Muhammad (peace be upon him) & His Message - Mercy to Mankind

1. Muhammad (peace be upon him)& His Message-Mercy to Mankind In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful Dr. Abdulazeez Abdulraheem www.understandQuran.com

2. Outline • Introduction • Messenger of Mercy • Equality • Kindness • For animals • For environment • His Message

3. Introduction

4. Who is he ? Almost 1.2 Billion bear witness he is the Messenger of God

5. ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA MUHAMMAD is the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities.“ (11th Edition under Koran)

6. ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA “.... A mass of detail in the early sources show that he was an honest and upright man who had gained the respect and loyalty of others who were like-wise honest and upright men." (Vol. 12)

7. MICHAEL H. HART,ranked him1st in the list of the Most Influential Persons in History : "My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.”* * THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York, 1978, p. 33)

8. LAMAR TINE, The renowned historian, speaking on the essentials of human greatness wonders: • If • greatness of purpose, • smallness of means and • astounding results • are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history than MUHAMMAD?

9. He did it… • He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set foot on this earth • He preached a religion, founded a state, built a nation, laid down a moral code, initiated numerous social and political reforms • He established a powerful and dynamic society to practice and represent his teachings andcompletely revolutionized the worlds of human thought and behavior for all times to come

10. His Mission Impossible He was born in Arabia in the year 570, started his mission of preaching the religion of Truth, Islam (submission to One God) at the age of forty and departed from this world at the age of sixty-three. During this short period of 23 years as a Prophet, he changed the complete Arabian peninsula

11. His Mission Impossible • From paganism and idolatry to SUBMISSION to the One True God, • From tribal quarrels and wars to national solidarity and cohesion, • From drunkenness and debauchery to sobriety and piety, • From lawlessness and anarchy to disciplined living, • From utter bankruptcy to the highest standards of moral excellence.

12. His Mission Impossible Human history has never known such a complete transformation of a society or a place before or since IMAGINE all these unbelievable wonders in JUST OVER TWO DECADES. Yes, this was done by Prophet MUHAMMAD (pbuh)

13. WHY PROPHETS ?? • Sources of human knowledge - limited • Normal realities can be understood by observation • Higher level realities - deductive reasoning + scientific investigation. • Ultimate realities (esp. why?) • Science + Philosophy can only speculate

14. WHY PROPHETS ?? • No other source except divine guidance conveyed thru prophets. • God did not leave us without guidance. From first man till the last.

15. Mission of a Prophet To lay down: • Framework of belief • Mode of worship • Moral code • Rules of culture and civilization In fact to prescribe whole system of thought and action (Al-Deen), which includes all aspects of life.

16. Mission of a Prophet • Read the book to people • Purify them (belief and actions) • Teach the book and Wisdom • Be a practical model • Train the individuals and society to establish Islamic system of life (Kingdom of God on earth)

17. Mission of a Prophet • Not all the prophets succeeded because of the prejudice and intolerance of people. Muhammad (pbuh) did succeed in establishing the kingdom of God.

18. Prophethood • God conveyed his message to man thru Muhammad (pbuh) in two forms • Quran - The Book • Sunnah - Sayings, practices, and approvals of the prophet. (PRACTICAL DEMO) • Belief in Prophethood brings the life into real worship and obedience, otherwise, the belief remains just the theory.

19. Requirements (of Belief in Prophethood) • Believe in him (as required) • Obey him in all spheres of life • His Sunnah is the explanation of Quran, nobody can contradict his explanation. • No independent decision in a matter prescribed by the prophet

20. Position of a Prophet • Servant of God • Makes people to obey God and worship Him and not himself, by conveying, No Force !! • Just a human being. No share in divinity (4 areas mentioned above, entity, attributes, rights, and powers) • Not a superhuman. So, Islam has saved its followers from any exaggeration in this belief.

21. What Distinguishes Muhammad (pbuh) from Others ?? • Last Prophet • Revived the faith conveyed by all prophets • Pure message retransmitted thru him • No messenger after him • Book is preserved • Sunnah (practice, sayings, approvals) is recorded in details (No better compilation of any person in history is present)

22. Why follow Muhammad (pbuh) • For instruction, we turn to Muhammad (pbuh), not because of prejudice, but because • Last Prophet  latest guidance • Word of God  in pure divine, living language • Historical record of his Sunnah is preserved

23. Muhammad's (pbuh) Mission - Universal • Quran confirms it • Logical consequence of finality • Complete code  supports finality • No man in the last 1400 yrs like him

24. ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA MUHAMMAD is the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities.“ (11th Edition under Koran)

25. MICHAEL H. HART,ranked him1st in the list of the Most Influential Persons in History : "My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.”* * THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York, 1978, p. 33)

26. Appearance • Muhammad (pbuh) was of a height a little above the average. • He was fair of complexion and altogether very handsome.

27. Appearance • He did not speak unnecessarily and what he said was always to the point and without any padding. • At times he would make his meaning clear by slowly repeating what he had said. • His laugh was mostly a smile. • He kept his feelings under firm control.

28. Dress • His dress generally consisted of a shirt, tamad (trousers), a sheet thrown round the shoulders and a turban. • His blanket had several patches (Tirmidhi). • He had very few spare clothes, but he kept them spotlessly clean (Bukhari).

29. Dress Once he enquired of a person in dirty clothes whether he had any income. Upon getting a reply in the affirmative, he observed, "When Allah has blessed you with His bounty, your appearance should reflect it." [Abu Dawood]

30. House & Belongings!!! His house was but a hut with walls of unbaked clay and a thatched roof of palm leaves covered by camel skin. It contained • a rope cot, • a pillow stuffed with palm leaves , • the skin of some animal spread on the floor and a water • bag of leather • and some weapons.

31. House & Belongings!!! These were all his earthly belongings, besides a camel, a horse, and an ass and some land which he had acquired in the later part of his life (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood).

32. MAHATMA GANDHI,says in ‘Young India’.. "I wanted to know the best of one who holds today's undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind.. I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life.”

33. MAHATMA GANDHI,says in ‘Young India’.. "It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission….”

34. House & Belongings!!! Sometimes he slept on his cot, sometimes on a skin or ordinary mattress, and sometimes on the ground. To his disciples (who wanted to offer him a soft bed) "What have I to do with worldly things. My connection with the world is like that of a traveller resting for a while underneath the shade of a tree and then moving on."

35. House & Belongings!!! His wife A'isha (ra) says that there was hardly a day in his life when he had two square meals. [Sahih Muslim] This was so inspite of him being the most beloved ruler of the Islamic State of all times.

36. For his family! He had declared unlawful for himself and his family anything given by the people by way of Zakat (obligatory donation of 2.5% of savings) or sadaqa (charity).

37. REV. REGINALD BOSWORTH SMITH, "He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretensions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue;

38. REV. REGINALD BOSWORTH SMITH, If ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it was Mohammed, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports."

39. Extremely humble! Though virtual king of Arabia and an apostle of Allah, he never assumed an air of superiority. He used to invite people be they slaves, servants or the poorest believers, to partake with him of his scanty meals. [Tirmidhi] He did not like people to get up for him and used to say, "Let him who likes people to stand up in his honour, he should seek a place in hell." [Abu Dawud]

40. At home! His wife A'isha (ra) said, "He always joined in household work and would at times mend his clothes, repair his shoes and sweep the floor. He would milk, tether, and feed his animals and do the household shopping." [Qazi Iyaz: Shifa; Sahih Bukhari]

41. Spend his time… According to the demands on him for: • offering worship to Allah • public affairs, and • personal matters.

42. Spend his time… All his activities were full of supplications and prayers. His Love, Devotion, Dedication is transparent through all these supplcns. (not just 5 prayers). A full 300 page-books is there just on the prayers he used to recite.

43. Supplications… MIRACULOUS ASPECT • Establish / Correct the relationship with God • Maintain it Millions of Muslims throughout centuries have been reciting these everyday. Of course, they want to follow him in all aspects (name, dress, beard, living style…).

44. Supplications… • And don’t forget that he was not just a spiritual guide… He was a leader in all aspects of life.

45. LAMARTINE, Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images, the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is MUHAMMAD.

46. LAMARTINE, The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes.

47. LAMARTINE, This man moved not only armies, legislation, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and souls....

48. LAMARTINE, As regards all the standards by which Human Greatness may be measured, we may well ask, IS THERE ANY MAN GREATER THAN HE ?" (ALPHONSE DE LAMAR TINE, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, PARIS, 1854, VOL. II, PP 276-277)

49. His Behavior By nature he was gentle and kind-hearted, always inclined to be gracious and to overlook the faults of others. Politeness and courtesy, compassion and tenderness, simplicity and humility, sympathy and sincerity were some of the keynotes of his character.

50. His Character • About himself the Prophet (pbuh) said “Allah has sent me as an apostle so that I may demonstrate perfection of character, refinement of manners and loftiness of deportment." [Malik]