WE SENT YOU NOT SAVE AS A MERCY FOR THE PEOPLE.[1]
THE WORLD WAS passing through a state of trauma at the close of the sixth century of the Christian era. The entire human race had effectively taken a pledge to commit suicide. God has portrayed, in the Qur’ān, the condition then obtaining in the world so vividly that no artist can draw such a true to life picture of the situation.
And remember Allāh’s favour unto you; how you were enemies and He made friendship between your hearts so that you became as brothers by His grace; and you were upon the brink of an abyss of fire, and He did save you from it.[2]
If our historians and litterateurs have not been able to preserve the heart-rending account of the pagan past, they need not be blamed for it because the limitations of human language and forms of expression would not have allowed them to capture in words the dreadful situation of the world as it was then. The shape of things was so dreadful, so critical, that not even a skilful painter could have succeeded in its faithful depiction. How could any historian have drawn a picture of that horrible situation? Did the Age of Ignorance merely mean moral corruption of the Arab or a few other nations? Did it merely pose the problem of idolatry, depravity and decadence or else self-indulgence, inequity and exploitation of the poor, or the criminal behaviour of the then stronger nations? Was it simply the question of the burial of innocent newborn daughters by their heartless fathers? It was all this and much more. There are hardly words to describe the terrifying conditions through which the whole world was passing in those days. Only those can understand it who had themselves lived in that horrifying age.
It was thus not a problem confronting any single nation or country-the destiny of the whole human race was at stake. If any artist capable of converting a vision into eternity were to paint the portrait of a good-looking young and vigorous man, a soul shining through its crystal covering, and could somehow show him to be the vicegerent of God on earth who was bent on taking a leap in a lake of fire and brimstone, then he would perhaps succeed in portraying the situation thus depicted in the Qur’ān: “You were on the brink of an abyss of fire, He did save you from it.”[3] The holy Prophet has also illustrated this critical situation through a simile. He says, “the mission and guidance I have been vouchsafed to deliver to this world is like this: A man made a bonfire and when it illuminated the surroundings, insects began to jump into it. You also want to take a leap into the fire in a like manner, but I am holding you by your waists to save you from falling into the eternal fire.”[4]
The whole problem was how to lead the caravan of humanity to its safe destination. All the social and developmental endeavours, educational and literary efforts were possible only after man had been brought back to a normal, sensible frame of mind. There is not the least doubt that the greatest good the prophets have done for humanity consists in saving it from the unknown, imminent dangers threatening to destroy it from time to time. No literature or philosophy, reformatory or constructive effort, not even the survival of man on this planet could have been possible without the merciful endeavours of the prophets of God. But, so ungrateful is man that he has announced with the flourish of trumpets, time and again, that the prophets of God have had their time, and that the world no longer needs them. Its seers and guides have repeatedly declared that the prophets had nothing new to offer, no benefits to confer on humanity. Man has in this way, really jettisoned over and over again his own right to exist in this world!
When any civilisation becomes overly sophisticated it closes its eyes to ethical precepts. Man forgets everything save the satisfaction of his desires and replaces his loving, merciful heart by a selfish and ferocious disposition. His covetous greed takes the shape of an aching void which can never be filled. This is the time when man hankers after the world and all that it stands for and, then, Providence moves to chasten him and to give him his deserts. A poet of the East has given expression to the same truth in one of his verses:
The fever of lunacy then overtakes the kings,
Ferules of God are they all, Timur and Chinghiz.
One can replace the words ‘king’ and ‘kingship’ by civilisation for the insanity of civilisation is nowadays much more dangerous and wider in scope than the madness of the kings of old. A single lunatic can make a hell of the life of all the people around him, and, one can very well imagine what would happen if all the people were to lose their heads.
During the era we speak of as the Age of Ignorance the entire human race had become so depraved, so cruel that it took pleasure in the suffering of man. This is not poetic imagery but is supported by hard facts of history: man had turned into a demon who was most enthusiastic to witness the death and suffering of his own species. He prized the spectacle of the pangs of death suffered by human beings more than the pleasure he derived from merry-making, eating and drinking.
Gladiatorial sports involving combat between men and wild beasts under the Romans displayed the bottomless chasm to which human nature could sink more vividly than anything the crimes against humanity. But this was not a depravity that had captured the imagination of a few guilty consciences. Writing about the immense popularity of these performances, Lecky says in his History of European Morals that “the magnificent circus, the gorgeous dresses of the assembled Court, the contagion of a passionate enthusiasm thrilling almost visibly through the mighty throng, the breathless silence of expectation, the wild cheers bursting simultaneously from eighty thousand tongues, and echoing to the farthest outskirts of the city, the rapid alteration of the fray, the deeds of splendid courage that were manifested were all fitted to entrance the imagination.”[5] The interest and enthusiasm that attended these games of inconceivable atrocity was so intense that special laws were found necessary, and, sometimes proved even insufficient, to check them.
Thus, the beast in man had taken hold of him during the Age of Ignorance. He had, by his deeds, furnished the proof that he had forfeited the right to live in this world, or, rather he had himself lost the very desire to remain in this world any more. Yet, his Lord and Master, the Most Compassionate and the Most Merciful had decided otherwise. He wanted to save the world and the progeny of Adam from death and destruction through a Messenger who was told that:
And (O Muhammad) we sent you not save as a mercy for the peoples.[6]
It is plain as day that the entire duration of the world’s existence since the entrance of the holy Prophet of Islam stems from his merciful deeds. First of all he removed the Damocles sword hanging over the head of humanity by giving it a new ideal to live for and a new zest and confidence to work towards. A new age of culture and civilisation, arts and learning, material and spiritual progress came into existence through his efforts.
First and foremost, the service that he rendered to humanity consisted of the faith in the Oneness of God. No other creed more revolutionary, more life giving and more profitable could have been vouchsafed to humanity. Man had been proud and presumptuous, boastful of his inventions like philosophy and poetry and the art of government. He took pride in enslaving other countries and nations; often arrogated himself even to the position of God; but he also demeaned himself by bowing his head before inanimate, lifeless objects, things of his own creation, and mountains, rivers, trees and animals, and harboured misplaced beliefs and irrational fear of the demons and devils. He spent his life in the fear of the unknown and the hope from non-existent powers which could not but foster mental confusion, cowardice, doubtfulness and indecision in him. The Prophet of Islam made him self-reliant, courageous, rational and undoubting by removing the fear of everything else save that of his real Master and Lord. It was because of him that man came to recognise his Creator as the Supreme Power, the Enricher and the Destroyer. This new discovery meant a world of change for him as it enabled him to free himself from the shackles of superstitious beliefs, irrational fears, doubt and misgivings. He could now see the unity of cause in the manifold of phenomena, was reassured of his pivotal position in the scheme of creation, became aware of his worth and dignity, in short, his acceptance of the serfdom of the One and only God made him the master of every other created being and object. It was, thus for the first time that man became aware of the exalted position that God had allotted him.
The oneness of God came to be recognised, thanks to the last Prophet, as the guiding principle for all the philosophies and creeds of the world. Even polytheistic religions were so powerfully influenced by it that their votaries began to fight shy of their creeds and started putting up constructions to explain away their rites and observances demanding devotion to gods and demigods. The heathen belief in the worship of numerous deities began to suffer from a sense of inferiority from which it has still not recovered. This was the greatest gift bestowed on humanity by the holy Prophet.
The second great favour that the Messenger of God conferred to mankind was the concept of equality and brotherhood of mankind. The world before him was divided by manifold divisions of castes and creeds, tribes and nations, some claiming ranks of nobility for themselves and condemning others to the position of serfs and chattels. It was for the first time that the world heard the revolutionary message of human equality from the Prophet of Islam:
O Mankind, Your God is one and you have but one father. You are all progeny of Adam, and Adam was made of clay. Lo! the noblest among you, in the sight of God, is the best in conduct. No Arab has any preference over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab over an Arab save by his piety.[7]
The Prophet made this declaration on the occasion of his last hajj before a huge congregation. His announcement put the seal on the principles of the unity of God and the unity of mankind. These are the two natural foundations for raising any edifice of peace and progress, friendship and co-operation between different peoples and nations. They create a twin relationship between human beings-that of one Lord and one common ancestor. Oneness of God is the spiritual principle of human equality just as a common lineage of the high and the low, placing the various races on the same plane of humanity. As God explains:
O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allāh through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allāh is Ever an All-Watcher over you.[8]
The world was not in a frame of mind to pay heed to the message of equality of human beings when it the Prophet of Islam first announced it. It was then a radical call, making a clean sweep of the then social relationships and economic and political orders. So striking and revolutionary was this call that it sent the world into jitters. Today we find the principle of human equality enshrined in the constitutions of different countries and being proclaimed from the forum of the United Nations Organisation in the shape of the Charter of Human Rights but it was all due to the pioneering efforts of the followers of Muhammad, Muslim missionaries and reformers, who made indefatigable efforts to establish a truly egalitarian Muslim society. It was this model established through their toil and tears that later on came to be accepted as the standard for human existence in this world. There was a time when numerous clans and families claimed their descent from the sun or the moon. The Qur’ān quotes the belief then held by the Jews and the Christians in these words: “The Jews and the Christians say: We are the children of God and those whom He loves.”[9] The Pharaohs of Egypt claimed themselves to be the incarnation of the Sun-god while India had several ruling families which arrogated themselves as the progeny of the sun or the moon. The Emperors of Iran called themselves Kasra or Chosroes which meant that Divine blood flowed in their veins. The last Iranian Emperor was known as Yazdagird owing, chiefly, to the Divine respects paid to him by his subjects.
The Chinese rulers deemed themselves to be the sons of Heaven. They believed that Heaven was their God, who, with his spouse, the goddess earth, had given birth to the human beings and Pau Ku, the Chinese Emperor, was the first-born son of Heaven enjoying supernatural powers.
The Arabs were so proud of their language that every other nation besides their own was an ‘ajami or dumb to them. Likewise, the Quraysh of Makkah being extremely conscious of maintaining their superiority, claimed a position of privilege even in the performance of hajj. This was the shape of things, all over the world, when the Qur’ān proclaimed that all human beings were equal.
O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that you may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allāh, is the most god-fearing. Lo! Allāh is Knower, Aware.[10]
The opening chapter of the Qur’ān declares:
Praise be to Allāh, Lord of the Worlds.[11]
The third great gift and boon to humanity that the Prophet of Islam bestowed is the Islamic concept of human dignity. During the Age of Darkness when Islam made its appearance none was so ignoble and humiliated as man. Without worth, he had no sense of human dignity. Oftentimes trees and animals regarded as sacred, owing to religious beliefs or traditions, enjoyed a more coveted place than man himself. Human sacrifices at the altar of deities were a common spectacle. It was solely due to Muhammad, the Prophet, that man came to appreciate the fact that human beings, the glorious creation of God, were entitled to a much more loving regard, respect and honour than any other creature. The rank that the holy Prophet accorded to man was next only to God, for God had Himself heralded the purpose of man’s creation in these words of lasting beauty:
He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth.[12]
Man was declared as the best of creations, the ruler of the world and all that exists in it.
Verily We have honoured the children of Adam. We carry them on the land and the sea, and have made provision of good things for them, and have preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preferment.[13]
Man had been accustomed to associate nobility with those who claimed themselves to be the progeny of gods and demigods. In order that the honour of the common man was not usurped again by the selected few, the Prophet announced:
The whole of mankind is under the care of God, and he amongst His creation who is dearest to Him is he who is best to those under his protection.[14]
A celestial tradition of the Prophet alludes to the deep concern of God for the welfare of human beings. It says: “God will ask (someone) on the Day of Judgment, ‘I was ill but you did not pay a visit to Me!’ The man will reply: ‘How could have I visited You when You are the Lord of the worlds?’ But God will say, ‘Do you not recollect that one of my slaves was ill? Had you gone to see him, you would have found Me by his side!’ Then God will again ask, O Son of Adam, I asked you to feed me, but you refused it to Me.’ The man would submit, ‘How could have I fed You when You are the Lord of the Worlds?’ But God will reply, ‘Do you not remember that one of My slaves had asked you for food? Didn’t you know that if you had given him food, you would have found it with Me!’ God will again ask, O Son of Adam, I asked you for water to drink but you refused it to Me! The man will say in reply, ‘O Lord, How could have I given water to You when You are the Lord of the worlds?’ But God will reply, ‘Do you not recollect that one of my slaves asked you for water, but you refused! Did you not know that if you had given him water, you would have found it with Me?’[15]
Islam teaches unalloyed and absolute unity of God and rejects every form of anthropomorphism. Still, it employs this similitude to drive home the rank and dignity of man in the eyes of God. Has any other religion or philosophical thought accorded a nobler place to human beings than that assigned by Islam? The Prophet of Islam taught that the surest way to attract blessings of God was to be kind and considerate to others.
The Most Compassionate [God] is kind to those who are kind to others. If you would show kindness to those who live on the earth, He who lives in the Heaven, shall shower His blessings on you.[16]
You can very well imagine the pitiable condition of man in the days when this powerful voice of human dignity had not been raised in the world. A mere whim of a king or an emperor could then cost the lives of a thousand men. It was then not unusual for an ambitious adventurer to put to sword the entire population of a conquered land. Alexander turned every country from Greece to India into a vast battlefield. Caesars played with the lives of human beings as if they were wild beasts. The two World Wars fought only recently cost the lives of millions merely to secure markets for the industrial products of advanced nations or to establish the national or political ascendancy of certain nations over all others. Iqbal has correctly assessed the political ambitions of man in this verse.
Man is still possessed by the imperialistic lust,
What a pity! Man prowling after man as yet.
At the time when Prophet Muhammad was invested with the mantle of prophethood, a general sense of pessimism springing from the then prevalent notions of the worthlessness of human nature and lack of hope for Divine succour filled the air. The ancient religions of the East and the mutilated Christianity, especially in the West, had an equal share in producing that mental climate. The philosophy of reincarnation, preached by the religions of ancient India, which assigned no place to the will and decision of man, meant that the present life was but a form of retribution for one’s actions during a previous life with which the Christian dogma of Original Sin and atonement had joined hands to shake the confidence of millions, all over the world, in the despondence and amenability of human actions. Mankind had lost faith in the mercy of God whose eternal and immutable decree seemed to have condemned man to a predetermined destiny without reference to his evil or virtuous behaviour. But Muhammad affirmed that man was born with a clean slate and perfect freedom of action. Man was, declared the Prophet, the author of his actions, both good and evil, and deserved reward or punishment in accordance with his own decision to shape the course of his actions. Discarding the theory of vicarious atonement, the Qur’ān established once for all that every man was his own redeemer.
And that for man shall be naught
Save that for which he makes an effort,
And that his endeavour shall be presently observed.[17]
This was a message of salvation to man, which gave him a new confidence in himself and in his ability to chart out his destiny. He applied himself with a renewed vigour, confidence and determination to shape up his own life and brighten the future of humanity.
The Prophet of Islam also declared that sins were but temporary deviations from the right path, inherent in the nature of man, and were brought about by ignorance, mistakes and the promptings of the devil or man’s own sensual desires. But the innate urge of man was to regret his mistakes and seek the pardon of God with a contrite heart. To be broken in spirit by a sense of the guilt and to seek the forgiveness of God showed the goodness of human nature and attracted mercy of the Lord. This gospel of hope and good tidings was a revolutionary message to despondent humanity condemned forever by the guilt of Original Sin and one’s past misdoings. What a great change it meant in the prevailing atmosphere of gloom and depression of spirits is illustrated by the fact that the Prophet came to be known as the “Apostle of Repentance.” Repentance, he said, did not involve faint-heartedness, nor did it arise from fear of disapprobation, but was a bold and daring step of the first man, Adam, who had thus shown the nobility of his innate nature. The Prophet of Islam imbued repentance with the sacredness attached to the acts of devotion to God. He preached the virtues of seeking pardon so forcefully that even the irredeemable sinners, who had lost all hope of forgiveness, resolved to turn away from the sinful ways and to begin a new life of virtue and uprightness, and many of them attained a sublimity of spirit that was envied by others.
Describing the clemency of God Who is ever willing to forgive the sinners, the Qur’ān employs a diction so alluringly charming that one wonders whether God loves them more who seek His forgiveness after deviating from the path of virtue. The Qur’anic verse quoted here shows how forbearing, how long-suffering and how magnanimous God is to the man who cares to turn towards Him for exoneration of his sins. Says the Qur’ān:
Say! O my bondmen who have committed extravagance against themselves, despair not of the mercy of Allāh; verily Allāh will forgive their sins altogether. Verily He, He is the forgiving, the Merciful.[18]
Some other verses of the Qur’ān exhorting the believers to acquire positive merits and to win their way to the everlasting bliss, address them in these words:
And vie one with another for forgiveness from your Lord, and toward the Garden as wide as are the heavens and the earth, prepared for those who ward off [evil];
And those who spend [of that which Allāh has given them] in ease and in adversity, those who control their wrath and are forgiving toward mankind; Allāh loves the good;
And those who, when they do an evil thing or wrong themselves, remember Allāh and ask forgiveness for their sins.-Who forgives sins but Allāh alone?-and will not knowingly repeat [the wrong] they did;
The reward of such will be forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever-a bountiful reward for those who strive![19]
Among the characteristics of the true believers, enumerated in another verse, repentance takes precedence of all others.
They are those who repent, who worship, who praise, who fast constantly, who bow down, who prostrate themselves, who command the reputable and restrain from the disreputable and who keep the ordinances of Allāh. Bear you glad tidings to the believers.[20]
The place of honour accorded to those who repent of their sins is illustrated by the verses of the Qur’ān revealed on the occasion of the forgiveness of three Companions[21] of the holy Prophet, who were shunned for their failure to accompany the Prophet in the expedition of Tabūk. Before the verse alludes to the mistake of these Companions being pardoned by God, it mentions the Prophet and the Anṣār and the Muhājirīn in order that no stigma was attached to them after their mistakes had been forgiven. In this way, the Qur’ān teaches all believers who take the Companions of the Prophet as models of virtue that no ignominy attaches to a man after a genuine change of heart. The way these verses explain the consequences of the blotting out of sins and the elation of the repentant sinners can hardly be found in the scriptures of other religions or treatises on ethics. These verses read:
Allāh has turned in mercy to the Prophet and to the Muhājirin and the Anṣār who followed him in the hour of hardship. After the hearts of a party of them had almost swerved aside, He turned to them in mercy. He is Full of Pity, Merciful toward them. And to the three who were left behind, when the earth, vast as it is, was straitened for them, and their own souls were straitened for them till they bethought them that there is no refuge from Allāh save toward Him. He turned then to them in mercy that they [too] might turn [repentant unto Him]. Allāh! He is the Relenting, the Merciful.[22]
Remission of sin leads us to one of the chief attributes of the Divine Being, that is, His mercy and compassion. The bounty of God’s mercy is the constant theme of the Qur’ān. Says God: ” My mercy embraces all things,”[23] while a celestial tradition of the Prophet tells us: “Verily, My mercy precedes My wrath.” To be despaired of God’s mercy was made a cardinal sin. Quoting Ya’qūb[24] and Ibrāhīm, the two great Prophets of God, the Qur’ān announces: “Verily, none despairs of the comfort of Allāh except a people disbelieving,”[25] and “Who despairs of the mercy of his Lord save those who are astray?”[26]
The misery and suffering the human race endured in the world was, according to the Jewish and Christian doctrines, but a feeble image of the never-ending agony that awaited man in the Hereafter. The monastic orders of the Medieval Ages had taken up this doctrine, which, in itself, was sufficiently revolting, but they had developed it with an appalling vividness and minuteness. Humanity, frightened by these ghastly visions and glimpses of eternal suffering, was relieved by the Prophet’s emphasis on God’s all-embracing mercy and the efficacy of repentance which could wipe the slate clean of even the most vicious among the castaways of society.
And now we come to yet another gift of the prophethood of Muhammad which is still more far-reaching and more beneficial to humanity at large. This was the concept of the unity of spirit and matter, the harmony of the sacred and the mundane. He taught that the distinction between the two was superficial and formal for every action of man, whether secular or religious, was guided by his motive or mental attitude, which, in the terminology of religion, was known as niyyah or intention. For no religious belief is entirely divorced from the realities of human experience in its manifold practical aspects, the intention or purpose with which any act is done sets the test of its being good or bad. He did not recognise the division between the temporal and the ecclesiastical since man’s desire to propitiate God and to follow His commands permeates into every fibre of human activity, no matter whether it is the art of government or war, availing oneself of one’s earthly possessions, or satisfaction of one’s natural desires, or earning one’s living, or leading a married life. With a noble intention every mundane act is turned into a virtuous deed and a means to attaining propinquity to God. On the contrary, no merit whatsoever attaches to acts like devotion to God or fighting in the path of God if the sincere desire to attain the will and pleasure of God are absent.
The ancient world had divided life into two compartments, the religious and the secular and the result was that a wedge had been driven between those who selected one of these as the pursuit of their lives. Oftentimes, the two groups were at loggerheads with one another, for, the “world” and “religion” were to them incompatible spheres of human life. Every man had to choose one of the two since nobody could be expected to travel in two boats simultaneously. The prevalent view was that the path of salvation lay not through the rough and tumble of life, but away from the social, economic and political problem of worldly pursuits. No concept of religion which bars the gates to material progress and acquisition of power, riches and fame, could be of interest to intelligent, capable and ambitious persons: the result being that a great segment of humanity had delivered itself from the rigorous discipline of asceticism which had come to be associated with religion. By withdrawing themselves and their virtuous pursuits, these men had prevented the great importance of morals from appearing perceptibly in public affairs. The State had revolted against the Church and made itself free from all moral obligations. This hideous schizophrenia not only divested what was called the worldly from the gifts of spiritual beatitude, but also gave birth to the modern faithlessness and agnosticism of Europe which is now threatening to inundate the entire world, if only, because of its political and cultural supremacy. The present wave of crass materialism, loss of faith and moral debasement is but a direct consequence of the division between the spirit and matter invented by the old pagan civilisations.
The Prophet of Mercy, who was sent to the humanity as a warner as well as a messenger of glad tidings, converted the entire life of man into devotion to God by denying the existence of any cleavage between the spiritual and temporal spheres of human affairs. He demolished the wedge between the men of religion and those of the world and commended all of them to unite their efforts for attaining the pleasure of God and service of humanity. It was because of him that the world could see the ascetics who wore crowns on their heads and the warriors who spent their nights in devotions and prayers.
It would be difficult to conceive a more complete transformation of life than the one brought about by the fusion of the secular and the sacred, which would require several volumes to be explained in detail. Iqbal has very succinctly versified the significance of this concept in one of his immortal poems:
On monastic order was laid the foundation of Church,
How could mendacity contain royalty in its confines?
The conflict was deep, between hermitry and kingship,
One was triumphant, the other subdued,
Politics got rid of religion,
Helpless was the high priest.
When the world and religion parted ways,
Avarice was the Ruler, King and Vizier,
Dualism was the doom of mind and matter,
Dualism made civilisation blind.
This is the miracle of a dweller of the desert,
Whose warnings reflected the tidings glad;
That the humanity’s only refuge was this,
That (the mystic) Junayd unites with Ardsher (the king)!
Yet another radical change brought about by the Prophet of Islam in the life of man was to make him conscious of the ultimate end of his life. Unaware of his goal and objective, man had his eyes fixed on profane and paltry objects. He directed his whole intelligence and labour to the acquisition of wealth or land or fame or power. Goodness having been associated with the pleasurable things, the main object of the vast majority of people was to sublimate their conceptions of happiness and interest with the satisfaction of carnal desires, songs and colour, merrymaking, fun and amusements. The revelry of the rich and the powerful soon brought up a class of parasites whose whole business was to tickle the fancy of their patrons. But Prophet Muhammad told man that his great business was to exert himself and to strive to attain the perfect knowledge of God; to contemplate His nature and attributes and to lead his wandering soul to divine propinquity through realisation of the Unlimited; to search out the Unity of the Cause of all Causes in the amazing diverse phenomena of nature; and to seek His pleasure through being kind and just and virtuous. He told man that these were the objectives whose achievement conferred a rank on him envied by the angels of God.
Thus, the prophethood of Muhammad made a clean sweep of the existing order of things in the world. The longings and desires of man were now centred on a new objective. The love of God took possession of his being. The pleasure of God became the immortal thirst of human heart. Mercy and kindness to God’s creatures was recognised as the greatest virtue which became the sole object of man’s endeavour.
It was then, after the advent of Islam, that the leading feature of all the countries, Arabia and Iran, Syria and Egypt, Turkistan and Iraq, North Africa and Spain became the search for higher and tender virtues, in the pursuit of which we find thousands of lovelorn souls. During this period we see innumerable men of God preaching love of God, kindness and compassion to every sentient being, the merits of virtuous living, the acquisition of knowledge for attaining the pleasure of God, revulsion to cruelty and indecency, and the grace of humility and modesty. They taught the lesson of human dignity and brotherhood of man and made this earth a kingdom of God.
If you could peep into the souls of these elevated individuals, you would witness the unbelievable flight of their imagination, the purity of their innermost feelings and liveliness of their perceptions. You would see how they were ever willing to put their own life at stake for others, how they made their own children and family suffer for the good of all and sundry, the way they compelled the autocratic kings and potentates to do justice to the weak and the poor and how rightfully just they were even to their enemies. In fact, it would have been difficult for us to believe today what a fine specimen of humanity, what a sublime soul were these men of God if the historians and biographers had not preserved a truthful record of their lives and acts.
This striking change in the manners and morals of the people was, indeed, the greatest miracle worked by the holy Prophet of Islam.
Verily, God says in truth:
We sent you not save as a mercy for the people.
***
[1] Qur’ān 21:107.
[2] Qur’ān 3:103. This chapter, summing up the great benefits flowing from the prophethood of Muhammad, which have changed the destiny of human race, has been taken from the concluding part of a speech delivered by the author on the occasion of birth anniversary of the holy Prophet.
[3] Qur’ān 3:103
[4] Mishkāt, Bukhārī.
[5] W.E.H. Lecky: History of European Morals, vol. I, p. 119.
[6] Qur’ān 21:107. The word used for “peoples” in the Qur’ān is ‘Ālamīn, that is, the worlds.
[7] Kanz al-‘Ammal.
[8] Qur’ān 4:1.
[9] Qur’ān 5:18.
[10] Qur’ān 49:13.
[11] Qur’ān 1:1.
[12] Qur’ān 2:29.
[13] Qur’ān 17:70.
[14] Mishkāt.
[15] Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
[16] Abū Dāwūd.
[17] Qur’ān 53:39-40.
[18] Qur’ān 39:53.
[19] Qur’ān 3:133-136.
[20] Qur’ān 9:112.
[21] The Companions were Ka’b ibn Mālik, Hilāl ibn Umayyah and Murārah ibn Rabī’. See “The Expedition of Tabūk.”
[22] Qur’ān 9:117-118.
[23] Qur’ān 7:156.
[24] The prophet Jacob.
[25] Qur’ān 12:87.
[26] Qur’ān 15:56.
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