IN THE name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, with plenty of salutations to the seal of Prophethood, Muhammad Rasulillah (SAW), Whose birthday is celebrated by multitudes of Muslims across the world in this month.
For their treachery in breaking the treaty of Hudaibiya, He outgeneralled and conquered the Quraysh without bloodshed; for their earlier persecutions of Muslims, the death of Nana Khadijah[ ra], His first wife, their eventual flight to Medina, and the slaughter of Sayyidina Hamza (ra), His uncle, etc, the Prophet demonstrated humility, entered Mecca, not as a proud conqueror to exact a pound of flesh, but in a humble manner, and subjected the Quraysh to His unprecedented merciful treatment. Instead of punishing them, He set them free; it was a day of mercy not of bloody revenge.
One could dwell on the prophecy of His coming, birth or childhood; life before His mission; years of Prophethood; and His multiple roles in society. Besides the interlocking dimensions of His great Persona: trustworthiness and uprightness; perseverance and humility; courage and bravery; compassion and generosity. Or, the appellation given to Him by the Quraysh before His Prophethood, which became one of His defining attributes: Al Ameen, the trustworthy; or, His exemplary character, and unfathomable greatness, among others. His great Persona dictates a multi-sided approach in commemorating His birthday, the mother of all birthdays.
He, Whose birthday is being commemorated, needs no introduction. He was born in Mecca on 12th Rabiul Awwal, the year of the elephant, or 29th August 570 C.E., on Whom Prophethood was bestowed 40 years later, as divine gift to humanity and mercy to mankind; Whose Quraysh badge of honour: Al Ameen, the trustworthy, stuck to Him throughout His life and after; which reinforced the faith of those who embraced Islam, and stupefied those who rejected it. He was never known to speak anything other than the truth in His life; Who within two decades established a universal creed based on the oneness of Allah, and the Prophethood of Muhammad bin Abdullahi bin Abdulmutalib (SAW); an affirmation and culmination of the messages of preceding Prophets, defined by simplicity of acceptance, sincerity of purpose, clarity of vision, tenacity of spirit, divine guidance, and certainty of pre-eminence. And above all His Companions, were Men of extreme conviction; inexhaustible vitality; intense love for each other; utmost respect and love for the Prophet, for Whom maximal deprivations and hardships were valiantly surmounted in the service of the Deen, which made it to grow in leaps and bounds.
Leaders who deployed force or ideals (secular or divine), consisted of those who mobilised peoples to establish empires, kingdoms, principalities, etc, for certain interests; and those whose motive was to selflessly raise humanity to higher levels. Our Noble Prophet was the greatest among the later leaders; Who had no worldly interests, or any personal agenda to promote. If the Quraysh had been aware that worldly human desires were not for Him, they wouldn’t have offered Him their rejected carrots to stop His Prophetic mission. The Quraysh were greatly mistaken; the Rasul was above that, He had a divine mission to fulfil, which couldn’t be distracted by anything.
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The pioneer Muslim Ummah He established in Medina was a unique community in which the worth of each member was neither determined by material means, nor by genealogy, tribe or race. No one was favoured over the other; the disabled were not less esteemed than the physically fit. Abdullahi bin Umm Maktum, a blind Companion, and a Muhajiroon was one of the appointed muezzams, who also taught the Quran to the Ansar in Medina. Bin Umm Maktum deputised 13 times for the Prophet, and led the prayers, whilst the Prophet was away to expeditions and battles.
For their treachery in breaking the treaty of Hudaibiya, He outgeneralled and conquered the Quraysh without bloodshed; for their earlier persecutions of Muslims, the death of Nana Khadijah[ ra], His first wife, their eventual flight to Medina, and the slaughter of Sayyidina Hamza (ra), His uncle, etc, the Prophet demonstrated humility, entered Mecca, not as a proud conqueror to exact a pound of flesh, but in a humble manner, and subjected the Quraysh to His unprecedented merciful treatment. Instead of punishing them, He set them free; it was a day of mercy not of bloody revenge.
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The weight of each member in the community was dictated by his piety and deeds, which made the wealthy to passionately compete in spending their riches for the sake of Allah; whilst their poor brothers expended their energies for His sake, and both of them sacrificed their lives, to defend and promote the deen.
Out of a war mongering context, the Prophet welded a selfless community of the faithful who passionately shared their humanity. In Medina, the Ansar shared their business capital, houses, and offered to divorce their wives so that their brothers in faith, the Migrants from Mecca, could start businesses, own houses, and marry the divorced wives; a unique brotherhood glued with faith, which was thicker than blood.
Discussing the nature of brotherhood in Islam, Prof Hurgronje opined: “The league of nations founded by the prophet of Islam put the principle of international unity and human brotherhood on such a universal foundation as to show candle to other nations”. A brotherhood which had since become a great civilisation dreaded by polytheists, and the global hegemonists with whom an inevitable clash has been anticipated by western pundits.
Commenting on Islam, an Indian poet, Sarojini Naidu, had this to say: “It was the first religion that practiced democracy; for, in the mosque when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim God Alone is Great”.
The Prophet towered above the human nature of reciprocating evil with evil and every tit for tat. His elevated mind was above that; He reciprocated evil done to Him with kindness, Whose numerous prayers for the Quraysh, despite their persecutions of Him, was for the Lord to guide them, not to punish them. An unparalleled greatness of soul, revealed on 23rd of Ramadan, the 8th year of the Hijrah during the conquest of Mecca, where His military genius, humility and merciful character once again came to light.
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For their treachery in breaking the treaty of Hudaibiya, He outgeneralled and conquered the Quraysh without bloodshed; for their earlier persecutions of Muslims, the death of Nana Khadijah[ ra], His first wife, their eventual flight to Medina, and the slaughter of Sayyidina Hamza (ra), His uncle, etc, the Prophet demonstrated humility, entered Mecca, not as a proud conqueror to exact a pound of flesh, but in a humble manner, and subjected the Quraysh to His unprecedented merciful treatment. Instead of punishing them, He set them free; it was a day of mercy not of bloody revenge.
Despite the intention of Fudalah to stab him with a hidden knife, whilst circumbulating around the Ka’abah, the Prophet placed His hand on his chest, and asked him to seek forgiveness from the Lord, after which Fudalah became the beloved of the Prophet.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is the most blessed Being in history, Who is blessed by Allah SWT, the angels, and all the Muslims throughout the world, in obedience to the Quranic injunction, which says, “Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels (ask Him to do do). O you who have believed, ask (Allah to confer) blessing upon him and ask (Allah to grant him) peace” (Azhab verse 56).
In His last address to the world on 9th Qhul Hajj, the 10th year of the Hijrah at Mount Arafat, the greatness of His mind once more came to light. He extraordinarily dwelt on the oneness of mankind, stressed the non-superiority of one race or tribe over another; exhorted spouses to respect each other’s rights; prevented injustices among the people; commanded the deliverance of trusts to their owners, and stopped exploitation founded on usury; and laid an eternal channel for the transmission of His Message to the farthest corners of the world.
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Such could come, not from an ordinary mind, but the greatest mind in history, the radiance of the best character, attested by no less than the Lord of the earth and the heavens, Who revealed, “And indeed, you are of a great moral character” (Al Qalam Verse 4), and in another verse, “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and whose hope is in Allah often” (Azhab verse 21) .
Long after He left this earthly sojourn, thinkers and scholars undertook comparative leadership analyses, and attested to the greatness and uniqueness of His leadership. Some of them who professed other faiths including Rev. R. Bosworth-Smith in his book, Mohammed and Mohammedanism (1946), had this to say: “By a fortune absolutely unique in history Mohammed is a threefold founder of nation, an empire and a religion. Head of the state as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope’s pretensions and Caesar without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a police force, without a fixed revenue. He cared not for the dressings of power. The simplicity of his life was in keeping with his public life”.
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And Prof Julius Masserman posited, “People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Alexander the Great and Hitler on the other are leaders in the second sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Mohammed, who combined all three functions.”
Prophet Muhammad ( SAW) is the most blessed Being in history, Who is blessed by Allah SWT, the angels, and all the Muslims throughout the world, in obedience to the Quranic injunction, which says, “Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels (ask Him to do do). O you who have believed, ask (Allah to confer) blessing upon him and ask (Allah to grant him) peace” (Azhab verse 56).
Finally, may the peace and blessings of Allah be on the best of creations, the seal of prophethood, Muhammad Rasulillah (SAW), and may Allah grant us nearness to Him
Jahun is a commentator on public affairs. He writes this column every Wednesday under the title ‘The Other Perspective ‘. He can be reached via email@ aminuhabibu58@gmail.com, or WhatsApp on +237 39038088.
