On the Path of the Beloved..1

In the name of Allah

Let us start by mentioning a few glimpses of the greatness of the Prophet.  There is one ayah that I really like, and which is very touching, especially that we are a few hundred meters away from the house of the Prophet. Allah says what can be translated as,  �And know that among you is the Messenger of Allah.� (TMQ, 49:7)

Is the messenger of Allah among us?  The messenger of Allah is dead and here is his tomb.  This ayah was not just addressing the companions of the Prophet; the Qur�an is valid for all times. What is the meaning of the ayah then?  He is among you with his sunnah, with his virtues, with what he left in you, with the great legacy he passed on to you and that will remain till the day of Judgment.  �And know that among you is the Messenger of Allah�; the ayah in not limited to a small group of people of a certain time in history. This ayah is constant throughout the ages because he left humanity a very rich heritage.

Heraclius, the Roman Emperor, discovered that a man from the land of Muhammad was present in Roman territory.  It was Abu-Sufyan, the prophet�s most hostile enemy.   The Emperor invited Abu-Sufyan, the Prophet�s enemy, to ask him about Muhammad.  Narrated by Abdullah ibn-Abbas: Abu-Sufyan ibn-Harb informed me that Heraclius had sent a messenger to him while he had been accompanying a caravan from Quraysh.   They were merchants doing business in Sham (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan), at the time when Allah�s Prophet had signed a truce with Abu-Sufyan and Quraysh.  So Abu-Sufyan and his companions went to Heraclius at Ilya (Jerusalem).   Heraclius called them into the court, surrounded by all the senior Roman officials.  He called for his translator who, translating Heraclius� question said to them, asked, �Who amongst you is closely related to that man who claims to be a Prophet?� Abu-Sufyan replied, �I am the nearest relative to him (amongst the group).�

Heraclius said, �Bring him (Abu-Sufyan) close to me and make his companions stand behind him.�  Abu-Sufyan added, Heraclius told his translator to tell my companions that he wanted to put some questions to me regarding that man (The Prophet) and that if I told a lie they (my companions) should contradict me.�  Abu Sufyan added, �By Allah! Had I not been afraid of my companions labeling me a liar, I would not have spoken the truth about the Prophet. The first question he asked me about him was, �What is his family status amongst you?�  I replied, �He belongs to a good (noble) family amongst us.�  Heraclius further asked, �Has anybody amongst you ever claimed the same (i.e. to be a Prophet) before him?�  I replied, �No.�  He said, �Was anybody amongst his ancestors a king?�  I replied, �No.�  Heraclius asked, �Do the nobles or the poor follow him?�   I replied, �It is the poor who follow him.�  He said, �Are his followers increasing decreasing (day by day)?� I replied, �They are increasing.�   He then asked, �Does anybody amongst those who embrace his religion become displeased and renounce the religion afterwards?�  I replied, �No.�  Heraclius said, �Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim (to be a Prophet)?� I replied, �No.�  Heraclius said, �Does he break his promises?�  I replied, �No. We are at truce with him but we do not know what he will do in it.�  I could not find opportunity to say anything against him except that.  Heraclius asked, �Have you ever had a war with him?�  I replied, �Yes.�  Then he said, �What was the outcome of the battles?�  I replied, �Sometimes he was victorious and sometimes we.� Heraclius said, �What does he order you to do?�  I said, �He tells us to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship anything along with Him, and to renounce all that which our ancestors had said.  He orders us to pray, to speak the truth, to be chaste and to keep good relations with our Kith and kin.�   Heraclius asked the translator to convey to me the following, I asked you about his family and your reply was that he belonged to a very noble family. In fact all the prophets come from noble families amongst their respective peoples.  I questioned you whether anybody else amongst you claimed such a thing, your reply was in the negative.  If the answer had been in the affirmative, I would have thought that this man was following the previous man�s statement.  Then I asked you whether anyone of his ancestors was a king.  Your reply was in the negative, and if it had been in the affirmative, I would have thought that this man wanted to take back his ancestral kingdom.  I further asked whether he was ever accused of telling lies before he said what he said, and your reply was in the negative. So I wondered how a person who does not tell a lie about others could ever tell a lie about Allah. I then asked you whether the rich people followed him or the poor. You replied that it was the poor who followed him. And in fact all apostles are followed by this very class of people. Then I asked you whether his followers were increasing or decreasing.  You replied that they were increasing, and in fact this is the way of true faith, till it is complete in all respects.  I further asked you whether there was anybody, who, after embracing his religion, became displeased and discarded his religion.  Your reply was in the negative, and in fact this is (the sign of) true faith, when its delight enters the hearts and mixes with them completely.  I asked you whether he had ever betrayed. You replied in the negative and likewise the apostles never betray.  Then I asked you what he ordered you to do.  You replied that he ordered you to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship any thing along with Him and forbade you to worship idols and ordered you to pray, to speak the truth and to be chaste.  If what you have said is true, he will very soon occupy this place underneath my feet and I knew it (from the scriptures) that he was going to appear but I did not know that he would be from you, and if I could reach him definitely, I would go immediately to meet him and if I were with him, I would certainly wash his feet.�  None of his enemies ever gave him such a testimony. 

quoted from amrkhaled.net

in the name of allah

      Let us see Makkah now.  Makkah was an international trade city.  All the caravans passed by Makkah.  What were the winter and summer caravans?  Merchandise came from China to Yemen through the Arabian peninsula and the traders of Quraysh then reached the Levant.  Quraysh was the link between the Romans and the Persians.  Therefore, it was an affluent city, and its traders were some of the wealthiest in the world.

Makkah was also the centre of religious destinations, because of the Ka�ba. This brought about cultural exchanges and more trade and wealth.  Makkah was also a cultural centre of media.  Poets used to gather in Akkadh Souk to recite poetry. Moreover, Makkah was the safest place in the peninsula because it was the leading city of the Arabs.  Allah says what can be translated as, �And have they not seen that We have made a sanctuary secure, and mankind are snatched away all round about them? Do they then believe in untruth and disbelieve in the favor of Allah?� (TMQ, 29:67),  and also, �And thus We have revealed to you an Arabic Qur�an, that you may warn the Mother of the Towns (Makkah)�� (TMQ, 42:7)

There was also a basic parliament in Makkah called Dar An-Nadwa, where the heads of tribes met to make decisions together.

There were 360 statues of gods above the Ka�ba, but not because the Makkans worshiped all of them.  It was more of a financial agreement with the surrounding tribes.  The tribes would guarantee the safe passage of their trade caravans from Yemen to the Levant; in return they would be rewarded with a prestigious place for their gods above the Ka�ba.  This is all Satan�s doing, because he knows that your instincts will guide you to the right path.  You would eventually realize that the god is merely a stone. Therefore he links it to your financial interests.

Hence, when the Prophet asked to worship none but Allah, he was jeopardizing their trade, profits, religious leadership and importance.  Satan has done it before and is still doing it now: he puts your interests on one hand and the truth on the other.  Therefore never put your interests before the truth. Cheating in exams is an example. Teachers may say, �let the poor students cheat�. There are no concessions in matters of right and wrong.

I urge the new generations to hold justice in high esteem above all.  The disagreement between Quraysh and the prophet was purely to keep their interests.

Take a moment to ask yourselves if you have ever put your interests before the truth.

The universe is based on rightness.  Never say that earning a living requires us to do so. Where is justice?

Despite all this, the Prophet will focus on three points and turn them into opportunities:

-         He will take advantage of the season of hajj to meet all the tribes and present them with the idea.  There is something called a SWOT analysis in administrative science, where you evaluate your strengths and opportunities. The Prophet seized the opportunity.  He emigrated to Madinah because he met the Ansar during Hajj.

-         The language of Quraysh was understood by all the other tribes.

-         The Arabs were free people; they had never been occupied.  They were courageous, they had never known humiliation.  Therefore, they were capable of revival.  Those who have never tasted freedom will never have the resolve, determination or time.

I urge you to teach your children to be free, to be proud, to have an opinion, so that we can achieve a revival.  I am not telling you stories about the seerah here: this is the vital vein of our nation.  Listen to this story carefully

The Prophet was sitting among the important men of Quraysh, and a child was sitting on his right.  They were feeling thirsty so he took a jar of water and as the sunnah says, he was supposed to start from the right.  The Prophet turned to the boy and asked him, �Do you give me permission to offer a drink to the older people first?� The boy replied, �No, I would not let anyone take my share of your generosity towards me.�  So the prophet looked at the men around him and said, �This is his right, I will start with him.�

This is how we should raise our children.

When Omar Ibnul-Khattab used to walk in the street, children used to run away from him, except one child, Abdullah Ibn-Zubair.  Omar asked him, �Why did you not run like your friends?�  The child replied, �The road is not so narrow that I need to make way, and I have done nothing wrong to run away.� Omar looked at him and said, �This boy will achieve a high status� and he became a Muslim Calif.  Our third lesson for today is self-esteem; there will be no revival without pride.

in the name of allah

Finally, the birth of the Prophet.  It was a natural, ordinary birth, unlike that of Musa (AS) (Moses) or Isa (AS) (Jesus).  After the miracle of the year of the elephant, there where no supernatural miracles, because that age had passed.  Now it was the time of scientific planning.  Work hard and have strong belief and Allah will arrange for you the means to restore, reform and bring prosperity to earth.

Some people who celebrate the birth of the Prophet say inappropriate things like,

�It was such a great year, that all women gave birth to male babies.�  How could they say that, when the Prophet himself emphasized the importance of women?

Some even say, �during labor, our ladies Maryam and Asyah came to help Amina.�

This did not happen.  It was a normal birth so that we can grasp the meaning of the ayah in which Allah says what can be translated as, �Indeed you have already had a fair example, in the Messenger of Allah, for whoever hopes for Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much� (TMQ, 33:21).

We have come to the end of today�s episode so let us recap.  We touched on these points:

1-     �And know that among you is the Messenger of Allah.� (TMQ, 49:7)

2-     The world before the Prophet:

1. Collapse of civilizations in the absence of justice
2. Not all the western civilization is rejected, we want coexistence not struggle
3. No to desperation: have hope and we will achieve a revival
4. The Prophet�s honoring of women.
5. Never put your interests in one hand and justice in the other hand and go with your interests.
6. How to transform your few advantages into opportunities.

We then talked about the birth of the prophet and drew a few lessons:

1-     Those who make the revival are people who praise Allah with profusion.

2-     Noble but poor families, keep your pride and self-esteem.

3-     Grave incidents produce great men.

      4-    The time of miracles has passed

Done ....

Quoted from amrkhaled.net

To be Continued .........