IT WAS THE WILL OF God that the glorious sun of humanity’s guidance, which was to illuminate the world without end, should rise from the orb of Arabia. For it was the darkest corner of this terrestrial globe, and it needed the most radiant daystar to dispel the gloom that was setting on it.
God had chosen the Arabs as the standard-bearers of Islam for propagating its message to the four corners of the world because these guileless people were simple-hearted; nothing was inscribed on the tablets of their mind and heart, nothing so deeply engraved as to present any difficulty in sweeping the slate clean of every impression. The Romans, Iranians, and Indians, instinctively thrilled by the glory of their ancient arts, literatures, philosophies, cultures, and civilizations, were all crushed by the heavy burden of the past; that is, a conditioned reflex of superiority had become indelibly etched in their minds. The imprints in the memory of the Arabs were lightly impressed merely because of their rawness and ignorance, or rather, their nomadic life. Thus, these were liable to be obliterated easily and replaced by new inscriptions. They were, in modern phraseology, suffering from simple ignorance, which could readily be remedied. At the same time, other civilized nations, whose minds were filled with vivid pictures of the past, were haunted by an obsessive irrationality that could never be dismissed from their thoughts.
The Arabs, simple-minded and straightforward, possessed an iron will. If they failed to entertain a belief, they had no hesitation in taking up the sword to fight against it; but if they were convinced of the truth of an idea, they stayed with it through fire and water and were ever prepared to lay down their lives for it.
It was this psyche of the Arab mind that had found expression through Suhayl ibn Amr (May Allah be pleased with him) while the armistice of Hudaybiyyah was being written. The document began with the words: “This is what Muhammad, the Apostle of God, has agreed.” Suhayl promptly objected, “By God, if I witnessed that you were God’s Apostle, I would not have excluded you from the House of God and fought you.”
Again, it was the same Arab turn of mind that is reflected in the summons of Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl (May Allah be pleased with him). Pressed hard by the assailing charge of the Byzantine forces, he cried out, “What fools you are! I have wielded the sword against the Apostle of God. Will I turn my back upon you?” Thereafter, he called out to his comrades, “Is there anyone to take the pledge of death at my hands?” Several persons immediately offered themselves and fought valiantly until they were all maimed and came to a heroic end. [1]
The Arabs were frank, unassuming, practical, sober, industrious, venturesome, and plainspoken. They were neither double-dealers nor did they like to be caught in a trap. Like people with true souls, they were always outspoken and remained firm once they had made a decision. An incident that occurred before the hijrah of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) on the occasion of the second pledge of Aqabah typically illustrates the character of the Arabs.
Ibn Ishaq relates that when Aws and Khazraj pledged their loyalty to the Prophet (ﷺ) at Aqabah, Abbas ibn Ubadah of Khazraj said to his people:
“O men of Khazraj, do you realize to what you are committing yourselves in pledging your support to the Prophet (ﷺ)? It is a war against one and all. If you think that in case you lose your property and your nobles are killed, you will give him up to his enemies, then do so now! For, by God, it would bring you shame in this world and the next. But if you have decided that you will be true to your words even if your property is destroyed and your nobles are killed, then pledge yourselves. For, by God, it will bring you profit and success both in this world and the next.” The Khazraj replied: “We pledge our support even if we should lose our property and our leaders be killed. But, O Apostle of God (ﷺ), what will we get in return for redeeming our pledge?” “Paradise”, said the Prophet (ﷺ) in reply. Thereupon, they said, “Stretch forth your hand”, and when the Prophet (ﷺ) did so, they took their oath. [2]
And, in truth, the Ansar [3] lived up to their word of honor.
On a subsequent occasion, Saad ibn Mu’adh, representing them, said to the Prophet (ﷺ), ‘By God, if you continue your march and go as far as Bark al-Ghimad [4], we would accompany you, and if you were to cross this sea, we would plunge into it with you.’ [5]
‘My Lord, this ocean has interrupted my march although I wanted to go ahead and proclaim Thy name in all the lands and seas,’ [6] were the despairing words uttered by Uqbah ibn Nafi (May Allah be pleased with him) on reaching the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. What Uqbah said on finding his victorious advance blocked by the ocean speaks volumes of the seriousness, absolute trust, and iron will of the Arabs in accomplishing the task they considered the truth.
The Greeks, the Byzantines, and the Iranians were people of a different mettle. Accustomed to improving the shining hour as a godsend opportunity, they lacked the grit to fight against injustice and brutality. No ideal, no principle was attractive enough for them: no belief or call was appealing enough for them: no conviction or summons was sufficiently potent to tug at their heartstrings in such a way that they would be willing to imperil their comfort and pleasure.
Unspoiled by the nicety, polish, and ostentation usually produced by the display of wealth and luxury of an advanced culture, the Arabs had not developed that fastidiousness which hardens the heart and ossifies the brain, allows no emotion to catch the flame, and always acts as an inhibition when one’s faith or conviction demands stirring of the blood. This is the listless apathy that is rarely erased from one’s heart.
Fiercely honest and true, the Arabs had no taste for intrigue and duplicity. They were courageous, intrepid fighters accustomed to a simple and hard life filled with dangers, and spent most of their time riding on horseback across the waterless desert. These were the rules of iron essential for a nation required to accomplish a great task, especially in an age when adventure and enterprise were the laws of the Medes and Persians.
The common ignorance of the Arabs, exempt from the shame or reproach it involves, had helped to conserve the natural briskness and intellectual energy of these people. Being strangers to pseudo-philosophy and sophistry, ratiocination and lame and impotent quibbling, they had preserved their soundness of mind, dispatch, resolution, and fervor.
The perpetual independence of Arabia from the yoke of invaders had made the Arabs free as birds. They enjoyed the benefits of human equality and the beauty of living nature and were not acquainted with the pomp, majesty, or haughty demeanor of the emperors. The servile temper of the ancient Persian had, contrarily, exalted the Sasanid monarchs to supernatural beings. If any king took a medicine or was given a phlebotomy, a proclamation was made in the capital that all and sundry should suspend their trade and business for the day. [7] If the king sneezed, nobody dared raise his voice to say grace, nor was anybody expected to say ‘Amen’ when the king sent up a prayer. The day any king paid a visit to any noble or chief was regarded as an event so memorable that the elated family of the fortunate grandee instituted a new calendar from that day. It was an honor so singular that the grandee was exempted from payment of taxes for a fixed period, besides enjoying other rewards, fiefs, and robes of honor. [8]
We can imagine what a state audience of the king must have been like for those who were allowed to appear before him. By etiquette, all the courtiers, even the highest nobles and dignitaries, were required to stand silently with their hands folded on their navels, and their heads bowed in reverence. [9] Actually, this was the ceremonial etiquette prescribed for the State audience during the reign of Chosroes I (531-579), known as Anushirvan (of the Immortal Soul) and ‘Adil (the Just). One can easily visualize the pompous ceremonials in vogue during the reign of Sasanid kings, who were justly reputed as tyrants and despots.
Freedom of speech and expression (and not censure or criticism, in the least) was a luxury that no one in the vast kingdom of the Sasanids ever indulged in. Christensen had related, on the authority of Tabari, a story about Chosroes I, who went by the name ‘The Just’ among the Sasanid kings, which demonstrates the freedom of expression allowed by the Iranian kings and the price paid for speaking the truth imprudently. Chosroes I had assembled his council and ordered the secretary for taxes to read aloud the new rates of collection.
When the secretary had announced the rates, Chosroes asked twice whether anyone had any objection to the new arrangement. Everybody remained silent, but on the third time of asking, a man stood up and asked respectfully whether the king had meant to establish a tax for perpetuity on things perishable, which, as time went on, would lead to injustice. “Accursed and rash!” cried the king, “To what class do you belong?” “I am one of the secretaries”, replied the man. “Then”, ordered the king, “beat him to death with pen-cases.” Thereupon, every secretary started beating him with his pen-case until the poor man died, and the beholders exclaimed: “O king, we find all the taxes you have levied upon us just and fair!” [10]
The horrible condition of the depressed classes in what was then India, who were condemned as untouchables by the social and religious laws promulgated by the Aryans, baffles all human understanding. Subjected to a gruesome indignity, this unfortunate class of human beings was treated pretty much the same way as pet animals, except that they resembled the species of man. According to this law, a Sudra who assaulted a Brahmin or attempted to do so was to lose the limb with which the assault was made. The Sudra was forced to drink boiling oil if he made the pretentious claim of teaching somebody. [11] The penalty for killing dogs, cats, frogs, chameleons, crows, and owls was the same as that for killing the Sudras. [12]
The common man in Byzantium was not subject to the same unworthy treatment that the Sasanid Emperors meted out to their subjects, but in their pride and policy to display the titles and attributes of their omnipotence, the Caesars of Rome had all the signs of their oriental counterparts.
Victor Chopart writes about the arbitrary rule and majesty of the Roman Emperors:
The Caesars were gods, but not by heredity, and one who rose to power would become divine in his turn, and there was no mark by which he could be recognised in advance. The transmission of the title of Augustus was governed by no regular constitutional law; it was acquired by victory over rivals, and the Senate did no more than ratify the decision of arms. This ominous fact became apparent in the first century of the Participate, which was merely a continuance of the military dictatorship. [13]
Such servitude and prostrations before kings of that time were customary. If we compare the servile submission of the common man of Byzantium and Persia with the spirit of freedom and pride, as well as the temperament and social conduct of the pre-Islamic Arabs, we would see the difference between the social life and natural propensities of the Arabs and other nations of the world.
‘May you be safe from frailty’, and ‘Wish you a happy morning’, were some of the salutations very often used by the Arabs to hail their kings. So solicitous were they of preserving their dignity and pride, honor and freedom that many a time they even refused to satisfy the demands of their chiefs and rulers. A story preserved by Arab historians admirably describes the rudimentary Arab virtues of courage and outspokenness. An Arab king demanded a mare known as Sikab from its owner, who belonged to the Banu Tamim. The man flatly refused the request and instantly indicted the king in a poem of which the opening lines were:
Sikab is a fine mare, good as gold,Too precious is it to be gifted or sold.
And, in the concluding verse he said:
To grab it from me, make no effort,
For I am fit to balk your attempt. [14]
The traits common to all Arabs, men and women, were their overweening pride, high ambition, chivalrous bearing, magnanimous generosity, and a wild, invigorating spirit of freedom. We find all these features of Arab character depicted in the affair leading to the murder of Amr ibn Hind, the King of Hirah. It is related that Amr ibn Hind once sent an invitation to Amr ibn Kulthum, the proud cavalier and noted poet of Banu Taghlib, inviting both him and his mother, Layla bint Muhalhil, to visit his own mother. Amr came to Hirah from Jazirah with some of his friends, and Layla came attended by a number of her women. Pavilions were erected between Hirah and the Euphrates. In one of these pavilions, Amr bin Hind entertained Amr ibn Kulthum, while Layla found quarters with Hind in an adjoining tent. Now, Amr ibn Hind had already instructed his mother to dismiss the servants before calling for dessert, and thus cause Layla to wait upon her. Accordingly, Hind sent off her servants at the appointed moment and asked her guest, “O Layla, hand me that dish.” Layla felt insulted and exclaimed in shame, “Let those who want anything, fetch it for themselves.” Hind insisted on her demand despite Layla’s refusal. At last, Layla cried, “O shame! Help Taghlib, help!” Amr ibn Kulthum got his blood up on hearing his mother’s cry and seizing a sword hanging on the wall, smote the king dead with a single blow. At the same time, the tribesmen of Banu Taghlib ransacked the tents and made rapid strides back to Jazirah. Amr ibn Kulthum narrated this story in an ode, which is a fine illustration of the pre-Islamic ideal of chivalry. It was included in the Sab’ah Mu’allaqat or the Seven Suspended Odes. [15]
The same Arab tradition of democracy tempered by aristocracy is to be witnessed in the meeting between the Arab envoy, Mughira ibn Shu’bah, and Rustam, the Sasanid General and administrator of the empire. When Mughira entered the splendid court of Rustam, he found the latter sitting on a throne. Mughlrah made his way directly to Rustam, as was an Arab’s wont. The courtiers, however, lost no time in getting Mughlrah down from the throne of their chief. Thereupon, Mughirah said, “We had heard that you are a sagacious people, but now I see that none is more blockheaded than you. We Arabs treat everybody as an equal and enslave no man save on the battlefield. I had presumed that you would also conduct yourselves similarly towards your own people. You should have told us that you have exalted some amongst you as your gods; for, we would have then known that no dialogue was possible between us and you in the ways we have done, nor come to see you, although it was you who invited us here.” [16]
There was yet another reason for the advent of the last Prophet in Arabia, and it was the Ka’bah, the House of God, built by Abraham and Ishmael as the center for the worship of the One God.
Lo! the first Sanctuary appointed for mankind was that at Becca, [17] a blessed place, a guidance to the peoples. [18]
The valley of Baca is mentioned in the Old Testament. The old translators of the Bible gave this word the meaning of ‘a valley of weeping’, but a better understanding seems to have prevailed later on. According to later Biblical scholars, the word ‘signifies rather any valley lacking water’, and ‘the Psalmist apparently has in mind a particular valley whose natural condition led him to adopt that name.’ [19] Now, this waterless valley, which can easily be identified with the valley of Makkah, has been thus mentioned in the Book of Psalms:
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house;They will still be praising thee. Selah.
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee;
In whose heart are the ways of them
Who passing through the valley of Baca make it well. [20]
The birth of the Prophet Muhammad in the city of Makkah was really an answer to the prayer sent up by Abraham and Ishmael while laying the foundation of the Ka’bah. They had beseeched God in these words:
Our Lord! And raise up unto them an apostle from among them, who shall recite unto them Your revelations, and shall teach them the Book and wisdom, and shall cleanse them. Verily You! You are the Mighty, the Wise. [21]
A standing norm of God Almighty is that He always answers the prayers of those who are pious and devoted and pure in heart. The Apostles of God occupy, without doubt, a higher place than the most devout and the godliest believers. All the earlier scriptures and prophecies bear witness to this fact. Even the Old Testament testifies that the supplication of Abraham regarding Ishmael & met the approval of the Lord. The Book of Genesis says:
And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. [22]
That is why the Prophet is reported to have said: ‘I am the (answer to the) prayer of Abraham and prophecy of Jesus.’[23] The Old Testament still contains, notwithstanding its numerous recessions and alterations, the evidence that God answered this prayer of Abraham. Mark the very clear reference in the Book of Deuteronomy to the advent of a prophet.
The Lord the God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken. [24]
Now, this being a prophecy by Moses ‘thy brethren’ clearly indicates that the prophet promised by God was to be raised from amongst the Ishmaelites, who were the cousins of the Israelites. God again reiterates His promise in the same Book:
And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto you, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. [25]
The words put my words in his mouth’ occurring in the revelation very clearly indicate the advent of the Prophet who was to recite and deliver to his people the divine revelation exactly as he received it. This prophecy has been substantiated by the Qur’an also: “Nor does he speak of (his own) desire.” [26]
Again, the Qur’an says about the revelation vouchsafed to the Prophet Muhammad:
Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it.( It is) a revelation from the Wise, the Owner of Praise. [27]
But, quite unlike the Qur’an, both the Bible and its followers ascribe the authorship of the ‘Books’ included in the Bible to the ‘ancient sages’ and the ‘great teachers’ and never to the Divine Author Himself. Modern Biblical scholars have concluded that:
Ancient Jewish traditions attributed the authorship of the Pentateuch [28] (with the exceptions of the last eight verses describing Moses’ death) to Moses himself. But the many inconsistencies and seeming contradictions contained in it attracted the attention of the Rabbis, who exercised their ingenuity in reconciling them. [29]
As for the ‘Books’ forming part of the New Testament, they have never been treated, either literally or in their context, as of Divine origin. These books really contain a biographical account and anecdotes of Jesus as narrated by the later scribe, rather than a Book of Revelation sent unto the Master. [30]
We now come to the geographical position of Arabia, which, being connected by land and sea routes with the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe, occupied the most suitable place as the center of enlightenment, of radiating divine guidance and knowledge to the entire world. All three continents had been cradles of great civilizations and powerful empires, while Arabia lay in the center [31] through which passed the merchandise of the countries [32] far and near, allowing different nations and races for the exchange of thoughts and ideas.
Two great empires, the Sasanid and the Byzantine, on either side of the Arabian Peninsula, governed the history of the world. Both were large, rich, and powerful, and both fought each other constantly; yet, Arabia jealously guarded her independence and never allowed either of the two powers to lay its hands on it, barring a few territories lying on its frontiers. Excepting a few peripheral tribes, the Arab of the desert was extremely sensitive to his regal dignity and untrammeled freedom, and he never allowed any despot to hold him in bondage. Such a country, unimpeded by political and social constraints, was ideally suited to become the nucleus of a universal message preaching human equality, liberty, and dignity.
For all these reasons, God had selected Arabia, and the city of Makkah within it, for the advent of the Prophet to whom divine Scripture was to be sent for the last time to pave the way for the proclamation of Peace throughout the length and breadth of the world from age to age.
ARABIA’S ERA OF DEPRESSION
For their manly qualities of head and heart, the Arabs deserved, or were rather the only people entitled to the honor of the advent of the last Prophet of God amongst them, and to be made responsible for the propagation of the message of Islam. But, in no part of the Peninsula was there any indication of an awakening or a vexation of spirit showing the sign of life left in the Arabs.
There were a scant few hanif [33] who could be easily counted on one’s fingers, feeling their way towards monotheism, but they were no more than glow worms in a dark and chilly rainy night, incapable of showing the path of righteousness to anybody or providing warmth to one being frozen to death.
This was an era of darkness and depression in the history of Arabia-a period of gloom when the country had reached the rock-bottom of putrefied decadence, leaving no hope of any reform or improvement. The shape of things in Arabia presented a task far more formidable and baffling than ever faced by any messenger of God.
Sir William Muir, a biographer of the Prophet #, who is ever willing to find fault with the Prophet ^ and cast aspersions upon him, has vividly depicted the state of affairs in Arabia before the birth of Muhammad ^ which discredits the view held by certain European Orientalists that Arabia was fermenting with change and looking forward to a genius who could respond to it better than any other. Says Sir William Muir: “During the youth of Mahomet, this aspect of the Peninsula was strongly conservative; perhaps it was never at any period more hopeless.” [34]
Reviewing the feeble stir created by Christianity and Judaism in the dark and deep ocean of Arabian paganism. Sir William Muir remarks, “In fine, viewed thus in a religious aspect, the surface of Arabia had been now and then gently rippled by the feeble efforts of Christianity; the sterner influence of Judaism had been occasionally visible in the deeper and more troubled currents; but the tide of indigenous idolatry and of Ishmaelite superstition, setting from every quarter with an unbroken and un-ebbing surge towards the Ka’bah, gave ample evidence that the faith and worship of Makkah held the Arab mind in a thralldom, rigorous and undisputed.”[35]
Bosworth Smith is another European biographer of the Prophet ^ who has also reached the same conclusion:
One of the most philosophical of historians has remarked that of all the revolutions which have had a permanent influence upon the civil history of mankind, none could so little be anticipated by human prudence as that effected by the religion of Arabia. And at first sight it must be confessed that the Science of History, if indeed there be such a science, is at a loss to find the sequence of cause and effect which it is the object and the test of all history, which is worthy of the name, to trace it. [36]
THE NEED FOR A NEW PROPHET
The old world was completely disarranged by the middle of the sixth century, and man had fallen to such a depth of depravity that no reformer, revivalist, or religious preacher could have hoped to put new life in the humanity worn to its bones. The problem was not fighting any particular heresy or reshaping a given mode of divine service, nor was the question on how to curb the social evils of any society, for there has never been any dearth of social reformers and religious preachers in any age or place. How to clear the contaminating debris of idolatry, arid fetishism, superstition, and paganism, piling up from generation to generation during the past hundreds of years over the true teachings of the prophets sent by God, was indeed a task, exceedingly toilsome and unwieldy. It was a Herculean task to make a clean sweep of this wreckage and then raise a new edifice on the foundations of piety and godliness. In short, the question was how to remake man to think and feel differently from his predecessors as a changed man, reborn or brought back to life again.
Is he who was dead and we have raised him unto life, and set for him a light wherein he walks among men, as him whose similitude is in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge? [37]
In order to solve the problem of man once for all, it was necessary to root out paganism so completely that no trace of it was left in his heart, and to plant the sapling of monotheism so deeply that it should be difficult to conceive of a more secure foundation. It was meant to create a penchant for seeking the pleasure of God and humbling oneself before Him, to instill a longing to serve humanity; to generate the will to always stay on the right path and to sow the seeds of that moral courage that restrains all evil passions and desires. The whole problem, in a nutshell, was how to rescue humanity, then too willing to commit suicide, from the misery of this world as well as of the next. This was an endeavor beginning in the form of a virtuous life, like that of an elect and godly soul, and then leading on to the paradise promised by God to those who are God-fearing and just.
The advent of the holy Prophet (ﷺ) was thus the greatest Divine blessing on mankind; that is why it has been so elegantly clothed in words by the Writ of God.
And remember Allah’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 (how) you were upon the brink of an abyss of fire, and He did save you from it.[38]
No task more delicate and bewildering, and no charge more onerous and gigantic, than that entrusted to Muhammad (ﷺ), the Apostle of God, was imposed on any man since the birth of man on this planet. And never has a man accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution as the Last Prophet, for he has guided millions of men of many nationalities to the path of justice, truth, and virtue by putting new life into humanity at the throes of death in the sixth century. It was the greatest marvel of human history, the greatest miracle the world has ever witnessed. The well-known French poet and litterateur, Lamartine, bears witness to the grand accomplishment of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in a language of incomparable elegance and facility.
Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a more sublime aim, since this aim was superhuman; to subvert superstitions which had been interposed between man and his Creator, to render God unto man and man unto God; to restore the rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the chaos of the material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing. Never has a man undertaken a work so far beyond human power with so feeble means, for he had in the conception as well as in the execution of such a great design no other instrument than himself, and no other aid, except a handful of men living in a corner of the desert. [39]
Lamartine goes on to enumerate the achievements of the Great Prophet:
And more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls. On the basis of a Book, every letter of which has become Law, he created a spiritual nationality which blended together peoples of every tongue and of every race. He has left us as the indelible characteristic of this Muslim nationality, the hatred of false gods and the passion for the One and Immaterial God. This avenging patriotism against the profanation of Heaven formed the virtue of the followers of Muhammad; the conquest of one third of the earth to his dogma was his miracle; or rather it was not the miracle of a man but of reason. The idea of the Unity of God, proclaimed amidst the exhaustion of fabulous theogonies, was in itself such a miracle that upon its utterance from his lips it destroyed all the ancient temples of idols and set on fire one third of the world. [40]
This universal and enduring revolution, whose objective was a rejuvenation of humanity or rebuilding of the world anew, demanded a new prophethood surpassing the apostleship that had come before-for the new Prophet (ﷺ) had to hold aloft the banner of Divine guidance and righteousness for all times to come. God has Himself given the reason for it:
Those who disbelieve among the people of the Scripture and the idolaters could not have left off (erring) till the clear proof came unto them. A Messenger from Allah, reading purified pages containing correct scriptures. [41]
***
[1] Tabari, vol. IV, p. 36.
[2] Ibn Hisham, vol. I. p. 446.
[3] Lit., “the helpers”; the name given to the Madinan followers of the Prophet, used in contrast to the earliest Muslims who migrated to that city with the Prophet.
[4] Located variously by different people, some say that Bark al-Ghimad is a far-off place in Yemen, while others hold that it is in Abyssinia. What Sa’d ibn Mu’adh meant was that his companions would keep the company of the Prophet even if he had to go to the most distant place.
[5] Zad al-Ma’dd, vol. I, pp. 342-343: Hisham, vol. I, p. 615.
[6] Ibn Athir, Al-Kamil, vol. IV, p. 46.
[7] Iran ft ‘Ahd As-Sasdniyan, pp. 535-36.
[8] Ibid., p. 543.
[9] Exactly in the way one stands in prayer. Actually, the Arabic word ‘kufr’ means, etymologically, ‘standing in the way Iranians pay respect to their kings’ (Lisan al-‘Arab, vol. VII, p. 466).
[10] Tarikh at-Tabari, vol II, p.121-122 as quoted in Iranfi Ahd As-Sdsdniydn, p. 511.
[11] Mani Shastra, chapter 10.
[12] R. C. Dutt, Ancient India, vol. III, pp. 324 and 343.
[13] Victor Chopart, The Roman World (London, 1982), p. 418.
[14] Diwan Hamdsah, Bab-al-Hamasah,pp. 67-68.
[15] Ibn Qutaybah, Kitab ash-Sha’r wa sh-Shu’ard p. 36. These odes were awarded the annual prize at the fair of ‘Ukaz, inscribed in golden letters and suspended on the wall of the Ka’bah.
[16] Tabari, vol. IV, p. 108.
[17] The sacred city is known both as Becca and Makkah. The Arabic alphabet bd and mim are etymologically interchangeable, in many cases, such as lazim and lazib, and thamit and nabit, without any change in their meanings.
[18] Qur’an 3:96
[19] Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. II, p. 415- Also see Commentary on the Holy Qur’an by ‘Abdul Majid (Lahore, 1957), vol. I, pp. 121-2 and Qazi Sulayman Mansurpuri, Rahmatul-Alamin (Deoband, N. D.), vol. I, p. 24.
[20] Ps. 84:4-6.
[21] Qur’an 2:129.
[22] Gen. 17:20.
[23] Musnad Imam Ahmad.
[24] Dt. 18: 15.
[25] Dt. 18: 17-18.
[26] Qur’an 53:3.
[27] Qur’an 41:42.
[28] The first five books of the Old Testament.
[29] Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. IX, p. 589.
[30] For detailed discussion see the chapter ‘Finality of Prophethood’ in Islamic Concept of Prophethood.
[31] Dr. Husayn Kamal Uddin, Professor Civil Engineering in the engineering College of Riyadh University informed in an interview with the correspondence of Al-Ihram, Cairo, that according to his researches it could be proved that Makkah lay at the centre of the world. To devise an inexpensive instrument that could show the direction of the Ka’bah, he began preparing maps that showed the distances of various cities in different countries from Makkah. These maps revealed that Makkah lay in the centre of the world, which is yet another reason why it was selected by God to house the Sacred Sanctuary and to radiate Divine guidance to the four corners of the world.
[32] De Lacy O ‘Leary, Arabia Before Muhammad (London, 1927), pp. 179-88.
[33] Ibn Ishaq mentions four men and Ibn Qutaybah gives the names of half a dozen other persons of the generation before Muhammad (peace be on him), who had abandoned pagan practices to seek the hanafiyyah, the true religion of Abraham.
[34] Sir William Muir, The Life of Mahomet vol. I (London 1858) p. ccxxxviii.
[35] Ibid. p. ccxxxix.
[36] R. Bosworth Smith, Mohammad and Mohammedanism (London, 1876), p. 105.
[37] Qur’an 6:123.
[38] Qur’an 3:103.
[39] Lamartine, Histoire de la Turtle, vol. II (Paris. 1854), p. 276. Quoted in Islam in the World by Dr. Zaki ‘Ali (Lahore, 1947).
[40] Ibid., pp. 276-7
[41] Qur’an 98:1-3
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