction in it, which is not present in other books. It is from this aspect that it has severely influenced the pure and enlightened consciences. A large number of people in the early period of Islam were attracted by hearing the verses of Quran and they accepted Islam because of this. Numerous examples of such persons are mentioned in the history of Islam. Such was the extent of the attraction of Quran that it even confounded and attracted the enemies of Islam and even they had to confess that it is extraordinary. Below we present some instances of this:
Abul Fida writes: Walid Ibn Mughira came to the Messenger of Allah (S) and the Prophet recited the Quran before him in such a way that he became inclined to Islam. This information reached Abu Jahl and he came to him and said: Uncle, your relatives intend to collect money for you. What for, he asked. He replied: So that they may hand it over to you, because you had gone to Muhammad to get something. Walid said: Quraish know that I am the richest of all of them.
Abu Jahl said: So issue a statement that may reach your relatives and
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they may come to know that you are a denier of Muhammad. Walid said: What shall I say? By God, none of you is more learned than me about poetry and Arab human and Jinn literature. By God, the Quran of Muhammad does not resemble any of these. By God, the discourse of Muhammad has sweetness, beauty and attraction; branches of the discourse of Muhammad have fructified and his roots are being watered. His discourse is having precedence over other discourses and no discourse is superior to his.
Abu Jahl said to Walid: Your kin will not be pleased with you unless you make a statement with regard to this matter. He said: Give me some time to consider it. After thinking about it for some time, he said: The discourse of Muhammad is magical as it has the ability to bewitch others. [1]
Jabir Ibn Abdullah says: One day Quraish gathered and said: We should procure a man, who is most learned of all in magic, soothsaying and poetry and send to this man who has created dissension among us and who talks ill of our religion, so that he may speak to him. All said: We do not know of anyone better than Utbah Ibn Rabia. Therefore this assignment was given to Utbah.
Utbah came to the Messenger of Allah (S) and asked: Who is better, you or your father? The Messenger of Allah (S) did not give any reply. He asked again: Who is better, you or Abdul Muttalib? Again the
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Messenger of Allah (S) did not accord any reply. Utbah said: If you think they were better than you, they worshipped the same idols that you talk ill of; and if you consider yourself to be better than them, say something that we might hear. By Allah, I have not seen any lamb more inauspicious than you, you have created disunity among us and criticized our religion and degraded us among the Arabs in such a way that they say: A magician has appeared among Quraish and we fear him that he would cause war among us and destroy all of us.
O man, if you want wealth, we can collect so much wealth for you that you would become the richest of Quraish and if you are need of a spouse, we can get you married to any lady you want.
At this moment the Holy Prophet (S) asked Utbah: Have you said all you wanted to say? Yes. He said: Then listen:
بسم الله الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ
تَنزِیلٌ مِّنَ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِیمِ / کِتَابٌ فُصِّلَتْ آیَاتُهُ قُرْآناً عَرَبِیّاً لِّقَوْمٍ یَعْلَمُونَ
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. 41. 1. Ha Mim! A revelation from the Beneficent, the Merciful God: A Book of which the verses are made plain, an Arabic Quran for a people who know. ” (41: 2-3)
…till he came to the verse:
فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُواْ فَقُلْ أَنذَرْتُکُمْ صَاعِقَةً مِّثْلَ صَاعِقَةِ عَادٍ وَثَمُودَ
“But if they turn aside, then say: I have warned you of a scourge like the scourge of Ad and Thamood. ” (41: 13)
Utbah said: Enough, do
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you have anything else? No, he replied.
After this Utbah returned to Quraish and they asked him: What did you do? He replied: I spoke to Muhammad. They asked: What did he say in reply? Utbah said: By the one who established the Kaaba, I did not understand anything from the discourse of Muhammad, except that he threatened you with lightning as in the case of Aad and Thamud. They asked: An Arab spoke to you and you did not understand him? He replied: Yes, I did not understand anything, except the mention of lightning. [1]
According to another narration, Utbah said: I have heard such a discourse from this man that I have not heard anything like it from anyone else. [2]
According to yet another version, Utbah said: By Allah, I have not heard such a discourse from anyone else so far, neither in poetry nor soothsaying; O people of Quraish, leave this man to his own devices, his discourse is having a great future. If Arabs accept it, it will be sufficient for you and if he is able to conquer the Arabs, his kingdom and honor would be your kingdom and honor and you would benefit from him most of all. Quraish said in reply: Muhammad has bewitched you through his tongue. [3]
Aspects of the miracle of Quran
Previously it was mentioned that Quran is a miracle and it is different from human discourse. Friends and enemies have also confessed to this. At this point, it is necessary to explain the causes of its miraculousness. Scholar, theologians, litterateurs
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and commentators of Quran have mentioned some aspects in this regard and we shall mention some of them here:
A New Style
It is learnt from a close study of Quran that this great book is having a fresh lightness and it is completely different from the style and diction of other writings. Verses of Quran are not poetic couplets, because it is not composed on poetic meters and also does not have rhymes. Moreover, poetry is mostly imaginative and based on hyperbole, whereas the verses of Quran are not so.
Although Quran is not a book of poetry, each of its verses are like coherent couplets along with a special flow and style arranged in a systematic way and between the end of every chapter there is a particular symmetry and similarity which imparts appeal and beauty to it. The verses do not have the meter of couplets, but they have remarkable compatibility and appeal.
Quran is arranged as a soft prose, but it is different from other prose in two ways:
A. It is at an elevated level from the aspect of eloquence and clarity, selection of words and sentences. It has mentioned the most complex points in an extremely easy and suitable words, which though simple and sweet are also meaningful, whereas such a thing is not found in other discourses. So much so that even the sermons, traditions and supplications of the Holy Prophet (S) do not have such appeal. Although Amirul Momineen (a. s. ) , was considered to be the most eloquent of the
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Arabs and he became familiar with Quran during his childhood; he knew it by heart and had written it with his hands, and his Nahjul Balagha is considered as the most eloquent of the books; in spite of that it does not have the same appeal and beauty of the Holy Quran. Verses of Quran that occasionally appear within the sermons of Nahjul Balagha or traditions shine like stars in the sky.
B. Matters of the Holy Quran have a special style and arrangement, which is a remarkable difference with other books. In this heavenly book, there are different subjects like knowing God, resurrection, Judgment Day, accounting, Paradise and Hell, prophethood and stories, effects of good and bad character, creation of the earth, sky, man, animals, vegetation, sea, cloud, winds, rain and rules and regulations, lawful and unlawful actions, worship acts, transactions, marriage and divorce, penalties, retaliations and blood monies, advices and moral lessons and many such topics.
Such topics and their like are spread throughout the Quran under various topics. But it is not thus in other books, since every book deals only with one particular topic and different topics related to the main subject are discussed. Sometimes, some other topics are also discussed, but some topics are also discussed separately. Such a book is in fact a number of books each of which follows a single aim.
But Quran has not discussed only one subject; on the contrary, it has not even discussed all the problems related to a number of
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different subjects at one and the same place together. It has mentioned different aspects in a scattered way; they are placed besides each other, but they are not incoherent and asymmetrical; on the contrary they have a special symmetry that keeps them connected to each other and which shapes the verses and chapters. Different subjects of Quran are like different priceless gems arranged in a special manner.
That is why the Holy Quran in the arrangement of its subject matter does not resemble any of the books of morals, legal, anecdotal, scientific knowledge, humanities, literature and history; but each of them is connected to others and they are all harmonious. The aim of Quran includes: The cognition of man, world, Almighty Allah, resurrection and life after death and also calling man to worship the one God and inviting him to fulfill the social and individual duties and purification and training of the self from bad manners and morals, development of the self by perfection of morals and finally, proximity to God and wayfaring on the path of God.
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[1]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 3, Pg. 78.
[1]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 3, Pg. 80.
[2]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 3, Pg. 82.
[3]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 3, Pg. 82.
Decisiveness in Discourse
Subject matter of the Quran is mentioned with clarity and decisiveness in such a way that it has permeated into the depths of the soul of man and the hearer feels that the speaker is witnessing reality and is giving information from the unseen. It is from this aspect that the prophecies of the Quran inspire hope and its threats are severely pounding.
Contemplation on the verses of Quran polishes the soul of man and
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raises him above the world of matter and makes him familiar with the unseen world. Therefore, it is possible for the soul of man to witness realities in these emotions, which their eyes cannot see. Appeal of the verses of Quran is to such an extent that opponents of Islam labeled them as magic.
Sometimes, by hearing them, they were so bewildered that automatically they did not understand how to justify them. It was mentioned before also that Utbah was so bewildered on hearing the verses of Surah Fussilat that he expressed helplessness in justifying and explaining the verses and in reply to Quraish said: “I did not understand anything, except that he threatened with a lightning like the lightning of Aad and Thamud. ”
Fearing this same ideal appeal, the leaders of polytheism said to people: Do not give ear to the words of Muhammad, because it is possible that you would be deceived.
Ibn Athir writes: Tufayl Ibn Amr Doosi, who was a man from a noble family and also an accomplished poet, says: I traveled to Mecca during the period the Messenger of Allah (S) and stayed there for some time. Some Quraish elders approached me and said: O Tufayl, you have come to our city at a time when this man (The Holy Prophet Muhammad) is living here.
He has cast us into hardships and has created discord among us. His discourse, like magic and sorcery, causes separation between father and son, wife and husband and brothers. Therefore, we
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fear that you might also be deceived. So do not speak a word to Muhammad and do not give ear to his talks.
Tufayl says: So much they emphasized this point that I became determined that I would not hear the words of Muhammad or speak to him, and I also stuffed cotton wool into my ears.
In the morning I went to the Holy Mosque and saw the Messenger of Allah (S) reciting prayers near the Kaaba. I went nearer; Allah had intended that his discourse would reach my ears. A beautiful discourse reached my ears. I said to myself: May your mother mourn for you, you are a poet and an intellectual and know well how to discriminate between good and bad. Thus what restrains you from hearing the statements of this man? If it is good and proper you should accept it and if it is evil and invalid, you can leave it.
Tufayl says: I waited a little while till Muhammad departed to his house, and then I followed him, when he entered the house, I also entered. At that moment I said: O Muhammad, leaders of Quraish told me this and that, but Allah intended that your discourse should reach my ears. I heard your beautiful discourse, tell me what is your aim and objective? So Muhammad presented Islam to me and recited the Quran. By Allah, I had not heard any discourse more beautiful and a matter more definite. [1]
Therefore, if you also had been conversant with Arab
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literature and interpretation of Quran, contemplated on the fresh style of its arrangement of verses and selection of words and the lofty subjects that Quran has chosen to express in those words and the construction of sentences, you will also discover some amazing aspects of the elegance of this heavenly book.
No Contradiction Between The Verses
Another sign of the miraculousness of Quran is that there is no contradiction between its verses. Quran itself has highlighted this point and said:
أَفَلَا یَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْءَانَ وَلَوْ کَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَیْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدَواْ فِیهِ اخْتِلَفاً کَثِیراً
“Do they not then meditate on the Quran? And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it many a discrepancy. ” (4: 82)
The above verse has reprimanded and said: Why do you not contemplate on the Quran so that you may understand that its verses have no contradiction and that they are revealed from Almighty Allah, because the discourse of man is not without contradiction.
Two kinds of contradictions are seen in books written by human beings and none of them is present in Quran.
First: Contradictions related to subtlety, choice of words, style and diction, observance of literary aspects, eloquence and clarity.
Since man is under constant change and perfection, as much as he writes and practices, as much expert he becomes and as much his writing improves and becomes more eloquent and beautiful. In the same way, different personal conditions, mood, different incidents and conditions of life, all of them affect the writing of a writer. Man in a condition of health
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or illness, joy or indisposition, happiness or sorrow, feeling of victory or defeat, exaltation or feeling of humiliation, cannot write in the same way and each of them affect his writing and beauty of discourse.
That is why if you study a book with attention you would realize that its different sections are not same from the aspect of beauty and elegance and the only book, which does not have such differences is the Holy Quran; neither the chapters revealed first have any difference with the last chapters nor the middle chapters and its verses.
The Holy Quran was revealed on the Prophet of Islam throughout a period of twenty-three years, gradually in different space and time and in different conditions, but in spite of this, no difference is seen in its different sections from the aspect of eloquence and clarity or elegance of discourse; this proves that Quran is the discourse of God, which is not susceptible to change and development in His being or actions.
Second: Existence of incongruous and contradictory matter is certain in the writing of human beings. If an unlettered author dictates for 23 years matter on various subjects and different topics, such a book would without any doubt not be free of contractions.
It is possible for a writer to write something at one time and later as a result of having changed his opinion about something may write to the contrary; or it is possible that he might do this because of forgetfulness or carelessness. Moreover it
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is possible that another writer coming after him may refute his arguments and through innovative arguments criticize him. In many instances it is seen that preceding writers have written on different subjects using their evidences and argumentations, but after a passage of time other writers have refuted those theories through new methods.
History testifies that The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) did not attend any school. [1] In the Holy Quran also he is mentioned as the unlettered prophet. [2] All the verses and chapters of Quran were revealed to His Eminence (S) in twenty-three years in various instances and in fragments.
His Eminence did not write down the verses of Quran himself, on the contrary he dictated them to others. He did not revise any of his previous statements in any way. In spite of this, not the slightest contradiction or incompatibility is seen in the verses of Quran.
Instances cannot arise in rules and regulations related to society, rights and worship acts of Quran, which are not compatible to the religious and moral basis of that heavenly book. Nothing appears in problems related to morals, which is contradictory to the religious basis. In the stories of Quran and the biographies of the prophets and the past nations nothing is seen that is opposed to the fundamentals of belief or morals.
As regards problems connected to nature, nothing is seen which is opposed to the basics of thoughts. In points related to resurrection and rewards and punishment of the hereafter there is nothing incompatible
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to justice and perfection of Almighty Allah. With regard to points about general and special prophethood nothing is mentioned which is opposed to the principles of divine cognition.
Hence, although Quran has spoken about a number of different subjects, all of them are organized and compatible and do not have the smallest incompatibility between themselves. Therefore they cannot be a product of human beings. On the contrary, it is the discourse of God revealed on the heart of the Prophet of Islam and no one else can bring such a piece of writing.
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[1]: Usud al-Ghaba, Vol. 3, Pg. 54.
[1]: “And you did not recite before it any book, nor did you transcribe one with your right hand, for then could those who say untrue things have doubted. ” (29: 48)
[2]: “Those who follow the Apostle-Prophet, the unlettered, whom they find written down with them in the Taurat and the Injeel (who) enjoins them good and forbids them evil, and makes lawful to them the good things and makes unlawful to them impure things, and removes from them their burden and the shackles which were upon them; so (as for) those who believe in him and honor him and help him, and follow the light which has been sent down with him, these it is that are the successful. ” (7: 157)
Information of the Unseen
The Holy Quran has informed about some events that were to occur in the future and this itself is considered to be a miraculous aspect, because it is not possible for ordinary human beings to get this knowledge. Below we shall mention some predictions issued by the Holy Quran:
The Holy Quran says:
الم / غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ / فِى أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَیَغْلِبُونَ / فِى بِضْعِ سِنِینَ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ مِن قَبْلُ وَمِن بَعْدُ وَیَوْمَئِذٍ یَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ / بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ یَنصُرُ مَن یَشَآءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِیزُ الرَّحِیمُ / وَعْدَ اللَّهِ لَا یُخْلِفُ اللَّهُ وَعْدَهُ وَلَکِنَّ أَکْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَایَعْلَمُونَ
“Alif Lam Mim. The Romans are vanquished, in a near land, and they, after being vanquished, shall overcome, within a few years. Allah’s is the command before and after; and on that day the believers shall rejoice, with the help of Allah; He helps whom He pleases; and He is the Mighty, the Merciful; (This is) Allah’s promise! Allah will not fail His
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promise, but most people do not know. (30: 1-6)
From this verse, it can be concluded that in the early period of Islam, defeat and hardships would befall the soldiers of Rome. This event occurred near the land of Hijaz and the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula, especially the new converts to Islam, became very much disconcerted at the defeat of the Romans. The above verse was revealed at that time informing the Muslims that after this defeat, in a short period of less than ten years, the Romans would overcome their enemies and believers would become pleased with the help of God.
The prediction of Quran proved true and within that stipulated time the Romans, who were the People of Book conquered Persia; believers were also pleased by this victory.
It is necessary to mention about the political and administrative conditions of the two great powers of that time (Rome and Iran) and the clashes that they had with each other in order to fully understand this important event of history:
Before the advent of Islam, two great imperial powers ruled in Asia and the neighborhood of Arabian lands: One was Iran, which had a huge land mass under its control, which was much larger than present Iran. Another power was that of the Romans, whose kingdom stretched up to Egypt and Syria.
These two powers were always engaged in a struggle of expansion of their boundaries and power and were all the time in confrontation with each other. Sometimes one of them considered his
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opponent as weak and attacked him and seized some of his territory and wealth and plundered those places. After some time the defeated party would regain its power and then take up arms against the other and re-conquer the areas that had been seized from it before. This conflict continued forever between these two opponents.
Arabs of the surrounding areas were also not safe as a result of the confrontation of the two adversaries. The capital of the rulers from the family of Lakham in the city of Hira (near Kufa) who were under overlordship of the Sasanid rulers, who had ruled for many years. Their reign continued till around 602 A. D. At that time Khosrow Parvez decided to annex their kingdom and join it to his dominion. [1]
When a Sasanid king became aware that the Himyar king intends to secede from the Sasanid domination, he sent a huge army in 598 A. D. to southern Arabia, which was able to vanquish them after a severe fight and south Arabia became a province of the Sasanid kingdom. [2] On the other hand, the Roman kingdoms also gave business to south Arabia and helped that country in opposing their adversaries, because many Christians had settled down in those territories.
That is why the people of the Arabian Peninsula were affected by the victory or defeat of each of these two opponents. When the Sasanids gained victory, the Christians of Arabia became despondent and the polytheists were elated, since they considered the Iranians to be their
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co-religionists as both of them were fire worshippers, so they considered their victory as their own victory.
On the other hand, when the Romans were victorious, the Christians of Arabia became elated, but the polytheists were aggrieved as they sensed danger. Now we shall explain the main points:
The Prophet of Islam (S) was vested with the office of prophethood in 610 A. D. in Mecca. From 602 to 610 A. D. it was a very bad period for the Roman power, because as result of civil disturbance and internal strife, it had become absolutely weak. During this time Khosrow Parvez, the Sasanid king discovered the weakness of the Roman Empire; so he took advantage of the circumstances and launched fierce attack on his opponent. These attacks began from 610 and continued till 619 A. D. The strong Sasanid fighters gained remarkable victories one after another.
From 605 to 613 A. D. cities like: Dara, Aaamad, Adsaa, Nasirapolis, Aleppo, Apaya and Damascus fell under the domination of the Sasanids.
Khosrow Parvez became arrogant as a result of his remarkable victories and he declared a holy war against the Christians. Some Jew groups also joined ranks with him. In the year 614 he attacked Jerusalem and killed around 90000 Christians and plundered the city. He razed and burnt down a number of churches. During these attacks they seized and brought to Iran the crucifix that was considered by the Christians to be the original and was the most venerated emblem of their faith. Parvez wrote to Hercules the Roman
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Emperor:
From Khosrow Parvez, the greatest Lord and master of the rulers of the earth to Hercules, a worthless servant who is ignorant of himself, you say that you trust in God, but why did He did not save Jerusalem from my hands?
In the year 616, Khosrow sent a huge army to Alexandria and in 619 he conquered Egypt. His sent another army to Asia Minor and occupied Chaldea in 617. [1]
Rapid and wide ranging Sasanid victories were really remarkable from different aspects. Some information of these victories reached the people of Arabia who lived in the surrounding lands. The reaction of Arabs to these reports used to be of two kinds: Polytheists used to be elated at them, because they considered their victory as victory against forces of monotheism. But Christians were aggrieved and they feared their safety and peace.
Muslims of the early period of Islam who were very few in numbers, and were usually persecuted and oppressed by polytheists, used to be extremely wary of the rapid and remarkable victories of the Sasanids. Moreover, they also feared that Arabia would also come under their subjugation. Because the enemy has reached up to ‘Azrat’ which is mentioned in Quran as ‘Adnal arz’ and they were extremely fearful of the oncoming danger.
The above verse was revealed with regard to these circumstances and it gave glad tidings to Muslims that in a period of less than ten years, the soldiers of Rome would vanquish the Persians and the believers would become elated
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at the divine help.
Ibn Athir writes: ‘Adnal Arz’ implies the land of Azrat since it is an Arab land closest to Byzantine territories and the Romans in some battles had retreated to this area. The Prophet of Islam and Muslims were aggrieved at the victory of Persians over the Romans, since the Romans were People of the Book and the infidels were pleased at these victories and considered the Majus like their own selves. When this verse was revealed, Abu Bakr laid a bet for a hundred camels with Ubayy ibn Khalaf, although at that time betting was not unlawful. [1]
Muslims became hopeful of the divine promise and began to count the days for its realization. At last the promise of God was fulfilled and the Romans gained victory over the Persians.
It is mentioned in history that the Roman Emperor, Hercules I was extremely aggrieved at the defeat at the hands of Persians and decided to strengthen his weak points and take serious steps to regain the territories lost to their opponents. With this aim, he took reformative steps and corrections and prepared his men to launch a severe and widespread attack.
In 622 A. D. he sent a powerful naval force through the Black Sea in Armenis to attack the Persians from the rear. The next year he attacked Azerbaijan and plundered the birth place of Zoroaster and extinguished their holy fire, which had been burning since ages. They recovered the holy crucifix from the Persians and returned it to Jerusalem. [2]
Although
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Romans were defeated at Azraat (Adnal Arz) in 613 A. D. , they continued repeated and formidable attacks on Persians till year 622 A. D. when they were finally victorious. That is they gained victory in nine years after their defeat as mentioned in the Holy Quran as “Within a few years”. That is why the prediction of Quran when it said: second victory of Romans would occur in a period of less than ten years after their defeat, proved true. At that time, Christians and Muslims were elated at the new victory of Romans over the Persians.
Realization of this divine promise is an evidence of the miraculous aspect of Quran. [1]
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[1]: Tarikh Iran Az Salukian taa Furupashi daulat Sasani, Vol. 3, Pg. 263.
[2]: Tarikh Iran Az Salukian taa Furupashi daulat Sasani, Vol. 3, Pg. 256.
[1]: Will Durant, History of Civilization, Part I, Vol. 4, Pg. 181; Tarikh Iran Az Salukian taa Furupashi daulat Sasani, Vol. 3, Pg. 264-265.
[1]: Al-Kamil fit Tarikh, Vol. 1, Pg. 479.
[2]: Tarikh Iran Az Salukian taa Furupashi daulat Sasani, Vol. 3, Pg. 266; Will Durant, History of Civilization, Part I, Vol. 4, Pg. 182.
[1]: Historians of Islam like Tabari, Ibne Athir, Abul Fida and others, and in the same way commentators of Quran are having unanimity that the promise of the Holy Quran was finally fulfilled and the Romans after their defeat were able to overpower the Persians and the gap between this defeat and victory was less than ten years, but regretfully the accurate time of defeat and victory is not recorded in history.
In Islamic sources, it is mentioned that the victory of Romans occurred during the time of the Battle of Badr (2 A. H. ) or at the time of Battle of Hudaibiyah (6 A. H. ) , but both these times do not tally with the prophecy of Quran because their defeat in 613 A. D. corresponds to the third year of Hijra which is 13 and 16 years respectively from Battle of Badr and Battle of Hudaibiyah. While the prophecy of Quran is that the victory of the Romans would be in less than ten years. Hence, none of these two dates tally with the prophecy of Quran, but what is mentioned in the books of the history of Iran is absolutely accurate. And hence we should accept that the victory of Romans occurred around the year 13 A. H.
Muhammad, the Last Prophet
point
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) is the last of the divine prophets. After His Eminence, no other prophet is going to be sent by God. The Prophet of Islam, from the beginning of his mission, introduced himself as the seal of the prophets and was accepted by the Muslims as such. The subject of finality of prophethood in the Islamic milieu is considered to be an important matter and it is not in need of evidence.
Finality is mentioned in the Holy Quran as well as books of traditions. It is mentioned in Quran that:
مَا کَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِکُمْ وَلَکِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِیِّینَ وَکَانَ اللَّهُ بِکُلِ ّ شَىْ ءٍ عَلِیماً
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Apostle of Allah and the Last of the prophets; and Allah is cognizant of all things. ” (33: 40)
If the
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Arabic word of KH-T-M is recited with vowel ‘I’ on ‘T”, as some reciters have done this, it would imply one who ends something; thus it clearly shows that The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) is the last of the prophets. But if it is recited with the vowel ‘A’ on ‘T’ it denotes a thing with which something ends. Ring and seal are also called as such, because they are placed at the end of a letter and indicate the end of it. According to the second possibility also, it is concluded from the verse that the Holy Prophet (S) is the last prophet, because he is introduced as a seal, which has come at the end of the letter of prophethood.
Therefore, no other prophet is to appear after him. Thus the finality of the Prophet of Islam is nicely concluded from the above verse as the Muslims of the early period of Islam also understood it in this meaning and did not have any doubt in the finality of the prophethood of His Eminence.
Other verses also exist in this regard, but there is no need to mention them here.
A large number of traditions also exist with regard to finality of prophethood and some of them are mentioned below:
Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas has narrated from his father that the Messenger of Allah (S) said to Imam Ali (a. s. ):
You are to me as Harun was to Musa (a. s. ) , except that there is no prophet after me. [1]
The above tradition is known as
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“the tradition of position” (Hadith Manzila) and is recorded in Shia and Sunni books through various channels and it proves that no other prophet is to come after the Prophet of Islam.
It is narrated from Abu Huraira that he said:
The Messenger of Allah (S) said: I have been sent for all the people of the world and prophethood has ended with me. [1] Abu Amama has narrated from the Holy Prophet (S) that he said:
O people, no prophet is to come after me and there is no nation (Ummah) after you. So worship Allah, perform the five daily ritual prayers, observe the fasts of the month of Ramadan, perform the Hajj of Kaaba and pay the Zakat of your wealth, so that your selves are purified. Also obey the ones who are vested with authority among you so that you may enter Paradise. [2]
Amirul Momineen (a. s. ) said:
Almighty Allah sent the Holy Prophet (S) at a time when no prophet existed on the earth and there was a time gap between them and discord had developed among the people. Thus by sending him, He ended prophethood and revelation came to an end. [3]
It is concluded from his tradition and others like it that The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) is the seal of prophets and that after him no other prophet came and nor any prophet is going to come. It was also stated previously that the Prophet of Islam, at the beginning of his mission, introduced himself as the seal of prophets and all
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those who accepted his prophethood they also accepted the finality of his prophethood. Therefore no separate evidence is required to prove the finality of the Prophet of Islam.
Question: What is the reason of the finality of prophethood? If people are in need of a prophet and heavenly commands, this need existed at all times and still exists. And if after the advent of Prophet of Islam this need does not exist anymore, with regard to the past prophets also the same possibility was there. Why one of them were not considered as the seal of the prophets?
Reply: Some points are mentioned below:
1. Religion is a reality and a way and all heavenly religions are same in that regard. Principles of religion are explained in brief as follows:
First: Faith in God and His recognition. Second: Faith in resurrection and life after death and the rewards and punishments of the hereafter. Third: Faith in prophets. Fourth: Moral, worship and social duties and responsibilities of human beings.
All the prophets and all heavenly religions are similar in this regard and they called their followers to the same principles.
2. Although heavenly religions are similar in principles and generalities, they are not same on an equal level; on the contrary from the aspect of depth of religious cognition and intellectual matters, in social rules and regulations, in the condition and kind of worship rituals etc. they are very much different from each other. Religions have gradually developed and spread through the ages. The mentioned differences are
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effects of intellectual maturity and the level of knowledge of the people and the changes and transformations that occurred in the life of human beings.
Learning and intellectual capacity of the ancient people was definitely not at the level of the present man. And from the aspect of individual and social life also, the ancient man was in no way like the man of today. Religious knowledge, laws of faith and other matters were also sent by Almighty God to man through the channel of prophets in accordance to the capability of man and they spoke to people according their intellectual level. Therefore the Prophet of Islam (S) said:
We prophets have been commanded to speak to people in accordance with their intellectual level. [1]
Prophets through the ages, like loving parents held the hands of the people with determination and took them through development step by step till they reached the present level. Therefore as much man gained intellectual maturity as much advanced religious concepts were presented to him. And in the same way, if they were in need of more advanced rules and regulations they were given as much advanced rules and regulations.
Such advancement continued through the ages under the supervision and efforts of prophets till the time that the intellect and capacity of man reached to a level that he could understand the most complex religious concepts and knowledge; with this aim the Prophet of Islam was sent, so that he may remove this need of man.
The Holy Quran through the
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Prophet of Islam was revealed for the people so that it may convey to them the loftiest religious cognitions and realities and not only for the people of that time; on the contrary, the intellectuals of every age could benefit from it and they would never become old.
The Holy Quran and the life history of the Prophet of Islam are two religious and scientific heritages that are handed over to Muslims.
3. The Holy Prophet (S) also made another arrangement to protect the knowledge of prophethood, laws of Islam and their application and that was through the appointment of Imam. The Prophet of Islam, by the order of Almighty Allah introduced the infallible Imams as reliable points of reference in intellectual and religious matters and Quranic sciences and considered their statements and manners as the final proof.
Therefore in this way also he entrusted the Muslims with numerous traditions to guarantee the fulfillment of their needs.
4. Permission to deduce laws of Shariah from the Holy Quran, traditions and life history of Infallibles (a. s. ) as well as the application of reason. Intellectuals and Islamic scholars in addition to the Holy Quran have at their disposal another great treasure, which are traditions through whom they can solve all the religious problems of man. In the same way is deductions based on the valuable sources of Islam and fulfillment of different needs of man throughout the changing times.
5. People of the time of the Prophet of Islam from the aspect of intellect had reached such
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a level that they were eligible to have been given the sciences of prophethood fully and that they can make efforts to protect and propagate them.
Muslims of the early period of Islam possessed this capability that they can protect their heavenly scripture and guard its writing from interpolation and forgery and preserve it for the future generations. In the same way, they had such intellectual maturity and possibilities that they acquired hundreds of thousands of traditions regarding various topics from the Holy Prophet (S) and the Infallible Imams (a. s. ) and guarded them in all circumstances.
Therefore it was at such a special time having so many possibilities, that the Prophet of Islam was appointed as a prophet. He brought the Quran and he conveyed to the people the most advanced religious concepts and laws. He perfected the religion through Imamate and introduced the infallible Imams as guardians of faith and those who were to continue his path. With this program, the Islamic Ummah became self-sufficient and it never became needful of a new prophet.
This is the philosophy of the finality of prophethood, but such possibilities were not available for the past prophets and nations.
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[1]: Sahih Muslim, Vol. 4, Pg. 1870.
[1]: At-Tabaqatul Kubra, Vol. 1, Pg. 192.
[2]: Wasailush Shia, Vol. 1, Pg. 23.
[3]: Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 129.
[1]: Tohufful Uqul, Pg. 36.
Permanence of the Laws Of Islam And The Changing Life Of Man
Previously it was proved that the Prophet of Islam was the seal of the prophets and after him no other prophet is to come. At this point, it is possible that someone may pose frivolous objection and say: You consider laws of Islam as solution of all problems at all times, whereas the fact is that circumstances of
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man are always changing and new occurrences appear requiring new laws of religion. On other words, how can you justify the permanence of the laws of religion when the needs of life continue to change all the time?
How can the laws and rules of Islam, which were revealed 1420 years ago and were suitable for the life of the people of Arabian Peninsula, suit the developed life of the man of today? Therefore the complex and difficult life of today needs more advanced laws and rules. If man is in need of heavenly laws, it would have been better if there had been a new prophet in every age, so that he may bring a more perfect law as per the new needs.
In reply to this objection, it can be said that the needs of the life of man, which were the aim behind devising of laws and rules have two aspects: Permanence and change: The permanent aspect is from the creation and human nature and which originates from his natural instincts and talents and all men at all times and places are similar in this matter. For example, all human beings require nourishment, water, clothes and a shelter. In fact these natural needs are applicable to all human beings even though there might be great difference between them.
As a result of this need man requires different types of exchanges like: buying and selling, rentals, liens and other transactions. Since human beings live in a society, they are needful
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of the help and cooperation of each other and even the civilized society is needful of right and perfect laws so that their application may guarantee the rights of all and that it may prevent oppression and excess.
Laws related to laborers and employers, ownership and its limits, sale and purchase, rent, pledges, justice and testimony, penalties, blood monies and retaliation etc. are shaped from these same natural needs.
Expression of sexual instincts also is a natural need and all human beings are needful of it. It is the same natural need, which has brought marriage and divorce into existence and which is the cause of legislation of laws related to matrimony and mutual rights between spouses, and between parents and children.
That is why the laws, which have come in the religious law of Islam, and which follow the natural instincts and needs of man, are all permanent and perpetual and they cannot have any problem with the finality of prophethood of the Holy Prophet (S).
With regard to the changing needs of man it can be said that with attention to the changing conditions of the world and ever-increasing scientific and technological development, inventions of various tools and gadgets of daily use, there will be suitable solutions and fresh laws as religion is answerable for them and the holy religious law of Islam saw two ways to solve this problem:
First method: Jurisprudence (Ijtihad): It was stated previously that Islam is a valuable heritage of knowledge, religious cognition and laws based on Quran
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and traditions that is left for Muslims. If the Islamic jurisprudents with attention to the demands of every age contemplate and research the sources of Islam, they can derive the appropriate solutions of the new problems and convey them to the people and may take the Islamic society on the path of progress along with different advanced societies of the world.
The Islamic scholar should be aware of present conditions and place and well versed with modern needs of the great human society; he should also be having a wide view of the world and must be broad minded; he should be able to find out the solution of new difficult problems from self-sufficient religious sources of Islam and convey them to Muslims. And in this way he proves to the world that laws of Islam can be implemented in every time and place and they can guarantee the success of the world and the hereafter of its followers.
Second method – discretions of the jurist: It is automatically proved that governance is only according to rules and regulations of Islam. A large part of rules and regulations of Shariah are related to administration of society and political and social matters and their enforcement, without the existence of a religious, committed and expert ruler is not possible.
Muslim leaders have the responsibility to administer the Islamic government under the limits of the laws of Shariah and by complete application of the laws of Islam they can take it ahead of injustice and moral
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and social corruption and maintain Islamic justice. For governance of Islamic jurist it is a duty that he should make these arrangements in all conditions and times.
Although some Islamic laws are devised with this same aim and by applying them perfectly this aim can be achieved, but the jurist ruler sometimes has to face extraordinary and difficult circumstances in administering the territories of Islam as their solution requires authorities and special qualities and such discretions have been devised with foresight for Muslim rulers.
The Muslim ruler has permission to protect the principles and general sources of Islam and in observing the exigencies of Islamic nation, to frame rules and regulations and to use them in administration of the country. Such rules and regulations are called as the rules of governance.
The Holy Prophet (S) was having this power and he used them. After him the same powers are given to the Infallible Imams (a. s. ). Especially it is the same law that Muslims are obliged to follow as per the orders of the Prophet and the Holy Imams (a. s. ) who are mentioned as “those vested with authority” (Ulil Amr).
The Holy Quran says:
یَأَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ ءَامَنُواْ أَطِیعُواْ اللَّهَ وَأَطِیعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِى الْأَمْرِ مِنکُمْ
“O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those in authority from among you…” (4: 59)
According to a large number of traditions narrated in our sources, the responsibility of governance during the period of the occultation of the Infallible Imam is given to the just religious scholar who has determination and
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is also well versed in administration and political affairs. Such a jurist is introduced as an expert on human psychology and who can take over the function of a leader and guardianship of Muslim affairs.
Master of affairs of Muslims also in administration of Islamic countries is having special powers of the Infallible Imams (a. s. ) and he uses his powers in administration of the country.
That is why an Islamic government under no circumstances, in emergency of shortage, applies necessary rules and regulations, because in order to solve political difficulties it either depends on jurisprudential derivations (Ijtihaadaat) of the jurists who are conversant with the current situation or uses its own special powers.
From that which is mentioned above, it is known that rules and regulations of Islam can be everlasting and assure the success of man in the world and the hereafter. That is why there is no doubt in the finality of prophethood of the Prophet of Islam.
Why the Sending of Legislative Prophets Ended?
It is possible that someone may raise other petty objections and say: since we have accepted that after the advent of the Prophet of Islam we do not have need of legislative prophets, we don’t accept that there is no more need for missionary prophets also. The past prophets were of two types: some were owners of a separate Shariah (Ulul Azm) and there were some who only propagated the religion of these Ulul Azm prophets, which was very effective and beneficial in the guidance of people. After the Prophet of Islam also the
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existence of such prophets would have been definitely beneficial; thus why were they not continued?
In reply, it can be said that the sending of prophets is there to exhaust the argument under necessary circumstances. After the Prophet of Islam such a need did not exist anymore, because man by that time had matured in practical and theoretical intellect and knowledge and thus he was now capable of guarding and propagating his religious and intellectual heritage. Hence at that time religion was perfected and became needless of a missionary.
Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran:
الْیَوْمَ أَکْمَلْتُ لَکُمْ دِینَکُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَیْکُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَ رَضِیتُ لَکُمُ الْإِسْلَمَ دِیناً
“This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me. This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion…” (5: 3)
Islam has given the responsibility of guarding and propagating faith to three groups of persons:
First: The Infallible Imam: Shia believe that after the Prophet of Islam (S) , the responsibility of guarding and propagating religion and administration of Islamic nation is entrusted to the Infallible Imam. During his lifetime, the Messenger of Allah (S) appointed Imam Ali (a. s. ) for this purpose and entrusted to him the necessary information so that after him he may guard and promote the religion of Islam.
Amirul Momineen (a. s. ) also during his lifetime, fulfilled his duty and as far as possible tried to defend religion and lead the nation and at the time of
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his passing away appointed Imam Hasan (a. s. ) in his place and transferred the necessary information to him. After Imam Hasan (a. s. ) , Imam Husain (a. s. ) succeeded to Imamate and in this way every Imam specified the next Imam. This continued till the time of Imam Hasan Askari (a. s. ) in 255 A. H.
As a result of the efforts and struggles of the Infallible Imams (a. s. ) , hundreds of thousands of sayings regarding various subjects were bestowed to Muslims which remained for future generations and due to the efforts of the Holy Imams (a. s. ) thousands of intellectuals, Islamic scholars and missionaries were trained.
The Eleventh Imam also, at the time of his passing away, appointed his son, Hujjat Ibnul Hasan (a. s. ) as the Imam in his place and transferred to him the responsibility of protecting religion. The Twelfth Imam is in occultation from that time till the present day and he is fulfilling his duties in other ways, although every moment he is in anticipation of the day when people would be fully ready for his Islamic revolution and the rule of absolute justice and equity. At that time, he would spread Islam to all corners of the world with a universal revolution and fill the earth with justice and equity like it would have been filled with injustice and oppression.
From what is mentioned above, it can be concluded that by the legislation of the post of Imamate, there is no need of sending missionary prophets who may propagate Islam, because this responsibility is given over
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to the Infallible Imams.
Second: Jurists and scholars of religion: During the period of Infallibles (a. s. ) many intellectuals and scholars acquired knowledge of Islamic laws and sciences and became ready to propagate them. The Prophet of Islam (S) and Holy Imams (a. s. ) made great efforts to nurture such persons.
Regarding this, we have a large number of traditions and some of them are mentioned below:
Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a. s. ) said:
Scholars are the heirs of the prophets. Prophets do not leave behind any material wealth; on the contrary, they leave traditions in inheritance. Thus anyone who takes something from those traditions earns a great advantage. Take care from whom you obtain your knowledge. Among us Ahl al-Bayt (a. s. ) in every generation there exist just persons who refrain from distortion of the extremists, deviation of the misguided and interpretation of the ignorant. [1]
The Messenger of Allah (S) said:
The scholars of my Ummah are like the prophets of Bani Israel. [2]
In the same way, he said:
May Allah have mercy on my successors. He was asked: O Messenger of Allah (S) , who are your successors? He replied: One who revives my practice and reminds people about it. [3]
He also said:
The simile of the scholars on the earth is the simile of the stars on the sky as people seek directions through them in darkness in land and seas and if they disappear it is feared that those who are guided by them would be lost. [4]
Amirul Momineen (a. s. ) has narrated from the Messenger of Allah (S) that he said:
On Judgment Day,
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the ink of the scholars will weighed against the blood of martyrs and the ink of the scholars will be found to be superior to the blood of martyrs. [1]
The Messenger of Allah (S) said:
For one who dies while being in pursuit of knowledge aimed at revival of Islam, there is only a difference of one stage between him and the prophets. [2]
It can be concluded from these and similar traditions that the Holy Prophet (S) has placed the responsibility of guiding the people upon the religious scholars. In such a case there is no need of sending missionary prophets.
Third: Human Intellect: One of the important aims of the prophets was nurturing and perfection of intellects. The past prophets played a very important role in this regard. Human intellects were gradually perfected through the ages through the efforts of prophets till they reached absolute maturity during the time of the Prophet of Islam (S).
The Prophet of Islam (S) also had a special quality with regard to development and perfection of human intellect. He advised people that they should use their intellects and be inquisitive to discover realities and understand facts and that they should discriminate between truth and falsehood through contemplation and should only accept the truth.
In numerous verses, the Holy Quran had encouraged people to use intellect and contemplation. In books of traditions also there are a large number of traditions that praise intelligence and advise people to gain knowledge and intelligence. The Prophet of Islam (S) and the Holy
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Imams (a. s. ) have mentioned the intellect to be a guide and a religious evidence in identification of intellectual subjects and problems and have asked them to use their intellect to identify the realities and to follow them.
It can thus be concluded that after the advent of the Prophet of Islam (S) there is no need of sending missionary prophets and that is why we can say that Prophet of Islam (S) is the seal of the prophets and that prophethood has ended with him.
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--------------------
[1]: Al-Kafi, Vol. 1, Pg. 32.
[2]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 2, Pg. 21.
[3]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 2, Pg. 25.
[4]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 2, Pg. 25.
[1]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 2, Pg. 16.
[2]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 1, Pg. 184.
Prophet Muhammad (S) before being conferred the office of prophethood
point
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) was born on 17th Rabiul Awwal in the year 570 A. D. in Mecca. [1]
His father was Abdullah and mother, Amina. His father passed away before his birth and was buried in Medina. The Prophet came under the care of his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib. Abdul Muttalib was a Quraish elder and was very fond of Muhammad. Regarding him, he said: My son, Muhammad is having a bright future. [2]
At the age of five years The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) also lost his mother, Amina and when he was hardly nine his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib also departed for his heavenly abode. After the passing away of Abdul Muttalib, his son, Abu Talib took over the responsibility of his upbringing and care. This kind uncle cared for Muhammad like a real father.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, at the age of twenty-five years married Khadija bint Khuwaylid, a noble and chaste lady of Quraish. She gave birth to two sons, but they passed away a short time
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after birth. She also had four daughters named: Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Ummu Kulthum and Fatima.
It is learnt from history that The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) during his childhood and youth was better than others of his age and it was realized that he had an extraordinary personality.
Abu Talib says the following with regard to him:
When a part of the night had passed, I heard amazing statements from Muhammad (S). He mentioned the name of God when he drank water or ate his dinner. When he began eating, I heard from Muhammad: In the name of Allah, the One. After eating, he remarked: Praise be to Allah in excess. I was amazed at these acts. Sometimes, I came upon him suddenly and saw effulgence over his head which continued up to the heavens. I never heard any falsehood from Muhammad and he never committed any act of the age of Ignorance. I never saw him laughing for no reason or playing with children; he was never attracted to them. He liked solitude and humility. [1]
Ibn Abbas says: In the morning, when the sons of Abu Talib awoke from sleep their eyes used to be dirty and sticky, but the eyes of Muhammad used to be absolutely clean. In the morning, Abu Talib provided breakfast to the children; they attacked the food competing with each other but Muhammad did not take part in this. When Abu Talib noticed this, he gave him food separately. [2]
Abul Fida writes:
The Messenger of Allah (S) grew up under
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the care of Abu Talib. Almighty Allah guarded him from committing the acts of the period of Ignorance and other evil deeds, because He wanted to exalt his status so that he may come out as the most excellent among his relatives with regard to greatness, good nature, observance of manners of society, kindness to neighbors, forbearance, trustworthiness and truthfulness. He never committed any vile deed and did not cause harm to anyone. He never entered into arguments and fights. All the praiseworthy qualities had gathered in him in such a way that he was given the title of ‘Muhammad Amin’. [1]
Abul Fida writes:
In the beginning of revelation, the Holy Prophet (S) returned home terrified and told his wife, Khadija: I am fearful about my own self. Khadija comforted him saying: Glad tidings be to you that Almighty Allah will not degrade you in any way. Because you are good to relatives; you are truthful and share the difficulties of people; you help the poor and are hospitable and you assist others in worldly matters. [2]
Anas ibn Malik says:
Before prophethood, The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) earned the title of Trustworthy (Amin) among the people as people had recognized his honesty and justice.
Rabi ibn Khaitham says: During the period of Ignorance, people used to refer to The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) in their disputes. Nadhr ibn Harith told Quraish: When Muhammad (S) was a child you considered him better than you with regard to truthfulness and honesty, but when he has matured and
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is sent to you as the prophet of God, you allege that he is a sorcerer. No, by Allah, he is not a magician. [1]
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) was twenty years of age when he took part in Hilful Fuzool – that is the oath of the valiant. Some well intending Arab gentlemen had devised this committee to protect the rights of oppressed and this was finalized at the house of Abdullah ibn Judan. They took oath that as long as they were alive, they would protect those who were oppressed and recover their rights from the usurpers. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) said with regard to this:
I was present at the oath, which was taken in the house of Abdullah ibn Judan; and I would not like to be given red-haired camels in exchange for it; and even though Islam is established, if I am still called to it, I would respond. [2]
From such historical evidences, it can be concluded that The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) , before declaration of prophethood was well known for his nice behavior, honesty, truthfulness, forbearance, justice, harmlessness and chastity.
As a result of this same fine behavior, people accepted his claim of prophethood and brought faith upon him.
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[1]: Will Durant, History of Civilization, Part I, Vol. 4, Pg. 197.
[2]: Manaqib Ibne Shahr Ashob, Vol. 1, Pg. 61.
[1]: Manaqib Ibne Shahr Ashob, Vol. 1, Pg. 63.
[2]: Abul Fida, Seerat Nabuwwa, Vol. 1, Pg. 242.
[1]: Abul Fida, Seerat Nabuwwa, Vol. 1, Pg. 249.
[2]: Abul Fida, Seerat Nabuwwa, Vol. 1, Pg. 394.
[1]: Uyunul Athar, Vol. 2, Pg. 334.
[2]: Abul Fida, Seerat Nabuwwa, Vol. 1, Pg. 257-262.
Religion of Muhammad (S) before being vested with the office of prophethood
The question which arises at this juncture is that whether The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) believed in religion and Shariah before being vested with the office of prophethood? And if he had faith; which religion did he follow?
Before that it is necessary to mention that regretfully we don’t have
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anything in history and Islamic sources which can clearly oppose this matter, but it is possible to mention some points as historical evidences. For example, Abul Fida writes:
It was the practice of the Messenger of Allah (S) that one month every year he used to go the Cave of Hira and engage in worship there. Quraish also performed this act during the period of Ignorance. They gave food to every mendicant who came to their town. After the worship rituals, before entering his house, he used to circumambulate the Kaaba. [1]
Ghyath ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a. s. ) that he said:
The Holy Prophet, after coming to Medina performed the Hajj only once. But he performed the Hajj rituals in Mecca along with his relatives a number of times. [2]
It is also mentioned that Muhammad (S) prayed the ritual prayer at the age of four years. [3]
His uncle, Abu Talib also described the childhood of Muhammad in the same way: He recited ‘In the name of Allah’, before dinner and uttered ‘praise be to Allah’ after it. [4]
From such descriptions that are mentioned about His Eminence, it can be concluded that before being vested with the office of prophethood, he used to perform worship rituals, perform the ritual prayer and spend a month every year at the cave of Hira; he performed the rituals of Hajj, circumambulated the Kaaba and recited ‘In the name of Allah’ before eating; thus it can be seen that he was a religious person, who observed worship rituals
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diligently.
Moreover, in the discussion of infallibility, it was proved that prophets are immune from infidelity, polytheism and sins, throughout their lives. Hence it should be said that the Prophet of Islam also before his being vested with the office of prophethood was religious, because infidelity and polytheism are not compatible with his infallibility.
Quran has also absolutely negated deviation and infidelity for the Holy Prophet (S) even before he was vested with the office of prophethood. It even says:
وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَى / مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُکُمْ وَمَا غَوَى
“I swear by the star when it goes down. Your companion does not err, nor does he go astray…” (53: 1-2)
Therefore there cannot be doubt about the religiosity of Muhammad before his being vested with the office of prophethood.
After accepting his original religiosity now the question arises that which religion was he following? Here a number of possibilities exist:
First possibility: He either followed the Shariah of Prophet Musa or Prophet Isa (a. s. ) , since only these two heavenly religions existed in the world and it was necessary for all to follow them. Thus Prophet Muhammad (S) also before being vested with prophethood must have followed one of these faiths.
But this possibility is invalid; because if he had been a Jew or a Christian he would also have taken part in the rituals of their faith and would have socialized with them; and this would have been recorded in history; whereas such a thing is neither recorded in history nor the Jews and Christians have claimed this.
Thus as
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you know from before, The Holy Prophet Muhammad believed in rituals and worships which are from other than these two religions; like Hajj, circumambulating the Kaaba, ritual prayer and Etekaf (seclusion) in the Cave of Hira. On the basis of this, it can be concluded that he was neither a Jew nor a Christian before his being vested with prophethood.
Second possibility: That he was a follower of the Shariah of Prophet Ibrahim (a. s. ). In explanation of this point, it can be said that Prophet Ibrahim (a. s. ) laid the foundation of monotheism and God worship in Hijaz. His Shariah became famous in that area as Hanifiyya and it spread among the people there. His son, Ismail also propagated that Shariah. Arabs of that area, who were most probably descendants of Prophet Ismail (a. s. ) accepted the Shariah of their ancestor, Prophet Ibrahim (a. s. ) and they preserved it.
For a long time, the religion of Prophet Ibrahim (a. s. ) was the predominant religion of the people of Arabian Peninsula, but due to the passage of time, laws, rules and worship rituals of that Hanif faith were gradually forgotten and neglected and except for some special rituals like Hajj, stay at Arafat, Mashar and Mina, animal sacrifice, stoning of satans, circling the Kaaba, trotting between Safa and Marwa and some other rituals.
On the contrary, by the passage of time polytheism dominated the beliefs of the people and through wrong justification they considered some things and persons as associates of God, and worshipped them. In spite
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of these deviations, they considered themselves as the followers of the religion of Ibrahim (a. s. ).
Although there were some among them who were displeased with the present situation and they realized the loss of the essence of the religion of Ibrahim (a. s. ) and of having fallen into deviation and sometimes they even went so far as to adopt the laws and customs of religious worship of the upright faith and purify them from nonsense. The following historical examples prove this point:
Ibn Hisham writes:
On one of the festivals, when Quraish used to gather around an idol and with absolute sincerity offer sacrifice to it four persons separated from them, receded into a corner and spoke among themselves: We take oath that we would keep our faith concealed from others. Those four were as follows: Waraqa ibn Naufal, Abdullah ibn Jahash, Uthman ibn Huwairath and Zaid ibn Umar. They said: By Allah, you know that your people do not follow the right faith. They have adopted the wrong version of the faith of your ancestor, Ibrahim (a. s. ). What is the stone that they go around? This idol neither hears nor sees, nor causes any harm or benefit. My people! Select the right faith for yourself. After that they dispersed in the land to revive the religion of Ibrahim (a. s. ). [1]
He also writes:
Zaid ibn Umar waited; came out of the religion of his relatives but he did not join the religion of Jews and Christians. He kept away from idol worship, abstained from carrion, blood
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and animals sacrificed to the idols. He prohibited the killing of the child and said: I worship only the God of Ibrahim (a. s. ). Thus he condemned the religion of his people. [1]
It can be concluded from such reports that the ancestors of the Prophet also followed the religion of Ibrahim (a. s. ).
Asbagh ibn Nubatah says that he heard Amirul Momineen (a. s. ) say:
By Allah, the father and grandfather of Abu Talib, and Hashim and Abd Manaf never worshipped idols. He was asked: Then how did they worship? He replied: They acted on the religion of Ibrahim (a. s. ) and prayed facing the Holy Kaaba. [2]
On the basis of this, it can be realized that The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) followed the religion and Shariah of Ibrahim (a. s. ) before his prophethood. He was a monotheist and he opposed polytheism and idol worship. He prayed the ritual prayer and performed the rituals of Hajj, which are in fact the rituals of the religion of Ibrahim (a. s. ). He was fond of seclusion and remembrance of God and observed good manners and morals.
It can be concluded from some traditional reports that The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) , even before his ministry, was always having divine help in recognizing the best morals and its demands.
Amirul Momineen (a. s. ) says with regard to this:
From the time of his weaning, Allah had put a mighty angel with him to take him along the path of high character and good behavior through day and night. [3]
Allamah Majlisi has written with regard to this:
It is narrated that
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some companions of Imam Muhammad Baqir (a. s. ) asked him about the interpretation of the verse:
إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَى مِن رَّسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ یَسْلُکُ مِن بَیْنِ یَدَیْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَداً
“Except to him whom He chooses as an apostle; for surely He makes a guard to march before him and after him. ” (72: 27)
The Imam said:
Almighty Allah appoints angels on his prophets to guard them and help them in propagating their message. He appointed a mighty angel since the time of Muhammad’s infancy, to guard him and to guide him to good deeds and praiseworthy morals and to restrain him from evil. It was this angel who said: Peace be on you, O Muhammad, Messenger of Allah (S) when he was not even given the ministry, the Prophet thought that this salutation was from stones and the earth; but no matter how much he searched, he could not find anything. [1]
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[1]: Abul Fida, Seerat Nabuwwa, Vol. 1, Pg. 390.
[2]: Wasailush Shia, Vol. 8, Pg. 88.
[3]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 15, Pg. 361.
[4]: Manaqib Ibne Shahr Ashob, Vol. 1, Pg. 63.
[1]: Ibne Hisham, Seerat Nabawiyya, Vol. 1, Pg. 237.
[1]: Ibne Hisham, Seerat Nabawiyya, Vol. 1, Pg. 239.
[2]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 15, Pg. 144.
[3]: Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 194.
[1]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 15, Pg. 361.
Ministry of the Holy Prophet
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) was appointed as a prophet on 27th Rajab in the year 610 A. D. at the age of forty years. [2] It is mentioned in history that before his appointment also, he often used to see signs in his sleep and wakefulness; he saw Jibraeel and heard his voice; so much so that he sometimes addressed him as the Messenger of Allah (S).
Bulazari writes:
When Almighty Allah wanted to exalt the status of Muhammad (S) and to begin his prophethood, it so happened that he came out of the town to answer the call of nature and retired into the passes and
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caves and he did not pass a single tree, but that it greeted him saying: Peace be on you, O Messenger of Allah (S). Thus His Eminence looked here and there but could see no one. [1]
Sometimes during sleep and wakefulness, he used to see a person who said to him: Peace be on you, O Messenger of Allah (S). He asked him: Who are you? He replied: I am Jibraeel. Allah has sent me so that I may select you for prophethood. The Messenger of Allah (S) witnessed such incidents, but he did not speak about them to anyone. [2]
Sometimes he mentioned the matter to his wife, Khadija and she told him that she was hopeful that it would be as such. [3]
Bulazari writes:
The first stage of revelation was a true dream. He never dreamed except that it was clear to him like daylight. Thus he became inclined to seclusion and retired to Hira Cave and remained there in seclusion, worshipping his God. He stayed there in Etekaf for some nights. After that he came back to Khadija and continued to lead his family life. Till the time that in the Cave of Hira, he realized the truth and Jibraeel spoke to him. [4]
The life history of the Messenger of Allah (S) was such that every year for a period of at least one month, he remained in the cave of Hira engrossed in worship. [5]
Ubaid ibn Umair says:
The Messenger of Allah (S) retired to the cave of Hira for a month every year
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and remained there engrossed in worship. During those days he fed the poor. When the period of his stay was over he returned to Mecca and before entering his house circled the Kaaba seven or more times. [1]
Hira is a tall mountain to the north of Mecca having elevations towards Mina. Previously it was at a distance of one Farsakh from the city, but today the city has expanded to reach within the vicinity of this mountain. At the center of this mountain there is a cave having the capacity to house three persons and this cave is called as the Cave of Hira. It is the place of Etekaf and worship of Prophet Muhammad (S) and the location of the descent of the angel of revelation. For months he remained in sincere worship in this illuminated cave and day and night was engrossed in the worship of the Lord of the worlds and spoke confidentially to Him.
He sat on a rocky platform and spent hours in religious contemplation and pondered on the amazing aspects of creation. He was amazed at the stars that filled the beautiful sky of Mecca. He witnessed the beautiful sunrise and sunset for this same place. He pondered on the amazing aspects of human body, trees, vegetation, animals, mountains and plains, oceans and the turbulent waves and prostrated before the greatness and might of the God creator of the universe.
Sometimes he felt sorry for the ignorance of people in leaving the creator of the world and
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taking up the worship of idols having no specialty.
At other times he thought about the oppression of nobles and rich and oppression of the deprived and troubles and he searched for its solution. When he was aggrieved from all sides, he turned to Almighty Allah and spoke to Him from the depths of his heart and sought His help in solving the religious and social problems of man.
When the month of Etekaf came to an end, he returned to Mecca with a satisfied and illuminated heart and a heart filled with contentment and hope and after circling the Kaaba went home and continues living a normal life.
The life of the Prophet of Islam till the age of forty passed in this way and after that came the time of his ministry.
When the Messenger of Allah (S) was forty years of age, as per his habit, he retired to the Cave of Hira for contemplation and worship. This year he chose the month of Rajab for Etekaf. Contemplation and worship of His Eminence, in this year was more and deeper than that of the previous years. He prolonged his prostrations further and adopted more sincerity in speaking to Almighty Allah directly; similarly his contemplation was also deeper as if he was having completely different surroundings. His religious emotion was charged and his being had become illuminated with effulgence of his future ministry pulling him towards the heights of ethereal luminosity.
Days and nights of Rajab passed in this way and along with
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it more intense spiritual emotions overtook him and the soul of Prophet Muhammad (S) became more and more prepared to establish a connection with the unseen world and to receive divine revelations.
The 27th of Rajab arrived and The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) was immersed in contemplation, when Jibraeel came down and announced: You are the Messenger of Allah and you have been appointed to convey the message of God. [1]
Imam Hadi (a. s. ) has recounted the incident of revelation as follows:
When the Messenger of Allah (S) returned from trade in Syria he distributed all that he had earned on the way among the poor and needy. He went to the cave of Hira every day and climbed its summit and saw the signs of divine mercy and amazing wisdom of God. He looked at the earth and the sky, the seas and wilderness and gained lessons from them. He worshipped Almighty Allah as He deserves to be worshipped.
When he reached the age of forty, Almighty Allah made his heart as the best and most obedient and humble of all the hearts; thus the doors of heavens opened for him so that he may see them. He permitted the angels to descend and Muhammad (S) looked at them. He sent down His mercy and it surrounded everything from the Throne to the head of Muhammad. He saw Jibraeel (the trustworthy spirit) come down to him in a halo of light. Jibraeel held the arm of the Prophet and pressed it saying: O Muhammad,
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read. He asked: What should I read? Jibraeel said: O Muhammad,
إقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّکَ الَّذِى خَلَقَ / خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِن عَلَقٍ / اقْرَأْ وَ رَبُّکَ الْأَکْرَمُ / الَّذِى عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ / عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ یَعْلَمْ
“Read in the name of your Lord Who created. He created man from a clot. Read and your Lord is Most Honorable, Who taught (to write) with the pen Taught man what he knew not. ” (96: 1-5)
At that moment Jibraeel revealed to Muhammad (S) what he had brought from Almighty Allah and returned to the heavens.
Muhammad (S) came down from Mount Hira while as a result of witnessing the majesty of God he was in a trance-like condition. Seeing Jibraeel and bearing the divine revelation weighed so much on Muhammad (S) that he shook like a feverish person. He was in fact fearful of the fact that Quraish would refute him and allege that he was insane. Whereas the truth was that he was the most sensible and the most honored of the people there. He was absolutely aloof of the Satan and the words and deeds of insane persons.
Thus Almighty Allah intended to expand his breast and give peace to him. Therefore the mountains, rocks, pebbles on which he walked, all saluted him and said: Peace be on you, O Muhammad, Peace be on you, O the saint of Allah, Peace be on you, O Messenger of Allah (S). Glad tidings be to you that God has given you excellence and elegance and exalted you over
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all the past and future men. Do not be aggrieved that Quraish would label you as a madman, because one who is given excellence by Allah is the one who is excellent in the real sense and one whom Allah has made noble is the one who is noble in the real sense. Do not be discouraged by the condemnation of Quraish and evil among the Arabs, Allah would soon convey you to the loftiest position and the most honored rank. [1]
On seeing Jibraeel and on receiving revelation, the complete being of The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) became illuminated by a powerful faith and a confident conscience and he returned home from mount Hira.
Ibn Shahr Ashob writes:
Muhammad (S) came home and the house was illuminated with his effulgence. His wife, Khadija was amazed and she asked: What effulgence is this? The Holy Prophet (S) replied: It is the effulgence of prophethood. Say: I testify that there is no god, except Allah; Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Khadija asked: I have been aware of this since a long time and she embraced Islam at that time. [2]
There is difference of opinion among scholars with regard to the matter that which was the first chapter to be revealed on the Messenger of Allah (S). Most historians consider Surah Alaq to be the first in this regard and the same point is mentioned in some traditions.
Ali ibn Sirri has narrated from Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a. s. ) that he said:
The first chapter to be revealed on
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the Messenger of Allah (S) was this:
إقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّکَ الَّذِى خَلَقَ
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Read in the name of your Lord…” (96: 1)
And the last chapter was:
إِذَا جَآءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ
“When there comes the help of Allah…” (110: 1) [1]
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[2]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 18, Pg. 189.
[1]: Ansabul Ashraf, Vol. 1, Pg. 104.
[2]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 18, Pg. 184.
[3]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 18, Pg. 194.
[4]: Ansabul Ashraf, Vol. 1, Pg. 105.
[5]: Seerat Ibne Hisham, Vol. 1, Pg. 251.
[1]: Seerat Ibne Hisham, Vol. 1, Pg. 252.
[1]: Story of the beginning of ministry and the first time Jibraeel came down is mentioned in books of history in different ways. Some of them do not befit the position of prophethood. That is why in reporting this extraordinary incident we have relied only on traditions of Ahle Bayt (a. s. ) as they were more knowledgeable than others.
[1]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 18, Pg. 205.
[2]: Manaqib Aale Abi Talib, Vol. 1, Pg. 72.
[1]: Al-Kafi, Vol. 2, Pg. 628.
Revelation and Preservation of Quran
point
Quran is a heavenly book and the word of God Almighty. Lofty matters and facts of Quran have come down in the form of Arabic words and sentences which were sent down to the illuminated heart of the Prophet of Islam through Jibraeel.
Verses of Quran were revealed on the Prophet of Islam in a period of 23 years on different appropriate occasions in journey and at home and in war as well as peace.
Sometimes one verse, sometimes a number of verse and at other times even a whole chapter was revealed at a time.
The Holy Quran has 114 chapters and all of them except Surah Taubah begin with the formula: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Every chapter is composed of a number of verses. The big chapters are called as the long chapters and the small chapters are called as the short chapters.
A number of chapters were revealed in Mecca or its surroundings and they are known as the Meccan chapters and others were revealed in Medina and its surroundings and they are Medinan chapters.
The Holy Prophet (S) paid special attention in order to preserve the collection of Quran and to prevent it from interpolation and alteration, and that is why he performed
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the following three actions:
1. Whenever a verse was revealed on the illuminated heart of the Prophet, he recited it immediately and stored it in his memory, never forgetting it, because his infallibility prevented him from forgetting it or making a mistake in it.
Quran says:
سَنُقْرِئُکَ فَلَا تَنسَى
“We will make you recite so you shall not forget…” (87: 6)
The Holy Prophet (S) paid attention to recitation of Quran and its repetition and he recited it on every appropriate occasion. He quoted the relevant verses in sermons, explanation of Islamic laws and moral topics. He recited parts of Quran in obligatory and recommended ritual prayers. Every day he recited a number of verses and especially during the days of Ramadan. Although the Holy Prophet (S) had never attended a school he knew the whole Quran by heart and he recited it in the sequence of its revelation. He was infallible and immune from mistakes in receiving it from Jibraeel, its preservation and its conveyance.
2. The Holy Prophet (S) recited to the companions every chapter or verse that was revealed on him and also encouraged them to learn them by heart, and Muslims also made efforts to listen to the revealed verses and to commit them to memory. The Holy Prophet (S) also in this regard tried that the verses that people learnt should be correct and without any error. Memorizers of Quran also recited the verses of Quran in presence of the Holy Prophet (S) in order to make sure of their accuracy.
Through this
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method, a large number of companions learnt the correct recitation of Quran and among them seven persons became famed in this regard.
Suyuti writes: Among those who recited the Quran in the presence of the Holy Prophet (S) , seven became more famed; they were: Uthman, Ali, Ubayy, Zaid ibn Thabit, Ibn Masud, Abul Darda and Abu Musa Ashari. [1]
Since the Messenger of Allah (S) laid so much emphasis on memorizing the Quran, a large number of companions according to their capacities, memorized at least a part of it. Among them some of them succeeded in learning it by heart; and they were named as ‘reciters’ (Qurra) or ‘memorizers of Quran’ (Hafiz Quran). Their exact number is not known, but they were considerable in number.
Suyuti has narrated from Qurtubi that he said: Seventy reciters of Quran (Qurra) were killed in the Battle of Yamama. During the time of the Holy Prophet (S) the same number were killed at the well of Maoona. [2]
From this statement it can be concluded that the memorizers of Quran were in such large numbers that 140 persons were killed only in these two battles. Although it is not known that those who were killed knew the whole Quran by heart or only a part of it.
Some writers believe that those who knew the whole Quran by heart were less than this number.
Shaykh Abdul Hayy Qattani writes:
During the time of the Holy Prophet (S) ten persons knew the whole Quran by heart: Ali, Uthman, Ubayy ibn Kaab, Maaz ibn Jabal.
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Abul Darda, Zaid ibn Thabit, Abu Zaid Ansari, Tamim Dari, Ubadah ibn Thabit and Abu Ayyub. [1]
3. Transcription and compilation. The Messenger of Allah (S) chose some persons to transcribe the Quran. When a verse or some verses were revealed, he summoned one of them and dictated the same and they put it in writing. After that he asked the scribe to read what he has written. He listened carefully and if there was even the slightest mistake, he corrected it. Sometimes the Holy Prophet (S) used to specify the place where the scribe was supposed to record the verse and for example say: Write down this verse in such and such chapter after such and such verse. [2]
The Messenger of Allah (S) had a large number of scribes and they are said to be up to 43 persons. [3] But all of them were not scribes of revelation; on the contrary some were scribes who wrote the letters of His Eminence.
Shaykh Abdul Hayy writes: Uthman ibn Affan and Ali were the scribes of revelation, when these two persons were not present, Ubayy ibn Kaab and Zaid ibn Thabit were entrusted with the duty. If none of them were present, any other scribe that was present there was given the job. They were as follows: Muawiyah, Jabir ibn Saeed, Aban ibn Saeed, Alaa Hadhrami, Hanzala ibn Rabi. [4]
These were of those who wrote a special copy of Quran for the Messenger of Allah (S). Although there were others also who recorded the verses in
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their private copies, so much so that some scribes of revelation in addition to the copy of the Holy Prophet (S) used to make a copy for themselves.
Writers began every chapter with the formula: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, which was revealed at the beginning of every chapter. They continued to add verses to it till a new ‘In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful’ was revealed, which was a sign that it was a new chapter. After that they transcribed new verses, except in special cases when the Messenger of Allah (S) ordered that such and such verse should be placed in some other chapter in a particular place.
Yaqubi writes:
Ibn Abbas says: When we saw ‘In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful’ we understood that the previous chapter was over and a new chapter was beginning. [1]
Paper of that Time
There is no doubt that the scribes of revelation inscribed the verses of Quran on things, therefore it is remarkable that we should know what type of paper existed at that time. It is learnt from Quran that during the time of the Prophet of Islam, a thing existed, which was named as Qirtas.
The Holy Quran says:
وَ لَوْ نَزَّلْنَا عَلَیْکَ کِتَباً فِى قِرْطَاسٍ فَلَمَسُوهُ بِأَیْدِیهِمْ لَقَالَ الَّذِینَ کَفَرُواْ إِنْ هَذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُبِینٌ
“And if We had sent to you a writing on a paper, then they had touched it with their hands, certainly those who disbelieve would have said: This is nothing but clear enchantment. ” (6: 7)
We
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learn from history that paper was already in existence during the time of the Prophet. In China it was manufactured from grass. In India, they wrote on pieces of white silk. In Iran they wrote on thin tanned leather, which was called Adeem. White and thin slabs of stone, copper sheets, iron and zinc, and barks of date trees, shoulder bone of the camel and goat; pieces of wood were all used as writing surfaces. [1]
Scribes of revelation wrote down the verses of Quran on the above mentioned objects and handed them over to the Holy Prophet (S). His Eminence stored them in a special place in his house so that at the time of his passing away, a complete copy of Quran would be available with him.
Probably at the time of his passing away, the Prophet of Islam entrusted this same copy to Imam Ali (a. s. ) , who was himself a scribe of revelation.
Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a. s. ) says:
The Messenger of Allah (S) said to Imam Ali (a. s. ): O Ali, Quran is placed behind my bed and it is written on a scroll, silk and papers. So take it and do not lose it like the Jews who allowed the Taurat to be lost. [2]
Compilation of Quran
point
As mentioned previously, verses of Quran were revealed disparately on the Messenger of Allah (S) during a period of 23 years and he paid special attention to have them compiled and recorded. It was compiled a number of times till it came into the hands of Muslims in the
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present form:
First instance: During the lifetime of the Holy Prophet
The first step that the Prophet of Islam took was that he ordered the transcription of the revealed verses on sheets. He himself supervised the transcription and specified the proper place where a particular verse was supposed to be written. He separated the chapters and gave a title to each of them. He asked the scribes to read what they had written so that it may be free of errors. Then he took the sheets and stored them in a safe place. In this way, all the verses and chapters of Quran were gathered with His Eminence, but it is not known in what sequence were they placed and whether they were in some special sequence as followed in the recording of chapters?
It can be concluded from some statements that the method of compilation and arrangement was finalized during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (S) and under his supervision.
Zaid ibn Thabit says:
We were employed with the Messenger of Allah (S) to compile Quran from pages. [1]
It is not known correctly that how this new compilation was and how it was completed.
Collection and compilation of Quran at that time was not restricted to the copies of the Holy Prophet (S) ; on the contrary a number of scribes of revelation also wrote down the verses for themselves and in this way other copies of Quran also came into being, which is mentioned in books of traditions, exegesis and history. Like the copy of Ali (a. s. ) , copy of Ibn Masud, copy of
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Ubayy Ibn Kaab and the copy of Zaid.
Ibn Nadeem has introduced them as follows: Those who compiled the Quran during the lifetime of the Prophet are as follows: Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a. s. ) , Saad ibn Ubaid, Abul Darda, Uwaim ibn Zaid, Maaz ibn Jabal, Abu Zaid, Thabit ibn Zaid, Ubayy ibn Kaab, Ubaid ibn Muawiyah and Thabit ibn Zahhak. [1]
Each of them had a copy of Quran, which contained all the chapters and verses. But they had two defects: One was that they were not arranged in the shape of a book and secondly there was difference between them with regard to sequence of chapters. [2]
The Messenger of Allah (S) collected the verses and chapters of Quran in another way also: That is its preservation through the honest memorization of Quran, which took place as per the advice of the Prophet. A large number of people became engrossed in memorizing the Quran and some of them succeeded in learning the whole Quran by heart and they came to be called as those who knew the whole Quran by heart (Hafizaan Quran).
They commanded great respect among companions and are considered to be protectors of Quran. Quran was transferred to others through memory. Muslims also referred to them when need arose. So much so that even the compilers of Quran during the time of Abu Bakr and Uthman also relied on them.
During the time of the Holy Prophet (S) , all the verses of Quran were gathered and compiled in this way and remained
thus for the Muslims.
--------------------
[1]: Al-Itqan fee Uloomul Quran, Vol. 1, Pg. 96.
[2]: Al-Itqan fee Uloomul Quran, Vol. 1, Pg. 94.
[1]: Al-Tarateeb al-Idariya, Vol. 1, Pg. 46.
[2]: Tarikh Yaqubi, Vol. 2, Pg. 43.
[3]: Al-Tarateeb al-Idariya, Vol. 1, Pg. 115-116.
[4]: Al-Tarateeb al-Idariya, Vol. 1, Pg. 114.
[1]: Tarikh Yaqubi, Vol. 2, Pg. 34.
[1]: Al-Tarateeb al-Idariya, Vol. 1, Pg. 122; Suyuti, Al-Itqan, Vol. 1, Pg. 78.
[2]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 92, Pg. 48.
[1]: Suyuti, Al-Itqan, Vol. 1, Pg. 76.
[1]: Fehrist, Pg. 47.
[2]: Fehrist, Pg. 43-48.
Second instance: During Abu Bakr’s tenure
point
Although during the time of the Messenger of Allah (S) and under his direct supervision, the compilation of all the verses and chapters of Quran was completed, in the same way a number of companions had also memorized it; but for more satisfaction another action was necessary; because firstly: Verses and chapters had not been compiled in one place in the form of a book. Instead it was on various scattered sheets and hence prone to alteration.
Secondly: Memorizers of Quran who were the protectors of this heavenly scripture who were referred to in times of need, were prone to death or martyrdom. It was feared that with their death, some verses would be lost. As happened during the Battle of Yamama that a number of memorizers of Quran were killed, till Abu Bakr realized this danger and issued the command that the whole of the Quran should be compiled into a book.
With regard to this, Suyuti writes: Zaid ibn Thabit said: Abu Bakr summoned me after the Battle of Yamama while Umar ibn Khattab was also present there. He said to me: Umar came to me and said: In the Battle of Yamama, a large number of reciters and memorizers of Quran are killed; I fear that in other battles also memorizers of Quran would be killed in this way and hence the Quran will be lost. In my view you should issue orders for the compilation of Quran.
Zaid says: I asked Umar: How can I do
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something that the Holy Prophet (S) did not do? Umar replied: By God, this is a good and a necessary job, and emphasized so much on it that I was also convinced. Zaid says: Abu Bakr said to me: You are an intelligent and trustworthy young man and you were a scribe of revelation; gather the Quran accurately and diligently. I gathered the Quran from the barks of date palms, bones of quadrupeds and white slabs of stone and from the memories of those who had learnt it by heart. [1]
Zaid ibn Thabit, as per the orders of Abu Bakr, accepted this important responsibility and became engrossed in it. He sought the help of companions of the Holy Prophet (S) also and said: Anyone who is in possession of a copy of Quran, or has memorized a chapter or some verses, should present it to me so that I may record it. Companions accepted his call and agreed to co-operate.
Zaid fixed the testimony of two just persons as the criteria for acceptance of the verses. If two just men testified that they heard them from the Holy Prophet (S) or witnessed that it was written in the presence of the Holy Prophet (S) , it was accorded acceptance and recorded.
Suyuti writes:
It is narrated from Laith ibn Saad that he said: Abu Bakr was the first to have the Quran compiled and he gave this responsibility to Zaid ibn Thabit. People presented the verses of Quran to Zaid but he didn’t accept anything
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unless supported by the testimony of two just males. [1]
In the same way, he writes:
Umar said: All those who had taken something of Quran from the Holy Prophet (S) presented them so that it may be recorded. Companions had written the verses on paper, tablets, barks of date trees, but nothing was accepted except through the testimony of two just men. [2]
Although it should be mentioned that Zaid ibn Thabit was capable of this appointment from every aspect. Because firstly: he had faith, piety and was well known for trustworthiness and sagacity. Secondly: He was himself a memorizer of the Holy Quran and he had recited it before the Holy Prophet (S) twice and was certified as correct. Thirdly, he was a usual scribe of revelation. Fourthly: He was in possession of a copy of Quran which was certified by the Prophet.
Zaid ibn Thabit, who had such an excellence and being supported by all the other memorizers, after a diligent exercise, he compiled the Quran in a single copy and presented it to Abu Bakr. After Abu Bakr, this copy came into the charge of Umar and after him it was handed over to his daughter, Hafsa.
Compilation of Quran by Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a. s. )
It can be concluded from some traditions and statements of some historians that Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a. s. ) was the first of those who after the passing away of the Messenger of Allah (S) became engrossed in compiling the Quran as per the orders of the Holy Prophet (S).
Abu Bakr Hadhrami has narrated from Imam Ja’far
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Sadiq (a. s. ) that the Messenger of Allah (S) said to Imam Ali (a. s. ):
Quran is placed behind my bed and it is written on scroll, paper and silk; take it and compile it and do not allow it to be lost like the Jews allowed Taurat to be lost. Thus Imam Ali (a. s. ) went out and gathered them in a yellow piece of cloth and placed a seal upon it in his house and remarked: I will not put the cloak on my shoulder (to leave the house) till I don’t compile the Quran. If someone came to his house, he appeared without his cloak. [1]
Abu Rafe writes that the Holy Prophet (S) , in his last moments said to Imam Ali (a. s. ): O Ali, take this Book of Allah. Imam Ali (a. s. ) gathered it in a piece of cloth and took it to his house. When the Holy Prophet (S) passed away, Imam Ali (a. s. ) began to compile the Quran and arranged it in sequence of its revelation and he was absolutely capable of this. [2]
Abd Khair has narrated from Imam Ali (a. s. ) that he said:
When the Messenger of Allah (S) passed away, I took an oath that I would not put the cloak on my shoulder before compiling the Quran; thus I did not put the cloak on my shoulder except after I had compiled the Quran. [3]
Ibn Sirrin has narrated from Imam Ali (a. s. ) that he said:
When the Messenger of Allah (S) passed away, I made an oath to Allah, that I
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would not put the cloak on my shoulder except for the Friday prayer, till I do not compile the Quran. [1]
It is mentioned in Tarikh Yaqubi:
That Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a. s. ) compiled the Quran after the passing away of the Messenger of Allah (S) and loaded it on a camel and came and said: This is the Quran and I have compiled it. [2]
All this shows that at the end of his lifetime, the Holy Prophet (S) handed over a valuable copy of Quran to Imam Ali (a. s. ) and said: Compile the Quran in one place. Imam Ali (a. s. ) , after the passing away of the Messenger of Allah (S) and after completing his funeral rituals, started compile the Quran and finally presented it to the caliph regime, but it was not accepted.
It is not absolutely clear what difference the Quran of Imam Ali (a. s. ) had with the present Quran, but it can be briefly said that its difference is not with regard to number of verses or chapters or change in some chapters or verses. Because it is proved beyond any doubt that no kind of alteration and change has taken place in Quran. Rather the present Quran is same as that which was revealed on the Holy Prophet (S).
That is why if it had any difference, it would have been with regard to the following:
1. Verses and chapters in the Quran of Imam Ali (a. s. ) were compiled in the sequence of their revelation.
2. In verses which were abrogated, the abrogated verse
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was placed before the abrogating one.
3. Verses were recorded according to recitation of Messenger of Allah (S).
4. Most probably the commentary and interpretation that the Holy Prophet (S) had given to the clear and ambiguous verses and the context of their revelation were noted in the margins of that Quran or on other pages.
At the conclusion, we consider it necessary to reiterate the point that according to Shia faith, the Quran present among the Muslims today is the same as revealed to the Holy Prophet (S) and is protected from every kind of interpolation and alteration. Therefore, as per the commands of the Holy Imams (a. s. ) , they act on this same Quran.
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--------------------
[1]: Suyuti, Al-Itqan fee Uloomul Quran, Vol. 1, Pg. 76.
[1]: Suyuti, Al-Itqan fee Uloomul Quran, Vol. 1, Pg. 77.
[2]: Suyuti, Al-Itqan fee Uloomul Quran, Vol. 1, Pg. 77.
[1]: Biharul Anwar Vol. 2, Pg. 48.
[2]: Manaqib Ibne Shahr Ashob, Vol. 2, Pg. 41.
[3]: Manaqib Ibne Shahr Ashob, Vol. 2, Pg. 41.
[1]: Suyuti, Al-Itqan, Vol. 1, Pg. 77.
[2]: Tarikh Yaqubi, Vol. 2, Pg. 135.
Third instance: During the Tenure of Uthman
Its cause is explained as follows: After the battles of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Huzaifah Ibn Yaman came to Uthman and informed him about the severe differences in recitation of Quran and said: O Chief of believers, before Muslims also become involved in differences that Jews and Christians have in their scriptures, do something and prevent differences from appearing in Quran. [1]
Although during the time of Abu Bakr a complete copy of the Quran had been prepared and compiled, he handed it over to Umar and later it came into the custody of his daughter, Hafsa. But this Quran was not given to the public. Instead, people continued referring to the copies that scribes of revelation had compiled during the time of the Holy Prophet (S) and these copies had become popular in Islamic areas.
Regrettably, the versions of Quran which had
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gained popularity were not same. They had differences with regard to two aspects: one was with regard to the sequence of verses and chapters and secondly with regard to mode of script. In this manner, different versions of Quran appeared and became popular in Islamic areas. Every group defended its own version and considered it superior to others.
When Huzaifah saw these differences among Muslims, he was highly concerned and he perceived danger for the future of Quran and Muslims and after his return, mentioned it to Uthman and asked him to find a solution. Uthman also became extremely worried and decided to remove these differences and unite all the Muslims on a single version of Quran.
With this aim, he invited Zaid ibn Thabit and consulted him; because he was an expert of Quran and had compiled it during the time of Abu Bakr. Therefore he asked him to exercise diligence and compile a copy of Quran. He handed over the Quran of Abu Bakr to Huzaifah. He also ordered Abdullah ibn Zubair, Saeed ibn Aas, Abdur Rahman ibn Harith to cooperate with Huzaifah in this matter. After that, he said: Study the Quran closely and try to pronounce the letters and words correctly. So that when you notice a difference, you should give preference to the pronunciation of Quraish as Quran was revealed in the language of Quraish. [1]
This committee was formed in 25 A. H. at the orders of Uthman. They took the Quran of Abu Bakr as criterion and compared
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the other versions with it. Saeed ibn Aas dictated it, as his pronunciation resembled that of the Messenger of Allah (S). Zaid wrote down the words according to the pronunciation of Saeed.
After a period of time, they realized that they needed the help of others as well so they invited eight other companions and together they became twelve persons. [1]
Ubayy ibn Kaab was one of the invitees and sometimes he dictated the verses for others. His Quran was also relied upon when it was in conformity. In doubtful instances, other companions were also referred to and their view was accepted only if two just males testified to its correctness.
In some instances, they also relied on the views of Imam Ali (a. s. ). [2] Uthman supervised this process personally.
In this way a job of deep research was carried out as a result of which a Quran was compiled in a correct version. After that it was read out a number of times and compared with other copies and in the end a correct and accurate copy was finalized. It was then taken to be a standard to check and correct other copies.
After that Uthman ordered that it should be multiplied and a copy be sent to each Islamic metro. Thus they dispatched a copy of this Quran to all big cities and confiscated the ones extant over there and destroyed them.
In this way was realized the divine promise when God said:
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّکْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَفِظُونَ
“Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We
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will most surely be its guardian. ” (15: 9)
And also:
لَّا یَأْتِیهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِن بَیْنِ یَدَیْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ تَنزِیلٌ مِّنْ حَکِیمٍ حَمِیدٍ
“Falsehood shall not come to it from before it nor from behind it; a revelation from the Wise, the Praised One. ” (41: 42)
And a collection of chapters and verses of Quran, without any alteration or additions or deletions, remained forever at the disposal of Muslims.
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--------------------
[1]: Jamiul Usul, Vol. 2, Pg. 503.
[1]: Jamiul Usul, Vol. 2, Pg. 504.
[1]: Suyuti, Al-Itqan, Vol. 1, Pg. 79.
[2]: Suyuti, Al-Itqan, Vol. 1, Pg. 79.
Dimensions Of Manner And Morals Of The Holy Prophet
point
The Prophet of Islam, from the aspect of ethics was the most eminent of men and a perfect human being. He possessed all good qualities to perfection and was pure of all evils and bad manners. The criteria of morals, which are mentioned in Islam and Quran, were personified in the being of His Eminence as Ayesha, his wife and other companions have also admitted.
Abu Darda says: I asked Ayesha about the morals and manners of the Holy Prophet (S). She said: The morals of the Prophet were based on Quran. He was pleased with whatever Almighty Allah was pleased with and was angry at whatever Almighty Allah was angry with. [1]
He was having such excellent morals that Quran has praised him and said with regard to him:
وَإِنَّکَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِیمٍ
“And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. ” (68: 4)
Although in this short treatise it is not possible to explain all the great manners and morals of the Messenger of Allah (S) , we would try to mention some of them here:
Amirul Momineen (a. s. ) in the description of the Holy Prophet (S) says:
In generosity, he was ahead of
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all the people. He was the bravest of all. He was most truthful, loyal and had a kind disposition. He was the most social person. Whoever encountered him initially was influenced by his awe and after meeting him and being in his company used become fond of him. I have neither seen anyone like His Eminence before or after that. [1]
Anas ibn Malik has said with regard to His Eminence: He had the most excellent manners, was most forbearing and generous of the people. It never happened that they asked something from him and he refused. [2]
Ayesha says: The Holy Prophet (S) was not bad mannered lacking morals and he was not of those who raised a hue and cry in the markets. He did not recompense a bad deed with a bad turn; on the contrary he always forgave mistakes. [3]
Husain ibn Ali (a. s. ) has narrated from his father that he said:
The Holy Prophet (S) was always cheerful, good natured and soft spoken; he was never nasty, bad natured and fault-picker and he ignored that which he did not like. He never disappointed anyone. He had purified his self from three things: Argumentation, extravagance and vain acts. In three things he had nothing to do with anyone: He was never harsh and a fault finder; he was never inclined to expose the secrets and hidden deficiencies of others; he never spoke, except when it entailed gaining heavenly rewards. [4]
Anas ibn Malik says: I went to the Holy Prophet (S) to find him wearing
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a dress with a coarse edge. A Bedouin came to His Eminence, held his garment and pulled it roughly in such a way that I saw its signs on his shoulder; then he said: Muhammad, give me some of Allah’s wealth. The Holy Prophet (S) looked at him and smiled; then he ordered his men to give something to that man. [1]
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--------------------
[1]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 6, Pg. 37.
[1]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 16, Pg. 263.
[2]: Uyunul Athar, Vol. 2, Pg. 329.
[3]: Uyunul Athar, Vol. 2, Pg. 331.
[4]: Makarimul Akhlaq, Vol. 1, Pg. 13.
[1]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 6, Pg. 43.
Behavior with others
The Prophet of Islam (S) diligently observed the manners of society. He was extremely humble and kind. He treated all Muslims equally, respected all and expressed his love for them. He asked the well-being of those who were absent and visited the sick. He was present in funeral ceremonies. He accorded respect to children and greeted them first.
Abu Qatada has said with regard to His Eminence. Despite that grade and status, his humility exceeded that of other people. When he came to a group of companions, they stood up to pay respect to him, but he said: Do not honor me like the Persians who stand to pay respect to each other. I am the servant of God and I eat and drink like them. The Holy Prophet (S) sometimes used to be astride a donkey and also made another person sit behind him. He visited the poor to show his support and interacted with the underprivileged and even accepted invitations of slaves. When he entered an assembly, he took a seat in the last row. [2]
Jarir says with regard to the Messenger of Allah (S): He joked and spoke jovially
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with his friends. He also played with children and seated them in his lap. He accepted the invitation of all; visited the sick in the farthest corner of the city; accepted the excuse of those who committed mistakes. [1]
Anas says: The Holy Prophet (S) never stretched his legs before others. He saluted first whenever he met someone. He shook hands with his friends. He never stretched his legs before his companions. He accorded respect to all who came to meet him. Sometimes he used to spread out his cloak for the visitor to sit on or gave him that on which he was himself sitting. He addressed his companions with their agnomen (Kunyah) and called them with the best of names. He never interrupted when others spoke. [2]
Ibn Masud says: A person wanted to speak to the Holy Prophet (S) , but began to tremble at the awe of His Eminence. The Prophet said: Take it easy. I am not a king. Rather, I am the son of a lady who ate dried meat. [3]
Abu Dharr says: The Messenger of Allah (S) was seated among the companions when a poor man entered the assembly; but he could not recognize the Holy Prophet (S) without asking who the Prophet was. [4]
Anas says: The Messenger of Allah (S) passed by some children and greeted them.
He also says: When the Holy Prophet (S) did not see one of the companions for three days, he inquired about his well-being. If he were on a journey, he used to pray
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for him and if he was in town he used to go and meet him; if he was sick he paid a visit to him. [1]
Ayesha says: The Holy Prophet (S) never beat up his servants and he never hit anyone except in Holy war (Jihad). [2]
Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a. s. ) said: The Messenger of Allah (S) distributed his attention equally to all his companions and looked at them for equal duration of time. [3]
As a result of the good morals and manners of the Holy Prophet (S) people were attracted to him and accepted his call as the Quran has said:
فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ لِنْتَ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ کُنْتَ فَظّاً غَلِیظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانْفَضُّواْ مِنْ حَوْلِکَ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِى الْأَمْرِ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَکَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ یُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَکِّلِینَ
“Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you; pardon them therefore and ask pardon for them, and take counsel with them in the affair; so when you have decided, then place your trust in Allah; surely Allah loves those who trust. ” (3: 159)
Behavior of the Prophet with his family members
The treatment of Messenger of Allah (S) at home to his wives and children was extremely kind and friendly. He expressed love to them, was always cheerful and good natured to them. He helped them in household chores. He was never harsh and overlooked their mistakes. He was very kind to children and even played with them.
Anas says: The Messenger of Allah
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(S) helped the people his family members in household chores. He milked the goats, mended his shoes and did not transfer the burden of his tasks on others. He fed the animals, swept the house, tied the camels, ate with his servants, kneaded the dough and purchased groceries. [1]
Anas, the servant of the Messenger of Allah (S) says: I was in the service of the Holy Prophet (S) during his journey as well as at home. He never said: Why you did this? Or why you did not do that? [2]
Umrah says: I asked Ayesha: How did the Holy Prophet (S) behave with his family members? She replied: He was most soft spoken and the most magnanimous person, he was cheerful and smiling. [3]
Jabir says: One day I came to the Holy Prophet (S) and saw that Hasan and Husain were mounted on his back and he was moving on all fours and saying: You have the best of the mounts and you also are the best of the riders. [4]
Simplicity
The life of His Eminence was extremely simple and without any frills. His house was small and made up of clay. The floor was covered with a piece of mat and his food mostly consisted of barley bread and dates. Many a times it so happened that he did not even have this meager food and went hungry for a day or more. His clothes were simple and he mended his own shoes. But his simplicity was not due to poverty or deprivation, because
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he also possessed the strength to work and also had a share in war booty and public treasury.
His simplicity was because he wanted to be at the same level as that of the people of the early period of Islam who were mostly poor. The Holy Prophet (S) was the leader of Islamic community; therefore he refrained from luxuries so that it would be easy for others to bear difficulties. He distributed equitably the funds from public treasury. His and his relatives’ share was never more than the share of others. On the contrary, sometimes he even gave his own share to the needy.
Ibn Abbas narrates:
One day Umar came to the Holy Prophet (S) to find that the mat on which he was sitting had left an imprint on his side. He said: O Messenger of Allah (S) , if you had only procured a nice carpet for yourself. The Holy Prophet (S) replied: What do I have to do with the material world? My simile in the world is like the simile of a rider traveling on a hot day and who sits under a shade for an hour; then moves on. [1]
Ayesha says:
Sometimes a month passed on Aal Muhammad without their kitchen fires being kindled. Their food was nothing more than dates and water, except when cooked meat was brought for them. [2]
Ibn Abbas says: Sometimes many day and nights passed on the Prophet and his family when they did not have any food and they went to sleep hungry. [3]
Ayesha
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says: The Holy Prophet (S) passed away when his family had been hungry continuously since the last three days had not eaten wheat bread. [1]
It is mentioned in Uyunul Athar that: The Messenger of Allah (S) passed away from the world while his coat of mail was pawned with a Jew for a dirham to cover his household expenses. [2]
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[2]: Uyunul Athar, Vol. 2, Pg. 333.
[1]: Uyunul Athar, Vol. 2, Pg. 331.
[2]: Uyunul Athar, Vol. 2, Pg. 333.
[3]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 16, Pg. 329.
[4]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 16, Pg. 229.
[1]: Makarimul Akhlaq, Vol. 1, Pg. 19.
[2]: Tabaqat Ibne Saad, Vol. 1, Pg. 367.
[3]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 16, Pg. 28.
[1]: Uyunul Athar, Vol. 2, Pg. 334.
[2]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 6, Pg. 39.
[3]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 6, Pg. 39.
[4]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 43, Pg. 285.
[1]: Makarimul Akhlaq, Vol. 1, Pg. 25.
[2]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 6, Pg. 58.
[3]: Uyunul Athar, Vol. 2, Pg. 335.
[1]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 6, Pg. 57.
[2]: Uyunul Athar, Vol. 2, Pg. 334.
Worship
The Messenger of Allah (S) was the most devoted person to worship and he accorded great importance to the worship of Allah. He was very fond of ritual prayer and he remarked: The light of my eyes is in ritual prayer. [3]
He performed the obligatory prayers at the earliest hour and with concentration. He also recited the supererogatory and recommended prayers. He used to rise up in the last part of the night as Almighty Allah says in Quran:
وَمِنَ الَّیْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَّکَ عَسَى أَن یَبْعَثَکَ رَبُّکَ مَقَاماً مَّحْمُوداً
“And during a part of the night, pray Tahajjud (the midnight prayer) beyond what is incumbent on you; maybe your Lord will raise you to a position of great glory. ” (17: 79)
The Holy Prophet (S) was always engrossed in the remembrance of God. During the blessed month of Ramadan he paid more attention to ritual prayer and worship of God. He prayed so much that his legs got swollen and finally the following verse was revealed:
طَه / مَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَیْکَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَى
“Ta Ha. We have not revealed the Quran to you that you may be unsuccessful. ” (20: 1-2)
Mughira ibn Shoba says with regard to the worship of
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the Prophet:
He stood in ritual prayer at such length that his legs were swollen and he was told: Has God not forgiven your past and future sins? He replied: Should I not be a thankful servant of Allah? [1]
Anas says: The Messenger of Allah (S) used to always be engrossed in the remembrance of God and he never committed any vain act. [2]
Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a. s. ) says:
The Messenger of Allah (S) was in the chamber of Ummu Salma one night. Ummu Salma awoke and could not find the Holy Prophet (S) in bed. She became suspicious and arose and searched for him around the house. She found him in a corner; he was standing with his hands raised to the heavens; he was weeping and saying: O Allah, never take away from me the good sense of doing good. [3]
He also said:
It was the habit of the Holy Prophet (S) that he used to remain in Etekaf at the Masjid during the last ten days of the month of Ramadan. A tent was pitched therein from him. He used to gather his bed and get ready for worship. [4]
Abu Bakr said to the Prophet:
O Messenger of Allah (S) , your hair has grayed. He replied: Surah Hud, Surah Waqiyah, Surah Mursalat, Surah Naba and Surah Takwir have caused it. [5]
Abu Dharr says:
The Messenger of Allah (S) stood in prayer throughout the night and recited the following verse: “If Thou shouldst chastise them, then surely they are Thy servants; and if Thou shouldst forgive them, then surely
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Thou art the Mighty, the Wise. ” [1]
Morals and Manners of the Prophet in Quran
point
The Holy Prophet (S) always entreated to Almighty Allah with humility and sincerity to bestow him with good manners. In his supplications, His Eminence said: My Lord, improve my manners and morals. He also prayed: O Lord, Keep me free of bad morals and manners.
God answered his prayers and revealed the Quran on him and disciplined him through Quran and the Quran became his nature. Saad ibn Hisham says: I asked Ayesha about the morals and manners of the Holy Prophet (S). She said: Have you not read the Quran? I asked: Why? She said: The morals of the Prophet are same as Quran.
Morals of the Prophet are taken directly from revelation and Quran. By way of examples see the following:
خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَهِلِینَ
“Take to forgiveness and enjoin good and turn aside from the ignorant. ” (7: 199)
إِنَّ اللَّهَ یَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَنِ
“Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) …” (16: 90)
وَاصْبِرْ وَمَا صَبْرُکَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ
“And be patient and your patience is not but by (the assistance of) Allah. ” (16: 127)
وَ اصْبِرْ عَلَى مَآ أَصَابَکَ إِنَّ ذَ لِکَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ
“…and bear patiently that which befalls you; surely these acts require courage. ” (31: 17)
وَلَمَن صَبَرَ وَغَفَرَ إِنَّ ذَلِکَ لَمِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ
“And whoever is patient and forgiving, these most surely are actions due to courage. ” (42: 43)
فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاصْفَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ یُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِینَ
“…so pardon them and turn away; surely Allah loves those who do good (to others). ” (5: 13)
وَلْیَعْفُواْ وَلْیَصْفَحُواْ أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن یَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ
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لَکُمْ
“…and they should pardon and turn away. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? ” (24: 22)
ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِى بَیْنَکَ وَ بَیْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ کَأَنَّهُ وَلِىٌّ حَمِیمٌ
“Repel (evil) with what is best, when lo! he between whom and you was enmity would be as if he were a warm friend. ” (41: 34)
وَالْکَظِمِینَ الْغَیْظَ وَ الْعَافِینَ عَنِ الْنَّاسِ
“…and those who restrain (their) anger and pardon men. ” (3: 134)
اجْتَنِبُواْ کَثِیراً مِّنَ الظَّنِ ّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِ ّ إِثْمٌ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُواْ وَلَا یَغْتَب بَّعْضُکُم بَعْضاً
“…avoid most of suspicion, for surely suspicion in some cases is a sin, and do not spy nor let some of you backbite others. ” (49: 12)
In the above verses and hundreds of other verses Almighty Allah has mentioned good morals and manners and advised the Prophet and his followers to follow them and He has also listed the bad habits and morals and asked them to keep away from them. The Holy Prophet (S) himself observed good manners and morals and kept away from bad manners and morals, in such a way that he can be called as the personification of the morals and manners of Quran as Ayesha had described him with this title. That is why Almighty Allah said with regard to him:
وَإِنَّکَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِیمٍ
“And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. ” (68: 4)
The Holy Prophet (S) himself acted on good manners and by his word and speech, continuously advised the Muslims to observe good manners and morals and said: I have been sent to perfect morals. Therefore hundreds
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of traditions have been recorded from the Prophet of Islam with regard to ethical problems and recorded in books of traditions.
Good morals and preferable manners can be considered as most important factors of his popularity and influence among the Muslims. Since they did what he told them to do and agreed to what he said. The same point is mentioned in Quran:
فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ لِنْتَ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ کُنْتَ فَظّاً غَلِیظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانْفَضُّواْ مِنْ حَوْلِکَ
“Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you…” (3: 159)
Some Qualities of the Prophet
Faiz Kashani has narrated from Abul Bakhtari that he said with regard to the Prophet: The Prophet never spoke ill of the believers and if by chance he uttered something harsh, he made amends for it immediately by doing a good turn to them. He never cursed his women or servants. During battles, His Eminence was urged to curse the enemies, but he said: I have been sent for mercy and guidance and not to curse. Whenever he was suggested to curse Muslims or infidels, especially or generally he used to rather pray for them.
He never beat anyone; except that it should be for the sake of God. He never sought revenge to any offence, except if it had been an affront to God. He never had two options to choose from, but that he chose the easiest of them. Except that it should be a cause
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of sin or breaking off of relations as he kept away from it more than anyone else. No free man or slave ever came to him with a request, but that he hastened to help him or her immediately.
Anas says: By God, the Messenger of Allah (S) never ordered me to do something which I did not like. And he never said: Why didn’t you do it? And if his family members scolded me for that job, he said: Leave him, because there is a job he has accomplished. The Messenger of Allah (S) never spoke in a harsh manner, if the bed was made for him, he slept on it and if not, he slept on bare floor.
His manners were such that he greeted all those he met. He never interrupted others while they spoke and waited patiently for others to finish speaking.
When he shook hands he never retrieved his hand before the other person. When he met any of the companions, he shook hands with them. He took their hand in his hands and interlaced his fingers with theirs and held them firm. He never arose or sat down without mentioning God. If a person came to meet him when he was praying, he shortened his prayer and asked: Do you want something from me?
After fulfilling his need, he again continued his prayer. He never occupied a special place in assemblies and he took any seat that was vacant. He never stretched his legs in front of
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others, lest there should be less space for others; except when ample space was available. He mostly sat facing the Qibla. He greeted all those who came to meet him and he even spread out his cloak for the visitor to sit on even though he was not related to him. Whoever came to meet him was urged to sit in the seat of the Prophet.
He was respectful to one and all in such a way that each of them was convinced that he or she was the most respected person in view of the Prophet. He paid equal attention to all those who were present in the assembly. His gathering was in a halo of modesty, humility and trust. Allah has said with regard to him:
“Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you. ”
He addressed his companions with their agnomen (Kunniyat) in order to accord them respect and please them. He selected an agnomen for whosoever who did not have it already. He even selected agnomens for ladies who had children and those who did not have any children. He gave agnomen even to children in order to please them. He was angered by people only after a long time and used to become happy very soon. He was most beneficial for the people. He never raised his voice in his assemblies. When he arose from a gathering,
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he said: “Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. I witness that there is no god except You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance. ” He then said: Jibraeel has taught me as such. [1]
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[3]: Jamiul Ahadith Shia, Vol. 20, Pg. 25.
[1]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 6, Pg. 60.
[2]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 6, Pg. 46.
[3]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 6, Pg. 217.
[4]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 6, Pg. 273.
[5]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 6, Pg. 67.
[1]: Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, Vol. 6, Pg. 65.
[1]: Mulla Mohsin Faiz Kashani, Muhajjatul Baidha fee Tahdheebul Ahyaa, Vol. 4, Pg. 128-132.
Forgiveness Despite Having The Power Of Revenge
The Holy Prophet (S) was the most forbearing person. He was most inclined than others to forgive despite having the power to retaliate. One day he distributed gold and silver necklaces among his companions, which were a part of public treasury. A Bedouin stood up and objected: Has God not ordered you to observe justice? I do not consider you just in this distribution. He said: Who else other than me would deal with you in such a just manner?
When that man wanted to go away, the Prophet said: Call him back. Jabir has narrated that the Holy Prophet (S) , after the Battle of Hunain distributed silver coins among the people, which were obtained as war booty. A man said: O Messenger of Allah (S) , distribute equitably. The Holy Prophet (S) said: If I am not just, who else would be? If it is so, I would be causing harm. At this moment Umar stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah (S) , he is a hypocrite; allow me to strike off his head. The Holy Prophet (S) disallowed him and said: I seek the refuge of Allah from committing such a deed as people would say: Muhammad kills his own companions.
During one of the battles, when the Messenger
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of Allah (S) was in a safe place away from the battle, an opponent came and stood at his head with a naked sword and said: Who can save you from me? The Holy Prophet (S) just said: God. At that moment the sword fell from his hand. The Prophet picked it up immediately and said: Now who can save you from me? He replied: Although the sword is in your hand, you are the best wielder of the sword.
He said: Say: I testify that there is no god, except Allah. He said: I will not fight you and I am going out of the battlefield. The Holy Prophet (S) left him alone. That man went back to his people and said: I am coming from the best of men.
Anas says: A Jew woman decided to poison the Holy Prophet (S) through poisoned roasted meat and she came to His Eminence with this intent. The Holy Prophet (S) asked about her intention. She said: I want to eliminate you. He said: God forbid that such thing should really happen. Companions asked: Did you not eliminate her? He replied: No.
His Eminence, Ali (a. s. ) said: The Messenger of Allah (S) told me, Zubair and Miqdad to reach Raudha Khak as soon as possible. There we would see a litter with a woman carrying a letter. We should take the letter from her and bring it to the Prophet. We set out immediately and reached the stated place soon. We decried the litter
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on which that woman was seated. We brought her down and said: Give us the letter that you are carrying. She said: I have nothing with me. We said: You are definitely carrying a letter; give it to us or we would kill or strip you and take it from you. She was compelled to take out the letter she had concealed in her hair and hand it over to us. We brought the letter to the Holy Prophet (S).
He opened it and it was written therein: This is the letter of Hatib ibn Abi Balta to some polytheists of Mecca. The letter divulged to the polytheists an administrative secret of Muslims. The Messenger of Allah (S) got Hatib arrested and asked: Why have you written this letter? He replied: O Messenger of Allah (S) , emigrants who have migrated from Mecca to Medina, have relatives in Mecca who can defend their family members there. But I don’t have any supporters in Mecca. Through this letter, I intended to do a good turn to the Meccans so they might have a soft corner for my family in Mecca. What I did was not due to infidelity or apostasy. The Holy Prophet (S) accepted his excuse and said: You are right. Umar ibn Khattab, who was present there, said: Allow me to execute this hypocrite. The Holy Prophet (S) said: This man had participated in Battle of Badr; it is possible that he may gain divine forgiveness.
The Holy Prophet (S) said:
Do
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not narrate any defects of my companions to me, because I would like to meet you with a pure heart. [1]
Moderation and Pardon
A Bedouin came to the Holy Prophet (S) and asked for something. The Holy Prophet (S) gave something and asked: Have I done a favor to you? He replied: No, you have not. Muslims became furious at the audacity of that man and wanted to punish him. The Holy Prophet (S) signaled that no one should do anything to him. After that he arose and entered his chamber and sent someone to bring that man.
Then he gave another quantity to him and then asked: Have I done a favor to you, are you happy? He replied: Yes, O Messenger of Allah (S) , you have done a favor to me; may God give you a good reward for it. The Holy Prophet (S) said: You uttered those words and angered the companions; I feel that it would be appropriate if you should repeat these words to them so that they may not harbor malice to you. That man said: I will do that.
The next day that man came to the Masjid. The Holy Prophet (S) told the companions: Yesterday you heard those words from this gentleman; I invited him home and gave him some more till he was satisfied. The Bedouin also said: Yes, I am satisfied; may God give you a good reward.
The Messenger of Allah (S) said: The simile of myself and this man is the like the simile
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of a man whose camel has fled. People chase the camel to apprehend it, but as much they chase it, as much further it flees. The camel owner tells the people: Leave my camel alone. I know better how to control it. At that moment he takes up a bunch of grass and waves it at the camel and in this way calms down the beast gradually. The camel slowly kneels down before him. Then he puts the litter on its back and mounts it. I also dealt with that Bedouin in the same manner. If you had killed him on hearing those words, you would have entered Hell. [1]
Generosity and Forgiveness
When Imam Ali (a. s. ) described the fine qualities of the Holy Prophet (S) ; he said as follows: He was the most forgiving and generous of all. He was most cheerful, truthful, loyal, soft-natured and magnanimous. His awe left its mark on the people. Anyone who came across him started liking him. He had no equal before or after him. He did not spurn any beggar without giving him anything. A person asked something from His Eminence, and he was given a large number of sheep. That man returned to his folks and remarked: Accept the faith that Muhammad is propagating. He is generous in giving and he does not fear poverty.
He never said ‘no’ to anyone who asked him for something. One day seventy thousand dirhams were presented to him and he distributed all of it the same day. A beggar asked
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for something but since he had nothing, he told him: Presently you may buy whatever you need on credit, and as soon I get something, I would repay your debt. Umar said: O Messenger of Allah (S) , God has not asked for anything on which you have no control. The Prophet was not pleased by this suggestion. The beggar said: O Messenger of Allah (S) , be generous and do not fear poverty. The Holy Prophet (S) smiled at these words and the signs of joy became apparent on his face.
When Battle of Hunain was over, Bedouins of the surrounding area gathered around the Prophet and asked for a share in the booty. The Holy Prophet (S) was forced to take refuge in a tree and they even snatched his cloak. He said: Give back my cloak. If I had as many camels as these stones I would distribute them among you and you will not find me miserly, lying and timid. [1]
Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a. s. ) said: A man came to the Holy Prophet (S) and gave twelve dirhams. Since his garments had become old, he gave the twelve dirhams to Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a. s. ) and said: Buy a dress for me. Ali (a. s. ) says: I went to the market and purchased a dress for twelve dirhams and returned to the Prophet. He looked at the dress and said: I don’t like it. Would the seller take it back? I said: I don’t know. Then I took the dress back and
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said: The Messenger of Allah (S) did not like this dress, can you cancel the transaction?
He replied: Yes. He took the dress and returned the twelve dirhams. I took the money and returned them to the Holy Prophet (S). Then I came to the market with him to buy another dress. On the way we saw a female slave weeping by the roadside. The Holy Prophet (S) asked what the matter was and she said: My master had given four dirhams to me and asked me to make some purchases. But somehow I lost the money. Now I cannot dare to go back home. The Messenger of Allah (S) gave her four dirhams and said: Go home.
After that we continued on our way to the market and bought a dress from His Eminence, for four dirhams. The Prophet put on the dress and said: Praise be to Allah. On way back home we saw a man having nothing to wear and he was saying: God will dress in garment of Paradise one who gives me something to wear. The Messenger of Allah (S) gave the dress he had purchased for himself.
We went to the market for the second time and bought a dress from the remaining four dirhams. He put it on and thanked the Almighty. We were returning home when we saw that same slave girl and she still sitting there. The Messenger of Allah (S) asked: Why have you not returned home? She replied: Since I was
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very late I feared beating. The Holy Prophet (S) said: Come I will accompany you home and recommend your case with your master. He came to the house of that slave girl and said: Peace be on you O people of the house. No one replied till he repeated it thrice.
The third time, the owner of the house responded: And peace be on you, O Messenger of Allah (S). The Prophet asked: Why did you not reply the first time? He replied: I heard your Salam but I wanted you to repeat it. The Messenger of Allah (S) said: Your slave girl has returned late; do not punish her for it. He said: I have emancipated this slave girl as a mark of respect for you. The Messenger of Allah (S) said: Praise be to Allah. I have not seen any twelve dirhams more blessed than these. Two persons got clothes and a slave girl was freed. [1]
Imam Muhammad Baqir (a. s. ) said: A beggar approached the Messenger of Allah (S) and asked for something. Since the Holy Prophet (S) was not having anything to fulfill the needs of that beggar, he told the companions: Is there anyone who would lend me something? A person said: O Messenger of Allah (S) , I will. He said: Give four loads of dates to this beggar; I will return them to you later on. The Ansari man handed over the dates to the beggar. After some days, he came to the Prophet and demanded
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him to return the dates that he had loaned.
The Messenger of Allah (S) said: I will do so if God wills. The Ansari man approached him a number of times asking for his dates and the Prophet every time assured: I will do so if God wills. After a period of time he again came to the Prophet and asked: Why do you not fulfill my demand? The Prophet said: I will do so if God wills. Ansari man said: Till when would you go on saying if God wills, if God wills? The Prophet smiled and told the companions: Is there anyone who can lend me a quantity of dates? A man agreed and the Prophet told him to give eight loads of dates to that man. That Ansari said: I am not asking for additional loads. He said: They also belong to you.
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[1]: Muhajjatul Baidha, Vol. 4, Pg. 145-148.
[1]: Muhajjatul Baidha, Vol. 4, Pg. 149.
[1]: Muhajjatul Baidha, Vol. 4, Pg. 149-150.
[1]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 16, Pg. 14.
Modesty
In spite of having such a great position, the Messenger of Allah (S) was an extremely humble person. Ibn Aamir says: I saw the Messenger of Allah (S) during the stoning of Satans (Jamarat). He was astride a camel and was stoning without exercising any sort of formalities.
He rode a donkey without a saddle and at the same time had another person with him. He visited the sick and attended funerals; he accepted the invitation of slaves; mended his own shoes and patched his clothes. He cooperated with his family members in household chores. Companions did not stand up to pay respect to him as
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they knew that he did not like it. He greeted children.
Sometimes when a person trembled in his awe, he said: Take it easy, I am not a king. I am the son of a lady who ate dried meat. He sat among companions in such a way as if he was one of them. A poor man entered the assembly; but could not recognize the Prophet so that he may ask him about something. Hence companions fixed a special place for him.
Ayesha said to the Prophet: While eating, recline on something so that you are comfortable. The Messenger of Allah (S) brought his head near the ground and said: No, I eat and sit like slaves.
He accepted the invitation of all those who invited him for dinner. When he sat with companions, if they talked about matters related to the hereafter, he spoke with them but if they discussed food and drinks or worldly matters, he joined their discussion as a friendly gesture. [1]
Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a. s. ) said: Once a foster sister of the Holy Prophet (S) came to him. He became very happy to see her, spread out his sheet for her and made her sit thereon and talked happily with her. When she left, her brother arrived. The Holy Prophet (S) did not display as much welcome for him. When companions asked he said: “She is more respectful to her father. ” [2]
Prophet’s activities inside the house
Imam Husain (a. s. ) says: I asked my father about the jobs the Prophet did inside his house. He
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said: How he spent his time at home was left to his own discretion. When he entered the house, he divided his time into three parts: a part for worship; a part for his family and remaining for his personal chores.
From the time reserved for himself also, he divided it between himself and others and he fulfilled their needs. In the part reserved from others, he gave first preference to the excellent and religious persons and in that also he gave precedence to each of them as per his merit. Some of them had one need and some two and others had more. He fulfilled their demands and solved their problems and problems related to people in general.
He decided a matter and then said: Those who are present must convey the mentioned problems to those who are absent. He also said: Convey to me the needs of those who have no access to me. One who conveys the needs of the needy to the ruler; Almighty Allah on Judgment Day makes his feet more steadfast. In this manner, problems were presented to him and he did not allow that during this time they should discuss other matters. In these meetings, companions used to be present as visitors, but they did not disperse without getting social and intellectual benefits. [1]
Prophet’s activities outside the house
Imam Hasan (a. s. ) said: At that moment I asked my father what the Prophet did outside the house? He replied: The Messenger of Allah (S) never spoke, except when it was beneficial.
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He was such that companions became attached to him and did not disperse from him. He accorded respect to the leader of every tribe and retained him as the head of his clan. He warned people about discord and mischief. He used to protect himself from people without misbehaving with them. He used to be affable to his companions. He used to be informed about news and happenings in the society through public. He supported good works and condemned the evil acts and deeds.
He used to exercise caution in all matters and was never careless, lest those who are actually in charge of them should be careless and lazy and he was prepared in all circumstances. He was never shortcoming in truth and neither did he exceed the limits. His relatives were the best of human beings. The most honorable among them were those who dispensed good advice and were well-wishers. The best in his view was one who was most helpful to his brothers. [1]
Behavior of the Prophet in gatherings
Imam Hasan (a. s. ) said: Then I asked my father about the behavior of the Prophet in gatherings. He replied: He never sat down or stood up except with the mention of God. He never reserved a special place for himself in a gathering and he prohibited such a thing. When he entered an assembly, he took any place that was vacant and advised the same to his companions. He paid equal attention to all those who were present there, so that no one should think that
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others are being preferred. He used to wait patiently for the other person to conclude his statement before he would speak up.
Anyone who asked him for something either had his need fulfilled or he pleased him through his words. People used to be satisfied with his manners and he was like a father to them. All were in fact equal in his view. His gathering was full of forbearance, modesty, patience and trust. In his gathering, voices were not raised. The down-trodden people were not humiliated and their mistakes were overlooked. The people of the gathering were equal and as brothers and in observance of piety, they competed with each other. They observed absolute humility. They accorded respect to the elderly and were kind to youngsters. They preferred the needy over their own selves. They looked after outsiders who visited their town. [1]
Behavior of the Prophet towards people in a gathering
Now Imam Hasan (a. s. ) asked about the behavior of the Prophet with his neighbors. Imam Ali (a. s. ) said: He was always jolly in nature, cheerful and soft-natured. He was never harsh and cruel. He never shouted or spoke ill of anyone. He did not pick faults and was also not a flatterer.
He used to ignore what he disliked. He did not disappoint others and did not kill the hopes of the hopeful. He refrained from three things: Arguments, speaking too much and talking of useless things. In three things, he had nothing to do with anyone: He never condemned or scolded anyone nor picked fault in anyone. He
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never spoke except when it carried divine rewards. When he spoke, the people of the gathering used to become absolutely quiet as if a bird was sitting on their heads.
When he became quiet people spoke up, but did not object or argue with him. When his lips moved, all fell silent so that he may conclude his statement. When the people laughed, the Messenger of Allah (S) also laughed and if they expressed astonishment he also expressed amazement. He tolerated the harsh words of some people and demands of strangers. Companions also, for the sake of Prophet and to attract his attention helped strangers and needy persons. The Messenger of Allah (S) used to advise the companions that they should do their best to fulfill the needs of the needy. He did not accept the adoration of anyone, except that it should be for a favor. He never interrupted anyone before he could conclude what he was saying. [1]
Behavior of the Prophet with the youth
The Holy Prophet of Islam (S) valued the young people and the power of youth and he time and again advised his companions to know the value of youth. That they should accord respect to their personalities and pay special attention to their upbringing, give them responsibilities and protect them. The Prophet also did the same, so that others would follow his example. We present some examples of this as follows:
In the early period of Islam, Asad ibn Zurarah and Zakwan came from Medina to Mecca. They met the Holy Prophet (S)
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during one of the rituals and accepted Islam through his propagation and recited the formula of faith. When they decided to return to Medina, they requested the Holy Prophet (S) to send someone with them to teach the people Quran and invite them to Islam.
The Messenger of Allah (S) appointed Musab ibn Umair, who although a youth was well versed with the Holy Quran, to accompany Asad and Zakwan to Medina and to propagate Islam. Also that he should lead the prayers and recite the Quran and sermons to them. Musab came to Medina and initiated his propagation. Since he was a worthy youth, energetic, accomplished and determined, people, especially the youth accepted his call and Islam became popular in Medina. After some days, Musab wrote to the Messenger of Allah (S) about the conversion of the people of Medina to Islam. [1]
The Holy Prophet (S) at the time of departing for the Battle of Hunain appointed Itab ibn Usaid, a youth of twenty-one, as the governor and congregation leader of Mecca and asked him: Do you know, where and on whom have I appointed you as governor? I have appointed you as the ruler of the sanctuary of God; after that he repeated thrice: Be nice to the folks of the sanctuary.
He fixed for him a salary of a dirham per day. In the administration of Mecca, Itab was kind and merciful to believers and was strict and rough with the opponents. He was very strict about attendance in
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congregation prayer. He delivered very nice sermons. One day he said in his speech: The Prophet has fixed a dirham for me every day and I remain content with it without asking anyone for more. [1]
A few days before his passing away, the Messenger of Allah (S) decided to dispatch an army to confront the Romans and with this aim gave the command of the huge army to Usamah ibn Zaid, a boy of seventeen. He was made the commander of all emigrants (Muhajireen) and helpers (Ansar). He told him: Camp at such and such place on the outskirts of the town till people join your forces and he ordered emigrants and helpers to join Usamah’s army and not to keep away from it. Some companions did not join under the pretext that Usamah was too young to be a commander. When this information reached the Holy Prophet (S) , in spite of the fact that he was severely ill, he came to the Masjid, mounted the pulpit and after praise and glorification of God said:
What is it that I hear about the commandership of Usamah? And under the pretext that he is too young, some are not joining his army. Previously also you had objected to the commandership of his father. By God, Usamah is indeed capable of leading the army and he is the best for it. Join his army and obey his commands. [2]
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[1]: Muhajjatul Baidha, Vol. 4, Pg. 151-152.
[2]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 16, Pg. 281.
[1]: Makarimul Akhlaq, Vol. 1, Pg. 11.
[1]: Makarimul Akhlaq, Vol. 1, Pg. 12.
[1]: Makarimul Akhlaq, Vol. 1, Pg. 12.
[1]: Makarimul Akhlaq, Vol. 1, Pg. 13.
[1]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 19, Pg. 10-11.
[1]: Seerat Halabi, Vol. 3, Pg. 120.
[2]: Biharul Anwar, Vol. 21, Pg. 410; Tarikh Yaqubi, Vol. 2, Pg. 113.
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