In Praise of God - The Prophet's Birthday

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In Praise of God - The Prophet's Birthday

By Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

Twenty-six years ago I became a Muslim largely because I fell in love
with a beautiful human being. "I was only sent to perfect noble
character", said the man declared as "a mercy to all the worlds".

As time passed, this love grew as my knowledge of him increased. I
painfully watched his religion hijacked by some for their own ends –
distorting his message and forgetting that he was indeed a mercy to
all the worlds. I am troubled by the media's portrayal of him
sometimes in the worst of lights. How could the man I came to know
and love be so vilified and maligned by those who claim to represent
him and also by those who aim to be unbiased interpreters?

Mohammad, Peace be upon Him was a shy, reticent man who lived among
his people with such high moral character they called him `al-amin,'
the trustworthy.

The Prophet of Islam was born in the city of Mecca, Arabia, into a
poor but noble branch of an aristocratic clan known as Koreish, a
people who despised treachery, lies and stupidity, while honoring
bravery in battle, generosity in partying, and cleverness in poetry.

Some families, were so ashamed of their baby girls, that they would
bury them alive instead of suffering the possible indignity of future
dishonor. The religion of the Arabs at the time was a hodge-podge of
superstition, divination and idolatry. To them, man's life ended with
his death and his afterlife was based on his military exploits might
be immortalized by a poet's tongue.

The Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon Him was born into `this' world on
April 9th, 570, Christian era in the lunar month of Rabi'a al-awwal.
His father, Abdallah died during his mother's pregnancy. And for the
first four years he was raised in the relative purity of the desert
by a Bedouin woman named Halimah. After which he returned to his
mother, Aminah. But in his seventh year, his mother died leaving him
in the care of his grandfather.

At the age of twenty-five, he was employed as a commercial agent by
Lady Khadijah, a successful widow from his own clan. She soon
recognized his honesty and good nature and proposed marriage.
Although fifteen years younger than she was, he accepted her
proposal, and fathered six of his seven children with her.

At the age of forty, it had become his custom to escape the idolatry
of Meccan society by seeking solitude in a cave on the mountain known
as the "the mountain of Light." In the solitary confines of his small
cave a voice pierced his consciousness declaring: Recite!

Alarmed and shivering he fled to his wife, begging her to wrap him in
a cloak. He feared for his sanity, concerned that a desert spirit or
poetic muse might be pursuing him. More revelations soon followed and
Muhammad came to the understanding that he was not only a prophet in
a long line of prophets, but that he was the last of them who was
sent with a universal message.

As the days passed his revelations increased and they were powerfully
rhythmic punctuated with intoxicating messages that challenged
listeners to reflect on everyday miracles such as the alternation of
the night and day. These revelations revealed to Muhammad came to be
known as the Koran, the Muslim holy book. For thirteen years he
invited his clan to worship one God, sit with slaves in spiritual
solidarity, respect women as soul-full equals and the source of human
mercy, care for the widow, the orphan, the weak and the oppressed.

At first people ridiculed his message and accused him of "attempting
to make the gods one." His message threatened his people's financial
control of the markets of Mecca where pilgrims from all over Arabia
came to spend their wealth. When his clan failed to stop his
preaching they plotted to kill him in his sleep. But he was warned by
the Angel Gabriel and told to flee in the cover of darkness to Madina
with his beloved friend and lifelong companion Abu Bakr.

Setting out, the two sought refuge in a cave to escape the skilled
trackers of Mecca hot on their trail. The bounty hunters quickly came
upon the cave, but a spider's web had already covered the entrance
and a dove with her young rested in a nest above it.

When the posse left and the two felt safe again, they continued their
journey to the city of Yathrib. And as they entered it the young
girls and children of Bani Najjar came out chanting lines of poetry
which is still sung all over the world in remembrance of this
auspicious occasion. The name Yathrib was changed to Medina, city of
hope. It became a city founded on the brotherhood of virtue. The
Prophet enacted a treaty uniting the once warring groups. He secured
the rights of the Jewish minority by granting them full citizenship
and freedom to practice their religion without constraint.

Days after his arrival in Medina he began the construction of a
mosque, a sanctuary of prayer and meditation, in the center of the
city. And he had his companions; the Muslims create their own
marketplace in order to insure economic strength.

The Meccans, sensing that a rising power was now emerging in the
peninsula, plotted ways of subverting the prophet and his growing
community of believers.

And the prophet, who had practiced a strict pacifism in Mecca for 13
years and disliked the use of coercive force, was now given
permission by God to defend against any attacks by his enemies. The
Quran declared, "Fighting has been prescribed for you and you detest
it, but perhaps you detest something and in it is much good. And
perhaps you love something and in it is much harm, and God knows and
you do not know." (Quran 2:216). The prophet said, "Never desire to
meet your enemies, rather ask God for peace and well-being; but
should you be forced to meet them, then act courageously." (Sahih al-
Bukhari)

Muslims are not ashamed of their Prophet's teaching about war. On the
contrary, for us it is a great source of pride. He was courageous as
a great lion against the strong and oppressive yet gentle as a
shepherd with the weak and the oppressed.

The true object of war fought for God should always be peace. What
the Prophet taught is that Muslims fight for a just cause only. In
this world, there are only two choices: two sides, truth and justice
or falsehood and oppressions. You don't have to be a Muslim to
understand that.

After years of conflict between members of his clan and his
followers, the Prophet had a revelation that he should visit the
sacred mosque. In the eighth year after his migration to Medina the
Prophet set out for Mecca but his adversaries refused to allow him
in. They sent out an arbitrator to strike an agreement that would
bring the stand-off to an end. And on every point of this treaty the
Prophet compromised his own position in pursuit of peace.

On the journey back to Medina some of the companions were deeply
troubled by what had just taken place and disappointed that they were
thwarted from visiting the sanctuary. When asked to explain, the
Prophet replied, "Did I say it was going to be this year?"

And so the following year, in accordance with the treaty, the prophet
and his followers performed a pilgrimage completely unmolested. But
soon his clan the Koreish broke their end of the deal, massacring
another clan with alliance to the prophet, attacking them even in the
sacred precinct. Abu Sufyan, the head of the Prophet's enemies,
attempted to restore the truce but it was too late. News of the
massacre enraged the believers and the prophet summoned all of the
Muslims capable of bearing arms to march on Mecca. When the nearly
ten thousand Muslims arrived on the outskirts of the city, the
Koreish realized they did not stand a chance and people either fled
or stayed in their homes.

And so it was, after years of persecution, the Prophet marched
triumphant into the city of his birth at the head of the largest army
ever assembled in Arabian history. With his head bowed in humility he
declared a general amnesty and granted war criminals refuge.

His overwhelming magnanimity of character led to a mass conversion
among the citizens of Mecca. Even Abu Sufyan, his archenemy, embraced
the religion of the Prophet. In the months that followed, almost all
of Arabia dispatched representatives to swear allegiance to this
Prophet, and to enter in the faith of Islam. In a period of twenty-
three years Muhammad, Peace be upon Him, had succeeded in uniting a
feuding people trapped in cycles of violence into one people with a
sense of destiny and a mission that would transform the world.

He elevated the low, and he lowered the elevated that they might meet
in that middle place known as brotherhood. He infused in them a love
of learning unleashing a creative power that would lead to some of
the most extraordinary scientific breakthroughs in human history. The
spirituality he inspired in his people led to the construction of
seven hundred mosques in the Spanish city of Cordoba in the West, and
a restoration of the temple mount of the Jews in the East. Upon it
his followers built the Dome of the Rock, a testimony to the Unity of
God.

He died on the same day he was born, in the same house he had lived
in for ten years in Medina, on a small bed made of leather stuffed
with palm fibers, in the arms of his beloved wife Aishah. His dying
words were, "Treat your women well, and do not oppress your servants,
the prayer, the prayer, don't be neglectful of the prayer. O God, my
highest companion, O highest companion."

But the Prophet was more than just a great historical person, he was
a father and friend, a husband, a companion and above all he was a
human being. The prophet's unique physical appearance, his high
character and willingness to sacrifice for others, are often at the
essence of any description of him. He was once described by a
contemporary in the following words: "The messenger of God was
imposing and majestic. His face was luminous like a full moon. He was
taller than medium but not excessive in height. He had wavy hair
which he parted and it never went beyond his shoulders. He was light-
skinned with a high brow. He had full eyebrows and a small space
between them. He had a fine, aquiline nose. His beard was full, his
eyes black. His physique was supple and lithe, with a full chest and
broad shoulders. When he walked, he was determined and his pace was
as if he was walking down hill.

When he spoke he was always brief and reflective. He spoke when he
saw benefit and spent long periods in silent contemplation. His
speech was comprehensive being neither wordy nor laconic. He had a
mild temperament and was never harsh nor cruel, coarse nor rude. He
expressed gratitude for everything given to him no matter how
insignificant. When he spoke, his companions lowered their heads as
if birds were perched upon them. When he was silent, they felt free
to speak. He never criticized food or praised it excessively. He
never swore, nor did he find fault in people. He did not flatter
people but praised them when appropriate.

People entered his gatherings as seekers and left enlightened. He
would ask about his companions when they were absent often making
inquiries about people's needs. He never stood nor sat without
mentioning the name of God. He never reserved a special place for
himself in a gathering and sat where space provided. He gave each of
those who sat with him such full attention that everyone felt that he
was the most important person in that gathering. Voices were never
raised in his presence. The aged were respected for their age and the
young were shown compassion for their youth."

The Quran reminds Muslims that when they are slandered by those who
reject them they should bear it patiently and be forgiving. I yearn
for a deeper understanding of this man, his gentleness toward
children, his love of animals, his concern for the weak and
oppressed, his sense of justice tempered always with mercy.

I personally love his humor and his sense of tomfoolery. He said
once, "I joke but always tell the truth." His wife Aishah said, "He
was always making us laugh in the house." One of his names is ad-
dahhak, the smiling one. His humor and cheerfulness even in the face
of the most difficult of times is so needed today in our troubled
world. I imagine him telling those of us who don't laugh enough to
lighten up, to show more gratitude even in what appears to be
difficulties. And as for those who laugh too much and do so
inappropriately, I imagine that he would ask that they reflect deeper
on the condition of humanity and nurture compassion in their hearts.
Once an old woman asked him if she would enter paradise and he
replied, "Old people don't go to heaven!" The woman was crestfallen
with the answer he had provided, to which he added with a smile, "You
shall enter paradise in the prime of your youth."

The Arabs believed dates made eye infections worse. His companion
Suhaib was eating dates one day while his left eye was infected. The
prophet said, "Suhayb do you eat dates and your eye is infected?" To
which Suhayb said, "I am eating with my right eye only O messenger of
God." To which the prophet laughed heartily"

And once a gruff desert Bedouin came into the mosque and prayed out
loud saying, "O God forgive me and Muhammad and don't forgive anyone
else." Hearing this the prophet laughed and said to him, `You are
limiting the vast mercy of God."

I feel so incredibly grateful and blessed to have come to know him
and to learn from him. A day of my life has not gone by that I
haven't felt indebted to him for the wisdom he has given me in making
sense of my life and my world.

Every day my love for Muhammad, Peace be upon Him increases. Like the
vast majority of my fellow believers across the world and through
times he is, indeed, the Beloved – the Praised one.

To the solace of his name, simply saying Muhammad, has an incredibly
soothing effect on me.

Source: http://www.sunnipath.com/resources/Questions/qa00003129.aspx