SHAFAQNA-
With eyes as bright as the shining sun, a reality on the lips more brilliant than the light of the sun, a heart more fresh than the flowers of the gardens of Yathrib and Taif, habits and morals more decent than the moon- lit nights of the Hijaz, a mind more brisk than the strong winds, a bewitching tongue, a heart with heavenly light, firm determination like a trenchant sword and heavenly words on the tongue – such was Muhammad son of Abdullah, the prophet of Arabia, the prophet who destroyed the idols which had separated brothers from brothers. The only thing which the cowardly Quraysh desired was money should be transferred from the hands of the nomadic Arabs to their own pockets. Suddenly they heard a voice which shook their nerves. Their hopes were shattered.
With eyes as bright as the shining sun, a reality on the lips more brilliant
than the light of the sun, a heart more fresh than the flowers of the gardens of
Yathrib and Taif, habits and morals more decent than the moon- lit nights of the
Hijaz, a mind more brisk than the strong winds, a bewitching tongue, a heart
with heavenly light, firm determination like a trenchant sword and heavenly
words on the tongue – such was Muhammad son of Abdullah, the prophet of Arabia,
the prophet who destroyed the idols which had separated brothers from brothers.
He did not break only the idols of wood and stone but also broke the idols of
wealth, indecent habits and party-spirit.
The only thing which the cowardly Quraysh desired was money should be
transferred from the hands of the nomadic Arabs to their own pockets. The only
value which they attached to life was that in order to earn profit they should
travel through the desert on the back of the camels undergoing extreme hardships
and then return to their hometown Mecca – the same Mecca which was the city of
idol-worship, and where money was the only thing which counted.
Suddenly they heard a voice which shook their nerves. Their hopes were
shattered. The world turned away its face from them saying: “The value of man is
not the same which you have assessed and the object of the creation of the
nomadic Arabs is not the same which you think it to be”.
……. This was the voice of Muhammad ……..
Banu Asad and Banu Tamim were so foolish and ignorant that they buried their
daughters alive without any cause. There was no justification for their doing so
except that it was a custom which had survived amongst them. They were opposed
to the Divine will. They hated the beauty of nature. And then they heard a
voice, which was expressive of deep love and sympathy for the people saying:
“Don’t bury your daughters alive. Daughters are as good a creation of God as the
sons. No human being has a right to deprive others of life. It is only God who
creates the people and makes them die”.
…….. This was the voice of Muhammad …….
The Arabs were always fighting. They fought and shed blood for years on account
of very trivial things. They killed their own brothers and then rejoiced and
glorified themselves on it. To sacrifice their lives for the sake of their own
ignorance was something very ordinary for them. The children cried and screamed
and grew up in conditions which were not conducive to the creation of love or
sympathy for anyone in their minds.
In these circumstances they heard another voice which said: “What are you doing?
You kill one another although you are all brothers because all of you have been
created by God. Strife is something satanic. Peace and friendship are more
beneficial for you. The blessing for which you fight can’t be achieved except
through peace”.
…….. This, too, was the voice of Muhammad …….
The Arabs were the most proud and egoistic people. They considered the non-Arabs
inferior to themselves. Not only this but they did not consider the non-Arabs
even human beings. Muhammad disliked this attitude of the Arabs very much.
Addressing these proud people he said: “No Arab is superior to a non-Arab unless
he is more pious. Whether you like it or not all human beings are brothers of
one another”.
There were oppressed, homeless and helpless persons whose faces had been
scorched by the hot winds. The society had discarded them and made their lives
miserable. They were more humble in the eyes of the people than the particles of
sand and their life had become extremely unenviable. And these were the true
friends of the prophet of Islam, just as the indigent and outcasts of the
society were the friends of Jesus Christ and other great men of the world. It
was these very people for whose benefit the prophet of Islam endeavoured to
prevent the establishment of dictatorship, disallowed slavery, freed man from
the bondage of his fellow-men, and established the public treasury so that all
might benefit from it without any discrimination. He directed the efforts of the
people towards public welfare. He insisted on Quraysh, who were his kinsmen, at
every step that they should improve their conduct, do good deeds, and keep their
attention directed whole-heartedly to God, who has united the scattered creation
into a single whole.
However, Quraysh instigated the ignorant persons as well as their own children
to stone and ridicule him.
The helpless, oppressed and homeless slaves among whom one was Bilal, the
Mu’azzin of the prophet, were overjoyed when they heard this: “All human beings
are fed by God. He likes him most who is more helpful to his creatures”.
…….. This was the voice of Muhammad …….
Those who were his enemies and stoned and ridiculed him heard this animating
voice: “If you (Muhammad) had been stern and hard-hearted they would all have
deserted you a long time ago. Forgive them and ask God to forgive (their sins)
and consult with them in certain matter. But when you reach a decision trust
God. God loves those who trust Him”.
…….. This was the voice of Muhammad …….
The following pure words were imprinted on the minds of those who were
endeavouring in the path of God for a better life, and were ready to support him
(Muhammad) in his campaign against idol-worship and evil-doing, and were afraid
lest their rights and good conduct might be wasted in the battle-field.
“Remember! Don’t be treacherous. Don’t commit breach of trust. Don’t kill either
a child or a woman or an old man or a monk in a monastery. Don’t burn a
date-palm tree and don’t cut any tree nor pull down a building”.
…….. This voice was the voice of Muhammad …….
The Arabs heard this heavenly voice from Muhammad and spread it in all the four
corners of the world. They covered powerful rulers and kings with this voice,
established brotherhood amongst human beings and strung them in one faith, and
created relationship between man and God.
The shade of Muhammad spread so much that the entire Old World came under it and
the land from the east upto the west began producing the fruits of goodness,
knowledge, peace and friendship. The prophet of Islam stretched his hand and
sowed the seeds of friendship and brotherhood throughout the world. That hand is
still stretched and is busy sowing the seeds. Hence, there is no part of the
world wherein the followers of Muhammad are not found. One of them may be in
Pakistan and the other may be in Spain, but in spite of this both of them are
treated to be under one and the same standard. The prophet provided honour and
respect to the Orientals which is even now a shining crown on their heads.
This voice of the prophet, was a call for human brotherhood. It stopped the
hands of the rulers from reaching the property of the subjects and gave equal
rights to all human beings. In his religion there is no discrimination between a
common man, a ruler and a subject and an Arab and a non-Arab, because all human
beings are the slaves of God and it is He who provides sustenance to all of
them.
This voice emancipated women from the oppression of men, freed the labourers from
the injustice of the capitalists and delivered the servants from the degradation
of submission to their masters. As opposed to Plato and other philosophers, who
deprive the workers of their social rights on account of their mean occupation
and have divided the society into many grades, the prophet of Islam made all
human beings participate in the affairs of government. He also disallowed usury
and exploitation of one man by another.
After the prophet of Islam it was Ali bin Talib who called men to good morals.
Source: Selected Chapter from
The Voice of Human Justice by George Jordac