Tag: historical materialism

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New Muslims Pillars of Islam

The Muslim’s Rights towards the Prophet

Allah sent His Messenger and Prophet to guide mankind and if man believes and obeys him giving him all his due rights, Allah has promised success in this life and the Hereafter as a reward. These rights are summarized in the Testimony of Faith (There is no god worthy of being worshipped except Allah). Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the slave and Messenger of Allah).”

This declaration requires the following:

– A Believer must comply with the commands of the Prophet and must strive to avoid acts of disobedience as Allah says in the Qur’an:

So take what the Messenger gives you, and abstain from that which he forbids you. And fear Allah, verily Allah is severe in Punishment. (Al-Hashr 59:7)

– A Muslim must follow the authentic traditions of the Sunnah (way of the Prophet) to the best of his ability. No one has any authority to alter, add or omit any of the Sunnah traditions of the Messenger of Allah. Allah says in the Qur’an:

Say: ‘If you do love Allah, follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Aal `Imran 3:31)

– A Believer must honor the special status and dignity bestowed by Allah to His Prophet (peace be upon him). No one must adulate or degrade this status. The Prophet said:

“Do not adulate me as the Christians adulated the son of Maryam; (as) I am no more than a salve of Allah…so  say: Allah’s slave and His Messenger.” (Al-Bukhari)

And he (peace be upon him) said:

“O people! Say what you have to say, and do not allow yourselves to be seduced by Satan. I am Muhammad, the slave and Messenger of Allah. I do not like you to elevate me above the status assigned to me by Allah the Almighty.” (An-Nasa’i)

And he is reported to have said:

Do not praise me more than I deserve. Allah (Exalted be He) created me as a slave before calling me a Prophet and Messenger.” (At-Tabarani)

– A Muslim must show acceptance and satisfaction of any verdict passed by the Prophet of Allah as Allah (the Exalted) says in the Qur’an:

But no, by Your Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against your decisions and accept them with full submission. (An-Nisaa’  4:65)

– Belief in the universality of the Message of Prophet Muhammad to all humanity. Islam is not oriented to a specific category of people, as it was the case with previous Prophets and Messengers. This is derived from the verse of the Qur’an:

Say:  “O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah – to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. La ilaha illa Huwa (there is no god but He); It is He Who gives life and causes death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, who believes in Allah and His Words, the Tawrah (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel) and also Allah’s Word: “Be!” – and he was, i.e. `Isa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary), and follow him (Muhammad) so that you may be guided. (Al-A`raf 7:158)

– Belief that Allah’s Prophet and Messenger Muhammad has been protected by Allah against possible human errors in relation to his mission to mankind. This includes the belief that the Prophet never omitted or added anything to the complete Message of Allah. This is based on the verse of the Qur’an:

Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. (An-Najm 53:3)

– Belief that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final Prophet and Messenger of Allah to mankind, and that no Prophet or Messenger will come after him. Allah says in the Qur’an:

Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Last of the Prophets. (Al-Ahzab 33:40)

And the Messenger of Allah said: “…and there’s no prophet after me.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

– Belief that the religious duties and divine commands Allah sent to mankind are complete, and that the Prophet has delivered the Message of Allah in its entirety, and gave the best advice to his Ummah (nation) and the best guidance to do all good and to avoid all evil. This is based on the verse of the Qur’an:

This day, those who rejected Faith have given up all hopes of your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. (Al-Ma’idah 5:3)

– Belief that the laws legislated in Islam are approved by Allah, and that all the various types of worship are based upon and revolve around these divine laws. Independent human actions will not be accepted, Allah knows best, unless and until they are in conformity with these divine laws. This is based on the verse:

And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers. (Aal `Imran 3:85)

– A Muslim must offer the proper greeting to Allah’s Prophet and Messenger (peace be upon him) when his name is mentioned as a form of respect, as instructed in the verse of the Qur’an:

Allah and His Angels send blessings on the Prophet: O you who believe! Send your blessings on him, and salute him with all respect. (Al-Ahzab 33:56)

– A Believer must have true love and affection for the Prophet and Messenger of Allah above the love of all others, since information and practices of the true religion of Allah and the many blessings that the Prophet (peace be upon him) brought as guidance, are the only means of salvation by the will of Allah. This is based on the instruction of Qur’an:

Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred; the wealth that you have gained; the commerce in which you fear a decline; and the dwellings in which you delight -are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His cause- then wait until Allah brings about His decision. And Allah guides not the rebellious. (At-Tawbah 9:24)

– A Muslim must devote every possible effort and opportunity available to him to call, with wisdom and patience, all others to the Message of Muhammad (peace be upon him). He should strive to inform those who are unaware and misinformed and strengthen the faith of people with weak, wavering faith. As Allah (the Most Wise) says:

Invite (all) to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in a way that is better and most gracious. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Most Aware of those who are guided. (An-Nahl 16:125)

This is also based on the statement of Allah’s Prophet and Messenger: “Propagate, on my behalf, even if one verse.” (Al-Bukhari & At-Tirmithi)

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Source: The article is an excerpt from the author’s book “Human Rights in Islam and Common Misconceptions”.

 

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Categories
His Legacy New Muslims

Prophet Muhammad: The Greatest Revolutionary Ever

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Prophet Muhammad’s great contribution to history lies in his being a philosopher and a seer as well as a living embodiment of his own teachings.

In the cavalcade of world history the sublime figure of this wonderful person towers so high above all others that they appear to be dwarfs when contrasted with him. None of them possessed a genius capable of making a deep impression on more than one or two aspects of human life. Some are brilliant theoreticians but are lacking when it comes to practical action. Some are men of action but with little knowledge. Some are renowned as statesmen only, others are masters of strategy.

Others again have devoted their energies to ethical and spiritual problems but have ignored economics and politics. In short, one comes across heroes who are expert in one walk of life only.

His is the only example where all the excellences have been blended into one personality. He is a philosopher and a seer as well as a living embodiment of his own teachings. He is a great statesman as well as a military genius. He is a legislator and also a teacher of morals.

He is a spiritual luminary as well as a religious guide. His vision penetrates every aspect of life. His orders and commandments cover a vast field from the regulation of international relations down to the habits of everyday life like eating, drinking and personal hygiene.

On the foundations of philosophy he established a civilization and a culture without the slightest trace of a flaw, deficiency or incompleteness. Can anyone point to another example of such a perfect and all round-personality?

Why that Unique?

Most of the famous personalities of the world are said to be the products of their environment. But his case is unique. His environment seems to have played no part in the making of his personality. At most one might accept in the light of Hegel’s philosophy of history or Marx’s historical materialism that the time and environment demanded the emergence of a leader who could create a nation and build an empire.

But Hegelian or Marxist philosophy cannot explain how such an environment could produce a man whose mission was to teach the highest morals, to purify humanity and to wipe out prejudice and superstition, who looked beyond the artificial compartments of race and nation-state, who laid the foundations of a moral, spiritual, cultural and political superstructure for the good of the whole world, who practically, not theoretically, placed business transactions, civics, politics and international relations on moral grounds and produced such a balanced synthesis between worldly life and spiritual advancement that even to this day it is considered to be a masterpiece of wisdom and foresight.

Can anyone honestly call such a person a product of all-pervading darkness of Arabia?

He does not only appear to be independent of his environment. When we look at his achievements we are irresistibly drawn to the conclusion that he actually transcends the limitations of time and space. His vision breaks through all temporal and physical barriers, passes beyond centuries and millenniums and encompasses within itself the whole of human history.

History Maker

He is not one of those whom history has cast into oblivion, and he is not praised only because he was a good leader in his own time. He is that unique and incomparable leader of humanity who marches with time, who is modern in every age and in every era.

Those whom people style ‘makers of history’ are only ‘creatures of history’. In fact, in the whole of history of mankind, he is the unique example of a ‘maker of history’.

One may scan the lives and circumstances of the great leaders of the world who brought about revolutions and one will find that on such occasions the forces of revolution were gathering momentum for the destined upheaval, were taking their course in certain directions and were only waiting for the right moment.

In harnessing these forces the revolutionary leader played the part of an actor for whom the stage and the role is set beforehand. On the other hand the Prophet is only a person who had to genuinely create a revolution; he had to mold and produce the kind of men he wanted because the spirit of revolution and its necessary conditions were nonexistent.

He made an indelible impression on the hearts of thousands of his disciples by his forceful personality and molded them to his way of thinking. By his iron will he prepared the ground for revolution and directed events into the channels he wanted. Can anyone cite another example of a maker of history of such distinction, another revolutionary of such brilliance and splendor?

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The article is an excerpt from the book “Towards Understanding Islam” by Abul A`la Al-Mawdudi.

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